Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 2 - What's on the Market

Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 2 - What's on the Market Latest offerings feature extended capabilities and flexibility, withstand demanding environments By Dan Daley, Audio Editor

Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - 7:00 am

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By pro-audio standards, intercoms are a small market sector but a critical one. In the age of supercharged REMI production, it's an increasingly competitive one, too. Here's a look at the latest offerings from the market leaders.

Click here for Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 1 - Key to Onsite, REMI, Hybrid Operations.

Clear-Com Agent-IC and its Station-IC desktop counterpart provide an easy-to-implement communication solution between facility-based staff and production teams onsite for field reporting, live event production, remote coordination, and other critical tasks. Downloading the app to a desktop, smartphone, tablet, or wearable device enables remote-production personnel to connect to a host Eclipse HX digital matrix or local and remote LQ IP interfaces over 3G, 4G, LTE, and Wi-Fi networks. App and desktop users have a fully functional intercom panel that can monitor the intercom system and receive IFB feeds.

Clear-Com LQ extends the capabilities and intercom channels of an Eclipse HX system.

LQ can extend the capabilities and intercom channels of an Eclipse HX system to one or more remote locations by positioning an LQ device at the destination location and interfacing with Clear-Com devices: wired beltpacks, SIP clients, or any Agent-IC app user or Station-IC desktop user. A single local or remote LQ device can host 16 Agent-IC and/or Station-IC users, and a link group can host up to 48 total Agent-IC and/or Station-IC users, with the LQ acting as the server.

With a host Eclipse HX matrix, many more Agent-IC users can access the production intercom remotely; the number of users able to access the main intercom can vary depending on the quantity of IP ports on the E-IPA cards. LQ devices can link different industry-standard 2-wire intercom and 4-wire audio systems together, regardless of brand and platform. They also work with SIP telephony systems, allowing Clear-Com's portfolio of intercom systems to seamlessly connect with VoIP phones. The FreeSpeak II digital wireless solution is available for use in either the 1.9 GHz or 2.4 GHz band. https://www.clearcom.com/

Pliant Technologies The CrewCom wireless intercom system features full-duplex wireless radio packs, excellent range, and multiple RF access points that connect via copper (100 meter) or fiber (10 km). CrewCom wireless products are available in 2.4 GHz and 900 MHz models (where the latter band is legal). Any combination of the frequency bands may be used together on the same CrewCom system. Pliant also recently debuted its 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz IP-rated radio transceivers, which now allow RF access in the toughest weather conditions without the need for rain covers or external boxes.

CrewCom CB2, also available in 2.4 GHz and 900 MHz, offers the same CrewCom wireless technology while also providing ease of use and high-level performance at an affordable price point for a full-featured intercom system.

Both CrewCom and CB2 offer a High Density Mode that greatly increases user densities. With the former, the software-selectable mode supports 32 radio packs (RPs) on a single radio transceiver while dynamically allowing any four of the RPs to communicate in full duplex across four conferences. This allows the system to scale up to hundreds of users providing adaptability for almost any application.

Pliant's MicroCom XR digital wireless intercom system provides portable, full-duplex, multi-user intercom. The robust two-channel intercom system available in 2.4 GHz and 900 MHz and features the ability to have up to 10 full-duplex users and unlimited listeners, providing flexibility for a range of applications. https://plianttechnologies.com/products/crewcom/

Riedel The Artist ecosystem supports various audio formats and offers a decentralized infrastructure for scalable live-audio and intercom management. The Bolero wireless intercom system features advanced DECT technology, providing multipath tolerance, NFC beltpack registration, and 18-hour battery life. Available as 1.9 GHz and 2.4 GHz and able to be used standalone or integrated with Artist, Bolero is a versatile, DECT-based wireless intercom system operating in the license-free 1.9 GHz and 2.4 GHz ranges and serves as a wireless beltpack, wireless keypanel, or two-way radio.

Riedel also offers PunQtum, an IP-based digital partyline, and the TAC in-ear headset, designed for demanding environments. PunQtum is an IP-based digital partyline enabling straightforward deployment of a network-based partyline intercom. TAC ultra-lightweight in-ear headset features maximum intelligibility and a secure fit, along with a noise-canceling microphone and an XLR connector. https://www.riedel.net/en/

RTS Built on AWS infrastructure, the new RVOC (RTS Voice Over Cloud) delivers real-time, secure, and scalable communication suited to broadcast, sports, and live event productions. With RVOC Elevate for management, RVOC Engine for cloud-based intercom, and RVOC Edge as a mobile key panel, RTS provides a complete hybrid solution ensuring extremely low latency and high availability, as well as interoperability with RTS hardware and software. Supporting up to 2,400 non-blocking ports, RVOC enables seamless multi-location collaboration while preserving existing intercom investments.

Powered by DECT technology, RTS Nomad seamlessly integrates with digital wired and wireless and legacy analog systems. The IP-65-rated hardware withstands extreme environments, from bustling stadiums to high-pressure broadcast studios, with 16 full-duplex channels, an intuitive icon-based menu, and 18+-hour battery life. Nomad

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/02/06/tech-focus-intercoms-part-2-wha...
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