Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 2 - An Increasingly Competitive Market

Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 2 - An Increasingly Competitive Market Offerings are available for IP, wireless, and cellular platforms By Dan Daley, Audio Editor

Thursday, February 11, 2021 - 12:18 pm

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By pro-audio standards, intercoms constitute a small market sector, but it's one that so critical - and, in the age of supercharged REMI production, increasingly competitive. Here's a look at the latest offerings from the market leaders.

Click here for Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 1 - Pandemic Speeds Evolution.

Clear-Com LQ Series IP interface

Clear-Com's HX Digital Matrix, LQ Series of IP interfaces, and Agent-IC mobile app have been critical in enabling seamless communications for remote-production activities during the coronavirus pandemic. Agent-IC has been used extensively to provide an easy-to-implement communication solution between facility-based staff and production teams on location for field reporting, live event production, remote coordination, and other critical tasks. Literally at-home production personnel who have downloaded the app onto their smartphone, tablet, or wearable device can connect to a host Eclipse HX digital matrix or local and remote LQ IP interfaces over 3G, 4G, LTE, and Wi-Fi networks. App users have a fully functional intercom panel that can monitor the intercom system and receive IFB feeds. 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, including wired beltpacks, SIP clients, or any Agent-IC mobile app user. Local and remote LQ devices can host up to 48 Agent-IC users, where LQ acts as a server for the app. With a host Eclipse HX matrix, many more Agent-IC users can access the production intercom remotely; the number able to access the main intercom can vary depending on the quantity of IP ports on the E-IPA cards. LQ devices can link industry-standard 2-wire intercom and 4-wire audio systems, irrespective 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.

Pliant Technologies CrewCom CB2 wireless intercom

CrewCom wireless intercom system from Pliant Technologies features full-duplex wireless radio packs and extreme range, with multiple RF access points that connect via copper (100 m) or fiber (10 km). CrewCom wireless products are available in 2.4-GHz and 900-MHz models (the latter are limited to where this band is legal). Any combination of these frequency bands may be simultaneously used on the same CrewCom system, providing the ability to put RF coverage where needed while deploying a consistent user interface throughout the system. CrewCom offers a significant price advantage for larger applications, when comparing the actual cost of deploying multiple wireless users in a production.

Pliant's newest wireless-intercom offering, CrewCom CB2, available in 2.4 GHz and 900 MHz, offers the same proven CrewCom wireless technology while also providing ease-of-use and high-level performance at an affordable price point for a full-featured intercom system. CB2's straightforward design makes it fast and easy to set up but powerful enough for full-time professionals. With CB2, it's now possible to have up to six full-duplex wireless users on one system or easily add a second system for up to 12 users, without compromising audio quality or coverage.

Pliant's MicroCom XR digital wireless intercom system provides full-duplex, multi-user intercom for applications where high-quality audio, extended range, and affordability are essential. The system is a robust two-channel intercom system available in 2.4 GHz and 900 MHz and features ease of use, extended range, and the ability to have up to 10 full-duplex users and unlimited listeners, providing flexibility for a range of applications.

Riedel RSP-1216HL SmartPanel

Riedel's Artist digital-matrix audio and intercom ecosystem handles the widest range of audio formats, including AES3, AES67, AVB, Dante, VoIP, and analog. A fiber-based backbone provides a decentralized infrastructure for live audio and intercoms, with matrix sizes up to 1,024 x 1,024 ports in just 2RU. Multiple frames can be interconnected via dual optical fiber ring to form a single large, full-summing, non-blocking distributed matrix that looks like one system to the user. The Director configuration software is easy to use and boasts the industry's fastest upload times.

Riedel's Bolero is a full-roaming, DECT-based wireless intercom system in the license-free 1.9 GHz frequency range. Fully integrated into the Artist digital matrix intercom or used as standalone, Bolero offers robust features that can be applied as a wireless beltpack, a wireless keypanel, or a two-way radio. Several new technologies power Bolero's capabilities, including an Advanced DECT Receiver (ADR) for multipath tolerance improvement and near-field communication (NFC) for easy, Touch&Go beltback registration. Bolero also features six channels, Bluetooth connectivity, and nearly 18 hours of battery life. Three network modes are available for Bolero systems, each dedicated to specific applications:

Bolero Integrated leverages the Artist infrastructure, including SmartPanels and extensive I/O connectivity.

Bolero Standalone Link provides plug-and-play simplicity especially suited to smaller installations, portable deployments, or cases when Bolero needs to be interfaced to other systems without an Artist matrix.

Bolero Standalone 2110 (AES67) enables users to set up a standards-based (SMPTE 2110/AES67) IP network with no Artist required.

The network modes feature multiple full-color multitouch displays, innovative hybrid

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