Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 1 - Moving Deeper Into Wireless, IP, Virtual Territory Spurred by the pandemic, comms changes in remote production are likely permanent By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
With remote production entering entirely new levels during the COVID pandemic, intercoms have been front and center like never before. It's a position they're not going to relinquish anytime soon. The need for production-team members to communicate from a wide variety of locations and positions gave new and literal meaning to the phrase at-home production.
At the same time, wireless and IP-based intercoms - the former moving to new parts of the post-FCC-auction RF spectrum, the latter leveraging audio's migration to networked infrastructure - continued to make steady inroads in the workflow. But any technology sector that moves that quickly is bound to experience some growing pains.
The Pandemic Effect The pandemic's Delta and Omicron waves have made AoIP platforms even more necessary for intercoms, says Michael Marston, director, sales, Unity Intercom.
Unity was used especially heavily in November and December for major sporting events as remote production became an immediate mandate once again, he says, noting increased use for NFL and college-basketball broadcasts. In many productions last month, I heard reports of a surge in team members' testing positive, sending key positions of production workflow back to working from home. Unity is usually used as a way to extend onsite audio frames and IFBs to mobile, on cellphones, laptops, and even tablets - all sending and receiving audio as if they were onsite. In many cases, an onsite producer on a keypanel, for example, wouldn't even know that the comms audio he's hearing is from a team member located a thousand miles away or more on their iPhone.
He adds that Unity systems are increasingly being integrated with RTS and Clear-Com systems, as well as with production audio consoles, as a way to extend audio wirelessly for use by remote-production-team members during, say, NBA and NFL broadcast productions.
Says Marston, Comms using Unity Connect and audio transport over IP have clearly found permanent implementation in the production ecosystem.
Virtualization As AoIP/VoIP has become more integrated into pro audio in general and intercoms in particular, virtualization is another significant trend. In the past year, Telos committed itself to that with the introduction of its VIP (Virtual Intercom Platform), which the company describes as the first fully featured cloud-based intercom system. According to Telos VP, Business Development, Martin Dyster, it's an approach that moves further from matrix-based intercom designs by basing the system on a cloud-based server that can manifest as a virtual comms panel anywhere on any browser.
Telos' Martin Dyster: Virtualization is something that intercoms and other audio systems were headed towards in the long run.
The pandemic definitely drove that development more quickly than it might have gone otherwise, he points out, but virtualization is something that intercoms and other audio systems were headed towards in the long run.
Telos essentially redeployed the DSP of its Infinity IP intercom platform, which is also matrixless, in a cloud environment using Docker, a set of platform-as-a-service products that apply OS-level virtualization to deliver software in packages called containers.
When VIP is initialized in the cloud, the administrator deploys a container per panel to build a comms system of the size required, Dyster explains. Each container then establishes a connection to a macvlan [Docker's own network infrastructure] on the server, which supports AES67 multicast communication between the virtual devices, enabling voice traffic between intercoms in exactly the same way it would with hardware panels connected on an AoIP LAN.
A beta version of the VIP platform hit a nerve, says Dyster, driving interest. VIP has also been released on AMPP, Grass Valley's Agile Media Processing Platform intended for cloud-based live production. VIP on AMPP supports essential intercom functionality: partylines, IFBs, groups, peer-to-peer communication.
That arrangement underscores how intercom's move deeper into AoIP and cloud-based environments and the intercompatibility that accompanies it are changing the nature of the industry.
There's still plenty of business out there for the big, $100,000 central-matrix model of intercoms, but virtualization is a shift that customers are asking about, says Dyster, noting that audio consoles - including Telos's own radio desks - are among the platforms that have already moved to productize that trend and that esports has embraced alternative intercom platforms. It's not going to happen overnight, and it likely will change the business model, but the writing is on the wall. We feel we're on the precipice of that, and it's exciting.
The Shadow of 5G Gary Rosen, VP, sales, Pliant Technologies, whose flagship CrewCom wireless system is widely used on sports fields as well as for other production applications, notes that the next round of RF-spectrum constraint is being propelled by the imminent arrival of 5G applications.
Pliant Technologies' Gary Rosen: [With] pressure on tighter spectrum [and] so many more RF devices being deployed, the solution for wireless-systems makers is to focus on how to increase density.
The pressure on tighter spectrum continues on an almost daily basis, he says. At the same time, there are so many more RF devices being deployed: intercoms, talent microphones, IFB, in-ears, wireless parabolics, even the RFID tags on uniforms and equipment. So the solution for wire
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
03/05/2024
NEW YORK FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key...
03/05/2024
Only 3 Weeks Left To Enter The Creative Industries Most Award
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Creativepool is giving a last call to the creative i...
03/05/2024
WePlay Studios Transforms the Future of Live Event Storytelling with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
By 2032, the esports market is expec...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent, sat for a keynote chat at The Business of TV News, with Tom Umstead, senior co...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Asked how important is local news, Martha Raddatz, who has covered foreign conflicts for decades and moderated presidential debates for ABC News, s...
03/05/2024
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer fo...
03/05/2024
CBS announced its 2024-2025 primetime schedule, which features the new dramas NCIS: Origins, Matlock and Watson, and new comedies Poppa's House and Georgie ...
03/05/2024
Sports-focused streaming service Fubo said it reduced its red ink in the first quarter, despite losing 110,000 subscribers since the end of the year....
03/05/2024
Walmart is reportedly about to release a new 4K streaming box/smart speaker hybrid device for Google TV that could retail for as low as $50, according to a repo...
03/05/2024
Enhancements to its Delivery Workspace solution provide increased content delivery robustness and security
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 3, 2024
Enha...
03/05/2024
According to reports, if the bid is successful, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder of the new private company
By Jenny Priestley
Published: M...
03/05/2024
Located in Manchesters Spinningfields district, the course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and industry insight for a career in the creative s...
03/05/2024
Lightbridge has created a new Cine Reflect Lighting System kit, dedicated to enabling artistic lighting with consideration of today's productivity practical...
03/05/2024
Broadcast media systems integrator BeckTV and Lawo worked together on a large-scale AES67 build of radio control rooms at KPBS, San Diego's NPR and PBS memb...
03/05/2024
Raleigh, NC, April 12, 2024 SmallHD announces PageOS 6, a powerful software update free for owners of SmallHD monitors, featuring increased functionality, exp...
03/05/2024
SmallHD announces the Quantum 32 a new 31.5 OLED monitor designed to provide reference HDR/SDR images for post-production final color grading, as well as cri...
03/05/2024
By 2032, the esports market is expected to grow to $9.29 billion, bolstered by a global player count and fan following that both continue to climb. The 2023 Lea...
03/05/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that the 11th edition of the Amagi Global FAST Rep...
03/05/2024
Riedel Communications today announced that Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is relying on a media and intercom network based on Riedel technology for the renewal of...
03/05/2024
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
03/05/2024
Media technology innovator Limecraft will exhibit the latest updates to its online platform on stand G79 at the 15-16 May 2024 Media Production & Technology Sho...
03/05/2024
Audio interface specialist Prism Sound is partnering with console manufacturer Solid State Logic, professional monitor manufacturer PMC and acoustic panel and d...
03/05/2024
Intinor, Sweden's leading developer of products and solutions for high-quality video over the internet, is set to join forces with its UK partner Zest Techn...
03/05/2024
NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting physical, virtual, cloud, and SaaS environments, announced its Q1 2024 financial results to...
03/05/2024
Hiltron Communications announces an addition to its range of satellite communication products and systems: a field-upgradable motorisation kit specifically desi...
03/05/2024
Visit LiveU at Stand D30
With this year an exceptional one for major sporting events alongside multiple, key elections, the power and flexibility of LiveU'...
03/05/2024
Agile Content, the leader in the development of technology and solutions for the provision of television services over the Internet, announces Koldo Unanue as i...
03/05/2024
Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committee...
03/05/2024
BOSTON Brightcove has announced that it has implemented Amazon Q Business, a new generative AI assistant on Amazon Web Services (AWS)....
03/05/2024
NEW YORK CBS has declared that it will finish the 2023-24 season as Americas Most-Watched Network in primetime for the 16th consecutive season....
03/05/2024
A new survey indicates that U.S. businesses and consumers had an overall positive attitude towards their technology spending plans in the first quarter of 2024,...
03/05/2024
Sony and Apollo Global Management have sent an offer letter to Paramount Global's board of directors making an $26 billion all cash offer for Paramount Glob...
03/05/2024
EMG / Gravity Media has appointed Charlie Cubbon chief operating officer (COO) and Jamie Hindhaugh regional CEO for the U.K., U.S., Australia and the Middle Eas...
03/05/2024
Final 2024 Season Games to Air Saturdays on WRAL at 10:30am in May, Championship on June 1
Taping for the final episodes of the 2024 season of WRAL-TV's Br...
03/05/2024
Estrella MediaCo said it is expanding its connected TV portfolio by launching three new channels with Curiosity that will first appear on Samsung TV Plus....
03/05/2024
Nielsen said that actors' union SAG-AFTRA has selected Nielsen as its third-party provider of streaming content measurement....
03/05/2024
Cineverse said it has released a public beta version of cineSearch, its artificial intelligence-based system designed to help users find content to watch....
03/05/2024
Court TV said that its series Accomplice to Murder with Vinnie Politan is returning for a second season beginning May 5....
03/05/2024
Paramount Advertising said it is working with Mastercard and research and analytics company EDO to measure the impact of advertising campaigns and improve their...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON The panel The Growth of Local Programming happened at The Busines...
03/05/2024
Katz Media Group said that Craig Broitman will become president of the company, succeeding Leo MacCourtney, who announced that he is retiring effective July 1....
Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 1 - Moving Deeper Into Wireless, IP, Virtual Territory Spurred by the pandemic, comms changes in remote production are likely permanent By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
