
Clear-Com is giving Mass Communications students at the University of Montevallo an education in the IP-based intercom technologies used in today's professional production environments.
The university, located near Birmingham, Alabama, is using Clear-Com's Eclipse HX Digital Matrix, Station-IC Virtual Desktop Client and the Agent-IC Mobile App as teaching tools and hands-on production technologies, helping students complete a range of broadcast and production functions as part of their coursework.
In TV production, youve got to be hands-on, said Jay Cofield, Professor. Theres no way around it.
Montevallo's Mass Communication program covers broadcast production and multimedia journalism as well as emerging media technologies. The students carry out a range of TV and media functions: live shooting, remote and studio production, editing, set design and on-camera talent. They also produce newscasts, music shows and live-streams of on-campus sports and special events: graduations, guest lectures and Founder's Day, a Montevallo tradition.
Throughout the department's control room and studios, the team now uses a mix of older Clear-Com systems (such as the Concert multi-user Intercom-over-IP and conferencing solution) combined with the newer Eclipse HX system integrated with Station-IC and Agent-IC.
The university's new studio opened in 2017 and as the program's curriculum expanded to keep pace with the broadcast industry's rapid production developments, Cofield and the department recognized the need to step up every aspect of its technology offerings, including intercoms.
Until 2017, we were mostly single channel, with everybody crowded on Channel A, he said. It was a matter of pushing a button and trying to talk over somebody. Now, having the ability to assign channels for private or targeted conversations is a night and day change. The students are able to see first-hand how comms are really handled in a professional production environment.
When it comes to intercom on a shoot or event, channels are typically allocated for a faculty supervisor, a director, producers, associate producer, graphics, teleprompter, an ENG shader or a technical director depending on the production's needs-now these roles can be managed using Agent-IC and the new Station-IC desktop client.
Station-IC is one of the latest product releases from Clear-Com. Through a computer running MacOS or Windows operating systems, users can connect natively to a central intercom system hosting such key services as audio and control, panels, beltpacks, or even endpoints from other intercom systems.
Our Eclipse is tied into our Midas Pro-X audio console and our Ross Ultrix router, Cofield said. That configuration, together with Agent-IC, makes doing remotes around campus easier.
For remote productions, faculty will give a remote engineer on-location one of its four Agent-IC licenses to be able to talk back to the control room and send return audio. The team will use a tie from the Eclipse system into the Ultrix to record party lines so students can hear what they sound like on comms or listen to someone giving show directions - another way for them to experience how communications functions are handled on a set or in a studio.
With our old system, we were tied to the studio, Cofield said. We didnt really have the ability to go out and do anything remote. Now, we can set up a remote anywhere that has Wi-Fi with Agent-IC and have instant intercom. As a faculty member and a producer, I can monitor all student communications and switch quickly to any channel to answer questions or do troubleshooting. Its super flexible and life-changing to be able to do that.
The department's enhanced comms capabilities also serve as a valuable teaching and instructional aide. From the perspective of a teaching institution, the ability to record the PLs quickly and easily lets me go back and tell the director/professor to emphasize certain techniques more to a class or to even point out when a student producer really performed well on an assignment and made the production come off much smoother.
Looking ahead, Cofield is confident the school's current comms configuration is capable enough to take the department well into the future while also providing a unique competitive advantage in attracting students who are looking for real-world experience and modern technology.
There aren't many programs like this for undergrads, especially here in the Southeast, and we're continually growing our program, he said.
The school's vision for its Mass Communications department was to have it be a campus communication hub, not only allowing remote productions, but also connecting classrooms and other learning spaces across campus, Cofield said.
What I wanted most of all was industry-standard technology to give us the highest levels of flexibility and capabilities for our budget, and that's what we get with Clear-Com.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
22/09/2026
From Malaysia to Mexico and from DR Congo to Ukraine, this year's 12 finalists for the 2026 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year award tell extra...
22/09/2026
The annual preseason content-gathering event brought 36 NHL players to Las Vegas, where ESPN used 2.5 kilowatts of laser power and a motion-control camera syste...
22/09/2026
Neumann has introduced the KK 104 A (cardioid) and KK 105 A (supercardioid) wireless capsule heads, succeeding the KK 204 and KK 205. The new capsules are compa...
22/09/2026
The NFL and TMRW Sports have announced a new annual Pro Flag Showcase to be held during Super Bowl LXI week in Los Angeles. The event will feature top flag foot...
22/09/2026
Washington State University has unveiled a new end zone video display and audio ...
22/09/2026
Disney's SVP of Live Operations and Engineering details the technology behin...
22/09/2026
Cosm has announced two senior promotions. Mazen Alawar has been promoted to SVP,...
22/09/2026
Mississippi State University's University Television Center has purchased four KOKUSAI DENKI SK-UHD7000-S2 cameras since 2024, with plans to add two more, a...
22/09/2026
Net Insight has announced that Christine Kjellvard will assume the role of interim Chief Financial Officer on November 1, 2026. Kjellvard has previously held in...
22/09/2026
Net Insight has announced Zyntai TimeNode Access, a compact PTP Grandmaster designed for distributed edge sites. The product carries secure, precise time across...
22/09/2026
Sam Hazeldine, Austin Amelio, Padraic McKinley, Julia Jones, and Ethan Hawke attend the premiere of The Weight at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park...
22/09/2026
Second high-gain tone plug-in released
Following on from their debut release, Chainsaw Suite, Avalanche Tones have announced the launch of their second plug...
22/09/2026
Uncompressed audio with below 6ms of latency
Lewitt's have just introduced their first pair of headphones which, despite being aimed primarily at studio...
22/09/2026
Two new capsule heads for Sennheiser wireless systems
Neumann have announced the upcoming launch of the KK 104 A and KK 105 A, a pair of new premium condens...
22/09/2026
Apogee Plugins Are Moving to Plugin Alliance We're excited to share an important update about the future of Apogee plugins.
Apogee plugins are moving to Pl...
22/09/2026
Parkland, Florida, US, September 22, 2026: SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, has been honored wit...
22/09/2026
VanityFilter 3.1.5 adds project files and adjustable protection around lips, bro...
22/09/2026
Chile's TV Modernizes Broadcast Operations with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton September 22, 2026
0 Comments
URSA Broadcast G2 brings versatility...
22/09/2026
OWC Shares Sneak Peek at Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Pricing
Brie Clayton September 22, 2026
0 Comments
Image courtesy of Deposit Photos
Business and ...
22/09/2026
Berklee's First Homecoming Block Party Brings Alumni Home for Global Music F...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
From Academy Award-winning Passion Pictures and BAFTA-winning director Marian Mo...
22/09/2026
Tuesday 22 September 2026
Portrait Artist of the Year returns to Sky Arts with ...
22/09/2026
Whether it be from the sun or from our phones and other devices, we are all exposed to electromagnetic radiation in some shape or form. With the dramatic growth...
22/09/2026
Comscore's latest AI Intelligence Report Shows Competition Intensifying as C...
22/09/2026
The Factory-X Project Sets Standards for Data Sovereignty in Industry
Arvato Systems Brings Digital Sovereignty to Industrial Practice
Factory-X Successfully...
22/09/2026
LONDON Apple today announced the opening of Apple Music Hall, a brand-new state-...
22/09/2026
RT , Creative Ireland and Shared Island Initiative ask young artists
to respon...
22/09/2026
To build and deploy sophisticated robotics applications that can perceive, reason and act in dynamic environments, developers need new physical AI models and to...
21/09/2026
Manifold Technologies, developer of software-defined, FPGA-accelerated infrastructure for live production, has named Ryhaan Williams as Chief Commercial Officer...
21/09/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has won Best Journal Article at the 2026 IAMT Impact Awards for What Video Editors Need When Everything Is Changing Around Them,...
21/09/2026
Major League Wrestling (MLW) has announced a streaming distribution agreement with Tubi for its weekly series MLW FUSION. Beginning September 17, new episodes w...
21/09/2026
Disney Entertainment has announced that Adam Smith has been named Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer, with responsibility for Disney and Hulu including product, engi...
21/09/2026
United Airlines and DISH have announced an agreement to bring live professional ...
21/09/2026
SES and JioStar have announced a multi-year agreement under which SES will provide satellite distribution services for JioStar's television channel portfoli...
21/09/2026
The Detroit Red Wings have announced details for their inaugural season on Detro...
21/09/2026
Manifold Technologies has appointed Ryhaan Williams as Chief Commercial Officer for North America, effective October 1, 2026. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Wi...
21/09/2026
Angels Broadcast Television (ABTV), the local television home of the Los Angeles...