Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 1 - Dynamic Technology Adjusts to Whatever Comes Next Multiple approaches - wireless, IP, the cloud - are available but not without obstacles By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Over the past decade, intercom technology has evolved into a multilane highway. A couple of the channels were turned into express lanes by the COVID pandemic, with intercom users, including sports broadcasters, forced to seek alternatives. Some lanes have been slowed by other extenuating circumstances. And there are plenty of potholes to navigate.
Sports broadcasters are looking for everything, says Michael Brown, regional sales manager, Mid-Atlantic and Upper Central States, RTS, because they never know what they're walking into or what they'll need for a show or what might change when they're there.
The first new lane on that highway was the move to wireless connectivity, but that was hemmed in by the FCC's constriction of the 700 MHz and then the 600 MHz band - think of the highway sign that warns Road Narrows Ahead, No Shoulder. Then came lanes dedicated to audio over IP (AoIP) and, subsequently, to cloud-based virtualization.
Brown notes additional FCC restrictions atop the loss of spectrum, including limits on output power and antenna directionality, further complicating wireless intercom operations. Even so, it remains the primary mode for large-scale deployments. AoIP and virtual comms show promise as alternatives but have their own intrinsic limitations.
Cloud-based comms sound good, he says, but the first things the people on the trucks ask is, Whose cloud, whose server? And AoIP is limited to 100 meters - 328 ft. - before [the signal] needs to be boosted, which is not something every situation allows. That's why sports broadcasters want all of these options available to them.
In response, Brown notes, RTS has developed hybrid-type workarounds, such as its RTS Voice Over Network (RVON) TCP/IP-based VoIP product. The Odin frame is a multiformat analog-to-Dante audio frame, allowing existing analog users a migration path to interface with existing data networks, including Dante, thus extending the system's scale. Its ROAMEO system takes wireless to the 1.9 MHz DECT frequency range, addressing earlier spectrum loss.
Away From Hardware, Toward the Cloud Over the past two decades, the Telos Alliance has been shifting away from hardware-based matrixing and toward AoIP-based operation and then on to the cloud, according to Telos VP, Business Development, Martin Dyster. Its Telos Infinity Virtual Intercom Platform (VIP) fully featured cloud-based intercom system launched in 2021. Much of its evolution was sparked by the COVID pandemic, he notes, which accelerated what had been a trend toward remote broadcast production by budget-sensitive television networks.
Telos's Martin Dyster: If you have a cellphone, tablet, or computer, now you also have an intercom panel.
But, he adds, the pandemic had another effect: It created a component shortage, and we, like many other companies, couldn't build anything, pushing product development further in a virtual direction. As a result, if you have a cellphone, tablet, or computer, now you also have an intercom panel.
Of course, moving into a virtualized environment has its challenges. For instance, browser-based interfaces can be vulnerable to online interruptions, as anyone working on Zoom or Teams has learned. The potential applies to any foray into internet-based connectivity. Dyster acknowledges that concern, one shared by just about every other industry sector that extends its reach through employees' devices. Announced in February, Telos's Infinity VIP App extends operation of the Infinity system to iOS and Android mobile devices, mirroring Infinity's current HTML5 browser-based VIP panel offering.
On the one hand, browser-based operation continues the company's mission of putting a panel virtually (and literally) anywhere. But it also comes with such issues as maintaining compatibility with Apple's and Google's steady stream of OS updates for those devices, updates that can be quite buggy in their initial iterations.
On the other hand, the phone version, described by Telos as a companion application, isn't intended to replace Infinity's other versions but rather to extend its reach at a time when broadcast sports productions are experiencing and experimenting with novel - and often disruptive - workflows.
Another response to virtualization was Telos's announcement, in October, of a partnership agreement with Vizrt. The resulting Viz Now SaaS-type portal, hosted by Vizrt, is intended to simplify and automate more of the intercom operation in the cloud environment.
Right now, Dyster says, [intercoms in the IP environment] are in the midst of constant innovation and testing to meet customer needs and expectations.
Customers Are Asking The pandemic focused users on alternative remote-production techniques. As COVID receded, the need for more ways to manage comms on a show persists, but it's not one-size-fits-all.
Clear-Com's Kris Koch: IP connectivity adds tremendous flexibility in how teams communicate and adds valuable third-party integration as well.
Our customers are asking for more ways to connect their teams, which are spread across multiple venues and locations, says Kris Koch, business development director, broadcast, networks and media production, Clear-Com, and REMI workflows have continued to grow and mature after the pandemic.
He points out that the digital diaspora of operators during COVID put a new premium on flexible comms solutions: IP connectivity, he notes, adds tremendous flexibility in how teams communicate and adds valuabl
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 1 - Dynamic Technology Adjusts to Whatever Comes Next Multiple approaches - wireless, IP, the cloud - are available but not without obstacles By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
