Riedel supports BBC Scotland facility

Riedel Communications, a manufacturer of digital intercom and radio solutions, has been selected by Siemens Business Services to provide the intercom system for BBC Scotland’s new state-of-the-art broadcast center at Pacific Quay in Glasgow. The staff will start moving into the 34,000sq meter broadcast facility in April 2007. It should be fully operational in the summer 2007.

The system, Europe’s largest intercom installation to date, is based on Riedel’s Artist digital intercom platform, which will manage more than 1264 intercom ports.

Siemens Business Services, the primary systems integrator, is responsible for the design, build and implementation of the broadcast technology and infrastructure as part of BBC Scotland’s move to the new digital headquarters. The broadcast center merges TV and radio broadcast production environments under one roof, presenting many challenges for the intercom system.

BBC Scotland chose Riedel’s 1000 series control key-panels, 14 Artist 128 digital intercom matrix systems, one Artist 32 system for the PQ intercom solution and Riedel’s digital Performer beltpack system, which will be used for TV productions. The Performer series will be integrated with the matrix intercom environment via the same configuration software.

The 15 Artist mainframes manage a matrix of 1264 x 1264 ports. The mainframes are networked in two redundant fiber-optic rings. One ring is dedicated to the TV production’s intercom, the other one for radio production. Both rings are intelligently connected by Riedel’s trunking solution, Trunk Navigator.

While the intercom system is configured using Riedel’s own Director software, it is also controlled using BBC Scotland’s own Network Control System, in tandem with Riedel Router Control Software.

For more information, visit http://www.riedel.net/.