WUPPERTAL, Germany—Riedel Communications has announced that Liberty University, which serves over 135,000 students, has deployed Riedel's Artist ecosystem to enable clear, reliable communications across the campus. 

The robust system supports a diverse range of productions at Liberty University, totaling around 180 sports broadcasts, 180 entertainment broadcasts, and approximately 1,700 campus events.

The university worked with systems integrator Digital Video Group (DVG) to deploy the solutions across its expansive 7,000-plus acre campus with over 7.5 million square feet of building space in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The deployment of the Artist ecosysem included Artist digital intercom matrix, Bolero wireless intercom, and SmartPanels with multiple applications, such as the Audio Monitoring App (AMA). 

"In the past, intercom was merely a functional necessity in our industry; however, Riedel has managed to make intercom an exciting, innovative, and essential component of Liberty University's workflow," said Alex Martin, CEO of Digital Video Group (DVG). "We are genuinely impressed by the company's commitment to consistent technology research, design innovation, responsiveness, and collaboration."

The comprehensive installation encompasses the Artist-1024 decentralized, scalable digital intercom network and a substantial number of 1200 Series SmartPanels (including 71 RSP-1232HL panels and nine RSP-1216HL panels). Additional components such as the Audio Monitoring App (AMA), 90 Emmy® Award-winning Bolero beltpacks, 20 charger bays, and 30 Bolero antennas have contributed to a state-of-the-art communication network, Riedel reported. 

This extensive IP-based deployment not only enables the team to support scheduled events across campus with ease while reducing maintenance time and costs but also to cover more areas of the campus and to support ad hoc events as they pop up. For instance, the use of IP transport enables the team to essentially plug and play beltpacks and SmartPanels, which can feature multiple applications, anywhere on the campus network. In addition, the SmartPanel Intercom App, Riedel's Audio Monitoring App (AMA) enables operators to listen to multiple audio feeds simultaneously on the panel to quickly identify any issues, Riedel said. 

All venue communications depend on Bolero beltpacks, which have greatly enhanced the clarity of communications among sports and events staff, including timeout coordinators, A2, tech managers, stage managers, wireless camera operators, and engineers. 

"The audio quality is definitely crystal clear like you're standing next to somebody," stated Louis James, senior remote support engineer at Liberty University. 

"My favorite thing about the AMA function is the ability to dim or duck channels in either direction, making audio monitoring more flexible and dynamic, and contributing to a more sophisticated and efficient workflow," said Mike Gerringer, chief technologist at Liberty University. "Riedel's integration of this function is elegant and impressive."

"Users, both in and outside the broadcast team, are delighted with the SmartPanels and Bolero units," continued James. "The build quality, especially on the Bolero end, and the audio quality improvements, particularly in speaker mode on the key panels, are remarkable. Riedel's innovative design, such as placing speaker ports on each side, ensures clarity and avoids the muffled sound experienced with other manufacturers. Bolero's durability is evident, as we haven't encountered any issues despite widespread use and varying levels of user experience."

Liberty University's decision to adopt Riedel's solutions stems from the institution's desire for a reliable and efficient communication system to support the wide array of events on its large campus. Having switched from another supplier just a year and a half ago, the university opted for Riedel due to the superior quality of the product and the outstanding service they received at NAB almost two years ago.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with DVG and contribute to the success of the production and broadcasts at Liberty University," said Dover Mundt, Regional Sales Manager, Mid-Atlantic, at Riedel. "The partnership with DVG has been exceptional, and we are excited to witness the positive impact our technology is having on Liberty University's events."

Further information about Riedel and the company's products is available at www.riedel.net. 

LAS VEGAS—Pliant Technologies will be presenting High Density mode for both its CrewCom and CrewCom CB2 wireless intercom systems at the 2022 NAB Show (Booth C7118). High Density mode is a selectable mode of operation that greatly increases user densities. 

For CrewCom, this new software-selectable mode supports up to 32 Radio Packs (RPs) on a single Radio Transceiver (RT) while dynamically allowing any four of the RPs to communicate in full-duplex across four available talk paths, the company said. 

For CB2, the High Density mode supports up to 16 Radio Packs (RPs) on a single BaseStation. 

In addition, users of both systems will have the flexibility to simultaneously deploy “Normal” mode-enabled RPs and RTs (synced BaseStations for CB2) along with High Density mode-enabled hardware, providing adaptability for application-specific setups, Pliant reported. 

“We are excited to showcase High Density mode for both our CrewCom and CB2 intercom systems to those in attendance at NAB 2022,” says Gary Rosen, vice president of global sales for Pliant Technologies. “With this new firmware update that can be downloaded at no charge to all new and existing users, both the flagship CrewCom (firmware v1.10) and CrewCom CB2 (firmware v1.1) now offers our users a truly amazing value in professional wireless intercom.”  

The latest member of the CrewCom family, the new full-duplex, install-friendly and feature-packed CrewCom CB2, is an ideal solution for small to mid-level applications requiring a reliable, great sounding wireless intercom with excellent RF coverage and range, the company said. 

Available in both 900MHz and 2.4GHz frequency options as well as 900MHz Oceania and 2.4GHz CE compliant models, the system includes the CrewCom CB2 base station and up to six normal mode or 16 High Density mode CRP-12 radio packs to create a powerful but economical wireless intercom system. This latest solution from Pliant provides customers with two intercom channels as well as interconnectivity to all industry standard two- and four-wire intercom systems.

CrewCom is an professional wireless system featuring excellent 7KHz voice quality with 4-conference or 2-conference full-duplex Radio Packs, Seamless Roaming, the highest density of users in the industry, and a host of user features. CrewCom is based on a versatile decentralized, highly scalable network platform. CrewCom wireless products easily put dependable RF coverage where needed, all while employing a consistent user interface throughout the system, the company said. 

Also at NAB 2022, Pliant will be showcasing its MicroCom line of intercoms (MicroCom M and MicroCom XR), including the new 4-Wire I/O Interface and Two-Way Radio Headset Adapter (PAC-MC4W-IO) for MicroCom XR. This small-but-mighty solution adds additional users by connecting a MicroCom XR system to a variety of wired and wireless intercom systems that use an industry-standard 4-wire connection. In addition, it also offers a direct intercom interface from the MicroCom XR to many two-way radio devices. 

More information about Pliant Technologies is available at www.plianttechnologies.com.

ALAMEDA, CALIF.—As part of its presentation at IBC 2015, Clear-Com unveiled the DX410 Wireless Intercom system, a two-channel 2.4GHz digital wireless system. Among the features for the product are 7KHz wide band audio, all-in-one wireless headsets and lightweight beltpacks.

DX410 with BP410 and WH410

The latest in the DX series, in addition to 7KHz wide band audio, the DX410 also comes with an upgraded radio and a lost packet concealment capability. The DX410 features two-wire and four-wire bridging and two-wire auto-nulling. The bridging capability allows the option for combining the two-wire and four-wire ports together on channel A or B, allowing operators to use a four-wire to send all audio to a mixer, matrix intercom, or other audio source. Two-wire auto-nulling enables fast and accurate integration with Clear-Com or TW wired partyline systems.

Each DX410 base station can support up to 15 BP410 beltpacks and/or WH410 all-in-one headsets. In a single-channel operation, four beltpack users can engaging in simultaneous, full-duplex communication; it allows three users in dual-channel operation. In addition, the BP410 and WH410 offer extended battery life for up to 12 hours.

By operating in a 2.4GHz band, the DX410 does not require radio licensing for use. DX410 is a frequency hopping system and offers spectrum-friendly and Adaptive Frequency Hopping modes.

See the DX410 and all other Clear-Com products on display at booth 10.D29 at IBC 2015.