Cleveland, OH (June 10, 2019) – The Telos Alliance—globally recognized provider and trusted partner in IP audio solutions—worked closely with New York Digital and Visom Digital, authorized reseller for Infinity IP Intercom in Brazil, to spec the Telos Infinity™ IP Intercom system for this year’s Lollapalooza Brazil in São Paolo, April 5-7, 2019, helping the event attain seamless communications on a matrix-free IP backbone.

Globosat—a division of Rede Globo, the largest broadcaster in Latin America—had the need to tie all the stages and production center of Lollapalooza Brazil together, and turned to New York Digital to provide that expertise. Grammy and Emmy award-winning Director of New York Digital Danny Littwin worked closely with Globosat's lead engineer, Fabio Costa de Almeida, to specify the Telos Infinity matrix-free IP intercom system as the principal interface between various and disparate systems, pulling together communication sources from across the entire event into the Infinity ecosystem.

Matrix-Free Design Streamlines Production

Danny chose Infinity for its matrix-free design, giving the event’s producers more flexibility to add expansion panels easily and on the fly while taking up less space in the truck.

“It was necessary to have something that would take up very little physical space and be able to be controlled remotely and changed instantaneously,” says Danny. “While matrix technology does let you make changes remotely, the fact is that you have to have a lot of physical space for its rack, plus all the peripherals. In the case of Infinity, we had only one rack unit worth of equipment, including a half-rack Axia xSwitch and a half-rack Telos Alliance Mixed Signal xNode. This was the only equipment that needed to stay in the van, everything else was remoted to other places.”

The Infinity system was set up with Partylines for both Lollapalooza’s on-air directors and producers, allowing them to communicate clearly and instantaneously with any one of the event’s stages. “Even in 120-degree heat inside the truck, there were absolutely no difficulties in communication, which speaks to the resiliency of the Infinity equipment,” says Danny.

Zero Learning Curve

Because Danny had to leave the concert for several days to attend the NAB Show, it was important that he be able to set up the system easily, then teach the chief and communications engineers how to use it quickly, trusting that they would be able to operate it in his absence. “I was able to teach them how to launch the Infinity Dashboard software, how to manipulate the system, and turn it on and off so they could use it without me being there,” says Danny.

In fact, one of the most common questions that arose as Danny was teaching the crew how to use the Infinity system was “How do I add an expansion panel?”

His answer: “You simply take a cable, plug it into the switch, plug it into the head, allow a few seconds for the new piece of equipment to be recognized, and you’re ready to go,” he says. “No need to add a card or expansion slot. To which they replied ‘That’s it? That’s easy!’ They were delighted.”

Labeling Saves the Day

Small details like how Infinity panels are labeled, proved to be lifesavers for the team. “The color-coded switches are great because you can color the panels by groups,” says Danny. “We had a group for Director, Lighting, Stage, and Production, all with different colors. Additionally, the text labeling was very easy to read. We had two people with the name Rodrigo, and we never got them confused. Labeling is extremely important because the people using the system may not have a lot of technical aptitude and they need to make snap decisions and push buttons very quickly. You can program the buttons all from the Dashboard GUI, too, so it’s easy.”

Will he use the Infinity IP intercom system again?

“Absolutely, the fact is, installation is minimal. Being all IP-based, it’s very plug-and-play with none of the problems associated with matrix systems. That’s a very big plus!”

Learn more about the advantages of Telos Infinity IP Intercom here

Download Photos of the Lollapalooza Event Here

Contact krissy.rushing@telosalliance.com for more info. 

About The Telos Alliance
The Telos Alliance is a global leader in audio, trusted by the biggest names in the media landscape. Telos Alliance's exclusive focus is to deliver innovative, intuitive solutions that inspire the creation of the most exciting and engaging audio experiences imaginable. No audio challenge is too big; no technology is beyond reach; no solution, large or small, is unobtainable. The Telos Alliance portfolio of brands includes Axia® Audio, Linear Acoustic®, Minnetonka Audio®, Omnia® Audio, Telos Alliance®, Telos Infinity®, Telos® Systems, and 25-Seven® Systems. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, with additional offices and dealers around the world, the Telos Alliance supports the diverse needs of audio professionals around the world with best-in-class support 24/7.

CLEVELAND–The Telos Alliance announced this week that it has entered into an exclusive agreement to market, sell, and support Jünger Audio-branded products globally.

“The addition of Jünger Audio products to the Telos Alliance portfolio further increases our ability to address the specific needs of the market, especially with respect to global audio processing standards and regional preferences,” said Tom Swidarski, CEO, The Telos Alliance. “Bringing more choice and solutions to a wider base of audio professionals worldwide is a strategic objective.”

Last summer, Jünger Audio entered insolvency and in February, sold off its divisions to several companies including woks audio GmBH and Riedel Communications.

The Telos Alliance says it will support Jünger Audio globally to sustain established business relationships and current projects, while enabling future opportunities. Telos will work with woks audio GmbH to develop enhancements for existing solutions and new products to supplement the Jünger Audio portfolio and its renewed growth.

Telos will display Jünger Audio processing products at its booth (SU3921) at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 8-11.

NEW YORK—Audio systems are being required to handle many more channels than 5.1 plus stereo. In the consumer world, Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos can support multiple channels for an immersive audio listening experience. For those who can’t add more loudspeakers to their listening rooms, solutions such as Yamaha Sound Bar, can provide a 3D-like sound field without the bulk. And major MSO Comcast will be supporting Dolby Atmos in its Xfinity X1 platform starting in 2016.

At the broadcast, production or origination end of the spectrum, we’ll need to rethink our audio systems to accommodate the growing requirements of next-generation audio, an umbrella term Tim Carroll, Linear Acoustic founder and Telos Alliance chief technology officer, prefers to use. This covers object-oriented audio, which can provide immersive audio, personalized audio, visual descriptions, multiple languages, headphone rendering and more.

MORE CHANNELS 

One of the big changes is the multitude of audio channels that will be required. Instead of BNC or XLR connections, multiple channels of audio will be carried on an RJ45 connector and interconnected through an AES67-based network using computer network switches. This will obviate the need for another audio system mainstay, the crosspoint-based routing switcher. No more determining matrix configurations or what sources need to be available to what destinations.

And maybe even more radical, now that most of us have gotten used to SDI where audio is carried along with the video, audio and video will need to once again go their separate—although synchronized—ways.

If you’re thinking of upgrading your plant or creating new, build in an AES67 network. Carroll said, “No matter what happens with audio, an [AES67 network] will be able to handle it. It will be more expensive to go SDI and SDI will probably not be able to handle it.”

The audio network shouldn’t be the same as that used for business computers and devices like printers, Carroll advised, but digital telephony could be carried on an audio network, and can have some advantages in tying in phone calls to an audio production system or server.

Certain off-the-shelf network switches can be used. Carroll said that Telos has tested and certified switches that they stand behind for broadcast-grade networks. The list can be found on the Telos Alliance website.

Reliability for an audio network is key. It must run 24/7 with no signal delays. This may not be something a business IT department is used to, and must be considered when determining who will maintain and monitor the system. Education on all sides can help the transition.

The audio network will need to be synchronized with video and other technical networks, but that has been made easier with the passage of two recent SMPTE standards, ST 2059-1 “Generation and Alignment of Interface Signals to the SMPTE Epoch,” and SMPTE ST 2059-2 “SMPTE Profile for Use of IEEE-1588 Precision Time Protocol in Professional Broadcast Applications.”

These standards are based on the IEEE 1588-2008 standard for Precision Time Protocol (PTP) and written to address sync requirements for professional audio and video systems.

Manufacturers of master sync generators are starting to make PTP available. An example is the Evertz 5601MSC, where PTP is an option.

While it looks like over-the-air broadcast of next-gen audio will need to wait until ATSC 3.0 is completed, streaming is an option today. Broadcasters don’t necessarily have to wait before upgrading their audio systems.

“AES67 can handle multiple audio channels in a single RJ45 connection using network cable,” said Ken Tankel, platform manager, TV Processing at Linear Acoustic. “This is much easier, more space-efficient and likely less expensive than placing multiple BNC connectors on the rear panel of a device. A user should consider what AES67 can offer. This includes audio contribution, audio monitoring, metering, and the ability to control source/destination connections anywhere an IP network can reach. All of these things can be done without needing a dedicated hardware audio router. We think that there are many places to start.”

One of them is the on-air chain. For example: “Linear Acoustic has the SDI x.Node that interfaces two HD/SD SDI I/O to 16 pairs of AES67 I/O. We also have separate audio processing and loudness control with AES67 I/O,” Tankel said.

Fig. 1 shows an example of how AES67-networked equipment can be incorporated in an on-air signal chain.

Fig. 1: An example of how AES67-networked equipment can be incorporated in an on-air signal chain

THE ADVANTAGES OF AES67

Production is a big area that can take advantage of AES67, not only for a single control room/studio complex, but especially across multiple studios and control rooms, as different control surfaces, stage boxes, IP servers and audio processing can all be easily linked, as well as the on-air devices. The same could be said of mobile trucks.

While audio over IP has been in use in radio facilities for over a decade, now that AES67 has been standardized, it should see more use for audio for TV or video. Production audio console systems from such manufacturers as Lawo, Studer, and Wheatstone offer AES67 capability, and Calrec has announced AES67 support with products out in the future.

“It is an ideal time to look at the equipment and manufacturers that you want to use and find out if AES67 interfaces are already available or planned for,” Tankel said. “The industry is in a transition and designing with AES67 in mind will become easier, and more common, as more manufacturers choose to include it in their products. Audio consoles, intercom, audio DAWs video editors, telephone, ISDN and IP-based audio transport, audio processors, loudness controllers and playout systems are just a few of the places that AES67 can find immediate application in the television facility.”

There could be an argument to wait a bit until AES67 becomes a feature in equipment you are interested in. And there are some things in flux. Still to be standardized are such functions as audio naming conventions, advertising and discovery, as well as carrying GPI control, and there is ongoing work in that direction.

No matter what one chooses to do now, it’s important to start becoming familiar with AES67 and networks in general.

Mary C. Gruszka is a systems design engineer, project manager, consultant and writer based in the New York metro area. She can be reached via TV Technology.