Global TV recently updated its Toronto studio complex, installing a Riedel Communications Artist Digital Matrix Intercom System, which includes six Artist mainframes (nodes) connected by fiber over 80 control panels for Performer Digital Partyline and Connect Solo telephone interfaces.
Global TV, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp, broadcasts on 10 television stations and reaches 96 percent of English-speaking Canada. The network is the Canadian home to many popular U.S. shows, such as “Survivor,” “24” and “Entertainment Tonight,” as well as producing Canada’s most-watched news program.
Riedel was in a unique position to meet Global TV’s upgrade, according to Gary Hodder, the Broadcast System Designer on the project. The decentralized architecture of the Artist intercom system with its integrated fiber solution, he said, was one of the key reasons for choosing the product. In addition, the system’s ability to route broadcast-quality AES audio and incorporate IP-based solutions for remote locations were important factors contributing to Global TV’s decision.
Within the Reidel system, nodes of various sizes connect over fiber to form a single decentralized non-blocking matrix. Each individual node is populated with Client Cards for interfacing to a variety of control panels and audio formats, including 4-wire, AES and MADI. The control panels are connected digitally to mainframes bringing AES audio to the panel over either CAT5 or coax cabling. Other interfaces provide access to POTS and ISDN telephone lines, Audio-over-IP and professional two-way radios.
