Riedel Intercoms Embraced in Cologne

CBC Cologne Broadcasting Center, the TV production, technology, and broadcast provider of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, equipped its new broadcasting facility with an intercom matrix system from Riedel Communications.

Following the relocation of Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland to the former site of the old convention center in Cologne, CBC decided to install a Riedel intercom matrix in the new facility. Riedel Communications supplied CBC with a total of five Artist mainframes and more than 100 control panels.

Two Artist 128 mainframes are used in the two control rooms of the main studio. Additional Artist 128 frames are installed in the master-control room and in two other studios. An extra Artist 64 is set up in the broadcasting operations room. More than 100 Artist 1000 and Artist 2100 series control panels are used.

The redundant ring configuration of the Riedel Artist intercom matrix makes it the perfect solution for broadcasting applications. Even in the unlikely event of a connection failure between two devices, the operation of the rest of the system is guaranteed. The full summing architecture allows non-blocking matrix sizes of up to 1,024×1,024 ports.

The Artist 1000 and Artist 2100 series control panels are designed for complex intercom installations. The Artist 1000 panels each have two auxiliary analog I/Os that can be used for a variety of applications, such as the integration of external audio devices or line audio signals. Three GPIOs per panel make relay circuits possible to control call lights or other devices. MADI client cards are used to integrate the Lawo audio router into the system.

“The flexibility of the system and its redundant layout, vital for live broadcasting, were the reasons we decided to choose a solution from Riedel,“ says CBC CEO Thomas Harscheid.

For the easy configuration of the intercom matrix, the configuration software Director allows programming via drag and drop. The Director plug-in Partial Files expands the software by adding the possibility to create and save partial configurations of a running system. This feature is invaluable for both large systems or any system where multiple computers are used to simultaneously program the matrix. In addition to the Artist intercom matrix, 35 AIR headsets from Riedel are used. The headsets’ ultra-light design makes it possible to wear them comfortably over a long period of time. The new facility will start broadcasting this year.