Clear-Com’s Tempest2400 Powers Communications for Caracol TV

Caracol TV, Colombia’s number-one television broadcaster, has chosen the Clear-Com Tempest2400 digital wireless intercom as its communications system. Tempest2400’s ability to provide reliable, flexible, and interference-free communications has added efficiency to the overall production workflow at Caracol TV, enabling production staff to coordinate the channel’s numerous programming offerings with greater ease.

Clear-Com’s Tempest2400 digital wireless intercom in use on the set of Caracol TV’s reality TV Program Yo Me Llamo (My Name Is).

Caracol TV’s busy production staff, which handles a heavy daily programming slate of news and game shows, sporting events, and telenovelas (Spanish-language soap operas), cannot afford to lose time to resolving communication challenges. These issues arise when an intercom drops audio or experiences RF interference from other devices operating in the studio or field. That’s why the broadcaster turned to the Tempest2400, which features state-of-the-art 2xTX Transmission Voice Data Redundancy. This sends each packet of audio data twice on different frequencies and through different antennas, ensuring uninterrupted audio communications. In addition, the Tempest2400 is designed with Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) technology, which utilizes a narrow band signal that is continually changing frequencies to cut through RF noise and interference.

The Tempest2400 is also able to connect with the broadcaster’s wired intercom in its main studio and production truck, adding more communications capability for the production team. The Tempest2400 works well outdoors just as it does indoors, which is especially useful for Caracol TV’s broadcasts of Latin American soccer games.

“We were using a wireless intercom from a different provider, and had a lot of problems with interference,” says Caracol TV Audio Department Chief, Juan Pablo Cañizares. “When we bought the Tempest2400, I just plugged it in and it worked beautifully. It completely solved the interference problem. We liked it so much that we purchased four two-channel versions in addition to the four-channel version that we already had. Also, I like that it has multiple channels, as it allows us to designate one channel for audio, another for lighting and so forth.”

Other features of the Tempest2400 system that makes it ideal for Caracol TV include its stage announce with relay closure function and its ability to integrate seamlessly with the broadcaster’s existing wired intercom systems. The stage announce with relay closure function enables staff members to talk over the Caracol TV PA system through a Tempest2400 BeltStation.

“We’re proud that such a prestigious Latin American broadcaster as Caracol TV has chosen to use Clear-Com’s Tempest2400,” says Jaz Wray, regional sales manager, Southwestern USA and Latin America, Clear-Com. “Tempest was specifically designed with the needs of such a broadcaster in mind.  We understand when it comes to the hectic pace of a popular broadcast network, they do not have spare time to manage RF interference issues.  Caracol TV joins a growing list of Tempest users in Colombia and we look forward to assisting the broadcaster with its professional intercom needs for many years to come.”