Public broadcaster Televisió de Catalunya (TVC), based in Sant Joan Despí near Barcelona, has deployed Clear-Com's intercom technology for its growing outside broadcast (OB) van operation. TVC has migrated from an aging intercom system to the Eclipse Digital Matrix platform from Clear-Com, with each of its five OB vans now equipped with an Eclipse PiCo frame.
The investment has also enabled TVC to upgrade from its existing Drake 4000 Series II system to a sophisticated Digital Matrix designed to meet its changing needs. Designed for small to mid-size production environments including OB vans, Eclipse PiCo offers 36 full-duplex panel/4-wire ports, including four four-wire ports, in a one-rack unit (1RU) chassis.
Each Eclipse PiCo has two power supplies for fail-safe redundancy and eight on-board general purpose inputs and outputs. Each PiCo matrix is connected to the new V-Series range of panels as well as existing (refurbished) 4000 series panels from the old Drake system.
The Listen Again feature on the V-Series panel employs digital audio memory to replay the last 30 seconds of received audio from all sources routed to the digital recorder as a mix, aiding communication in noisy and demanding environments, which is common in OB vans. Advanced digital signalling processing (DSP) in the V-Series gives the operator increased control over their panels' audio, including routing, mic EQ, mic limiting and headset sidetone. Panel keys offer customisable mix level control, intelligent dimming and local IFBs.
The Clear-Com systems were supplied by Spanish distributor Aicox Soluciones, formerly Ibérica de Componentes (Ibercom).
"TVC has had a Drake system installed for many years, so the selection of Clear-Com for its OB operations was a natural progression," said Jose María Alvarez, director of the Department of Broadcast Systems for Aicox Sistemas. "Clear-Com's flexible and reliable linking capabilities, including its ability to connect with OB vans via trunking, are a plus for our customers. Plus, its new V-Series panel offers unique features that are important for OB van users, including the ability to replay conversations."
