Thomas Riedel
Q. What kind of products or services does your company offer for broadcasters?
Riedel is one of the leading manufacturers of intercom, fibre, audio and radio solutions for broadcast applications. Riedel’s most popular product is the Artist digital matrix intercom solution, which offers up to 1,024 x 1,024 nonblocking ports. Riedel’s latest product is MediorNet — a fibre-based real-time signal transport solution for HD/SD video, audio, intercom and data. Furthermore, Riedel RockNet offers a real-time digital audio network solution. Acrobat wireless digital intercom and Performer digital partyline intercom complete Riedel's broadcast related portfolio.
Q. What’s new that you will exhibit at the NAB Show and that TV broadcasters should look for there?
At the NAB Show Riedel will showcase additions to the MediorNet product range such as MADI and RockNet client cards, which provide connections to the RockNet audio network. We will present new software-based signal conversion and processing features for the MediorNet platform such as the framestore. In addition, Riedel presents the VCP-1004 Virtual Panel, which allows a regular computer to be used as an intercom control panel in combination with any Artist digital matrix intercom system. Several new products will be announced at the convention.
Q. How is your new product offering different from what’s available on the market?
MediorNet is a completely new approach to signal distribution for HD video, intercom, audio and data signals that minimizes cost and effort in installation and maintenance. It provides seamless Artist intercom integration and allows not only point-to-point links, but also point-to-multipoint routing. The processing card offers the individual routing of all native signals within the 16 4.25 GBit/s ports, resulting in a router capacity for 32 x 32 720p/1080i signals, 160 x 160 SD-SDI signals, 27,000 x 27,000 AES signals or any combination of these per node. Furthermore, MediorNet offers integrated software-based signal processing and conversion. This significantly reduces the amount of equipment needed and minimizes costs.
Q. How has your company been affected by the current economic situation and what are you doing to get through it?
Riedel’s overall performance was very good in 2009; we did make our numbers, which were very ambitious and planned before the recession even started. However we have also seen less business with intercom due to the fact that less projects where in the market. Our new MediorNet product did compensate very much. Since MediorNet does help companies save money it seems to be the right product at this time.
Q. Where are you based, and how many employees do you have? Anything else we should know about your company?
Riedel is based in Wuppertal, Germany. The company was founded in 1987 and today employs over 200 people located within eight locations in Europe, Australia, Asia and North America. In-house R&D with over 35 engineers and German-based manufacturing according to ISO:9001 guarantee for excellent product quality.
