TMZ upgrades video production with RTS
- Details
Intercoms at TMZ studios have always been an RTS affair, based on an ADAM-M digital matrix system, KP-12 and KP-32 keypanels, and BTR partyline wireless beltpacks. With the need to vacate the UHF frequencies used by their BTR system due to FCC rule changes, the TMZ team recently upgraded the wireless portion of their RTS system.
In consultation with Bexel, their broadcast integrator, they installed an RTS Roameo wireless system with 12 TR-1800 beltpacks. Four AP-1800 wireless access points spread throughout the facility enable users to move seamlessly between the studios, control rooms and post-production.
Brett Kotheimer, TMZ director of broadcast operations, first saw Roameo at the NAB show and saw how advanced the new system was. “We needed a good, solid wireless system for our floor crew, and Roameo certainly is that,” he says. “But this system really takes things to another level. It puts a virtual keypanel on your hip. It can access basically any crosspoint on the matrix, so each pack can be personalized for the user. That customisation was a huge feature for us.”
TMZ installed four AP-1800 access points across their production areas, including postproduction. “Now we have clear reception everywhere in our facility with no dark spots, with the system smoothly handing off the beltpack from one access point to another,” notes Justin Richardson, TMZ broadcast engineer. “There are no clicks or pops, no audible changes as the user walks through.
“This is really helping our entire workflow,” continues Richardson. “With the OMI card installed, mobile users can now access the matrix frame and access Dante sources and destinations, just like a desktop keypanel. Yet it’s still compatible with the old two-wire IFB system we use on our interview stage, which really makes it an affordable upgrade.”
Brett Kotheimer reports the TMZ engineering team and production staff are very pleased. “Roameo is the perfect upgrade for us,” he says. “It addresses our present needs without changing our RTS matrix, and it opens up new capabilities in terms of workflow and we’re ready for future expansion. We’re extremely happy with our investment.”
(Jim Evans)
