Clear-Com Revolutionizes Global Football Draft with Gen-IC Virtual Intercom System
ALAMEDA, USA – July 9, 2024 – Clear-Com® is proud to announce the successful deployment of its cutting-edge Gen-IC® Virtual Intercom and SkyPort™ Virtual System Management Platform at the major 2024 football draft event. This groundbreaking technology facilitated seamless communication for 36 at-home users and 20 remote draft picks across the globe, including countries such as Germany, Mexico, Nigeria, Ghana, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Spain.
Dave Ragains, Broadcast Engineer at Show Machine, shared his insights on using Gen-IC for this high-profile event: "Like anything, you choose the right tool for the job. Gen-IC was the correct tool for our events because they tend to be pretty channel-intensive; with several users on the Draft using 24 channels. Gen-IC also offers a much faster connection time than LQ or even EHX architecture, so there was no holding your breath to see if a client was able to connect."
This grundbreaking technology facilitated seamless communication during the prominent 2024 professional football draft event, known for selecting top college players to join professional teams. The event, widely followed by fans of American football, saw the Gen-IC Virtual Intercom system ensuring smooth coordination among participants worldwide. Throughout the draft weekend, an impressive 765,000 attendees experienced the event, showcasing its immense popularity and broad reach. Clear-Com's Gen-IC Virtual Intercom system played a crucial role in ensuring smooth communication and coordination among participants, regardless of their location.
One of the key advantages of the Gen-IC system is its ability to offload complex IT tasks to the expert team at Clear-Com. "It’s also very nice to move some of the big-brain IT work off of my plate and let Clear-Com manage the servers, open ports, and keep the internet up. All I have to do is connect my LQs to Skyport, then point them at the correct workspace. After that, I can focus on providing customer support and getting everyone talking," Ragains added.
The Gen-IC Virtual Intercom and SkyPort Virtual System Management Platform represent a significant advancement in virtual communication technology for the broadcast industry. Designed to seamlessly integrate with existing hardware ecosystems or function as a standalone software solution, the system offers unmatched flexibility and scalability. Users can easily add virtual clients as needed, ensuring they can adapt to changing production requirements with ease.
Addressing the challenge of latency in virtual intercom systems, Clear-Com developed a unique application that can be deployed on selectable regional targets, minimizing latency and ensuring seamless communication. This innovation allows for unparalleled collaboration capabilities, making it ideal for mission-critical productions.
The Gen-IC system also features Clear-Com's award-winning virtual clients, including the Agent-IC® mobile app and Station-IC™ virtual desktop client, providing exceptional audio quality and reliability. Integration with Clear-Com's hardware ecosystems is streamlined through the LQ® Series IP Interfaces, eliminating the need for dedicated interfacing requirements and simplifying setup.
SkyPort, Clear-Com's Virtual System Management Platform, empowers partners to efficiently manage multiple customer sites and events through a single online application. This capability allows local administrators to handle events while benefiting from Clear-Com's extensive support network.
In conclusion, the successful deployment of Clear-Com's Gen-IC Virtual Intercom and SkyPort Virtual System Management Platform at the draft marks a significant milestone in virtual communication technology. This innovative solution is poised to revolutionize production workflows and elevate the broadcasting experience for users worldwide.