Madrid’s New Performing Arts Centre Installs Eclipse, Encore and FreeSpeak Intercoms
Madrid, Spain, November 13, 2008 – Clear-Com® Communication Systems, a Vitec Group brand, has won a round of applause from Los Teatros del Canal, a new multipurpose performing arts complex located in central Madrid. The facility, which opened its doors to the public just last month, is using Clear-Com’s Eclipse® Digital Matrix, Encore™ Partyline and FreeSpeak® systems to simplify internal communications for its staff members.
Due to its size, finding the right communications system for Los Teatros del Canal was no small feat. The complex, owned by El Canal de Isabel II, Madrid’s public water utility, comprises three large buildings – one with 900 seats split among two levels and an orchestra pit outfitted for 80 musicians, another that can accommodate up to 800 people and a third dedicated solely to dance performances. The facility required an intercom that was not only big enough to handle the communications needs of a large staff, but with range and reliability to allow people located in separate buildings to keep in touch.
“A facility of this calibre requires a lot from an intercom solution,” says Jose María Alvarez, director of the Department of Broadcast Systems for Aicox Sistemas, which supplied the Clear-Com equipment for the project. “Not only does it need to have multiple ports to accommodate large numbers of staff, but it must also be flexible enough to allow users to stay in contact across widely varying distances between the buildings. Combining the strength and reliability of Clear-Com’s Eclipse and Encore products with the flexibility of the FreeSpeak wireless intercoms was the perfect formula for Los Teatros del Canal.”
Los Teatros del Canal is outfitted with an 80-port Eclipse Omega Digital Matrix system, featuring 52 stations and interfaces for 16 partylines, four wires and four relays, along with six Encore Partyline RCS-2700 matrixes and 25 wired beltpacks. The FreeSpeak setup is configured around two E-Que “Cell Controller” cards with a 20-antenna network connected to 30 wireless beltpacks. The work was performed by systems integrator Bienvenido Gil, based in Zaragoza, Spain.
Clear-Com has designed their intercom systems for easy integration. By connecting multiple Eclipse Omega matrices, up to 3,120 users can be supported on a single networked platform. At the same time, the use of the E-Que “Cell Controller” card allows integration between the Eclipse and FreeSpeak solutions. In addition to this a recently introduced feature for FreeSpeak also allows users to seamlessly mix Encore Partyline users, external inputs and beltpack users in the same group without the hassle of different output volume levels.
“Clear-Com understand intimately the communications needs of large, multi-venue facilities as Los Teatros del Canal,” says Matt Danilowicz, Managing Director, Clear-Com. “Coordinating various productions across different buildings takes the intercom system beyond the traditional ‘four walls’ concept to make communications truly limitless.”
The Los Teatros del Canal centre for performing arts opened its doors in September, in Madrid, with an inaugural performance by the acclaimed Spanish musician Nacho Cano.
Note: FreeSpeak® and CellCom® are different brands representing the same digital wireless intercom system (with minor technical differences). Due to trademark limitations, CellCom and CellCom Integra (formerly CellCom50) are only available in the USA and Canada; and FreeSpeak and FreeSpeak Integra (formerly FreeSpeak50) are available in all countries other than the USA and Canada.