Beijing, China, July 16, 2008 – Thirteen of China’s leading broadcasters have selected Clear-Com® products for use within 14 OB vans including two that belong to China Beijing TV (BTV), during this year’s Beijing Olympic games.
“Broadcasters’ communication requirements for Olympic coverage are extremely stringent and challenging, as it is a non-stop environment where nothing can be left to chance,” comments Matt Danilowicz, Managing Director of Clear-Com. “We are honored that 13 broadcasters have placed their trust in Clear-Com, and we believe it speaks volumes about Clear-Com and its 40 year history of reliability and innovation. We are very proud to be so heavily involved in such a prestigious event as the Beijing Olympics.”
While each of the 14 OB vans is relying on different combinations of equipment to broadcast the games, all are depending on Clear-Com’s Eclipse® Digital Matrix to act as the heart of their communications systems. Available in a variety of configurations, the typical OB van setup will feature Clear-Com’s 32-port Eclipse digital matrix system and I-Series control panels with built in microphone headset connections and four display key modules along with a keypad. Designed with a high level of fault tolerance, Eclipse can offer continuous operation throughout the entire Olympics production with the ability to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, reinforced by built in layers of redundancy measures.
“I think live sports coverage is perhaps the most demanding broadcast challenge there is,” says Danilowicz. “When you are talking about a live broadcast, especially during such a high-caliber event as the Olympics, you need to be in constant contact with each of the moving parts. That means the people in the venue, in the control room, in the studio itself, as well as the on-air talent. It’s crucial that the communication link be up, running and functioning in a full tolerant mission critical fashion at all times.”
In addition to Clear-Com’s Eclipse Digital Matrix frames, many of the broadcasters have opted to add FreeSpeak®10 digital wireless beltpacks to provide fully integrated communications for the production teams that move throughout the broadcast centres and sporting stadiums. Based on a cellular architecture, the 1.9 GHz system operates on DECT technology that allows up to 10 beltpacks to roam seamlessly between remote active antennas.Broadcasters who have selected Clear-Com equipment for their OB van operations include:
1. BTV (2 vans)
2. Hunan ETV
3. STV (Shanghai)
4. Jinan TV
5. Guangdong TV
6. QTV (Qingdao)
7. Shandong TV
8. Zhejiang TV
9. Jiangsu TV
10. Dalian TV
11. Yunnan TV
12. Harbin
13. Heilongjiang
Going beyond Olympics coverage, several broadcast stations have already contracted to continue to use the Clear-Com equipment including Beijing TV and Shanghai TV. In addition, CCTV, China’s National Broadcaster, has purchased an arsenal of communication equipment that will make up the communications network during the Olympics that will include two of Clear-Com’s Eclipse Omega systems with 120 ports in total. All of this will form the heart of the network at the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC), the hub of all broadcasting activities for the Olympic Games, and CCTV’s new Television Culture Centre (TVCC), which will house administration along with news, broadcasting, studios and program production.
“Clear-Com has been investing in China’s broadcast market for several years, beginning with a local sales and support office based in Beijing,” adds Danilowicz. “Our continued success in this market signifies a growing need among China’s broadcasters for highly reliable, flexible and failsafe communication solutions. Clear-Com’s goal in China is to help broadcasters and networks maximize their communication investments with highly-advanced and future-proof intercom technology. The investments they make today for the Olympics will have long term pay off in their broadcasting needs into the future.”