LQ: The Swiss Army Knife of Intercom

At-Home (also referred to as Remote Production, Home-Run and REMI) production has moved from a fringe experiment to a primary consideration for nearly every remote event. At-Home production support is no longer considered unique to sports, or to major productions. It's now common to all events, big and small, held away from a studio.

You could theoretically trace the At-Home concept back to the early days of remote broadcasting, where communicating with the remote production team and talent has presented challenges for decades. At-Home workflows experience latency and other audio quality control issues typically related to the IP linking of the production. Though intercom (PL) and talent cueing (IFB) are simple in concept and exist in known workflows, managing these feeds in the At-Home context is something many crews are re-learning. Solutions centered on telephone or early generation IP interfaces are not easy to configure and present time-consuming obstacles to staff who are not familiar with these technologies.

There are solutions though.

Clear-Com®'s LQ IP interfaces, first introduced in 2014, are Audio-over-IP interfaces that move and distribute audio and communication signals to and/or from one or more communication points. LQ interfaces work over a wide range of networks (LAN, WAN, and Internet) and allows users to extend their intercom footprint by connecting systems and devices via audio over IP, SIP, GPIO, and iOS or Android mobile intercom apps. Instead of having to run new cables for every communication requirement, users simply need an Internet or IP connection for the LQ. An added bonus - all of the 2-wire LQ products can supply power for up to 20 hard-wired beltpacks, eliminating the need for extra power supplies. Because of these capabilities, LQ Series devices should be considered an essential tool for every broadcast network, mobile truck company, and rental house working on At-Home Productions. The efficiency and low maintenance requirements of LQ frees up resources to support other demands surrounding At-Home productions.

There is so much that LQ can do - it is truly the Swiss Army knife of intercom.