July 2012 l 27 broadcastreport ITALY Total communications for intercom
Intercom is all about broadcast staff communicating with each other but now the race is on to make it part of a bigger technological communication network, writes Kevin Hilton
TECHNOLOGY IS always moving on but the rate of change today is surprising even those involved in the innovations. A good example of this is intercom. As soon as a standard to connect different IP-based communications systems has been established, manufacturers are now contemplating linking up with other audio and video equipment through one of two networking protocols under development.
Number of members of the OCA Alliance
9 Last year the European
Broadcasting Union published Tech 3347, laying down guidelines and specifications for the use of IP in intercom systems. This is based on the SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) format, developed by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) as an internet protocol for live communications to start and end voice or video calls. With intercom operations
moving more towards IP the main manufacturers in the field are producing Tech 3347-compliant systems. The next step is to expand the networking, integration and distribution capabilities of their products, with AVB (audio/video bridging or bridge) and OCA (Open Control Architecture) the two contenders. AVB is a generic open standard based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics
and has already incorporated the concept into its OMNEO media networking system. Senior sales manager Nico Lewis describes it as “absolutely the next step forward” and “the ideal professional media network” as it will allow the creation of a “single off-the-shelf network and cabling system for everything”. While this is attractive to large
Intercom technology is moving fast
Engineers) 802.1 and is designed for interconnection, networking and data centre bridging, carrying, routing and switching of audio and video signals over standardised Ethernet connections. The standard is backed by the
AVnu Alliance, with heavyweight support from members including Harman, Avid, Barco, Shure and Sennheiser. The OCA Alliance was formed in June 2011 by nine professional audio companies: Bosch Communications Systems, d&b audiotechnik, Duran Audio, LOUD Technologies, Media Technology Systems, PreSonus, Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup, TC Group and Yamaha Commercial Audio. OCA is described as a system
control and monitoring architecture and, because it does not have its own signal transport, is intended to work with any existing or future carrier. This includes AVB and the Audinate Dante IP over Ethernet networking system, which is also among the options for AVB. German intercom company
Delec Audio and Videotechnik is an OCA Alliance member as part of Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup. Delec founder Donald Dilocker sees AVB as “the technology for the near future”, as it is capable of audio over IP (AoIP); by updating Dante boards in its systems the company can offer AVB compatibility. But Dilocker views OCA as the more compelling technology. “Delec and the other Salzbrenner Stagetec Media Group companies are supporting OCA in order to ease the integration and compatibility of systems of any brand,” he says. RTS-Telex is involved in the OCA Alliance as part of Bosch
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