Ontario-based A/V equipment rental firm RP Dynamics has purchased a Clear-Com FreeSpeak II 1.9GHz roaming wireless system – the first to be sold into the Canadian rental services market.
RP Dynamics is renting FreeSpeak II systems either as standalone wireless intercoms or in combination with a Clear-Com Eclipse-HX Matrix digital intercom frame, with up to 15 FreeSpeak II programmable beltpacks. ‘Traditional digital rental systems have been hindered by lower quality audio, higher latency and decreased range in comparison to their analogue counterparts,’ says RP Dynamics’ Broadcast & Wireless Specialist, John Christie. ‘FreeSpeak II checks all the boxes, and then some, by conquering extremely difficult coverage areas, delivering high bandwidth and quality, user customisation, and selectivity.’
With its ability to support up to five separate channels per beltpack, the FreeSpeak II standalone and FreeSpeak II Integra (integrated Eclipse HX combination) can be combined with the flexibility of the Eclipse-HX Digital Matrix Frame for a wireless intercom system with connections to moree than 16 partylines.
‘We recently deployed a Clear-Com Eclipse-HX matrix intercom to the Rogers Sportsnet hockey TV coverage facility at CBC Toronto’s downtown studio,’ Christie says. ‘We had such success with Clear-Com’s earlier model, the CellCom wireless intercom system, in achieving complete RF coverage throughout this 11,000-sq-ft studio that we jumped at the opportunity to purchase the FreeSpeak II system when it became available, because our customers deserve access to the very best and the most flexible wireless intercom systems on the market today.
‘Any event with four or more channels of typical two-wire intercom quickly becomes an unruly mess of hiss and ground loop buzzes. The Eclipse-HX eliminates all of that instantly and adds a significant degree of control to the flow of information. More people can talk to each other directly without interrupting other show operations.”
The FreeSpeak II wireless intercom system operates in multiple license-free bands (1.897-1.933GHz), delivering improved roaming capability for reliable wireless connections, and the ability to serve large-scale, multi-zone production areas. The FreeSpeak II’s Active Antenna system provides cellular-like roaming to beltpack users, using distributed antennas to provide complete venue coverage.
‘Although we have only recently purchased FreeSpeak II, it has quickly become one of our most popular rentals,’ Christie says. ‘Once our clients learn how much more control and flexibility it gives them, they never want to go back to conventional partyline intercoms.’
More: www.clearcom.com
