Riedel launches "standalone" version of Bolero and a new SmartPanel

At NAB 2018, Riedel is introducing the Bolero standalone application, a licensed enhancement that will provide performance improvements along with standalone capabilities.

Surrounded by great mystery and as is usual in the presentations of Riedel At large fairs, the company's CEO, Thomas Riedel, has unveiled a new SmartPanel of the 1200 series with paraphernalia in the purest secret agent style.

The new RSP-1232HL panel represents a qualitative leap in flexibility, power and workflow connectivity. Featuring multiple full-color multitouch displays, 32 innovative hybrid joystick keys, the ability to leverage applications for functionality, and the ability to easily adapt to the various workflows in use today, this new panel is positioned to allow users to work as they always have, while opening up completely new possibilities for them.

The two-year research and development effort behind the RSP-1232HL panel has included input from many users and industry professionals. Every aspect of existing panel technology has been evaluated, from component spacing to look and feel.

The result is a 32-key user interface in which each toggle key has an integrated rotary encoder that provides parameter control in the same location as the key. The levers have been carefully designed to have the perfect shape, weight, comfort, response and anti-fatigue qualities to effectively redefine the way an intercom panel should feel.

El RSP-1232HL se ha diseñado para apoyar diversos flujos de trabajo. Algunos usuarios de intercomunicadores prefieren flujos de trabajo de tipo “Talk & Listen”, en los que el usuario elige qué escuchar desde un panel inicialmente en silencio. Otros flujos de trabajo prefieren un flujo de trabajo “Talk & Mute”, en el que los usuarios comienzan con un panel que retransmite todo y los usuarios eligen de forma selectiva qué señales desactivar. Los usuarios deciden qué modo prefieren en cada panel.

Inventing a dashboard from scratch also allows for new features that go a long way in making the dashboard easier for users to understand. Riedel's new logic grouping concept allows users to choose custom colors for the key labels or the LED rings around each key. Each key label has an eight-character main label, a 16-character sublabel, and user-defined icon labels. Along with this, there is a signaling mechanism using icons to indicate to the user what state each key is in at any time. Open Mic, Muted Key, Incoming Beep, or Port Busy are easy to read and understandable at a glance. Users can get as much information as they need on any given key.

Connectivity is always an important aspect for Riedel and it was important that the new panel took advantage of both the AES3 digital connectivity that the company has always used, along with the SMPTE 2110-30 (AES67) connectivity that it has adopted in recent years. AES67 connections are two fiber SFP and two RJ45 connections that create multiple daisy chaining and redundancy options for extraordinary cabling flexibility.

Other features include phase-accurate stereo speakers, front panel microphone muting and tone adjustments, front/rear USB, Bluetooth and NFC connectivity (as on Riedel's Bolero wireless range), GPIO and quad-wire ports and a light sensor for self-calibration of screen brightness in changing light environments.

Bolero, now “standalone”

With the standalone version of Bolero, the antennas are daisy-chained together in a redundant line or ring over a synchronized low-latency TDM network. The solution is truly plug-and-play, with no IP configuration required.

A new external feed can power up to five antennas, so power and data redundancies are easily achieved.

A single RU half-width external interface box, with six four-wire analog circuits and three GPIOs, can be connected directly to any antenna and then patched into an existing intercom system. The system is easily configured through the antennas internal web GUI.

Other new capabilities provided by the update to the Bolero intercom system, now one year old, include individual rotary programming, Bluetooth headset support and a new QuickMute feature built into the belt that allows users to easily set the volume of all channels to zero.

Wolfgang Fritz, senior product manager at Riedel Communications, highlighted that "the standalone version of Bolero is a perfect wireless intercom solution for rental companies, customers with smaller needs where the intercom needs can be met exclusively thanks to the flexibility of Bolero and customers who have already invested in other intercom solutions. With superior sound quality, outstanding RF performance and a simple interface, many more users will now be able to enjoy the benefits of Bolero."