Televisió de Catalunya uses an AEQ Xplorer wireless intercom on its own corporate Wi-Fi network

It is integrated into a Conexia system that covers the CEI news continuity building in Sant Joan Despí, including terminals in other TV3 production centers.

The Catalan Corporation for Audiovisual Media (CCMA) has incorporated a Xplorer wireless intercom of AEQ. This new technological addition completes the system Conexia, also from AEQ, deployed in 2014.

Xplorer is more than a beltpack, it is a true wireless intercom user panel. Based on WiFi technology, is equipped with a user interface with 4 shortcut keys organized in pages, two other programmable keys, and a multifunction screen.

5 GHz WiFi technology. facilitates installation, commissioning and maintenance of the system since it is a generic technology implemented throughout the world, and that even allows sharing the existing wireless network.

The Beltpack Xplorer can work on any Wi-Fi network that has the “roaming” function that allows you to move freely throughout the entire coverage area. For this reason, use the WI-FI pre-installed by TV3 as corporate network, with access points and controller Enterasys (Extreme Networks), the same one that is used to provide service to internal and guest users to offer them Internet and other uses, saving the need to specifically deploy a network of access points for wireless intercom.

Xplorer is equipped with a user interface with 4 shortcut keys (x 4 pages), mute and menu, with a multifunction screen, in which, among others, the keys or controlled destinations are independently configured, the input level of each interlocutor, the battery charge level and the WiFi signal level are represented. It has double volume control to give direct access to adjusting the level of the main interlocutor, differentiating it from the rest.

Their dimensions and weight are reduced, It is protected from bumps and splashes, it can be attached to a belt or hung from a ribbon, to be used as a shoulder bag. Its antenna is internal, with high gain, and has an autonomy for 20 hours of work (with multiple base recharge).

The use of wired user panels, and the Beltpack Xplorer, extends to the four sets and their controls, a double central control (Traffic + Central Control), four continuity controls, multiple editing rooms and the writing room.

A peculiarity of the installed system is that the corporate Wi-Fi extends to the territorial centers, which allows communication with wireless beltpacks deployed in different cities. There are currently 14 Xplorer terminals in service.

Conexia expansion

The Conexia platform deployed at TV3's headquarters has been expanded and updated as TV3's operational needs have grown, since its installation in 2014. It is made up of the BC2000D audio center matrix, currently 512 x 512 circuits, distributed in two physical locations, the News and Sports Controls, as the nucleus where all the panels deployed in the production center are connected.

The matrix has redundancy in all its components, from double controller, redundant power supply, automatic backup DSPs, and extra input and output modules, as a guarantee of uninterrupted operation 7/24.

In 2020 it was updated to AES67 compatible Dante AoIP technology, with the inclusion of two redundant network cards for a total of 128 channels to connect panels, audio consoles and input and output terminals through audio over IP.

More than 60 wired intercom user panels, in all the Sports, News and Traffic departments of CCMA and the rest of the CCMA television channels in its headquarters in Barcelona as well as in the three provincial delegations of Gerona, Lérida and Tarragona.

The project, thanks to the flexibility of Conexia as a whole, involves a very varied combination of panels, to adjust to the specific needs of TV3, with 24-key and 16-key user panels, with analogue and digital audio, including AoIP Dante. The installation has been developed to suit the operational needs of TV3, an application for configuration and operation of the intercom system in real time, avoiding the need to download a complete pre-configuration to develop live modifications to the system.

The entire project has been led by the head of CCMA Engineering, Jordi Escalera and the Chief Engineer, Albert Bargallo, in collaboration with AEQ's central technical services in Madrid, and Nacho Olivella, as Commercial Manager of AEQ for Catalonia.