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| The IP Intercom system includes rackmount & desktop stations, drop-in modules for Axia mixing consoles |
Axia Audio, the originators of IP-Audio networking for broadcast, are showing their exclusive line of broadcast intercom systems at IBC 2013 in Amsterdam.
Axia’s IP Intercom is the world’s only professional intercom system that works directly with IP-Audio networks. Like all Axia broadcast equipment, IP Intercom connects directly to Livewire studio networks via CAT-5: a single cable carries multiple channels of full-bandwidth audio and logic; no need for separate contact closures or control cabling.
The IP Intercom system includes a variety of rackmount and desktop stations, drop-in modules for Axia Element mixing consoles that provide a unique interconnection between intercom and console that allows any the audio from any station in the broadcast plant to be immediately brought to air, and a unique SoftCom PC application that can turn any connected PC with a headset into an IP Intercom station.
Axia Vice-President Marty Sacks says that intercoms are a natural part of today’s fast-paced broadcast environment. “Morning shows, phone-based call-in shows, interview programs, all-news stations — all of these move at the speed of light. Talent and producers need a fast, intuitive way to communicate with each other; IP Intercom gives them the most intuitive intercom tools ever. Push a button on the console and you’re talking to your producer using your board mic and cue channel. What could be easier?”
IP Intercom solves another age-old broadcast problem according to Sacks. “Sometimes news breaks and you’ve got to put a reporter on the air ‘right now’. In the old days, intercom audio fidelity was horrible. But IP Intercom audio is full-bandwidth 20 kHz audio, so you can take it to air without degrading your program quality. If you can hear it, you can record it, edit it, or put it on the air.”
The IP Intercom system features auto-answer and hands-free operation, bright, sharp OLED displays for maximum visibility, built-in speakers and front-and-rear-panel mic connections, and drop-in modules that integrate right into Axia consoles, to name a few.
“We’ve listened carefully to our clients and incorporated the best of their ideas into IP Intercom" |
New Features.
Axia developers have added new IP Intercom features to just-released v1.3 software, giving users even more power and flexibility.
“This is a major update,” says Axia software engineer Maciej Slapka. “We’ve listened carefully to our clients and incorporated the best of their ideas into IP Intercom. Features such as the ability to use IP Intercom as an IFB source to talk back to remote codecs or phone callers, and direct routing of IP Intercom audio to a Livewire-network audio channel, have clients talking about just how essential IP Intercom is to their operations.”
These new features include:
- IFB capability. IP Intercom can now be configured to interrupt any Livewire feed and talk to it, providing unlimited IFB capability without additional infrastructure or expense.
- Talk to Element talkback feed. IP Intercom can interrupt any mix-minus created by an Axia Element console, making it easy to talk to any Codec or Phone source receiving the console mix-minus.
- On-air sensing. IP Intercom monitors live Mic channels and mutes the Intercom speaker — no physical wiring required. A new BUSY indication tells other users that the station they’re calling is on-air.
- Alternate listening channels. Rackmount stations can send audio that would normally be heard on their built-in speakers to headphones or the studio’s Preview (cue) speaker.
- New “Listen-On” feature. This advanced option makes the selected external source listen channel active automatically, a very useful feature for Program Monitor configuration, or for use with a two-way radio that lacks a GPIO “Talk” signal.
