COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT
66 AUDITORIA 2019 VOLUME ONE
1116 commentary panels, the system used
Cymatic Audio’s uTrack24 devices, loaded with
Angelbird SSD hard drives, to manage line IDs
for the commentary booths.
The intercom
Crew communications were facilitated by a
robust intercom system anchored by four more
Artist 64 mainframes and more than 100 Artist
RCP and DCP intercom panels. The Artist
provided fully redundant, decentralized
distribution of all Bolero wireless intercom
signals, with 32 Bolero belt packs deployed to
the production team. Bolero’s Advanced DECT
Receiver (ADR) technology ensured clear
communications throughout the Altice Arena
using only six AES67-networked antennas. The
Artist infrastructure also supported nearly 600
Hytera and Motorola TETRA radios that were
easily incorporated into the Artist ecosystem
using Riedel’s RiFace radio interfaces.
“The Eurovision Song Contest has become
a massive undertaking, but our team lives for
this type of large-scale, immensely complex
challenge,” says Benedikt Leister, project
manager at Riedel Communications. “To really
appreciate what Riedel and Videohouse pulled
off for this year’s show, take a look at some of
the numbers – more than 5,000 buttons spread
across 200 communications panels, more than
800 intercom users and a record-breaking
46km 28.6 miles of fiber cable. We can’t wait
to see what the producers have in store for next
year, but we’re confident that our MediorNet,
Artist and Bolero technologies will be up to
the task and provide the robust and reliable
infrastructure needed to deliver a dazzling
and memorable show.” n
www.riedel.net
The Riedel MediorNet real-time signal
network backbone consisted of six MetroN core
routers, 24 MediorNet modular frames and
30 MicroN high-density media distribution
network devices. Deployed in a decentralized
configuration, the MediorNet network ensured
the fully redundant distribution of hundreds
of video feeds for monitors in the commentary
booths and for displays and projectors located
throughout the Altice Arena.
Also traveling on the network were thousands
of audio signals for commentary, intercom and
radio communications.
For the first time at the Eurovision Song
Contest, Riedel deployed a complete solution
based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
to support commentary booths for almost
30 countries covering the contest for their
local audiences. Anchored by four Artist 64
intercom mainframes and 40 Artist CCPMAKING
Above: Each blue rectangle
represents a MediorNet frame
or node. More than 60 nodes
were needed to complete
the signal backbone required
for the Eurovision Song
Contest. The green lines
represent fiber paths
Below: The control room
connected more than 800
intercom users
SENSE OF SECURITY
DECA, a Riedel subsidiary, provided an access control system
designed to simplify guest and crew entry into the arena, boost
security and provide efficient visitor management. The system
required personnel to pass through turnstiles where their RFIDembedded
credentials were swiped by stationary or wireless
reading devices, and the data was matched to an online
database. More than 5,500 credentials were issued.
In addition, Riedel worked with partner TPO to provide a
comprehensive IT and cybersecurity infrastructure including
1,000 switch ports, servers and 180 wireless access points for
up to 2,000 journalists in the press center.
More than 20,000 security threats were detected and handled
over the course of the event.
Ralph Larmann
/www.riedel.net