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Digital Resources director of engineering Tim Davis with an equipment rack at the new FPMC in Dallas that includes an RTS ODIN digital intercom matrix.

Digital Resources Deploys RTS For Fair Park Multimedia Center in Dallas

New facility at Fair Park on the city's east side equipped with an ODIN digital intercom matrix, including KP-3016 keypanels strategically located in each control room work area.

The new Fair Park Multimedia Center (FPMC), a 17,000-square-foot production facility at Fair Park in Dallas, is equipped with an RTS ODIN digital intercom matrix in a systems project designed and installed by Southlake, TX-based Digital Resources.

Operated by the city’s Public Information Office, the FPMC offers an array of content creation tools, with a full video production studio, voiceover and podcast rooms, a news insert stage and eight edit suites. The ODIN digital intercom matrix is joined by a virtual set green-screen system, robotic and studio cameras, wireless microphones, and a full LED lighting grid. There are also AV-equipped meeting and conference rooms in the facility.

“This is a turnkey facility and every studio and control room needs to be able to talk to the other, so selecting the right intercom system was critical,” says facility designer Tim Davis, director of engineering for Digital Resources. “We went with the RTS ODIN. It’s a broadcast standard, and we’ve had a lot of success with it. For Fair Park, we chose the configuration with 32 ports. It’s our go-to intercom system, with the flexibility to accommodate multiple simultaneous projects without constant reprogramming. It’s very easy to operate, and 32 channels is more than enough for any combination of workflows they may require.”

ODIN (OMNEO digital intercom matrix) comes in a compact 1 RU package that offers the latest IP technology along with analog connectivity. Programming the RTS system to meet the FPMC’s needs was a major focus for Digital Resources, both in terms of room layout and connectivity.

“Facilities like this usually have a smaller, multi-tasking staff, with people accessing multiple work areas at the same time – like video switching, teleprompter, and audio mixing,” explains. “That means designing the control room ergonomically so it can be operated by just two or three people. Same thing with intercom routing: we learned all their workflow preferences so that every crew position can operate smoothly and communicate clearly within any production scenario.”

RTS KP-3016 keypanels are strategically located in each control room work area, equipped with MCP-90-12 gooseneck microphones. Crew positions utilize RTS PH-88R5 single-sided headsets. Another key element is the RTS ROAMEO, a DECT-based license-free wireless beltpack system used by the studio floor manager, which allows movement while working with talent and other crew anywhere in the studio. Digital Resources also tied a playback system for the insert stage and the talent IFB system into the ODIN matrix.

“I’ve used other intercom systems, but in my opinion, RTS is the most user-friendly, both in terms of system design and operation,” Davis states. “We work directly with the facility staff to configure and name everything appropriately. When questions come up, RTS customer support is phenomenal – always ready to pick up the phone to answer any questions.

“After training, the staff actually started using the facility about a month before the ribbon-cutting, to establish a level of comfort as things came online,” he concludes. “That was especially important for some of the video equipment. As for the intercoms, there hasn’t been a single issue. And that, in a nutshell, is why we prefer RTS.”

Equipment List:
1x – ODIN-32 OMNEO digital intercom matrix
7x – KP-3016 OMNEO intercom station keypanel
5x – MCP-90-12 gooseneck mic for intercom stations
1x – AP1800 ROAMEO wireless access point
1x – TR1800 ROAMEO wireless beltpack
4x – PH-88R5 lightweight single-side intercom headset

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Digital Resources

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