Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG) has adopted Riedel Communications technologies for its studio upgrade, including a comprehensive signal routing and crew communications backbone based on the MediorNet real-time network, Artist digital matrix intercom, and Bolero wireless intercom.
RTCG is the public service broadcaster of Montenegro with headquarters in the capital city of Podgorica. Work on the project started in 2019 and entails a complete infrastructure upgrade. The expansive project has positioned RTCG to offer premier coverage of sports events, including European handball, qualifying events for the 2021 Summer Games, European championship water polo, the division 1 league of Montenegro football, European women’s football qualifiers, and qualifiers for the European basketball championship.
The Riedel-based infrastructure at RTCG serves two master control rooms, one each for radio and television, along with five production control rooms, an audio postproduction suite, 12 editing rooms, and four commentator desks. In addition to the handball, water polo, and football broadcasts, the Riedel network will provide seamless, reliable, and high-quality signal transport and communications for RTCG’s UHD coverage of the upcoming summer games from Tokyo, Japan.
“We had key requirements for our signal transport and communications upgrade – namely, decentralization, a high degree of flexibility, and the ability to transport and route signals over fiber. As a proven solution that’s well-established in the market, Riedel MediorNet was the perfect choice,” says Dejan Vujović, deputy general manager for Technology at RTCG. “Thanks to our close collaboration with the Riedel Austria team and the systems integrators from BFE, installation of the MediorNet and Artist equipment was so easy that it was almost plug-and-play. Not only will MediorNet give us newfound agility in production of live sports broadcasts, but it will help us make a smooth transition to IP operations moving forward.”
Carrying both television and radio signals, the MediorNet infrastructure includes four MetroN core routers and 33 MicroN high-density media distribution network devices, 14 of which are configured using the MicroN MultiViewer app. An Artist-128 digital matrix intercom mainframe supports seven Bolero wireless beltpacks, with only four Bolero antennas supplying intercom signals to the entire facility. In addition, 50 RSP-2318 SmartPanels are distributed throughout the operation to enable agile routing and control of audio and video signals transported across the MediorNet network.
“At RTCG, the decentralized design and production flexibility of MediorNet supports back-to-back broadcasts of many types of programs — with Artist and Bolero delivering integrated and seamless communications from main production rooms to dressing rooms,” explains Ismet Bozkurt, senior sales executive Eastern Europe, Riedel Communications. “RTCG’s state-of-the-art audiovisual infrastructure will provide a rock-solid foundation for their IP-based operations of tomorrow.”
Jürgen Diniz-Malleck, general manager, CEE at Riedel Communications, adds: “We are privileged to welcome a customer as prestigious as RTCG to our roster of high-profile installations. RTCG’s innovative deployment is the latest example of how Riedel solutions can help broadcasters build studio operations that are not only future-proof, but highly versatile.”
