Clear comms from FreeSpeak at Magritte Award ceremony
Clear-Com’s FreeSpeak II wireless intercom solution was chosen to provide reliable communication during the live broadcast of the 7th Magritte Award Ceremony, held at SQUARE in Brussels on 4 February. Les Magritte du Cinéma, presented by the Académie André Delvaux, recognise cinematic achievements in the Belgian film industry.
WNM, the Liège-based AV company, has been supporting the Magritte Awards for the past seven years with audio equipment for the live TV transmission on BeTV, as well as providing the sound system in the venue. This year the company decided to upgrade its existing intercom system, and invested in a FreeSpeak II digital wireless intercom system that would facilitate reliable communications across the sizeable venue.
“We needed to communicate across the venue’s many rooms, as well linking to the OB trucks outside, so we needed a wireless solution that would reach across a wide area,” said Maxime Van Gorp, Sales & Marketing Manager, WNM. “We also wanted to find a system that was well designed, easy to use, lightweight, and quick and easy to install. We looked at several other systems but chose FreeSpeak II because it offered everything we needed, not just for this event but also for other big projects that we work on. It was also a cost-effective solution that fit with our budget.”
WNM had used other Clear-Com systems in the past. “We were familiar with Clear-Com technology and had used the original FreeSpeak system so we knew it would be reliable,” added Van Gorp. The system used at the Magritte Awards included a FreeSpeak II Base II station, with 15 beltpacks and two antennas, as well as multiple fiber receivers and chargers.
“The technicians commented on the night that the beltpacks were really light and very easy to use with two main buttons. The latency was very low, and being able to use the 1.9Ghz frequency meant we didn’t have any HF interference during the show from other systems in the area. It was also incredibly useful to be able to view the system via the software on the computer so we could locate any issues immediately – we couldn’t do that with our old system,” said Van Gorp. “FreeSpeak II kept everyone connected and able to do their jobs throughout the event. It was a great debut for the system and has confirmed that we made a sound investment.”