RTS enables United approach to comms for Dutch football coverage

ADAM (Advanced Digital Audio Matrix) and Cronus matrix solutions from RTS are integral to the OB trucks deployed by broadcast service provider United for coverage of Eredivisie (Honorary Division), Holland’s highest football league.

Ranked by UEFA as among the ten finest football leagues in Europe, the Eredivisie comprises 18 teams who play 34 matches each in the course of the season. Of the nine Eredivisie matches played each week, Dutch service provider United broadcasts seven – a commitment that is demanding in both personnel and technical resources, with up to 15 employees and ten cameras involved each time.

Bolke Burnaby Lautier, manager operations sports and events at United, highlighted the challenges wrought by tight turnarounds: “When we arrive at the stadium on match day, we have to set up our equipment immediately. A 15-minute test follows, during which every item of equipment must be functioning flawlessly as by then the start of the broadcast is imminent and little time remains to put things right – especially since, as well as our own staff, other studios along with their respective presenters all have to be integrated into the network.”

To satisfy the Eredivisie contract, United deploys its entire fleet of OB trucks, with the larger vehicles – OB6 (HD), OB8 (HD), OB12 (HD) and OB15 (HD), as well as OB14 (HD) – assuming the bulk of responsibilities. In each vehicle, an RTS solution handles communications – either an Advanced Digital Audio Matrix (ADAM) with a 144 x 144 or 64 x 64 port configuration, or an RTS Cronus matrix with 64 x 64 ports.

Between eleven and 31 keypanels from RTS’s KP-12 and KP-32 series are linked to each matrix, while AIO-16, AES-3, Madi-16+ and RVON-16 VoIP interface cards facilitate straightforward trunking. The inventory of the various trucks also includes RTS 2W/4W interfaces and RTS beltpacks.

“The quality of RTS systems is simply tremendous,” remarked Bolke Burnaby Lautier. “They are technically sophisticated, very easy to set up and extremely reliable. During a live event, like a football match, there’s no such thing as a replay head. It is essential therefore that all persons involved in the production be able to hear their interlocutors clearly. Our staff is constantly lauding the level of communications comfort afforded by RTS equipment.”