Hong Kong Jockey Club selects Riedel’s Bolero for seamless wireless comms

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), the eminent Hong Kong horse racing operator, has chosen Riedel Communications’ Bolero wireless intercom system to streamline communications for its video productions. Bolero is integrated with Riedel’s Artist digital matrix intercom system to provide comprehensive communications across two separate HKJC race courses and in the HKJC studio located in Sha Tin.

“Reliable wireless communications are essential for our live TV productions of horse races. Our production crews located all around the race courses have to be able to count on clear, stable, and uninterrupted comms from the TV studio,” said Yeung Shui Kin, Senior Broadcasting Services Manager at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. “After just two weeks of operation, the performance of Bolero has more than met our expectations by delivering outstanding sound quality from any point on our race courses. Also, Bolero’s integration with our Artist frame is a huge plus.”

Founded in 1884, HKJC provides horse racing, sporting, and betting on horse racing and overseas football events. HKJC has initially purchased 12 Bolero backpacks, with plans to add more in 2018, for communications links between its TV studio in the Sha Tin district and its Happy Valley and Sha Tin race courses. The Bolero systems first went into service for international races in early December.

Introduced last year, Bolero is an expandable, DECT-based wireless intercom system in the license-free 1.9GHz frequency range. Riedel’s exclusive Advanced DECT Receiver (ADR) technology improves RF robustness by reducing sensitivity to multipath RF reflections, enabling HKJC crew members to roam seamlessly at either race course without losing audio quality.

“HKJC is not only an outstanding provider of global entertainment for horse racing enthusiasts, but also the largest community benefactor in Hong Kong — making significant donations every year to support the community and contribute to the betterment of local people,” said Cameron O’Neil, Director, APAC, Riedel Communications. “It gives us great pleasure to provide Bolero, our groundbreaking wireless intercom, for HKJC’s race tracks at Sha Tin and Happy Valley in addition to their TV studio. We are confident that Bolero will provide not just the best-possible coverage, but also a great benefit to users through its intuitive and advanced features.”