As Mike Sinclair of Audio Incorporated, the audio designer for the US Open live events for the past six years, explains, "We needed to find a way to connect the roof of the Broadcast Centre building with our central patch area at the other end of the stadium in the photographers' pit. We had to be ready to transport the programme audio feed, Clear-Com Encore Analog Party Lines converted to 4-wire for a production channel and a lighting channel. We also used Optocore's 100Mb LAN tunnel between devices to network show control computers and DMX lighting control together."
Audio Incorporated employed Optocore X6R-FX-Intercom devices using the fibre infrastructure of Arthur Ashe stadium to connect and multiplex the various different audio and data streams over one pair of fibre lines. "We had to be ready for any eventuality and the Optocore X6R-FX-Intercom performed flawlessly with connectivity to spare," Sinclair said.
"We needed to get communications and audio up to the highest reaches of the stadium, in a hyper-crowded situation," says Rom Rosenblum, events communication system technician, U.S. Open, and applications engineer, Clear-Com. "CBS, ESPN and every broadcaster covering the event was already hooked into existing copper lines. Without the Optocore devices, we'd have been communicating with cell phones to run the Arthur Ashe Kids' Day event and Opening Ceremonies. Instead, as soon as we got the facility to install a piece of glass up to the roof, we were in business. A plug-and-play solution was never more welcome."
(Jim Evans)
