To find the ideal system for each venue required meticulous planning. The dimensions, architecture and building materials, along with the likely atmospheric conditions - the wind and the humidity (many of the venues are close to the sea) - were painstakingly programmed into the computer to establish the likely acoustics, and an exhaustive series of simulations conducted in each virtual arena. But even if the software (Ease) available to assist in this endeavour is capable of delivering realistic results, they have nonetheless a theoretical character. For this reason, Omikron Control, EVI Audio's Greek partners, organized an expensive test run, employing thousands of volunteers. The experiment was a huge success. Affirms Seitz: "Our theoretical predictions were completely borne out by the practical results."
Having proved their value in the Olympics in Barcelona, Atlanta, Nagano, Sydney and most recently Salt Lake City, Telex matrices (such as Adam), keypanels (such as the KP-32 DSP) and telephone interfaces (such as the TIF2000) are standard items now in the inventory of major TV broadcasting institutions. There is nothing accidental about this, not only does Telex equipment represent the state-of-the-art in broadcast communication and intercom systems, but it is also highly reliable, easy to use and robust. Comments Telex product manager, Manuel Brico: "Telex intercom products have provided the backbone of the communications at the last few Olympics, both in the stadiums supplying the live feed for the telecasts and in the broadcasting centres relaying the pictures to TV stations all over the world." In Athens, things will be no different.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
