Belgium’s historic Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, also known as the De Munt Theatre, has upgraded its entire staff communications infrastructure with intercom equipment from Riedel Communications.
The new system consists of the Artist digital matrix intercom, Bolero wireless intercom in both integrated and standalone modes, and SmartPanel multifunctional user interfaces.
Located in the heart of Brussels at the Place de la Monnaie, the De Munt Theatre is the largest opera house in Belgium and has more than 450 employees. The Riedel upgrade was part of a massive renovation project that closed the De Munt Theatre for two years beginning in 2016.
“We had several key requirements for a modern communications system that could meet the needs of our staff and crew,” said Karl Ancia, project leader, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. “We needed seamless, high-quality coverage of the complete facility. And because of the theatre’s historic designation, the installation would have to be as unobtrusive as possible with a minimum of antennas.
“Another critical requirement is an integrated intercom solution that works over our IP network and also in standalone mode for performances outside the theatre, with wireless support for PCs and mobile devices. Riedel’s Bolero has exceeded our expectations on every single count.”
The new communications system spans two De Munt Theatre buildings and supports a staff of 180 crew members, including a 90-musician orchestra, set builders, costume and makeup personnel, and support and technical services.
Equipped with AES67 cards, an Artist-128 matrix intercom mainframe enables a AES67 connection over the theatre’s IP network to six rack-mounted 2300 SmartPanels and one desktop 2300 SmartPanel. The SmartPanels enable agile routing and control of all intercom signals transported over the network. In addition, SmartPanel ‘virtual panel’ apps enable up to 56 Mac, PC, Android or iOS devices to communicate with the system.
The Bolero wireless intercom system, consisting of 48 beltpacks and 12 antennae, is also integrated with the Artist matrix via the AES67 cards. Seven of the antennae are installed permanently to provide full coverage for the entire facility, with four additional antennae available for standalone use at outside performances. Outside broadcaster DB Video has also installed Riedel’s Artist on board its OB van for production communications during live streaming of the theatre’s events.
Bolero’s exclusive Advanced DECT Receiver (ADR) technology is a critical element in the installation, given the building’s historic status, the thickness of the walls, and the spread-out nature of the facility.
In the performance hall, the new intercom improves on the previous static system. With the new system, since the virtual panels can be viewed from offices or a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, users can program intercom configurations of any size and create subgroups as needed. The beltpacks can be programmed to eliminate ambient noise during a performance. Riedel says a large advantage in a performance setting, especially for music, is Bolero’s extremely low latency of between 35-38 milliseconds.
Another key feature is Bolero’s Bluetooth functionality, which enables users to answer calls from a mobile phone directly via the headset of the beltpack. This makes the intercom system a valuable tool in an emergency situation when outside first responders need to be engaged.
