116th AES: ORATIS and PRIMUS: The whole range of intercom solutions by DELEC (nur englisch)
Berlin, May 2004: Since becoming a member of SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP in 2002, Germany’s manufacturer of digital intercom systems DELEC has re-developed their whole digital intercom product range and now introduced on the AES convention the ORATIS digital intercom system that presents some major software enhancements and hardware changes compared to its predecessor IC48 MKII.
ORATIS hardware is based on a 19'' rack system with plug-in cards. The smallest card frame, ORATIS Kompakt, measures just one rack unit and accommodates up to six plug-in intercom cards. Larger systems are configured with mainframes in three, six or nine unit heights. Up to 256 subscriber units can be connected to a fully populated mainframe!
Campus-wide systems with upwards of 256 subscribers lend themselves to the installation of a central CENTRIX intercom router. Occupying only 3U of 19'' rack space, this brand-new CENTRIX router serves as the compact core of the intercom system, providing both routing capacity and fibre-optic connections to the ORATIS mainframes.
CENTRIX is equipped with central router cards, each of which forms a 128x128 matrix. A single CENTRIX central router can be expanded to include a maximum of 2,048 ports – and can even be cascaded and mirrored for even larger installations.
Flexible choice equally applies to the subscriber units. Various sizes are available in 19'' format for rack mounting in studios, diverse panel mounting designs in the Danner module sizes, and freestanding desktop units mean that almost every conceivable size and form is possible.
DELEC’s unique LCD keys make a big contribution to communication clarity and accuracy. Each LCD key display shows up to 18 arbitrary characters or symbols to describe the subscriber, group or conference in plain language. This renders abbreviations largely superfluous and allows for foreign languages with special symbols or other characters to be quickly implemented.
For even greater clarity the call status of each key is displayed in colour. Green is the default setting, yellow indicates Listening and red indicates Speaking mode. A dedicated Response key, which directly connects to the last caller, further simplifies operation. All subscriber units are equipped with these unique LCD keys.
The configuration software ICCON, which is used for setting up all DELEC intercom systems, has been redesigned specifically for rapid operation and flexible configuration. Conferences and groups can be easily defined and individual subscriber units assigned via drag and drop. The software also offers extensive definitions for controlling external GPI contacts or for special functions such as interrupted foldback. The input and output levels of each signal as well as the noise gate parameters for ducking functions are also set via ICCON.
DELEC was founded in 1988 by Donald Dilocker and became a member of SALZBRENNER STAGETEC MEDIAGROUP in 2002. In 1995, DELEC designed their first intercom system. As this system turned out to be highly successful, the company completely changed to digital intercom technology; today, DELEC confine themselves to manufacturing digital systems. The IC48 MKII digital intercom system, predecessor of ORATIS, is a well-established product in fixed installations in TV and radio production studios, outside-broadcasting applications as well as in Theatre and Opera.