While wired systems are still in demand in the theatre industry, digital wireless intercoms are beginning to take centre stage as affordable, robust systems enter the market. Phil Ward reports


In conversation a couple of PLASAs ago, Adrian Richmond of RTS Intercoms UK described intercoms as “the Cinderella of the pro-audio industry”. Few would have disagreed, but since then there’s been something of a quiet revolution going on.

Like everyone else in this field, Richmond’s company has been responding to the spectrum squeeze. Narrow-band units are now appearing that use as little as 25% of the bandwidth of earlier systems, while maintaining very high audio quality. But more than anything else, the digital matrix has come of age in all kinds of installation circles.

“We have expertise in matrix communications, and we used PLASA to get it across to consultants that it provides the ability to target communications, rather than just using loops,” Richmond recounts. “Once contractors get on board with the whole concept, it’s of great benefit to theatre, live sound and lots of other applications. People use a computer-controlled mixing desk. Why not use a computer-controlled communications system?

“Once you get to that stage, you make the end user’s life a lot easier because you set up very complicated systems very simply, allowing them to do their job faster. Our intercoms are now colour-coded and wireless, so they extend into the wireless world of remote control and monitoring. For example, a matrix system could tie up with the paging system within a theatre, while also doing production prompts backstage and connecting with a wireless system to take it around dressing rooms. So you could have artist call, public address and production prompts all controlled from the same centre, giving stage managers an extremely powerful tool to do their job.”