Telex completes sale to Japanese broadcaster NHK

Telex/RTS has finalized the details of a major sale to NHK, the national, government-owned broadcaster in Japan. The order includes hundreds of specially designed keypanels that are capable of eight-character Kanji displays, as well as a 4-frame ADAM digital matrix intercom that can support more than 400 users. NHK has begun an effort to fully transition to HDTV by 2009, and this significant upgrade to its intercom and communications capabilities is occurring at a key phase in those efforts, as the broadcaster is forming the core of its digital terrestrial operations.

Telex/RTS has finalized the details of a major sale to Japanese broadcaster NHK. The deal includes hundreds of specially designed keypanels (handset version pictured) as well as a 4-frame ADAM digital matrix intercom that can support more than 400 users.

Kanji is a complex set of characters that represents one-third of the Japanese writing system, used in conjunction with hiragana and katakana. The ability of the new Telex keypanels to display Kanji allows NHK not only to significantly streamline its production and communications operations but also to have more flexibility in displaying descriptive names for increasingly complex intercom assignments.

The new custom keypanels, which display eight Kanji characters per key, are made of extruded aluminum and metal, and feature state-of-the-art audio processors and drivers. The keypanels also display a mixture of hiragana and katakana characters, making them the first ever to display a complete set of Japanese characters, as well as English numbers.

The keypanels to be used by NHK are variations of Telex’s KP-12 series, and include a 1U-EIA rack-mount, a desktop and a desktop with handset configuration. Each features coax and remote IP interfaces, and all are expandable. Capabilities for advanced audio distribution and Voice over Internet Protocol applications were key specifications of NHK.

The new keypanels also complement the recent enhancements made to the ADAM system, including the addition of an AES Digital Audio Interface Card to expand connectivity to the ADAM Intercom by supporting AES-3 over coaxial cable. In addition to supporting 8 audio channels in and out through 8 AES-3 connections, the AES card provides connectivity to any other third-party audio device and supports all standard hot-swappable and configurable features within the ADAM intercom family.

Telex has also added the RVON-8, a Voice over IP card, which expands connectivity to the ADAM intercom by supporting 8 audio channels (ports) in and out. Each channel has configurable network and bandwidth parameters that can be tailored to individual network functions. The RVON-8 card supports both Telex Intelligent Trunking over IP, as well as future support for remote keypanels and virtual keypanels via VOIP.