German broadcaster ZDF use MediorNet at Tour de France

German public broadcasting network ZDF used a fiber-based MediorNet system from Riedel Communications at this year’s Tour de France to connect its DSNG and the main OB truck.

A Riedel Artist digital matrix intercom system facilitated communications between the various OB vehicles that were used for broadcast. Additionally, a number of racing teams, such as Team RadioShack, used the Riedel brand NanoTalk for communication between riders, technicians and the team captains during the races.

With locations switching on an almost daily basis, the Tour de France is arguably one of the most demanding televised sporting events, as new locations means regularly having to set up the technical infrastructure. A total of eight vehicles from the national public broadcasting networks ZDF and ARD were working together for the three weeks of "Le Tour."

ZDF, as the responsible network, opted for a MediorNet solution, which enabled the integration of an EVS operator in the SNG with the EVS SDTI network in the OB truck. This link connected the broadcast feed between the main OB truck and the ZDF DSNG.

“Riedel MediorNet simplifies our work at the Tour significantly," said Matthias Kampen, technical director at ZDF. "The amount of effort needed to set up the cabling infrastructure is drastically reduced. Previously there needed to be an extra system for the EVS integration; now all signals run on just one link. In addition, MediorNet handles the distribution of the ZDF Ethernet network, which also made the whole setup a lot faster and easier.”