EXTREME AV

Riedel’s Red Bull Solution

After a three-year hiatus the Red Bull Air Race World Championships is up and flying. Renowned as the fastest motorsport on the planet, the visual spectacle combines high speeds, low altitudes and extreme maneuverability, as the world’s top pilots navigate aerial racetracks in eight races across the globe between February and November.

Long-term Red Bull comms partner Riedel Communications is providing flexible signal transport and communications for the extreme event. For the first three races Riedel’s solution supported wired and wireless communications among more than 300 people involved – from pilots to security and referees – and facilitated distribution of video and audio for production of the live show, international broadcast and web stream.

Riedel’s engineers built a signal distribution infrastructure for video, audio, communications and data with the MediorNet real-time media network comprising seven MediorNet Compact frames and three MediorNet Modular frames. Technicians interfaced audio signals via MADI and Riedel’s RockNet digital audio network solution in combination with MediorNet to integrate the event’s main mixing console, located in the OB van that provided the big-screen mix for the live audience. Riedel also supplied the wireless video links and HD cameras for the racing planes’ onboard cameras.

Using MediorNet as a backbone, a Riedel Artist digital matrix intercom served as the event communications infrastructure. This intercom system, made up of two Artist frames equipped with MADI cards and 20 control panels, was integrated seamlessly with Riedel’s digital trunked radio (TETRA) installation. Two TETRA base stations supported 300 handheld radios to assure full event coverage, and two of Riedel’s RiFace universal radio interfaces allowed another 24 analogue radios to be added to the mix. To bridge the distance between the race airport and the event site, Riedel set up a broadband link connecting the two via trunking over IP.

“Riedel often works at the cutting edge of live sports and entertainment productions, where clear communication and reliable, flexible signal transport are essential to a safe, successful, and exciting event,” said Riedel project manager Yungmin Lee. “We’ve been involved in other groundbreaking Red Bull events and look forward to a great season working on the 2014 Red Bull Air Race World Championship.”

The air race was cancelled in 2011, 2012 and 2013 while the organisation restructured and implemented new safety measures. This year’s eight-race season began in Abu Dhabi in February and concludes in China in November.

Riedel Communications: www.riedel.net

Red Bull Air Race: www.redbullairrace.com