Riedel And Media Tailor Equip Royal Caribbean's Star Of The Seas

Continuing a longstanding collaboration, Riedel Communications and Nordic media technology company Media Tailor have partnered to deliver a state-of-the-art broadcast, AV, and communications infrastructure aboard Royal Caribbean International’s newest ship, Star of the Seas.

At 248,663 gross tons, Star of the Seas shares the title of the world’s largest cruise ship with her sister vessel, Icon of the Seas. Designed for large-scale entertainment at sea, the ship features more than 30 theatres, live performance spaces, multimedia venues, and ice- and water-based entertainment arenas. The media infrastructure spans all entertainment venues and a centralized broadcast centre, built on a fully decentralized Riedel MediorNet network, controlled via Riedel's hi human interface platform and supported by Artist, Bolero, and PunQtum intercom systems.

The central broadcast centre houses two production galleries and a main rack room for signal routing, recording, playback, post-production, and graphics. More than 20 MediorNet MicroN UHD, MicroN, and Compact nodes provide distributed routing, signal processing, and multiviewing capabilities across the ship, reducing cabling, saving space, and ensuring reliability in maritime conditions.

"Creating a broadcast and AV environment of this scale requires a unified system that functions as one," said Tuomas Niemelä, Business Director of Shipbuilding at Media Tailor. "That's what Riedel enables. The decentralized Riedel architecture allows operators to route video, audio, and data in real time across the entire vessel with incredible efficiency and resilience — which is vital when you're working in the middle of the ocean."

Riedel's hi human interface serves as the central control platform for all AV, broadcast, and entertainment systems. Deployed with three servers and four hardware panels, hi extends its reach via software panels on PCs and iPads across entertainment venues and control rooms. In addition to system management, hi unifies the ship’s MediorNet and Dante networks, automatically converts embedded SDI audio, groups related video and audio into unified port containers, and manages GPIO-based automation with the ship’s PA/GA system to trigger automated muting or signal rerouting during safety announcements.

The vessel's communications network is further supported by Riedel’s Artist intercom system, featuring an Artist-1024 matrix, over 50 SmartPanels, 55 Bolero wireless beltpacks, and PunQtum wired partyline systems. Together, these components create a scalable, unified communications ecosystem for production crews across the ship.

"Our collaboration with Media Tailor and Royal Caribbean goes back more than a decade," said Philippe Genar, Regional Sales Manager at Riedel. "Each project pushes the boundaries of what’s possible at sea, and Star of the Seas is a perfect example of how Riedel technology — combined with Media Tailor’s innovative design and media technology expertise — delivers seamless connectivity, operational efficiency, and an exceptional entertainment experience in the maritime sector."

"Media Tailor and Riedel have once again provided an integrated broadcast, communications, and AV infrastructure that offers unmatched flexibility and operational efficiency across our vessel," added Christopher Vlassopulos, Manager Newbuilding, Royal Caribbean. "Their expertise gives our teams the confidence to produce spectacular live experiences for our guests, every day, anywhere in the world."

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