Open Intercom web interface during a live production call, showing channels, push-to-talk and call controls in the browser — The Open Intercom web interface during a live production call — no hardware panel required.

The challenge

Traditional intercom systems carry high capital costs, proprietary panels and matrices, and a heavy hardware dependence — a complexity built for the very largest productions. In practice, that complexity is rarely needed. As a technical producer at SVT put it: "Only about 5% of our productions really require the complexity of traditional intercom hardware. The other 95% could easily be done with something far simpler."

The question became: why stay locked into expensive, proprietary systems when open source can offer more flexibility and control?

What Eyevinn built

Open Intercom is a browser-based VoIP intercom built on open standards and WebRTC, using Symphony Media Bridge (an SFU) to route audio with minimal latency. Anyone with a browser can join a production intercom circuit — no hardware, no IT configuration.

Sub-200 ms latency over any IP network — teams coordinate live from anywhere in the world.
No hardware, no IT setup — any device with a browser connects.
End-to-end encryption, SIP for hybrid workflows, WHIP/WHEP (ingest from e.g. OBS), a Ravenna bridge, SRT bridging and virtual audio cards to coexist with existing infrastructure.
Production integrations: control via an Elgato Stream Deck (Bitfocus Companion module) and a spec-compliant WebRTC player.
AI-native provisioning: works with any MCP-compatible client and a built-in admin AI assistant.
Delivered as a managed service on Eyevinn Open Source Cloud — a production-ready backend in minutes.

Diagram showing how WHIP brings an external audio source into an Open Intercom call without dedicated hardware — WHIP brings external audio sources (such as OBS) into a call without dedicated hardware.

It was a true partnership: the broadcasters brought real-world needs and operational insight from their production teams; Eyevinn brought modern software engineering, open-source expertise and a readiness to rethink how broadcast intercom works.

The results

As an illustrative comparison, the managed Professional plan is €69/month versus €10,000–100,000+ for traditional hardware intercom systems (RTS, Clear-Com, Riedel) — on the order of 10–100× lower cost, with no installation, maintenance or upgrade costs.

Deploy in minutes, not weeks.
99.9% uptime SLA on managed infrastructure via Open Source Cloud.
In production at SVT for both remote and on-site live production. Examples: remote spotting at ski events via volunteers on their smartphones; self-produced live sport where a single editor handles both vision-switching and commentary coordination; rapid field deployment for breaking news.
Broad open-source traction — the Open Intercom repositories have 80+ and 60+ stars on GitHub, and the solution is listed in the EU open-source catalogue.

"Open Intercom has transformed how we handle remote production. The cloud-based approach gives us the flexibility and reliability we need for live broadcasting, without the complexity and cost of traditional hardware intercom systems."

— Dennis Buhr, Technical Manager, Sveriges Television (SVT)

Open Intercom participant list showing an external audio source joining a production call — Participants and an external audio source in one call.

How to get Open Intercom — three options

1. Managed on Open Source Cloud (hosted)

A 14-day free trial with no commitment, then the Professional plan at €69/month (excl. VAT) for unlimited productions, cancel anytime. If you need to connect to existing hardware or SDI gear, a Media Bridge add-on is available (pricing on request, depending on your setup).

2. Self-hosted (open source)

Open Intercom is fully open source under the MIT license (github.com/Eyevinn/intercom-manager) with zero vendor lock-in. Run it on your own infrastructure, another cloud, or on-premises at no licence cost.

3. Custom build with Eyevinn

If you want it tailored to your needs — a branded desktop or mobile app, deeper integrations, or a specific deployment — our team can take that on as a paid consulting engagement on top of the open-source core. We scope it together and quote based on your requirements.

Start the 14-day free trial →

Built with the Nordic public broadcasters

Open Intercom was developed in partnership with SVT (Sweden), YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway) and TV2 (Norway) — four public-service broadcasters in four countries collaborating in open source on the same solution. Intensive development ran from late 2024 and continues today, with software-based audio ingest (WHIP) reaching general availability and Ravenna support added since.

The work draws on WebRTC and real-time audio, broadcast production, SFU (Symphony Media Bridge), full-stack engineering (React/TypeScript, Node.js/Fastify, Go), open-source architecture and Open Source Cloud. Eyevinn engineers Sandra Larsson (Frontend Developer) and Lucas Maupin (Full Stack Developer) lead the ongoing, AI-assisted development.

See how we orchestrate media workflows with AI →

Talk to the team behind Open Intercom

Want to try it on a real production, connect it to your existing gear, or have us build a tailored version? Start the free trial yourself, or tell us about your setup — roughly how many simultaneous participants, whether you need hardware/SDI integration, and which platforms matter most — and we will recommend the right option.

Start the 14-day free trial → Talk to us about your setup →