Riedel’s Intercom Solution And ‘Love Island USA’ Is A Match Made In Heaven

“Love Island USA,” the widely popular dating show produced by ITV Entertainment, has been relying on Riedel Communications’ state-of-the-art communication solution for most of the seasons since its inception in 2015. The heart of the setup features an integrated 256-port Artist digital matrix, the Bolero wireless intercom system with 30-plus beltpacks, and approximately 80 SmartPanels.

Riedel’s robust solution, provided by Bexel, an NEP Broadcast Services Company, plays a pivotal role in facilitating effective communication and seamless coordination among production and technical personnel during the filming process. Notably, despite the show’s numerous shooting locations over the years, Riedel’s communication system has consistently delivered flexible and flawless communication, making it an indispensable element contributing to the show’s enduring success.

“Communications on these shows is very Important. The workflow is dynamic and changes constantly. Over the years we have been faced with a variety of challenges presented by the locations that were chosen. Riedel has been the backbone of our communications plan, tying our various communications’ systems together. It is an integral part of our producer audio monitoring as well,” said Rod Allen, Technical Supervisor and Technical Project Manager for the show.

“Love Island” has ventured to diverse and challenging locations, including Fiji; Las Vegas; Hilo, Hawaii; and Santa Barbara, California, each presenting its own unique communication obstacles. At times the control room and sets were 100 miles apart.

Allen continued, “The Riedel architecture allowed us to communicate effectively and reliably using leased fiber circuits as well as public internet . Today, Artist and Bolero seamlessly integrate with the Unity IP communications system, two-way radio systems, IFB in-ear monitoring systems, on-set speaker systems, and the Dante audio network, creating a comprehensive and unified communication solution. The shift from AES3 to AES67 technology, coupled with Bolero’s six full-duplex keys, has further elevated the efficiency and functionality of the team’s communication network.”

You might also like...

The Meaning Of Metadata

Metadata is increasingly used to automate media management, from creation and acquisition to increasingly granular delivery channels and everything in-between. There’s nothing much new about metadata—it predated digital media by decades—but it is poised to become pivotal in …

Designing IP Broadcast Systems: Remote Control

Why mixing video and audio UDP/IP streams alongside time sensitive TCP/IP flows can cause many challenges for remote control applications such as a camera OCP, as the switches may be configured to prioritize the UDP feeds, or vice…

AI In The Content Lifecycle: Part 2 - Gen AI In TV Production

This series takes a practical, no-hype look at the role of Generative AI technology in the various steps in the broadcast content lifecycle – from pre-production through production, post, delivery and in regulation/ethics. Here we examine how Generative AI is b…

Managing Paradigm Change

When disruptive technologies transform how we do things it can be a shock to the system that feels like sudden and sometimes daunting change – managing that change is a little easier when viewed through the lens of modular, incremental, and c…

AI In The Content Lifecycle: Part 1 - Pre-Production

This is the first of a new series taking a practical, no-hype look at the role of Generative AI technology in the various steps in the broadcast content lifecycle – from pre-production through production, post, delivery and in regulation/ethics. Here w…