“The Daily Show” faced tight setup times at the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture in Chicago for the DNC. This beautiful historic venue, built in 1911 for opera, dance, orchestral, and dramatic productions, presented some unique space considerations. MediorNet’s distributed routing capabilities allowed the production team to overcome these challenges, with the network providing access to content sources across dispersed locations within the facility, including basements, main studio floors, and production offices on upper floors.

The MediorNet deployment included one MediorNet Modular frame, nine MediorNet Compact Pro frames, one MetroN signal distribution platform, 10 software-enabled MicroN high-density signal interface nodes and 16 RCP2300 panels with the MediorNet Control App. Pre-configuration of the routing panels enabled the team to seamlessly set up the system as soon as they arrived at the venue, allowing them to start 95% of the way toward completion and significantly reducing on-site setup time from several days to approximately one-and-a-half days. The system also facilitated 24/7 access to content for post-production teams without requiring broadcast trucks and engineering crews to remain on-site overnight, leading to more efficient scheduling, reduced overtime costs, and improved quality of life for the engineers. The system’s inherent redundancy also ensured uninterrupted signal flow, even in the event of link failures, by automatically rerouting signals through available bandwidth in the network.

Riedel's system supported both live and recorded production needs, facilitating not only distribution of a variety of video signals, but also timecode and blackburst signals, confidence monitor returns, connection of intercom panels, internet connectivity distribution, and transmission feed management. Another unique feature of the MediorNet system allowed for the display of source or destination names as overlays on video outputs. This capability greatly aided “The Daily Show” team in troubleshooting, reducing confusion and ensuring they were delivering the right signals to the right destinations — even before the truck arrived on site.

The production also used Riedel's Bolero wireless intercom system, deploying 56 beltpacks, 18 antennas, and one Artist-1024 frame. This provided rock-solid communications for all production personnel, from stage managers to audio technicians, across both convention venues, interfacing with the production truck's intercom system via MADI.