BURBANK, Calif.—R-Gear is a communications and engineering equipment rental company specializing in audio and video for large-location builds in the reality TV genre. For more than 20 years, we’ve built production communications for some of the most logistically complex shows in the genre—”The Bachelor,” “Bachelor in Paradise,” “Temptation Island,” “The Challenge”—productions where the physical environment is unpredictable and the crew is rarely in one place.
On a typical reality build, we might be setting up communications across a multifloor mansion, a resort with satellite locations or a remote competition site—with producers, art department, lighting, audio and engineering all working in different spaces simultaneously. A single show might have 15 to 20 ENG camera and audio crews covering 30 cast members spread across an entire beachside resort, with control positions in trailers, tents or wherever space allows.
Producers regularly change their minds about coverage areas at the last minute and, when that happens, we need to extend fiber runs and add hardware quickly without disrupting what’s already running. The communications system must work the first time, every time.
Building for Distributed Productions
We’ve been building on Riedel systems since R-Gear’s earliest days, starting with the C44+ frame, Performer series panels, hardwire beltpacks and a RiFace to tie in two-way radios. That served us well for several years, but once we moved to Artist and Bolero, nobody could do without it.
Our standard build now centers on an Artist-64 or Artist-1024 with SmartPanels and Bolero wireless. Panel configuration depends on the setup: we use rack-mounted RSP-1232 panels and desktop DSP-2312s based on what users prefer. Cast mics and program audio come into the Artist matrix over Dante, so any panel can monitor any microphone on the show. Producers, audio and engineering can communicate with the crew and follow the show’s story from a single device.
Bolero provides the most flexibility for our distributed-location builds. At the main control room, it integrates directly with the Artist frame. For offsite crews, we build standalone systems using licensed antennas powered over Cat-6 with PoE, with an NSA interface bringing analog program audio into the system. Everyone uses the same beltpacks regardless of where they’re working. There is no reconfiguring and no workflow changes or equipment swaps when someone moves between locations.
Automatic Connectivity
“Top Chef” illustrates how that scales in practice. The main stage runs an Artist 64 with SmartPanels, integrated Bolero and a RiFace to bring walkie channels into the system. Two separate offsite locations run standalone Bolero systems with NSAs feeding program audio to the beltpacks. The beltpacks connect automatically to each location’s antenna network, so crew members move between all three sites during the day without stopping to reconfigure anything. From the user’s perspective, it feels seamless because it is.
The three-part Apple TV+ documentary “Fight for Glory: 2024 World Series” presented a different situation. The World Series broadcast was already running Bolero throughout the stadiums. Our documentary crew integrated directly into that existing environment—the director communicating from a Bolero in the trailer, every camera operator carrying a beltpack, all running on the coordinated antenna network already built for the broadcast. We didn’t install separate RF infrastructure; we stepped into a communications environment that was already built and operational.
That’s what gives me confidence in Riedel. Whether it’s a reality competition with crews spread across multiple locations or a major live event, the system must perform without question. After 20 years with these products, I know that anything with the Riedel name on it will be rock solid. In whatever conditions, wherever our shows take us, I already know the answer. It just always works.
More information is available on Riedel’s website.
