Road Test: Riedel Bolero Wireless Intercom

Brendan Sadgrove is the Director of Innovative Production Services, a full-service production company based in Sydney. In addition to their full range of equipment and technical services, Innovative also run The Hub, a professional broadcast studio space featuring linked Barco E2 screen management systems, Ross video switching, flagship Panasonic 4K broadcast camera chains, extensive studio lighting system, and business-grade dedicated Gigabit fibre internet connection.

Three years ago, Innovative decided we needed a wireless comms solution. We demoed Bolero, which had just been released, and its competition. Even though it was still in its infancy, we could see the quality and potential of the product, and jumped on it as early adopters. It’s turned out to be a great decision, as I consider Bolero to be one of the two best products we’ve ever bought, across all equipment and technologies in our stock.

Bolero in Action at The Hub

We’re currently running our Bolero system at The Hub, our broadcast and streaming studio. It’s running in standalone mode; just the antennas and the beltpacks. We have in the past brought in a Riedel Artist Matrix to integrate Bolero into bigger shows, but that’s something we rarely need to do. The last time we did we ran 50 beltpacks, but the matrix was more for integrating to other comms systems the broadcast crew were running.

We have 20 beltpacks in action at The Hub, and Riedel headests, both single and double muff. We also have security-style covert earpieces from a third party. We run four Bolero Antennas for the 20 beltpacks, with one situated across the street where our changerooms and second studio are located. We’re taking advantage of the fact the antennas are waterproof, as we have one situated outside. We appreciate that you can link antennas and have the first on a power supply and the second getting power via PoE. With this system, all 20 of our beltpacks can roam anywhere across both sites.

With our Riedel Network Stream Adapter boxes, we can connect Bolero to 4-wire in and out, which is how we connect to the camera comms system. We have program going into comms, and comms going into in-ears for presenters. We have it set up so the director can talk directly to the talent on IFB, with IFB wired into a key on the director’s beltpack.

On The Gig

An average show at The Hub would be an awards night, which we have been doing a lot of. Having everyone on wireless means producers and directors can walk around and aren’t tethered to a table. The size of the beltpack units is important; if it’s a corporate awards night, the event managers need to wear them on their formal wear. Thankfully, Bolero beltpacks are super compact. They also have a bottle opener built into the clip on the beltpack, which is of course one of the most important features!

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Bolero allows ten belt packs per antenna, which works well for us as it means less antennas cluttering our studio space. The capability to run six separate comms channels suits us perfectly at The Hub, as it neatly lines up with the number of different departments that are working on any given show.

With many event managers and clients unable to come to The Hub because of Covid restrictions, we’ve developed a system where they can Zoom into the studio and connect directly to the comms system. We put the remote participants on a screen in the studio so they can see and hear, patch comms into their Zoom feed, and anyone who needs to can talk to them via a button on their beltpacks; it’s like they’re in the room. We also send them a multiview feed of all the cameras, so they can see as well as hear everything. I think we never would have thought of doing this before Covid, but now it’s like we’ve been doing it forever.

Set up and configuration of all the beltpacks couldn’t be easier. We have a touchscreen laptop dedicated to comms. Our techs walk around with it, stand next to the person who needs their beltpack configured, and run through all the comms options, like whether they need latched or unlatched, and what channels they require. Everyone’s name is labelled digitally, which is important if it’s a multi-day day show, as it ensures no-one is sharing headsets.

Range and Charge

The range of Bolero is revolutionary. We’ve done a test with one antenna and achieved a working signal at 2 ½ kilometres. I don’t understand how; it’s just magic. Bolero seems to work through brick walls and almost anything else. It’s rock solid.

I’ve actually never seen a Bolero battery go flat. Battery life is much longer than a full day’s work. I have on occasion forgotten to put my beltpack on charge at the end of the first day, and still gotten through day two with no problems.

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Service and Support

The service and support we’ve received from Riedel Australia around our purchase has been exceptional. Riedel have a huge amount of hire stock here in Sydney, so we can easily get more Bolero if and when we need it. We also sub-hire our system out, kitted up in drawers cases in kits of 10 with antennas, chargers, headsets, NSA, cables, and Magic Arms to hold the antennas.

Conclusion
Bolero are pretty amazing comms, and I believe they are hands down the best wireless comms on the market. They work so well and are just so easy to use.

Product Info: www.riedel.net
Distributor Australia and New Zealand: www.riedel.net

Riedel Bolero – The Specs

Bolero 6-key Beltpack
Digital license free 1.9GHz DECT band
Up to six full-duplex keys plus REPLY button to last caller
Riedel-exclusive ADR receiver technology overcomes multipath issues
Modern high-clarity voice codec increases beltpack to antenna density
Integrated Bluetooth technology for wireless headsets or phone connection
IP-65 environmental sealing
Tough, ergonomic beltpack built to survive
NFC means no registration headaches – touch the beltpack to the antenna and go
Can be used as a beltpack, a portable desktop keypanel, or a walkie-talkie
Integrated mic and speaker for headset-free operation

Bolero Active Antenna
Up to 250 beltpacks and 100 antennas per Bolero Net
Intelligent use of bandwidth results in 10 beltpacks per antenna
Decentralised SMPTE 2110-30 (AES67) IP-networked antennas
Fully re-programmable FPGA to handle future networks

Network Stream Adapter (NSA-002A)
9.5” 1RU (Half-Size Rack)
Bi-directional signal conversion between analog signals and AES67
6x 4-wire analog feed
3x GPI / 3x GPO