FOH Productions Unveils Portable Riedel MediorNet

Riedel Communications has announced that live event specialist FOH Productions has created a transportable camera switching and control flypack built around Riedel's MediorNet real-time media network for distributed video routing, alongside Artist digital matrix and Bolero wireless intercom systems for communications. In operation since January and used at events across the US, the package serves large corporate shows in ballrooms, convention centres and arenas where production trailers cannot gain access.

FOH focuses on supplying equipment systems for indoor corporate events hosting between 1,000 and 12,000 attendees at hotels and convention centres throughout the US and Canada. Serving production company clients that prioritise timely, accurate corporate messaging, FOH set out to cut cabling and extend infrastructure into areas unreachable by trucks. MediorNet's distributed design, interoperability and track record for reliability made it central to the build.

"It's our largest portable system to date, capable of 288×288 video routing at the switcher. MediorNet provides distributed routing and signal transport throughout the entire venue, so it's quick to deploy the infrastructure and incredibly flexible for adding sources and destinations where we need them," said Aaron Raymond, Director of Engineering, FOH Productions. "We're using MediorNet in parallel with our data networks in a fiber-optic mesh topology, which gives us fully redundant paths."

Designed in 2025, the system took roughly two and a half months to build and wire. The full solution spans 27 cases comprising racks, switchers, control panels, video and audio monitoring, cable trunks and work boxes, and it travels in less than half a trailer.

A main rack houses central engineering gear and a camera engineering station with a grading monitor, six camera RCPs, routing controls and intercom. Smaller racks with MediorNet MicroN UHD nodes and network equipment are positioned at the presentation stage and performance areas to provide local I/O for downstage monitors, spy cameras, PTZ cameras, timers and cueing equipment, demo computers and other connections — eliminating 30 to 40 return cables to a central router. Additional racks move audio, video and control between control risers, the production suite and green rooms.

This topology enables rapid deployment: seven racks placed around the site connect via 12 to 14 tactical fibre lines, with all remaining signals carried over the MediorNet network. By preconfiguring the system at FOH's Phoenix, Arizona facility, crews reduce setup times on site and can begin rehearsals sooner. Strike takes only a couple of hours, supporting tight venue windows, helping manage on-site labour costs and easing crew workloads between events.

"The hardest part is running the fiber cables," Raymond said. "Each rack has two redundant cables, with all our other signals running through the system. That saves a massive amount of time compared with running hundreds of cables between racks and needing a new cable every time a monitor or source is added to the plan, and that's why we built the system the way we did."

Video routing is operated via the MediorNet Control App on 2300 Series SmartPanels, while 1200 Series SmartPanels handle intercom to keep functions separated on distinct hardware. During setup, the team uses MediorNet's topology tools to validate every link and confirm redundancy and failover. MediorNet also supplies a comprehensive multiviewer platform and audio embedding across the distributed routing fabric.

FOH was already well acquainted with Bolero and Artist before adopting MediorNet and owns multiple five-pack and 20-pack Bolero kits that can be deployed standalone or integrated with its Artist matrix systems.

"I've worked with Riedel intercom systems for a long time and have always preferred them to the other options," Raymond said. "The sound quality is great, and the network functionality is very straightforward and reliable."

FOH's custom cases are produced by sister company Roadcase.com, located in the same building, enabling bespoke enclosures that many other production firms would not attempt and improving both deployment efficiency and operator ergonomics.

"MediorNet is a versatile, modular, and scalable routing solution, and its small form factor makes it straightforward to place a full node in a compact custom road case," said Joshua Harrison, Regional Sales Manager, South Central, Riedel Communications. "Together with Artist and Bolero, the result is a deployable, dependable Riedel ecosystem for high-profile live events."

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