Riedel provides backbone for first-ever live stream of Edinburgh Hogmanay

Riedel Communications again supplied a signal transport and communications backbone for the spectacular New Year’s Eve Hogmanay celebration in Edinburgh. Riedel’s MediorNet provided real-time transport, processing, and routing for all video and audio signals and also enabled critical IP-based systems such as CCTV, Internet access, and weather monitoring.

Riedel’s Artist digital matrix intercom system and Bolero wireless intercom were tightly integrated with MediorNet to ensure clear and reliable communications for the production crew across five stages.

Billed as one of the world’s largest New Year’s Eve celebrations, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 19 culminated in a giant street party on 31 December with international, UK, and Scottish performers and a huge midnight fireworks display. Award-winning DJ and producer Mark Ronson headlined the concert and provided a live, custom soundtrack to accompany the fireworks.

For the first time in Hogmanay history, the festival was live-streamed to Facebook, YouTube, and the Hogmanay website. Produced by Underbelly, a UK-based live entertainment production company, the multicamera webcast allowed viewers anywhere in the world to enjoy the entire 5.5-hour event from their phones, tablets, or laptops.

“Since Underbelly first produced Edinburgh’s Hogmanay in 2017, we have installed a city centre wide Riedel network. Over the three years, we have significantly increased the utilisation of the system and it has now become an essential and integral part of the event. The network facilitates not only the creatively world class show, but is also essential for the crowd safety management and operational success of the event,” said David Watson, production director, Underbelly.

“Riedel’s networking and comms technology, coupled with the onsite configuration and event expertise of James Mitchelmore (Direct Control UK), Ed Lawlor (Visual Certainty), and the Riedel team, was absolutely essential for the smooth running of the festival.”

Operating over ten kilometers of fibre, Riedel’s MediorNet formed a massive signal transport communications backbone for Hogmanay19, with 16 MediorNet Compact Pro stageboxes deployed at sites throughout Edinburgh. The network was anchored by a MetroN core router, with additional MediorNet MicroN high-density media distribution network devices enabling many different modular configurations.

In addition to audio distribution for all stages and video distribution to all big screens, MediorNet provided an IP tunnel to facilitate CCTV, Internet access, weather monitoring, power monitoring, and lighting control. To facilitate crew communications, two Artist-64 digital matrix intercom systems supported 33 Artist panels and 35 Bolero wireless beltpacks, with intercom signals provided by 19 Bolero antennas.