Hi-Rez Studios stays in touch with Clear-Com

Once just a niche pastime, eSports is now a billion-dollar industry that attracts attention from broadcasters, advertisers and fans. Having the right communications system is key, according to Hi-Rez Studios Lead Broadcast Engineer Dylen Roberts.

Hi-Rez, a leading game developer and eSports event production company in Atlanta, is relying on Clear-Com’s HelixNet Digital Network Partyline, the LQ Series of IP Interfaces and the Agent-IC mobile app to facilitate efficient, higher-quality communications among its teams and technical crews. 

Demanding broadcast schedules

The company makes games for everyone to play, regardless of income or platform. It hosts multi-player gaming tournaments and enables the events to be broadcast on gaming and online platforms such as Twitch, Steam, Facebook and YouTube. The schedule is demanding, with an average of up to six league tournaments per week with a wide range in size, scope, and communications needs.

“We’re on anywhere from five to six days a week, with broadcasts lasting up to eight hours at a time, and we’re only continuing to grow,” said Roberts. “We definitely needed to get a handle on our comms capabilities.”

Complex interactions

A typical production crew for a Hi-Rez gaming event may include several producers, a director, a technical director, playback and graphics operators, stage screen operators, lighting and administrative teams. With HelixNet, all parties can talk and listen to other channels as needed, as well as chat point-to-point with team members, with the option to turn different audio streams on and off as needed throughout the event production. 

“It’s one-stop shopping,” he said. “It’s great not having to route 15 different things through multiple sources. For example, our audio operator can mix audio through the program feed without having to change headsets.

“Our production crews can talk to the talent without having to run a different IP system. All the different functions are easy to use and everything coming through the systems is clean and has almost no latency.”

Moving to remote work

With the onset of Covid-19, Hi-Rez was required to move all operations online, creating a need for remote production capabilities in addition to their wireless HelixNet matrix.

“That’s where the modular design of these systems really comes into play,” Roberts said. “As we grow and face unanticipated hurdles, the system is scalable and easy to change and expand.” 

To address their new remote communications needs, Roberts opted to add multiple LQ units. These systems extend the capabilities and intercom channels of the HelixNet system by interfacing with remote personnel who have downloaded the Agent-IC mobile app onto their smartphone, tablet or wearable device.

Agent-IC connects to LQ over 3G, 4G, LTE and Wi-Fi networks and provides users with a fully functional intercom client that can monitor the HelixNet system and receive interruptible foldback (IFB) feeds.

Growing together

As the eSports industry accelerates and expands, Roberts and Hi-Rez Studios are confident the Clear-Com systems will keep pace and grow with them, continuing to deliver increased quality, clarity, speed and a more streamlined production workflow.

“Our comms system has been a real game-changer, and I can rest easy knowing that it can rise to the challenge of whatever we need,” he concluded.