Communication Systems

Communication packages in China combine the brands that global shoots know. These include Motorola digital and analog handsets, Clear-Com and Riedel intercom systems, Vertex two-ways, IFB feeds for talent, and surveillance earpieces for ADs. We pair them with Hytera, the Shenzhen-based Chinese brand that is now the top rental-stock radio in Beijing and Shanghai depots. Hytera offers a price-and-access edge that matters on large-unit shoots. Its radios work with Motorola DMR frequencies when channel plans are set up right.

Wireless beltpacks, base stations, repeater systems, IFB feeds, and camera talkback all ship pre-programmed for your department channel plan. Directors and 1st ADs sit on a separate group from camera, grip, electric, locations, and stunts. Backup units arrive charged and labelled.

The hard part of communication in China is range, not gear. MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology) is China's version of the FCC. It licenses every RF channel a foreign production uses. Short-term permits need lead time, supporting paperwork, and a frequency plan that our rental team files. Foreign shoots cannot legally run unlicensed radios in mainland China. Enforcement is active at major hubs like Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong, and Shenzhen Bao'an airports.

On the ground, the picture gets more specific. Our team surveys locations in advance for coverage. The Hengdian backlot, Forbidden City courtyards with thick walls, Shanghai Bund building canyons, and remote Yunnan or Inner Mongolia exteriors each behave differently. We deploy repeaters where they are needed. Our coordinator stays on call through wrap to swap units, add radios mid-shoot, and settle frequency conflicts in real time.