What’s your current go-to for crew + client comms when we’re shooting a 30s CPG spot in a live store with music blasting? I’ve been mixing Unity on phones for agency with Clear-Com wired for AD/DP and Comteks for talent, but last week in a Vegas grocery at 5 a.m. the chatter got muddy and battery swaps slowed us down — any smarter combo or headset model that’s working for you on a 20-person crew and two cams?
I stopped the mud by taking Unity off cell/store Wi‑Fi and running it on a dedicated 5 GHz DFS access point (UniFi 6 Lite on a V‑mount via PoE); in a ‘5 a.m. in a Vegas grocery’ it stays clean and the agency hears notes. Are you bringing your own router or leaning on house Wi‑Fi?
And i’ve had better luck pulling agency off Unity and onto Motorola DLRs (900 MHz) with “PTT only for clients”; batteries run all day and the PTT kills the crosstalk. For crew, Clear-Com with high‑isolation headsets like Sennheiser HMD 300 PRO or a David Clark keeps the store music out and the AD sane. If you must keep Unity, force PTT and issue wired boom headsets via a tiny USB interface (RØDE AI‑Micro) to tame the mud — would you try that next run?
I’ve been moving crew to Clear‑Com FreeSpeak II (1.9 GHz) with DT 297 dual‑ear headsets and parking agency on DLR PTT; in loud groceries the DECT isolation and 12–18 hr packs ended the mud and battery chaos. @kevin1569 your DFS AP tip is clutch if Unity sticks around — have you tried Bolero/FreeSpeak in RF‑heavy stores? https://www.riedel.net/products-solutions/intercom/bolero/.