I can understand the ipods , they are a bbc and itv spec for remote interviews as they can be remotely balanced for sound and vision with the use of their ipad media app for interviews, they mimic an studio interview., feeds of the live stream, gallery - you will be on in 5,4,3,2, image correction background noise etc and the pips...these count down the interview time slot....that's why politicians start banging on about something to kill the interview. Normally one ear has the interviewer and the other is for the floor manager, cut to tape in..
They put the app up as a download free for media courses at schools, it is amazingly good, did all the background blurring, green screen and linked up 8 ipods to one ipad, the ipad link was silky smooth, 5 ipads all linked showing the camera views.. Built its own mesh network.