Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Small Changes Make Substantial Differences in NFL Audio

05/10/2022

Small Changes Make Substantial Differences in NFL Audio Nimble parabs, additional A2s help the sound keep up this season By Dan Daley, Audio Editor

Wednesday, October 5, 2022 - 7:00 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

The NFL stadium crowds are back everywhere, all the time now, in a sports milieu that demands more sound, louder sound, and more sources than ever. Broadcasters' football A1s understand that the sport may be the most restrictive when it comes to access to sound sources - the league has always retained control of and access to the two player microphones on the field, a cornerstone of the sport's audio on television for a decade - but that has only made their pursuit of the rest of gridiron sound that much more intense and interesting. That has certainly continued this season.

Parabs to the Rescue At Fox Sports, lead A1 Jamie McCombs, like all football mixers, is still dealing with the loss of 20 yards of sideline real estate for his parab operators: a COVID protocol put in place by the league last year limits the movements of up to two operators per side to the area from the end zone to the 25-yard line, instead of to the 35-yard line. To compensate, he notes, submixer Eddie Verstraete has been experimenting with new microphones in the parabolic collectors - currently, a Neumann - attached to the new crossbars that parab manufacturer Klover came up with this year for its Mik 26 model. (The updated unit, currently in a beta-type stage, has stronger handles, and parts are modular to better facilitate field repairs. According to Klover President Paul Terpstra, the modification was first tested by Fox Sports during the USFL season and will be evaluated this NFL season by CBS Sports.)

A1 Jamie McCombs: It's loud, but we're really enjoying the noise.

Losing those extra sideline yards last year was tough, says McCombs. What helps is experimenting with the reach of the parabs themselves, and the NFL's enhanced audio from the microphones on the players, which is still great sound.

As per the collective-bargaining agreement between the league and the NFLPA, microphones can be placed on either a guard or the starting and backup center for each game. Fox Sports is going with six parabs this season: four on the sidelines, two in the end zones.

McCombs also notes the growing amount of Dante signal transport at games. The network is used for all RF sources, including the Shure Axient wireless microphones and the RF mics in the parabs. Most recently, its use has been extended to bringing in the voice of rules analyst Mike Pereira from Fox Sports' Los Angeles studios to any game he's needed on. His intercom and IFB are on a Unity IT-based comms system to production and from there on Dante to distribution.

We've been using Dante for two years now, and [Game Creek Video] Encore just upgraded to accommodate more Dante capability to the console, McCombs explains. We're still using Hydra networking, such as to the announce booth, but less and less of it over time as more and more Dante goes out into the field.

A2s Bring Experience to Parabolic Mics ESPN implemented a subtle but significant audio change this season when it agreed to supply two A2s as parab operators, replacing two of the four utility personnel previously assigned to four parabs per game. Jonathan Freed - one of two A1s, along with Scott Pray, for the broadcaster's flagship Monday Night Football production - says addition of the more experienced and technically capable A2s helps improve the overall audio experience with technicians who are better aware of game nuances and can better leverage the capabilities and potential of the parabs. Utility workers, as their rubric suggests, are usually relied on for such tasks as cable management behind cameras and other semi-technical jobs.

A good, experienced A2 can anticipate action on the field, which helps the production flow, he says, noting that the new A2s are working the sideline parabs, the mics most affected by the loss of sideline space. They know how the equipment works and what it can do. From my perspective, the parab operator is as important to the A1 as the camera operator is to the director. We're very happy that we were able to help make this happen.

Skycam to the Rescue The loss of sideline real estate for parabs has put an even greater premium on the Skycam, with Freed and other A1s increasingly relying on it for audio-gathering. Starting several years ago, Freed worked with the Skycam team on integrating the Schoeps SuperCMIT digital microphone aboard the unit. The mic's integrated DSP detects discrete sound from different directions while also recognizing diffuse field sound from all directions, similar to the effect produced by a shotgun mic. The algorithm is designed to suppress diffuse sound and to focus on discrete sound, giving it the capability of covering as much of the field as the camera itself while rejecting crowd noise.

But, adds Freed, the mic's digital nature means A1s can remotely access parameters - capsule gain, filtering - from the console through the SuperCMIT's digital phantom-power infrastructure. In addition, the audio signal is embedded as an AES-3 format with that of the camera and can be de-embedded and sent discretely over fiber to the A1 console.

He says, It's a fantastic improvement over the RF microphones that we used to pair with the Skycam.

Back to Loud What all NFL A1s are sharing this season is volume, with the stadiums returning to full capacity for every game. At Seattle's open-top Lumen Field, Freed measured the Broncos-Seahawks game in Week 1 at 104 dB. He notes that, to prevent overloads, he has been lowering the input gain slightly on crowd mics. It's not unexpected, and it can be challenging trying to capture all the
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2022/10/05/small-changes-make-substantial-...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

10/09/2026

First AI-Generated Golf Announcer To Debut During New Mexico Open

Duff Foreman is an AI-generated announcer who will add color to this month's New Mexico Open...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: Bitmovin Rolls Out Encoder Version 3

Bitmovin is rolling out Encoder Version 3, the next major release of the technology behind its VOD and Live Encoders. Version 3 is built on a premise every stre...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: Net Insight Highlights Open Live Media for Controlled Live Services

At IBC2026, on booth 1.B47, Net Insight will showcase Open Live Media, its architecture for delivering resilient live media services across networks, partners, ...

10/09/2026

PWHL, Scripps Sports Sign National Television Deal for 2026-27 Season

The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and Scripps Sports have announced a national broadcast rights agreement for the 2026-27 season, a landmark par...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: Trusted Partner Network Debuts Fix It or Risk It to Tackle Everyday Security Risks

The Trusted Partner Network (TPN), the global content security initiative powere...

10/09/2026

NFL Brings Back Creator Programs to Deliver Access, Original Storytelling During the 2026 Season

The NFL is launching its most expansive creator programming yet, bringing togeth...

10/09/2026

Sportsnet Removes 150 Blackouts for More National NHL Games Than Ever in 2026-2027 Season

Sportsnet is set to deliver its biggest hockey season ever with a national sched...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: LiveU Showcases Starlink for News and Sports Broadcast as Clarus Integrated Reseller

LiveU is now a Clarus Integrated Reseller, bringing Starlink's fast, reliabl...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: Mimir Develops Single Layer for Content, Metadata, AI Orchestration

Mimir is the cloud-native media production platform built for teams that need to move media fast across live, archive, web, social, and broadcast workflows. At ...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: ATSC 3.0 To Receive Technology & Engineering Emmy Award for Significant Advancement in Television Broadcasting

ATSC is being honored with a 2026 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award by the Nat...

10/09/2026

Audio-Technica Presents BP880R Contact Transducer for Immersive Sports Broadcast, Production Audio Enhancement

Audio-Technica has introduced the BP880R Contact Transducer, a specialized micro...

10/09/2026

ESPN, ION Team Up to Broadcast WTGL Starting on Nov. 8

TMRW Sports in partnership with the LPGA, today announced multiyear U.S. media rights agreements with ESPN and Scripps Sports/ION to bring WTGL, the new women&#...

10/09/2026

SportsNet Pittsburgh Honors Roberto Clemente Day With Second-Annual Live Spanish-Language Pirates Telecast

SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) in partnership with Major League Baseball and the Pit...

10/09/2026

Tennis Channel Gives Fans Options With Premium Subscription on Roku

Tennis Channel announced today its launch as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel. Tennis Channel offers viewers a single home for Tennis Channel and Ten...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform With New Capabilities

Dolby has announced major updates to Dolby OptiView, its live sports platform, ahead of IBC 2026. The updates include new AI-powered intelligence to better unde...

10/09/2026

Dalet Names Brian Doheny as CEO

Dalet has appointed Brian Doheny as CEO. Doheny joined Dalet as President and Chief Revenue Officer in April 2026. Since joining Dalet, Doheny has led the compa...

10/09/2026

IBC 2026: Sony Demonstrates Various Creative Solutions for Attendees at the RAI

Sony, as well as its partner company Nevion, is starting IBC 2026 with a handful of announcements for attendees to see on the show floor. Sony Announces the 4t...

10/09/2026

SoFi Stadium Solidifies Production Output With Multi-Layered Tech Renovation

The six-year-old venue is expanding capabilities for NFL action, Super Bowl LXI, 2028 Summer Olympics SoFi Stadium, as well as the surrounding area known as Ho...

10/09/2026

Acon Digital introduce Acoustica 8

Editing, restoration & mastering suite upgraded Acon Digital Acoustica 8 audio editing restoration mastering software. Acon Digital have just launched the la...

10/09/2026

Readipop & XOX open XOX Studio

Classic synths & drum machines available to play Based in Reading, UK, Readipop are a music and arts charity with a long track record of innovative, partici...

10/09/2026

Neumann launch the KH 310 II & KH 350

Popular model updated & new addition introduced With many of the models in Neumann's KH family now boasting onboard DSP and support for the company'...

10/09/2026

Arturia launch the AudioFuse Studio Rev2

Improved desktop interface announced The latest iteration of Arturia's flagship desktop audio interface has just arrived, introducing improved preamps, ...

10/09/2026

Progress needs proof: Rohde & Schwarz showcases its trailblazing test solutions at EuMW 2026 in London

Progress needs proof: Rohde & Schwarz showcases its trailblazing test solutions ...

10/09/2026

Nielsen launches CTV ad spend data into its French Ad Intel product

France launch follows UK and Germany as Nielsen expands product across EMEA Paris, France, September 10, 2026 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measuremen...

10/09/2026

Fabric Data, TMT Insights Merge to Create Fabric Insights

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Leading Audio Manufacturers Join Forces on Dialog Intelli...

Leading professional audio manufacturers NUGEN Audio, RTW, Steinberg and Telos Alliance have joined forces with Fraunhofer IDMT to establish a common approach t...

10/09/2026

Setplex Introduces AI Insider for Faster Smarter Video Se...

Built Into Setplex's Zapflex Platform, AI Insider Turns Video Service Data Into Actionable Insights Setplex today introduced AI Insider, a breakthrough new...

10/09/2026

sync labs to Introduce sync productions at IBC2026 Bringi...

Managed service changes dialogue without actor-specific training or facial rigging while preserving the original performance and fitting established post-produc...

10/09/2026

ACT Pixel Academy Autumn Courses PR

The ACT Entertainment tvONE and Green Hippo Pixel Academy has released its autumn course schedule, with hands-on training dates in September, October and Novemb...

10/09/2026

Orange Polska Reaffirms Its Trust in Viaccess-Orca with M...

Orange Polska continues to Rely on Viaccess-Orca for Secure TV Services and the Next Phase of its Technology Evolution Viaccess-Orca (VO), a global leader in T...

10/09/2026

Generate and create directly in your timeline with new AI-powered innovations in Premiere and After Effects

Generate and create directly in your timeline with new AI-powered innovations in...

10/09/2026

Tedial to introduce Media Business Hub at IBC 2026

Tedial is introducing Media Business Hub (MBH) at IBC 2026, a new business enablement platform designed to help media organizations unlock the full value of the...

10/09/2026

Globecast Unveils Next Phase of Media Orchestration at IB...

Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will unveil the next phase of its transformation at IBC2026 with a preview...

10/09/2026

Fabric Data and TMT Insights Merge to Create Fabric Insig...

Fabric Data and TMT Insights today announced that the two companies are combining to create Fabric Insights, uniting authoritative data, purpose-built software,...

10/09/2026

Operative Launches Unified Platform to Transform Advertis...

Operative, the preferred advertising and broadcast management provider for the world's leading media brands, today announced a comprehensive slate of new pr...

10/09/2026

Leader announces new Sx2 handheld Test and Measurement se...

Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, has announced the launch of its latest range of handheld signal generation, analysis and monitoring ...

10/09/2026

Kiloview Partners with Zixi to Deliver Reliable IP Video...

The partnership begins with native Zixi protocol support on the Kiloview D350 and will extend to deeper product integration and joint go-to-market initiatives ...

10/09/2026

Avid and FilmLight announce strategic partnership to reimagine the color pipeline for post production

Avid and FilmLight announce strategic partnership to reimagine the color pipelin...

10/09/2026

Maxon Brings Exclusive Preview of Fall Innovations to IBC2026

Maxon Brings Exclusive Preview of Fall Innovations to IBC2026 Brie Clayton September 10, 2026 0 Comments IBC attendees will get the first look at new ...

10/09/2026

Three Boston Conservatory Dance Alums Honored for Their Early-Career Promise

Three Boston Conservatory Dance Alums Honored for Their Early-Career Promise India Hobbs and Demetrius Lee received Princess Grace Awards, while Lilly David t...

10/09/2026

MonoNeon Returns to Berklee to Kick Off Signature Series

MonoNeon Returns to Berklee to Kick Off Signature Series The Grammy-winning bassist and alumnus performs with students and faculty from the Planet MicroJam In...

10/09/2026

Study: NFL Ad Revenue to Hit a Record $6.3 Billion

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Teradek Unveils Bolt 7 With 900MHz RF Pipeline

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Survey: Roku Remains Most Popular Streamer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Sony Unveils Fourth Generation Of DWX Wireless Mics

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Scripps Revamps Local Media Regional Leadership Structure

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...