
DTV Audio Group Zoom Seminar Revisits Enhanced' Crowd Sound Discussion indicates how attitudes on the concept have evolved By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Monday, September 14, 2020 - 12:34 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The DTV Audio Group Sept. 8 online seminar Crowd-Less Audio II Sounds From the Bubbles and Beyond took a second look at the subject of artificial (or enhanced ) crowd audio pumped into sports venues and on broadcasts, a follow-up to the DTVAG's Zoom seminar on the topic in May. During that earlier event, participants were generally - sometimes vehemently - opposed to the idea of using prerecorded crowd audio. The September discussion indicated a markedly different attitude.
Said one A1 in the earlier meeting, The players and us rely on the cheering, especially of the home crowd. And that sounds and feels very different from any fake crowd noise.
DTAVG seminar participants representing broadcasters and vendors have reversed their attitude toward artificial crowd noise in venues.
Said another, We're not making a film. What we're doing is documenting a live event, and we're not adding sweetening or sound effects. It needs to be accurate and realistic.
The more recent event reflected what one participating A1 called a 180-degree shift in attitudes toward the concept.
The latest event looked at so-called enhanced crowd audio used thus far on MLB, MLS, NBA, NASCAR, NHL, and PGA games, matches, races, and broadcasts, as well as what to expect with NFL coverage.
America Likes It' Participants who had worked on the NBA's enclosed environment at the Wide World of Sports complex were highly complimentary of its audio quality and the unique design of its infrastructure, which placed a surround-type PA system around the perimeters of the basketball courts to allow the prerecorded crowd sounds - sourced from NBA videogames and archived broadcast games - to follow the action around the field of play, just as actual crowd reactions do. The convergence of the NBA's restarted season and postseason play in a single, highly controlled venue - the NHL is confined to two locations, but baseball, soccer, and the NFL are using home teams' own venues for games - was credited with much of the quality of its enhanced sound. Brian Rio, director, sound design, Warner Media Studios, describing himself as initially skeptical of the idea, noted that analysis of social-media comments on the topic suggests that America likes it.
ESPN Senior Audio Engineer Scott Pray, another initial skeptic, said, It's working and working well. It sounds like a regular NBA game, and that's success. The controlled environment is an advantage; it makes it believable.
Comparing the NBA's bubble to a mini Olympics arena, ESPN Associate Director, Remote Production Operations, Henry Rousseau put the NBA's audio in context: It augments the situation we're in now. It doesn't take the place of fans but gives a sense of what it used to sound like, without over-exaggerating [it].
Turner Sports/Warner Media Senior Audio Engineer Dave Grundtvig, the engineering architect of the NBA's under-court contact-microphone arrays that pick up effects sound, emphasized that this is not fake sound but rather enhanced and sweetened, and it's truly an art what [the crowd-sound mixers] are doing. They've embraced and adapted it and have the tools to make it work.
Those under-floor microphones are apparently gaining fans at the networks. Grundtvig explained that they are picking up some of the crowd sound from the PA speakers in addition to the sneaker squeaks and, when combined with room ambience from high-placed microphones, provide a nicely rounded mix for the RSNs taking the game feeds from ESPN and the league. Some wonder, he noted, if this kind of array could be manufactured for regular use.
It's not easy, he said, but it's a great experiment, and we'll see how to push it forward.
Hockey Analyzing the NHL's implementation of enhanced crowd audio, Karl Malone, director, sound design, NBC Sports and Olympics, said that league reaction to an early demonstration of a system using Ableton Live and a matrix controller was positive but that the league was unsure whether it wanted to use that audio for the ice only or to also feed it to the broadcast.
Matt Coppedge, senior audio engineer, NBC Sports, and Jeff Kozak, senior audio engineer, Dome Productions, both of whom mix the crowd sounds in Toronto and Edmonton, confirmed that, once players heard the crowd sounds, they wanted more, a trend that has extended to most sports over the summer. Coppedge credited EA Sports with not only sourcing the crowd sounds but also coming up with highly specific ones, such as the sharp intake of collective breath when a player is suddenly injured.
Kozak noted that the choice of the controller was important because the matrix arrangement of input buttons allows the very fast reactions required by hockey's speed. Patrick Castonguay, senior audio engineer, Dome Productions, who mixes NHL games for the network, paid Coppedge and Kozak what he called the highest possible compliment: It sounds amazing, like a regular hockey game. It sounds good and natural. I like that it's in the PA system, because it's more of a live feel. It gives me a good sound bed I can work around.
A Mixed Bag in Baseball Baseball has had a less consistent experience with artificial crowd sounds, mainly because of the often wide acoustical and technical variations between MLB stadiums. Thirty different PA systems [of various vintages, types, and quality] and 30 different editorial-decision makers, said Glenn Stilwell, senior audio engineering/operations manager, PAC-12 Networks. It has been a mixed bag, but it's getting better.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
17/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/06/2026
Montr al, Quebec, June 11, 2026 Kiloview, a leading provider of AV-over-IP and NDI -based video transmission solutions, today announced a distribution partner...
17/06/2026
Changsha, China, June 15, 2026 Kiloview officially announced the launch of U4 IP Video Dock, a compact IP video decoder and output dock designed to bring prof...
17/06/2026
Calibr-Skaggs awarded $5.1M by NIH to develop long-acting hepatitis B virus therapy A new program aims to replace a daily HBV drug with once-monthly or even qua...
16/06/2026
Thomson's highly regarded expert-led online learning courses are now easier to access on the go via our new App.
Available now on Google Play Store, the J...
16/06/2026
Neumann.Berlin has released firmware version 2.0 for the MT 48 audio interface, adding plugin compatibility, expanded Dante networking options, broadcast encode...
16/06/2026
TVNewsCheck has announced that nominations are now open for its 2027 Women in Technology Awards, to be presented at NAB Show 2027 on Tuesday, April 6 in the Med...
16/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced Avalon, a 1RU IP intercom platform for broadcast, live events, and production environments. Designed for IP-only workflows, Avalon suppo...
16/06/2026
SNS has published a guide to remote video editing workflows using its EVO shared storage platform and companion tools, covering use cases ranging from home edit...
16/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced that the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, have deployed five Grass Valley LD...
16/06/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced the launch of the Official IPMX Training Series, a free online program covering the design, configurati...
16/06/2026
Swerve TV has announced distribution agreements with Fubo, Plex, Amazon Fire TV,...
16/06/2026
ATP and TikTok have announced an expansion of their global content partnership, extending the ATP's TikTok hub powered by TikTok GamePlan to cover all nine ...
16/06/2026
Network's LA facility serves as the heart of a sprawling operation built to ...
16/06/2026
At Pico, the network's media-management team is supporting a flood of HBS fe...
16/06/2026
The NHL will no longer air on CBC after the pulic broadcasters and national rights-holder Rogers Sportsnet were unable to come to agreement.
After a successfu...
16/06/2026
As live sports broadcasters continue to seek new ways to make complex action mor...
16/06/2026
Built with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in mind, these small but mighty IP-based tran...
16/06/2026
Boasts individual synths for each band
UVI's latest synth takes an interesting approach to synthesis, offering a trio of synth engines that each operate...
16/06/2026
New intelligent auto-fader plug-in unveiled
PSPaudioware's latest release offers automatic level adjustment and provides more detailed control than many...
16/06/2026
New performance-focused library announced
Crystal Pads is the latest addition to The Crow Hill Company's ever-growing product range, and according to th...
16/06/2026
Developed in partnership with Sequential
In recent years, GForce Software have branched into official emulations of classic hardware synths, delivering a ha...
16/06/2026
Designed specifically for live performance monitoring
beyerdynamic's latest announcement sees the company introduce an affordable in-ear monitoring syst...
16/06/2026
Official emulation celebrates iconic synth's 40th anniversary
Cherry Audio have just introduced Ensoniq ESQ-1, an official recreation of the 1986 polyph...
16/06/2026
Australians place growing trust in SBS News
16 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has been recognised as one of Australia's most trusted news providers, ran...
16/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz achieves highest number of GCF validated 3GPP NR NTN test cases ...
16/06/2026
Bydgoszcz to Become a Local Centre of Excellence for Advanced Rail Technologies....
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
87 Percent of Creators Who Use Creative AI Say It Is Growing Their Business and ...
16/06/2026
Historic Zhuque-3 Reusable Rocket Test Mission Captured with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton June 16, 2026
0 Comments
Apple Immersive Video puts view...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Rise WIB, the award-winning advocacy group championing gender diversity and career progression across the broadcast and media technology industry, today announc...
16/06/2026
Limecraft today announced the availability of Limecraft 2026.4, the fourth of eight planned platform releases this year. The update introduces Team-Based Access...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Free Program Supports IPMX Education from Foundational Concepts Through System and Network Design
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced t...
16/06/2026
Share your views on Screen Australia and the future of the industry 15 June 2026
Your feedback matters.
Following the instrumental insights provided in 2025,...
16/06/2026
Enterprises are moving agentic AI from proof of concept to production - and the next generation of AI factories are built for the era of agents.
At HPE Discove...
16/06/2026
AI runs at the speed of light. More and more, that light is made in Texas.
Cohe...
16/06/2026
Techtel Supports T-Motion RCCP-2A Controller Upgrade for Major Australian Broadc...
16/06/2026
Tuesday 16 June 2026
Record audiences tune in for opening weekend of ICC Women&...
16/06/2026
Every breakthrough AI model starts the same way: with a training run. The infrastructure running those training jobs shapes everything: how fast teams can itera...
15/06/2026
One of the more exciting internal video production divisions within a college at...
15/06/2026
The deal valued at $22 Billion is expected to close in the first half of 2027...