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 ...
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
29/05/2026
At just 20 years old, Sean Melia from Summerhill Co. Meath has been revealed as the winner of Super Garden 2026. Sean is the youngest ever contestant and winner...
29/05/2026
Experimental HIV vaccine achieves a long-sought goal In a first for the field, all non-human primates given a new series of vaccines generated antibodies capabl...
28/05/2026
Thomsons Climate Crisis Toolkit is already being put to work, helping journalist...
28/05/2026
FOX Sports' MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy ...
28/05/2026
One of the most memorable postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
28/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most-decorated and most-watched pro...
28/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
DTV Audio Group Zoom Seminar Revisits Enhanced' Crowd Sound Discussion indicates how attitudes on the concept have evolved By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
