Tech Focus: Immersive Sports Sound, Part 1 - Venue Systems May Be the Next Logical Step
05/10/2022
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Immersive audio for broadcast sports is already far along in the process of establishing itself as a standard. Dolby Atmos has been used on-air in proof-of-concept stages since 2016, with a growing number of events sending it out for regular broadcast, including the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Premier League, Super Bowl LVI, and, most recently, US Open tennis.
However, immersive sound has also been making inroads into entertainment venues - theaters, performing arts centers - for theatrical performances and music concerts. New and updated venues like Resorts World and Park MGM in Las Vegas, the Beacon Theater in New York, and Broadway musicals have permanently installed so-called spatial sound systems, including Atmos, in the past two years.
Can sports stadiums and arenas be far behind?
Immersion in Memphis Memphis's 18,000-seat FedEx Forum may be the first to take that step. In July, Germany-based sound system developer d&b audiotechnik installed its immersive Soundscape system in the arena, home to the NBA Grizzlies and the University of Memphis's NCAA Division I men's basketball program. A temporary installation used for a non-sports-related event, the system served as a demo of a potential replacement for the venue's nearly 20-year-old sound system. Several interested parties - among them consultants and integrators in the sports sector - were able to listen to how immersive sound could work in an acoustically challenging environment like a sports arena. NDAs prohibit disclosure of who was there and any outcomes, according to Steve Seable, business development manager, d&b audiotechnik, but the event was positive.
Memphis's FedEx Forum served as a demo for d&b audiotechnik's immersive Soundscape system.
We had a vocalist in to sing the national anthem, and she began singing without an introduction or a spotlight, he explains, but everyone instantly knew where to look to see her, midway on the short end of the court behind the hoop. The sound is that localized.
Although immersive sound in cinema and television has taken the lead in the burgeoning sector, Seable says, its practical application in venues has depended on development of technology to manage it. Specifically, DSP had to reach a point where it could manage dozens of individual point sources and a matrix of delay speakers as a coherent single entity.
The technology for moving [live] sound objects around a matrix like that and keeping them all perfectly time-aligned didn't exist until four or five years ago, he says, referring to d&b's DS100 signal processor and R1 remote-control software, which handle those tasks for Soundscape.
Even with the most difficult processing challenges being addressed, sports venues will likely have to develop and evolve content to accommodate an immersive environment.
Most venue audio, such as sound effects and even music, is mono or at most stereo, says Seable. You need multitrack audio stems to best take advantage of immersive.
Moving Forward Cautiously Gino Pellicano, application project manager, L-Acoustics, whose L-ISA immersive sound system is in theaters and on concert tours, is generally sanguine about immersive's prospects in venues, but he wonders if, at least initially, immersive live sound in sports venues might best be reserved for special sections instead of the entire bowl.
L-Acoustic's Gino Pellicano: You want to think carefully about how you might deliver an experience [fans] can't get at home.
Arena-sound reinforcement is inherently challenging given the large volumes, hard surfaces, and corresponding long reverberation times, he says. Achieving acceptable speech intelligibility and preserving the impact and fidelity of music playback is a challenge under the best conditions. When you add that sports venues generally have audiences that surround the action on a field or court, adding immersive elements becomes very challenging. You need to consider what impact adding more speakers and sounds into these venues will have on the experience.
Immersive sound, Pellicano adds, can also be looked at as a pure effects proposition: moving live and prerecorded sound effects around a venue as a means of fan engagement. He also suggests the potential for immersive via hybrid solutions, such as the one offered by Mixhalo, a wireless-networking technology that can deliver high-resolution audio in real time to attendees' mobile devices at events. (L-Acoustics acquired an equity stake in the company last year.)
Ultimately, he says, immersive audio is feasible in sports venues, but it should be implemented and managed in a thoughtful way that is more than just having music/effects coming from all around the venue all the time.
You want to think carefully about how you might deliver an experience they can't get at home, Pellicano contends. Having smaller premium experiences in suites, coupled with subtly placed effects throughout the game/match, could elevate the experience, making it unique without becoming too fatiguing or gimmicky.
Installing Immersive Major systems integrators, which have been building much of the new loudspeaker-and-processing infrastructure for immersive broadcast audio, are also watching the sports-venue market develop. Diversified - whose sports-venue portfolio includes SoFi Stadium, Met Life Stadium, and Wells Fargo Center - obliquely entered the field in 2020 with the installation of a separate, parallel PA system in the Texas Rangers' Globe Life Field in March 2020, part of a larger audio infrastructu
LINK: | https://www.sportsvideo.org/2022/10/05/tech-focus-immersive-sports-sou... |
See more stories from svg |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
25/04/2024
Inside the Archives: Highlighting the Importance of Preservation for the Festival's 40th Edition
Sundance Institute Founder Robert Redford during a press conference at the 1996 ...
25/04/2024
SNS Dealer Of The Year Awards: See The Full List Of Winners
alt= class=wp-image-12361 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-booth-2024-960x540-1.jpg/> Set against a vibrant backdrop of innovation and collaboratio...
25/04/2024
Trends And Takeaways From NAB Show 2024
alt= class=wp-image-12356 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-mod-win-960x540-1.jpg/>NAB's Eric Trabb (right) awards SNS with two NAB Show Product...
25/04/2024
Peacock Subs Jump 55% YoY to 34M in Q1 2024
PHILADELPHIA Comcast beat earnings estimates in its Q1 2024 financial report, as streaming losses continued to decline and Peacock's paid subscribers spiked...
25/04/2024
Seattle Kraken Inks Deals with Tegna and Prime Video
SEATTLE The Seattle Kraken have inked new multi-year agreements with Tegna and Prime Video that will expand access to their games over broadcast stations and st...
25/04/2024
Opinion: charting a cloud driven future
M2A Medias Matt Hughes asks, is it time for news broadcasting to shift to the cloud? By Contributor Published: April 25, 2024 M2A Media's Matt Hughes ...
25/04/2024
Cintel Scanner G3 HDR+ Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glory
Cintel Scanner G3 HDR Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glo...
25/04/2024
Sinclair Names Kevin Coskren Chief Meteorologist at KTUL Tulsa
Sinclair Broadcast Group said it named Kevin Coskren chief meteorologist at KTUL, its ABC affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma....
25/04/2024
Attend The Business of TV News Event in D.C. on May 2
The Business of TV News, a new one-day event featuring Martha Raddatz, Shannon Bream, Glenn Kirschner and other major figures in television news, happens at Hot...
25/04/2024
Problematic FCC Conditions On Station Sale Could Create Detroit Drama
Conditions put on the proposed sale of WADL Detroit, to Mission Broadcasting have created a potential drama in the Motor City....
25/04/2024
TelevisaUnivision 1Q Loss Widens But DTC Business Expected To Turn Profit in Second Half
TelevisaUnivision reported a $52 million loss in the first quarter, up from $3 m...
25/04/2024
Comcast Earnings Flat As Video, Broadband Sub Losses Continue
Comcast reported flat first-quarter earnings as it reduced the red ink at Peacock but continued to lose video and broadband customers....
25/04/2024
Vevo Brings Music Videos To Telly's Dual Screen TVs
Music-video network Vevo said it launched its app on Telly, the company offering consumers free dual-screen TVs in return for data about what they're watchi...
25/04/2024
Future Today Redesigns Streaming App Interfaces
Future Today said it has introduced a redesigned user interface for about half of its 300 streaming apps, including Fawesome, HappyKids and iFood.TV....
25/04/2024
Czech mates
The writer and director of a hit Czech series tell Robert Shepherd about their approach to portraying real-life Pakistani kidnappings on the small screen, while...
25/04/2024
Molinaire Creative Group opens new Liverpool facility
Notorious DIT will work with the Liverpool Film Office to increase opportunities for regional talent By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 25, 2024 Notorio...
25/04/2024
Deutsche Telekom Powers New MagentaTV Service With Broadp...
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
25/04/2024
Lightware Enhances Microsoft Teams Rooms with Powerful BY...
Lightware Visual Engineering, a leading manufacturer of connectivity solutions for the professional integrated systems market and a pioneer in signal management...
25/04/2024
Net Insight secures collaboration with DMC Production to...
Net Insight has entered into a collaboration with DMC Production that positions Net Insight at the forefront of sports broadcasting in the Nordics. Net Insight ...
25/04/2024
GlobalM and scoopa announce strategic partnership to faci...
GlobalM has announced a strategic partnership with scoopa, the specialists in broadcast-quality content distribution, offering a complementary service for live ...
25/04/2024
DDish TV LLC Chooses PlayBox Neo Channel-in-a-Box for Bro...
PlayBox Neo announces the completion of a new multichannel playout system for the DDish direct-to-home satellite television network in Mongolia. Based in the na...
25/04/2024
Legendary Producer Garth Richardson Chooses PMC Monitors...
Canadian music producer and engineer Garth Richardson also known as Gggarth due to his stutter - has embraced immersive audio by installing a PMC monitoring s...
25/04/2024
Televisa transforms its broadcast ecosystem with proven t...
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced that Televisa, the Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company, has chosen Synamedia as its pa...
25/04/2024
OTTera partners with ThinkAnalytics to enhance personaliz...
OTTera, a leading provider of end-to-end OTT and FAST channel solutions, proudly announces its strategic partnership with ThinkAnalytics, a global leader in adv...
25/04/2024
Perfect Weather Forecast for American Tobacco Events Tonight and Saturday
The American Tobacco Campus will be hopping with activity tonight and this weekend with two fun events! Durham Night Market At last! The Durham Night Market i...
25/04/2024
Qurate Launches The Big Dish on The Roku Channel
WEST CHESTER, Pa. Video commerce provider Qurate Retail Group has launched The Big Dish, a new culinary-themed FAST channel on The Roku Channel....
25/04/2024
HPA Opens Submissions for 2024 HPA Engineering Excellence Awards
LOS ANGELES The Hollywood Professional Association has announced that submissions for the 2024 HPA Engineering Excellence Awards are now being accepted. This re...
25/04/2024
DV Earns MRC Accreditation for CTV Viewability
NEW YORK The digital media measurement and analytics firm DoubleVerify has announced that it has received Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for Video Vie...
25/04/2024
DAZN FAST Channels to Launch on Tubi
SAN FRANCISCO Fox Corp.'s ad-supported streaming service Tubi has announced a licensing agreement with the sports platform DAZN that will see DAZN Ringside ...
25/04/2024
IAB Makes Three Appointments to Its Leadership Team
NEW YORK In the runup to the 2024 IAB NewFronts, the IAB has announced three key appointments to its leadership team....
25/04/2024
Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.4 with new Motion Design Mode, Unreal VCam for Android, and more
Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.4 with new Motion Design Mode, Unreal VCam f...
25/04/2024
Content Creation, Production, Distribution Is In a State of Flux
Content Creation, Production, Distribution Is In a State of Flux Andy Marken April 24, 2024 0 Comments My empathy is creeping towards what I would de...
25/04/2024
Capitol Broadcasting Company to Air Carolina Panthers Games on Triangle's Strongest Broadcast Signal
The Carolina Panthers and Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) announced they have...
25/04/2024
Berklee Student Riko Sasaski Named 2024 Yamaha Young Performing Artist
Berklee Student Riko Sasaski Named 2024 Yamaha Young Performing Artist The accomplished saxophonist secured a spot among the elite winners of this year's ...
25/04/2024
Local News Close-Up: St. Louis Born and Bred
Stations everywhere take pride in having a main anchor who comes from the market they represent. That applies in St. Louis, too, but it also pertains to general...
25/04/2024
Edward Moody Joins WBTW Myrtle Beach Anchor Team
Edward Moody is joining the WBTW Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, anchor crew, and will anchor the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts alongside Trish Williford. He comes f...
25/04/2024
MTV Moving VMAs To New UBS Arena in New York
MTV said the 2024 Video Music Awards will return to New York and take place at the new UBS Arena....
25/04/2024
Offbeat Comedy The Outlaws' Returns to Prime Video Next Month
Season three of comedy The Outlaws premieres on Prime Video May 31. Stephen Merchant co-created the show, and stars. There are five episodes....
25/04/2024
Bidders Interested in Buying Bounce, Says Scripps CEO Adam Symson
The E.W. Scripps Co. is evaluating offers for Bounce, its multicast channel for African-American viewers, according to a report from CNBC....
25/04/2024
Paramount Plus Renews Dora'
Paramount Plus has ordered a second season for Dora, the animated preschool show based on Dora the Explorer. The show, featuring Dora on a rainforest adventure ...
25/04/2024
Bayanat and Yahsat Shareholders Approve Merger to Create SPACE42
Bayanat AI PLC (ADX: BAYANAT), a leading AI-powered geospatial solutions provider, and Al Yah Satellite Communications Company P.J.S.C. (ADX: YAHSAT), the UAE...
25/04/2024
Tribeca Festival 2024 Announces Audio Storytelling and Games Lineup
April 25th, 2024 Press Materials Available Here TRIBECA FESTIVAL 2024 ANNOUNCES AUDIO STORYTELLING AND GAMES LINEUP Audio Storytelling Program Features 10th ...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand
NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand Mobile cells will help accommodate first responders, social media, sports betti...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Production of Post-First-Round Draft Show on NFL+
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Pro...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presentations
NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presenta...
25/04/2024
Unlock the potential of automated node-based and no-code media workflows at MPTS 2024
Published On: April 25th, 2024 data-orig-src=https://www.sgo.es/wp-content/upl...