New WMAS Standard Promises More-Flexible, Protected Wireless Operations Shure, Sennheiser establish early beachheads in what could be a game-changer By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The lengthy narrative around the arrival of Wireless Multichannel Audio Systems is seemingly at its end. In October, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) conferred its bureaucratic blessing on the RF technology that allows significantly denser multiplexing of audio channels onto a single wideband RF carrier. Referred to by the only slightly less unwieldy acronym WMAS, the new standard promises an easier and more flexible wireless workflow and greater protection for other services sharing the same frequency band. It is widely considered a game-changer for managing wireless signals in a narrower, denser spectral environment in the wake of multiple spectrum reductions over the past two decades.
The approval has also opened a new front in the wireless-microphone competition, one in which two of the sector's largest brands, Sennheiser and Shure, have quickly staked substantial claims.
Sennheiser's Joe Ciaudelli: With WMAS, you're using the same RF channel and the same amount of bandwidth for [multiple mics] as for one.
It is definitely the start of a new era of wireless-microphone technology, says Joe Ciaudelli, director, spectrum and innovation, Sennheiser. Noting the nearly six years the FCC spent considering the technology and the eight months, from February to October, it took to publish its finding in the Federal Register, he adds, We expect the competition to be rigorous.
Shure Senior Director, Product Management, Nick Wood puts the arrival of WMAS into broad context: Any change in the UHF TV bands is a really big deal given the changes that have happened over the past 20 years, most of which affected access to spectrum. This one is a great development because it changes what we can do with it, and Shure has been determined to push the envelope with spectrum efficiency. What can be done with the spectrum that we have and the WMAS regulations unlock a new innovation space for us. We want to use that to let the people who produce these events, including broadcast sports, to be able to do more with the spectrum they have that day and be able to say yes to one more wireless microphone.
Two Competitive Fronts Sennheiser's flagship WMAS offering is the Spectera line, introduced at IBC in September (the technology is already an ETSI standard in Europe) and demonstrated at the Americas Spectrum Management Conference in Washington, DC, last month. It features wideband, bidirectional bodypacks and a central unit that can handle up to 32 I/O. Its bidirectional wireless ecosystem supports data and audio control in a single RF carrier for all components and for such parameters as IEM volume, audio level and settings, RF health, and battery status. Sennheiser asserts that it is able to accommodate an entire production in a single wideband (6- or 8-MHz) RF carrier.
Shure's entry takes the form of a new iteration of the company's Axient wireless series: Axient Digital PSM combines its first digital wireless in-ear monitoring solution with its first WMAS-enabled product. It was announced Oct. 22 (although it had been selectively previewed privately two weeks earlier during the AES/NAB expo in New York, at which Sennheiser did not exhibit). Stereo capability enables Axient Digital PSM to operate as two discrete channels, allowing a stereo audio channel to function effectively as two mono IFB channels. Additionally, the capability to send Dante signals to the Audio Digital Transmission Exchange (ADTX) simplifies routing. The WMAS wideband implementation supports up to 28 channels per 6 MHz in the U.S. and 40 channels per 8 MHz in Europe; a narrowband mode provides access to more RF output power per channel while maintaining spectral efficiency at 17 channels per 6 MHz.
Changing the Game The new FCC rules will allow WMAS to operate in the broadcast-TV bands and in the 600 MHz duplex gap on both a licensed and an unlicensed basis and in other Part 74 LPAS (low-power auxiliary stations) frequency bands on a licensed basis. Power restrictions are 50 mW in the VHF-TV bands, 250 mW conducted power in the UHF band, 20 mW in the 600 MHz duplex gap (653-657 MHz), 250 mW conducted power in the 1435-1525 MHz band, and 1 W conducted power in all other bands, according to the FCC's website. WMAS will enable more wireless microphones to operate in the available spectrum (more microphones per megahertz of spectrum), providing additional options when more microphones are needed.
The WMAS rules do not alter existing spectrum rights or expectations regarding spectrum access and availability related to other authorized users' sharing the frequency bands with wireless-microphone operations (including, for example, broadcast licensees, Wi-Fi, and white-space-device users).
Sennheiser's Take For broadcast-sports applications, Ciaudelli - who contends that Spectera is the most innovative product the nearly 80-year-old company has ever produced - notes a broadcaster's typical complement of one transmitter for a microphone and one receiver for an IFB. That, he says, can be condensed into a single transceiver using Spectra WMAS. There's a similar benefit for large-scale events, such as the Olympics, in which various echelons of wireless mics are in either active or on standby status as a production unfolds.
With WMAS, he explains, you could give the vast majority of the spectral resources to the mics that are currently on-air. The mics that are, let's say, on deck' you give just enough resources to make sure that they remain linked to the base station in a ready mode. You're using the
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...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
New appointments to Screen Australia board 7 July 2026
The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the Screen Australia board.
Dr Tania Chamber...
07/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
07/07/2026
Berklee College of Music Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's...
07/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists train the immune system to make antibodies against numerous HIV strains Preclinical findings mark progress toward a long-sought vacc...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Open source AI has shown how quickly developers can innovate when models, data a...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
New WMAS Standard Promises More-Flexible, Protected Wireless Operations Shure, Sennheiser establish early beachheads in what could be a game-changer By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
