Immersive audio pioneer Felix Kr ckels talks to TVBEurope about next generation audio, how to prepare, and how to mix the audio for live broadcasts.
By Contributor
Published: November 26, 2020
Immersive audio pioneer Felix Kr ckels talks to TVBEurope about next generation audio, how to prepare, and how to mix the audio for live broadcasts.
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Immersive audio pioneer Felix Kr ckels talks to TVBEurope about next generation audio, how to prepare, and how to mix the audio for live broadcasts.
https://www.tvbeurope.com/audio/an-inside-look-at-immersive-audio title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Felix Kr ckels is a certified audio engineer who has been involved in immersive audio mixing since 2012. He was the audio engineer for the international feed at UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, both of which were produced in 5.1. The FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia was another highlight of his career: it was produced in Dolby Atmos.
Kr ckels became involved in 3D audio almost by accident when he was asked to support an immersive project for the Confed Cup in 2013 as a test for producing the FIFA World Cup Final in Brazil, in 2014, in 3D/immersive audio.
While the production of the 2014 final still required post-processing and mixing (the 3D audio rendition was not available for the live telecast), live production came along at the Women's World Cup in Vancouver the following year. For this occasion, the entire signal path, from the microphones through to end consumers' homes, was successfully covered for the first time. The tournament in Russia, for its part, was telecast in quasi-ATMOS 3D/immersive audio.
One Step Removed According to Kr ckels, the most important mixing challenges are the bonus features afforded by immersive audio: the A1/sound supervisor/audio engineer (different monikers for the same person) has to bear in mind the freedom and flexibility granted to end consumers of the audio content.
This is due to the object-based nature of the MPEG-H or ATMOS audio material: end consumers can individualise the streams they receive by changing the levels of the ambience, the commentator, etc. The A1 therefore needs to take a step back and prepare the material in a way that allows for different mixes.
With next-generation audio (NGA) object-based audio productions, focusing on listening scenarios is no longer possible: sound supervisors create a three-dimensional space based on a given number of objects. This audio content can be consumed using binaural headphones, speakers (2, 4, 6), soundbars, up-fire speakers, etc., and the result can no longer be completely predicted by the A1.
Enter the rendering principle: the audio objects supplied to end consumers contain coordinates rather than channel or speaker references. These allow the decoder at home to render the immersive audio content as a translation/adaptation of the panning information to the real-life speaker setup in end consumers' homes.
Sound supervisors still need to check whether their mix works in a variety of listening scenarios, even though none of them may correspond to the rendition at home. Up to four presentations are prepared and checked against typical final speaker layouts an A1 needs to check at regular intervals (5.1.4 5.1 Stereo, all with and without commentary-for four presentations).
Among the presentations Kr ckels prepares is a creation he's developed with the Dolby team called the Pub Presentation , where the crowd at the sports venue is barely audible, leaving ample room for the cheers and boos produced live by the people watching the game at the bar. Field-of-play audio details, like ball kicks, tackles, whistle and groaning noises, on the other hand, are hyped.
So Far, So Immersive Individualisation of 3D/immersive audio can be a blessing in disguise, though: the added flexibility can easily lead to situations where tweaks by end-users blur the audio content beyond recognition.
This explains why sound supervisors of immersive audio productions often favour a conservative approach, with relatively few bells and whistles. They know that they are unable to control what viewers at home do to the incoming presentations and therefore limit the options at the source.
The production as such is relatively straightforward and very similar to 5.1 scenarios, except for the added dimension (height/elevation), which merely requires additional busses on the mixing console.
Immersive Nuts and Bolts The most important consideration for an A1 is the ease with which they can monitor the various presentations and formats (stereo, surround, 3D) right from their console. Lawo's mc mixers have allowed audio engineers to control all relevant parameters for over a decade, because speed is of the essence.
As the console itself is only one element-with an external renderer contributing other aspects-the ability to control all relevant devices via one user interface becomes paramount. Thanks to their integration with Dolby and their open Ember control protocol, mc consoles are an important step in the right direction.
As far as 3D microphone placement is concerned, the first step is to look for a venue's sweet spot , i.e. the position where you can hear everything. This position is usually located close to camera 1, i.e. the main camera.
The 3D microphone is suspended from the roof, at a suitable distance from the crowd. It serves the same purpose as a suspended microphone used to capture the overall sound of a symphonic orchestra. For reasons of intelligibility and flexibility, spot microphones are positioned close to all important sound sources. The resulting signals are combined to make acoustic sense for the signals coming out of nine speakers.
Kr ckels likes to work with three planes for his mixes: a
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
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...
27/07/2026
New app turns vocal percussion into polished loops
Vochlea, the company behind the voice-to-MIDI instrument Dubler 2, have just announced the launch of a ne...
27/07/2026
Latest MPE-capable instrument completes Pure Trilogy line-up
Sonora Cinematic have just released the third and final instalment in their series of acoustic ...
27/07/2026
Emulates four varieties of optical compression
The latest addition to the fedDSP line-up has just been announced, and packs four distinct optical compressor...
27/07/2026
Optical & FET compressors join 500-series line-up
At our recent GearExpo UK show, we heard from Drawmer that they would soon be launching a pair of new 500-...
27/07/2026
All episodes available Thursday 6 August on Sky and streaming service NOWMonday ...
27/07/2026
Apple today announced AppleCare One - a new way for customers to protect multipl...
27/07/2026
Yesterday witnessed truly memorable scenes in Croke Park, bringing the curtain d...
27/07/2026
Luxembourg, July 27, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, issued the following statement following the U.S. Federal Communications Commission approval...
25/07/2026
New app turns vocal percussion into polished loops
Vochlea, the company behind the voice-to-MIDI instrument Dubler 2, have just announced the launch of a ne...
25/07/2026
Saturday 25 July 2026
First look revealed for YAGA, a seductive mystery thrille...
24/07/2026
First string library captured at Studio Richter Mahr
The latest sample library to be created at Max Richter's Studio Richter Mahr facility captures the ...
24/07/2026
Official emulation of Blackbird Studios reverb chamber
In their latest collaboration with Blackbird Studios, KIT Plugins have captured the sound of the Stud...
24/07/2026
Angela Gomez brings over 14 years of experience in broadcast communications and audio engineering, specialising in live outside broadcasts, live sports and larg...
24/07/2026
Article courtesy of postPerspective
Read the article
While Toy Story 5 maintai...
24/07/2026
Kerry and Mayo fans Up For The Match as excitement builds in Croke Park on the e...
23/07/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 23rd, JULY, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), stitched 11.57 billion one-to-one addressable advertisem...
23/07/2026
Quickly creates reverse reverb effects
Low End Candy have recently released a new plug-in that offers a quick and simple way to create reverse reverb effect...
23/07/2026
New engines, resonators, effects & more
Expressive E's versatile soft synth has just been treated to an update that greatly expands its sonic range. Noi...
23/07/2026
SGL Carbon has further expanded its photovoltaic capacity at its Ort im Innkreis site in Austria. With the commissioning of new PV carports, the sites solar sys...
23/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents new software for three-phase power analysis on MXO seri...
23/07/2026
In our latest blog, Laura Rognoni explores how the launch of Play Snooker reflects a wider shift in sports economics - from monetising peak broadcast audiences ...
23/07/2026
Download Now!
To receive a short case study showcasing Vivid Broadcast's audio setup, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name ...
23/07/2026
X-Rite Pantone and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Partner to Advance Digi...
23/07/2026
Thursday 23 July 2026
New Samsung Galaxy Foldable range available now to pre-order on Sky Mobile
Sky Mobile, the award-winning network voted this year by Expe...
23/07/2026
Thursday 23 July 2026
Jason Statham leads Sky Original action thriller MUTINY in explosive new trailerTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy optio...
23/07/2026
Wuppertal July 23, 2026
Riedel Implements RefCam and Easy5G for the First Time...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial has today announced Centra as the official food partner once again of The Traitors Ireland, coming to RT One and RT Player later this year.
Ce...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial today announced Honda as sponsor of Today with David McCullagh RT Radio 1, weekdays 9am 11am.
Broadcasting directly after Morning Ireland in ...
23/07/2026
RT News is pleased to announce Barry Gallagher has been assigned as the new journalist covering news from Cork, Kerry and the wider Southern region
Working al...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
22/07/2026
In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...
21/07/2026
New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...
21/07/2026
High-end analogue channel strip boasts plug-in recall
Originally revealed as a prototype back at NAMM 2024, the Channex Studio channel strip represented a b...
21/07/2026
Relies on same DSP as plug-in range
Musik Hack's line-up has been influenced heavily by founder Stan Greene's work as a mixing engineer, and their M...
21/07/2026
Official collaboration with boutique builder Dirty Boy Pedals
Warm Audio have just announced the launch of a new guitar pedal range created in collaboration...
21/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz showcases broad range of EMC test solutions at EMC SIPI 2026 in ...
21/07/2026
X-Rite Pantone and NIFT Partner to Build Color Management Skills for India's...
21/07/2026
Harmonics cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform and Pearl Remote OLTs Enable Flexible PON Migration, While SeaStar Optical Node Powers Cost-Effective Multi-Gigabit...
Immersive audio pioneer Felix Kr ckels talks to TVBEurope about next generation audio, how to prepare, and how to mix the audio for live broadcasts.
