
Commentary revolution: DAZN's technical production manager Max Mosgraber talks doing more with less By Kevin Emmott
Monday, April 29, 2024 - 11:24
Print This Story
DAZN commentators Max Siebald [left] and Michael Ballack
Doing more with less is a common trope in broadcast circles, but the needle does not have to move far to make it worthwhile. The smallest things can make the biggest differences says DAZN's technical production manager, Max Mosgraber.
Sports commentators don't just describe what's happening on the field. The best commentators engage and involve the viewer in the action. They have opinions, they chat, and above all they provide companionship to people listening at home.
Mosgraber already knows all this. With over 10 years of experience in the broadcast industry, he's worked as a freelance sound engineer and technician for various OB companies in Germany, including TVN, Studio Berlin, NEP, TV Skyline, and HD Broadcast, and has spent time as a media engineer at public broadcaster RBB. So when he saw an opportunity to repurpose existing technologies to improve DAZN's commentary output he leapt on the opportunity.
Teaming up with select industry partners, he boosted DAZN's commentary output with additional audio channels, improved quality, added a video feed of the commentary area, and provided a fully redundant mix on an entirely separate backhaul.
He used the same technologies to minimise latency, give audio operators full control over the signal, and provide the commentary team with better information to do their jobs and he did it with no outside broadcast equipment and no additional transmission lines.
Available resources
Trialling his workflow at the recent UEFA fixture between Real Madrid and RB Leipzig at the Santiago Bernab u Stadium, he did big remote production on a micro scale. But Mosgraber's description of what he did is way better: We condensed the OB van into hand luggage.
When we attend games in foreign countries we have three commentary options, says Mosgraber. At the biggest events like the Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League matches in Germany, we will always send an OB van. For foreign Champions League matches, as a main visiting broadcaster, we may come equipped with our own OB, or more likely we book a full or partially equipped space in the commentary area.
Like many broadcasters, DAZN adds live commentary from its onsite team to the world feed of the game, supplied on this occasion by Spanish UEFA rights holder Telefonica. In Madrid, Mosgraber secured a partially equipped commentary booth, which as usual included a fibre connection to a 100MBps internet line and two monitors which showed the live match feed to help keep the commentators across the action. Mosgraber felt that even with this limited connectivity, he could do better.
DAZN's commentary booth at the recent UEFA fixture between Real Madrid and RB Leipzig at the Santiago Bernab u Stadium
Doing more with less
Pairing a Prodys Quantum W commentary unit at the stadium with a Quantum AV at DAZN's production control room (PCR) in Munich, he was not only able to introduce a second commentator track, but a live PTZ camera feed of the commentary area. Providing up to three mic/line inputs, the Quantum W can embed up to four audio tracks onto a camera feed. Mosgraber only needed two, and he used it to embed isolated commentator audio channels on the camera video output down the Movistar ethernet link to the DAZN PCR in Germany where it was de-embedded via a Quantum AV unit. Embedding the audio kept everything in sync, and both channels were able to be routed directly into DAZN's Stagetec mixer for monitoring and mixing into the world feed presentation.
The biggest benefit for us is being able to deliver a better mix to the gallery, and all without an SNG, OB van or additional dedicated fibre/satellite transmission lines. I think I am the only person in the world working like this, but this workflow was enabled by its simplicity
To use as much of the available bandwidth as possible, Mosgraber used the BitRate Adaptive Video Encoding (Brave) protocol, which provides network analysis for things like packet loss, packet latency and average bandwidth, and makes bitrate adjustments in real time. Crucially, Brave also gives priority to audio information over video.
The system effectively creates a small television studio that fits into my travel bag, says Mosgraber. We are the first company at the Champions League in Europe - or maybe in the world - that is using a commentary camera at these big football games without needing an OB van on site. It allows us to integrate the commentaries on a transmission line via the internet and because the commentaries are embedded onto the commentary camera it means the camera is an integrated part of the setup.
On a normal partially equipped remote production the commentary area isn't able to send or receive vision tracks to or from the PCR, but this workflow means that as well as sending the commentaries and commentator camera feed, we can also get the program feed from the gallery via RX.
It means the commentators can see all the inserts and graphics, the commercials, the EVS highlight tracks; they can see everything as opposed to just the match feed. It's a huge benefit to the commentary team because they feel more connected to the production and from a teamwork perspective it's a much more joined up approach.
Full redundancy
As a as a main visiting broadcaster, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) requires DAZN to produce a clean commentary track on audio track four of its transmission line, and Mosgraber took the opportunity to implement a secondary system to ensure that it not only sounds better than before, but provides a solid redundant backup should the internet f
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...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Delivering a live, arena-scale production of a massively popular band is no small feat. Between expansive in-arena LED walls and a global live stream fed to onl...
15/05/2026
Connection is the heartbeat of any strong community, and with live streaming becoming more accessible in the modern era, it's much easier for faith-based or...
15/05/2026
Powered by GX 3 media servers, optimised IP-VFC workflows and on-site engineering expertise, the production delivers high-performance visuals for one of the wor...
14/05/2026
Sweetwater and Airstream have announced a custom-built Dolby Atmos mobile recording studio inside an Airstream trailer, set to tour music festivals, schools, tr...
14/05/2026
The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has announced a new par...
14/05/2026
ESPN has announced plans to transform Santa Monica Beach into a broadcast hub du...
14/05/2026
Amagi has announced a significant update to Amagi CLOUDPORT, its cloud-based broadcast playout platform. The update includes 250-plus features shipped in FY25-2...
14/05/2026
Clear-Com will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7005, June 17-19, Las Vegas Convention Center), introducing a new product that builds on Arcadia Central Station...
14/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5D3-1, Singapore Expo, May 20-22), introducing two new viewfinders alongside its existing camera, control, and...
14/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside ...
14/05/2026
NAGRAVISION, a Kudelski Group company, has announced a partnership with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) to launch Play Snooker,...
14/05/2026
Belden Inc. has announced a definitive agreement to acquire RUCKUS Networks from Vistance Networks for approximately $1.85 billion. The transaction has been app...
14/05/2026
NVIDIA has released the Content Localization Blueprint, a modular reference arch...
14/05/2026
Disney has announced that Disney will be the exclusive U.S. streaming home of the Banana Bowl, the Banana Ball league season championship, streaming live this ...
14/05/2026
Arkona technologies and technology partner manifold will demonstrate their production solutions on the Magna Systems and Engineering stand (Booth 5D1-1) at Broa...
14/05/2026
Haivision will host a webinar on Thursday, May 21 at 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET cov...
14/05/2026
The CW Network and ESPN have announced a sublicense broadcast agreement for The CW to televise ACC football and men's and women's college basketball gam...
14/05/2026
The agreement marks Scripps Sports' first NBA local rights deal...
14/05/2026
A new report from education-technology company Wiingy testing post-ChatGPT predictions against three years of real-world data has identified broadcasting as one...
14/05/2026
Global Citizen and FIFA have announced that Madonna, Shakira, and BTS will headl...
14/05/2026
LOS ANGELES, CA, May 14, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the cohort selected for the 2026 Episodic Lab program, taking place at Dunaway ...
14/05/2026
At Spotify, we're focused on making every listening experience feel intentio...
14/05/2026
Spotify recently welcomed songwriters, artists, executives, and music students t...
14/05/2026
New articulations, ostinatos, Motion Scoring Articulation Sets & more
Sonuscore's flagship cinematic string library has just been treated to a significa...
14/05/2026
World-class studio opens on T rkiye's Aegean coast
P r Recording & Residence have announced their official opening, introducing a new world-class reside...
14/05/2026
Now supports channel layouts up to 9.1.6
Nugen Audio have just released an update for their AI-powered dialogue intelligibility and compliance tool. Set to ...
14/05/2026
New recordings & one-key chord tool
UVI have just announced the release of Orchestral Suite 2, a ground-up redesign of their all-in-one symphonic orchestra ...
14/05/2026
Two new arrivals & expanded factory content
Rob Papen's all-encompassing plug-in and virtual instrument collection has just been treated to another upda...
14/05/2026
Embed QR codes into DAW sessions
FSK Audio's latest plug-in doesn't process audio, but serves as an organisational tool that allows QR codes to be e...
14/05/2026
SBS Board appoints Jane Palfreyman Managing Director
13 May, 2026
Media releases
The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Board of Directors is pleased to an...
14/05/2026
Transforming bold ideas into market-ready productions: Digital Originals returns
14 May, 2026
Media releases
SBS, NITV and Screen Australia have announced ...
14/05/2026
Australia Uncovered Returns to SBS with Bold New Season Featuring John Safran on...
14/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz transforms spectrum complexity into situational awareness and ef...
14/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Quantum Systems join forces to redefine EW and C-UAS-enabled...
14/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz showcases STANAG aligned ARDRONIS Counter UAS capability at NATO...
14/05/2026
Code of Silence has won the BAFTA for Best Drama Series at Sunday night's ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall.
The series, starring Rose Ayling-Ellis and w...
14/05/2026
Soldiers equipped with Falcon IV radios will soon gain a sense-and-protect capa...
14/05/2026
Artists concept of the L3Harris Next Gen RTG in flight configuration, designed to provide 250 watts of reliable power for decades-long missions in deep space....
14/05/2026
Vivid Broadcast was embracing remote production long before it became the industry norm. Now, with Calrec's True Control 2.0-enabled Argo M and Type R conso...
14/05/2026
Car ad spend rises sharply in March as more auto buyers turn to electric, hybrid...
14/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...