Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Tech Focus: Immersive Monitoring, Part 1 - Sports Broadcasting Seems a Good Fit

06/10/2021

Tech Focus: Immersive Monitoring, Part 1 - Sports Broadcasting Seems a Good Fit Questions remain on the format's deployment, particularly in production trucks By Dan Daley, Audio Editor

Wednesday, October 6, 2021 - 7:00 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

Mobile production units are always crowded; their audio compartments, even more so. The imminent arrival of immersive sound, mainly in the form of Dolby Atmos, further complicates the situation. For broadcast, the format is 5.1.4, which adds four channels of surround overhead.

Overall, the number of studios equipped to mix Atmos and other immersive formats is steadily rising, boosted most recently by Apple's announcement last May that its Apple Music platform will support the format. A rush to remix and remaster existing music titles for the format is under way. However, after earlier, failed attempts to do the same with surround formats - using now-extinct formats such as DVD-Audio, SACD, and DualDisc - there's no certainty that music mixed in Atmos will ever be more than a very small niche, particularly since most consumers would have to buy more gear to fully experience the format.

Broadcast audio faces a similar proposition: After the shift to 5.1 surround sound nearly two decades ago, since which the vast majority of viewers have continued to listen in stereo, is immersive sound a bridge too far?

SMPTE's Erminia Fiorino: Sports broadcasting has been considered the only suitable case for using immersive audio.

Some consider broadcast sports a very good fit for immersive sound. In fact, Erminia Fiorino, marketing manager, SMPTE, writing on the organization's blog in July 2019, contended that sports broadcasting has been considered the only suitable case for using immersive audio, noting that new technologies and automated workflow systems can address those challenges.

She cites two landmark instances in the evolution of immersive broadcast audio: the use of Dolby Atmos for NBC Sports' experiments on NHRA races and the application of Fraunhofer Institute's MPEG-H format for the 2018 FIFA World Cup broadcasts on South Korea's SBS, which also implemented some interactive audio elements. Since then, NBC Sports has applied Atmos to Notre Dame football broadcasts as well.

Where To Put the Speakers For broadcast, the financial investment in speakers and related equipment would be minimal compared, for instance, with consoles or routers. The real challenge is where to put them in mobile-production environments.

There's not as many options available for truly professional, very small speakers yet, the kind needed to attach to audio-compartment ceilings, says Will Eggleston, U.S. marketing director, Genelec, a speaker brand widely found in both remote and plant mix rooms. Our 8320A or 8020D monitors are the best fit for that application.

Dale Pro Audio's Joel Guilbert: Not having an option for mounting can dictate ultimate speaker choice.

Joel Guilbert, technology development manager, Dale Pro Audio, a leading broadcast-monitor retailer, says he has seen a slight increase in demand for speakers to create immersive monitoring environments for broadcast sports.

One great indication for us, beyond just speaker counts, is the issue of speaker mounting, options/solutions, especially for the height channels, he explains. While often overlooked, not having an option for mounting can dictate ultimate speaker choice. Having the flexibility to pan/tilt overhead speakers is important especially in broadcast facilities, where even getting to a piece of the ceiling to mount can be a challenge, with ceiling cavities stuffed full of decades of wires and project detritus and always a duct where you don't need it.

Eggleston notes that some flexibility is found in the fact that the overhead array can comprise two speakers instead of four. Dolby's rendering software automatically accounts for how objects are positioned for monitoring and then rendered for playback in larger, 7.1.4 environments.

But the fact is, the impetus for immersive comes from what the production demands, he believes. I'd have to say 5.1 remains the standard in trucks. Assuming 5.1 is a starting point, you could certainly upscale to a 5.1.2 environment by simply adding two overheads. However, I think it will take a bit more time for immersive to gain more traction in [remote] broadcast production. We know it's happening, but I'm just not hearing that much about it in remote broadcast at the moment.

Fingers on Faders, Ears on Speakers, Eyes on Meters

Steve Yoder: It does sound very nice, but we have had to develop some tricks.

In the trenches, A1s are figuring out their monitoring environments even as they're learning Atmos's complex ropes. Steve Yoder has mixed college football in Atmos for ESPN this year and last, for a feed that goes to DirecTV and other distributors as part of the broadcaster's 4K package. He does both a conventional 5.1 mix, which is folded down to stereo, and a separate Atmos mix, 5.1.4, including overhead speakers. The 5.1 horizontal array comprises Genelec speakers (three 8240A's, a pair of 8130A's as the rear surround array, and an SE7261A sub), but the overhead array is another brand, which was already installed in Lyon Video Mobile Unit 14 when he came aboard.

The entire monitoring system isn't perfectly matched, he explains. So it's key that the room be calibrated. We did that at the beginning of the season, before we started [using Genelec's GLM software]. Because I have a Calrec Apollo, I can switch quickly from one mix to the other, so I'm constantly monitoring my downmix. Fortunately, the Apollo has a stereo button that immediately allows you to monitor the 5.1 downmix. I also have a monitor mix coming bac
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/10/06/tech-focus-immersive-monitoring...
See more stories from svg

More from Sports Video Group

24/04/2026

Churchill Downs Inc. Acquires Preakness Stakes for $85 Million

Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) has announced a definitive agreement to acquire the intellectual property of the Preakness Stakes and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes from 1/...

24/04/2026

Inter Miami CF Opens Miami Freedom Park with 26 LED Displays From Daktronics, DCL

Daktronics has partnered with DCL (Design Communications, Ltd.) to design, manuf...

24/04/2026

NAB 2026: Chyron Launches PRIME Translate for Multi-Language Live Production

Chyron has announced PRIME Translate, a workflow solution that produces live content simultaneously in multiple languages within the PRIME platform. The system ...

24/04/2026

Eutelsat Supports Co-op Cable in Launching Expanded DTH Offering Across the Caribbean

Eutelsat has announced a new partnership with Co-op Cable, introducing an expand...

24/04/2026

Pitch Dublin Deploys Panasonic Laser LCD Projectors for Indoor Golf and Hospitality Venue

Pitch Dublin, an indoor golf simulation and hospitality venue on Dawson Street i...

24/04/2026

G&D and VuWall Appoint Mirko Aubel as EVP Sales EMEA/APAC, Eric Hnique as Chief Revenue Officer

G&D and VuWall have announced two senior leadership appointments, effective Apri...

24/04/2026

Victory+ Becomes Exclusive Local Streaming Home for Minnesota Lynx

Victory , the free sports streaming service from A Parent Media Co. Inc. (APMC), has announced a multi-year agreement to become the exclusive local streaming ho...

24/04/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Jason Weitz, University of South Florida

The former business major from Massachusetts has found his home in graphics and bug operation while contributing to live ESPN productions In the live-sports-vi...

24/04/2026

MASN and Spectrum Announce Multiyear Carriage Agreement

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) and Spectrum have announced a multiyear carriage agreement making MASN available to Spectrum customers in areas of southe...

24/04/2026

Case Study: 4Wall Entertainment Powers 2026 NFL Draft on NETGEAR AV Line Network

The NFL Draft is rebuilt from the ground up in a new city every year. The three-day fan festival is expected to draw 500,000 or more attendees, with millions fo...

24/04/2026

Diversified Continues Live Sports Expansion, Supports Mobile TV Group Ops Center Buildout

Diversified has continued expansion of its sports and media capabilities to supp...

24/04/2026

NAB Show 2026 Is In The Books! Our Coverage Continues at SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog

NAB reports that the 2026 NAB Show wrapped with more than 58,000 registered atte...

24/04/2026

NAB 2026: Clear-Com Announces Updates to Arcadia Central Station and Eclipse HX with New ARC Architecture

Clear-Com has announced significant updates to its Arcadia Central Station and E...

24/04/2026

NAB Reports 58,000+ Registered Attendees at 2026 NAB Show, Up From 2025 but Down From 2024

NAB reports that the 2026 NAB Show wrapped with more than 58,000 registered atte...

24/04/2026

Ratings Roundup: NHL Sees Best Regular Season Average Since 2013; CBS Sports Secures Most Watched Final Round Masters

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

24/04/2026

Bleacher Reports Live NFL Draft Stream Builds on Record-Breaking Audience With Player-Driven, Interactive Production

B/R NFL Draft Live' refines the digital giant's productions around footb...

24/04/2026

Sportradar Report: The Viewing Experience Is the Product' as Sports Media Enters New Era of Personalization, Data-Driven Storytelling

Study highlights five pillars shaping modern fan engagement as broadcasters reth...

24/04/2026

ESPN/ABC, NFL Network Prepare for Record-Setting NFL Draft Presentation From Pittsburgh

The 2026 event, the first Draft with NFL Network under the ESPN umbrella, will b...

24/04/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 12: Detroit Lions' Jessica Shlemon - Motor City Football at Ford Field

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

24/04/2026

Van Wagner Brings Warhol-Inspired Pop Art Vision to NFL Draft Videoboard Production

Integral to the Draft production for three almost decades, the company tells the...

22/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Solid State Logics Berny Carpenter on Expanding System T With Virtual DSP, Cloud Workflows

Solid State Logic is advancing its System T platform with a stronger focus on IP...

22/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Dolbys Giles Baker on the Growth of Dolby OptiView, Immersive Vision and Audio for Live Sports

From immersive audio to live streaming, Dolby Laboratories is focused on the fut...

22/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design's Bob Caniglia on Implementing Cinematic Looks in Live Broadcasts

Shallow depth-of-field cameras have taken the industry by storm. Its debut a han...

22/04/2026

NAB 2026: Eastern Kentucky University deploys campus-wide ST 2110 network with Riedel and Bridge Digital

Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) announced that Eastern Kentucky University (...

22/04/2026

SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2026, Day 4: Live Reports From the Show Floor in Vegas

The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...

22/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Announces URSA Cine 12K LF 100G

Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine 12K LF 100G, a new model in the URSA Cine family adding 100G Ethernet for SMPTE 2110 live production output up to ...

22/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: NEPs Martin Stewart Talks 40 Years, the NEP Platform, and Scaling for FIFA World Cup

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, NEP is leaning into hybrid production with the...

22/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: NEPs Dan Murphy on NEP Platform, TFC, and the Shift to Software-Defined Workflows

NEP VP, Platform Dan Murphy sits down at the 2026 NAB Show to unpack what NEP P...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: BitFires Colin Bonzey on Growing Spark Platform for Live Cloud-Based Productions

Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: AWSs Jason Dvorkin, Regina Rossi on Driving Innovation With Al-Based Workflows

The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: T-Mobile for Business' Jason Schnellbacher on Enhancing 5G for Sports Fans, Broadcasters

5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Appears Ed McGivern on Fox Sports Deal, New XM Platform, and VX Software Debut

At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Studio Network Solutions launches on-premise AI suite for media production workflows

Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Suite Studios integrates file-streaming technology into Frame.io Drive

Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight integrates InSync FrameFormer into Nimbra Edge for media processing

Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Fox Sports selects Appear X Platform for live production infrastructure

Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Diversified appoints Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer

Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the company's commercial organisation. The appointment follows the firm'...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Layercake integrates Bitmovin into Streamcake platform for end-to-end media orchestration

Layercake has formalised the integration of Bitmovin's video streaming infra...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: International Judo Federation extends global content distribution partnership with SES

The International Judo Federation (IJF) has extended its distribution partnershi...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Glookast integrates Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin to enable GPU-accelerated video processing

Glookast has launched the Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin for its Media Producer and Me...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Cadena Tres selects Eutelsat for television signal distribution in Mexico

Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Ima...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Dolby and TV Azteca deploy Dolby Atmos for free-to-air broadcast

Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have partnered to introduce Dolby Atmos immersive audio to free-to-air television broadcasts. The implementation utilises the A...

21/04/2026

Verizon and FOX Entertainment leverage 5G and AI for remote production of Extracted

FOX Entertainment partnered with Verizon to overcome significant production hurd...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Osprey Video to showcase expanded IP infrastructure and orchestration at NAB Show 2026

Osprey Video has announced its technology showcase for the NAB Show 2026, highli...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Riedel introduces IP-based production updates including multiviewer, commentary control and audio connectivity solutions

Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) introduced a range of new solutions at NAB S...

21/04/2026

SportsTechBuzz at NAB 2026, Day 3: Live Reports From the Show Floor in Vegas

The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...

21/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Announces URSA Cine Immersive 100G and URSA Cine Live Encoder

Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, an immersive cinem...

21/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Clark Wire & Cables David McCarthy Showcases New Connectivity, Enclosure Solutions for Modern Broadcast Workflows at NAB Show 2026

Clark Wire & Cable is continuing its evolution from cable supplier to full-scale solutions partner for broadcast and live production. At the 2026 NAB Show, we s...

20/04/2026

Live From NAB 2026: Sonys Hugo Gaggioni Highlights HDR Advances, Software-Defined Workflows

At the 2026 NAB Show, Sony is showcasing a broad slate of innovations across liv...