SVGE Audio Group Meeting: 5G Is Next Inflection Point for Broadcast Sports Presenters, panelists, attendees discuss audio production, workflows, and more By Dan Daley, Audio Editor Thursday, June 3, 2021 - 12:47 pm
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Presented by SVG Europe, SVG, and the DTV Audio Group, SVGE's Zoom event last week focused on what is widely considered the next inflection point in sports production and examined 5G audio production, workflows, use cases, and standards development.
Presenting were Ian Wagdin, senior technology transfer manager, BBC Research and Development, and Dr. Mar a-Dolores (Lola) P rez Guirao, spectrum policy and standards manager, Pro Audio - Portfolio Management, Sennheiser. On the panel were Mario Reis, director, telecommunications, Olympic Broadcasting Services; Matt Stagg, director, mobile strategy, BT Sport; Tom Sahara, media technologist and advisor, chairman emeritus, SVG; and Jackie Green, director, Nexonic Design.
5G is already becoming integral to broadcast production in Europe and Asia. In the U.S., its presence is somewhat hazier, with the term 5G having been commandeered by mobile-provider marketing departments, but, as cloud-based production increasingly becomes the norm, 5G will inevitably be a major part of U.S. infrastructure.
Some panelists and contributors had this to say in response to questions about 5G:
CP Communications' Henry Cohen: [5G is] not going to be the solution to spectrum shortage, but it will be another tool in the toolbox.
As Tom Sahara noted during the panel, 5G is looked at as the holy grail by many. In your opinion, is 5G the solution for spectrum problems? Why (or why not)?
Henry Cohen, senior RF systems design engineer, CP Communications: It's not going to be the solution to spectrum shortage, but it will be another tool in the toolbox, potentially a powerful one. As Jackie [Green] so aptly pointed out, the creative teams are demanding so many wireless elements, no single frequency band or technology is going to be the answer; it's going to be a combination based on deployment scenarios for the various wireless elements.
Joel Guilbert, technology development manager, Dale Pro Audio: While mm wave and other 5G spectral technologies are great advances, for simple RF mic transmission, the penetration of 5-600 MHz using our existing complement of antennas and best RF practices will be hard to replace. It will require educating new users on the advantages of the new systems.
David Missall, insights manager consultants and technical application engineer manager, BizCom, Sennheiser: It's too early to tell if the wireless-microphone-manufacturing business case will align with the technology and support needed from the cellular companies and, at the same time, exceeding the needs of the broadcast customer. If we do go in this direction, it should bring an improved level of quality, service, and feature set to the industry. The potential is there, but a lot of alignment [needs] to be done.
Jackie Green, director, Nexonic Design: 5G is not the ultimate solution for spectrum problems. The race to be able to claim first in 5G is one of the reasons so much spectrum is being auctioned or repurposed. However, the technologies and concepts behind 5G are very important to our own wireless-audio needs. 5G-device density is exploding while still maintaining effective performance despite a finite amount of spectrum.
Those same tools need to be employed for our own products for two reasons: 1) eventually, we won't have any uncompromised spectrum available for use, and 2) workflows and production processes are evolving, becoming more automated, becoming more integrated, and becoming more efficient. Where work product used to be a reasonably closed loop in a very specific location, we have already migrated into an expanded loop and, sometimes, a completely open loop over many various locations.
We won't have spectrum to operate the old way, but we also won't want to operate that way once the flexibility and operational efficiency drive a better creative product. One more point about 5G: it's a step on the way to even bigger and more impressive accomplishments. But it's still only a step, not the destination.
Tom Sahara also pointed out, There's a focus on the management side of media companies to explore 5G, [but it] creates problems for engineering teams to figure out how to get there. Are the business case and engineering case lining up at this point? What does management expect 5G to do, and what are the engineering challenges it faces?
Cohen: Not being at that level of management, I don't really know what their expectations are, other than generically far too optimistic, thinking it's the great technological panacea at low dollars. Definitely a recipe for disappointment. That said, management's interest in 5G technology, I think, is great insofar as it provides time and budget resources for engineering departments to dig deep into its capabilities, discuss with carriers and OEMs, form cohesive industry working groups, and manage management's expectations.
Guilbert: It would be great for both parties to be on the same page, but, traditionally, the broadcaster isn't overtly looking for ways to spend money, which the media companies' demands currently would require.
Missall: There has been years of buildup to the advantages and potential of 5G, so management expectation can suggest, Just do it, it's going to be great. But the reality is, a lot of design and, most important, collaboration with the cellular industry has to take a place. Wireless-microphone 5G access for the cellular industry is not a priority. The conversations have to get to a deeper level to set expectations and a roadmap. Decisions and insight have to be
