SVG Summit Recap: DTV Audio Group Workshop Explores Audio Production & Distribution in the Modern Age By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Monday, December 20, 2021 - 1:07 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Like much of the rest of this year, the annual DTV Audio Group event (Dec. 13) at The SVG Summit in the New York Hilton (Dec. 13-14) was smaller and briefer, but by no means reduced. Backed by SVG audio sponsors Brainstorm, Calrec/Digico, Dale Pro Audio, Dolby, Lawo, Sanken, Shure, and Telos Alliance, it was also more narrowly focused, this year on premium audio production and distribution, with an emphasis on Dolby's Atmos format (the premium part) and the imminent arrival of 5G (the distribution part), as well as the looming presence of AI, and how all might impact television audio going forward.
DTV Audio Group Workshop: Efficiently Scaling-Up Atmos and Accessible Audio Production and Distribution presentation (from left): NBCUniversal Advanced Engineering's Jim Starzynski and Dolby Laboratories' Tim Carroll.
Specifically, sessions included: the Premium Audio Challenge, Efficiently Scaling-Up Atmos and Accessible Audio Production and Distribution; Streamlining Edit Workflows to Support Live Production in Atmos; Applying AI to Live Immersive Audio Production; and New Spectrum Challenges and Opportunities.
After an inaugural observation by DTVAG Executive Director Roger Charlesworth that, The theme today is simplifying Atmos productions, Tom Sahara, past chairman of both SVG and DTVAG industry working groups and now an industry consultant, established context by noting how consumers, working largely from home during much of the pandemic, had become aware how poor audio quality could negatively impact their productivity and workflows, and conversely noticed how good audio had now become, with the arrival of premium products like soundbars and earbuds. Noting increased home theater system and smart speaker sales in 2020, as well as the embrace by consumers of smart TVs and more OTT content, Sahara - who was also inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame during the SVG Summit - asserted that, Audio has moved to the forefront as the pandemic put a premium on high-res sound and the products for it.
That, he continued, along with immersive audio formats such as Atmos, would have implications for broadcast and streamed live sports. Further, noting the rapid deployment of UHD video for major broadcast sports events, the foundation was there for both immersive audio formats and higher audio quality.
The pandemic changed consumer expectations [for audio], he told an audience of 50-plus attendees. What that means to us as part of the audio community is that it's up to us to find a way to deliver the best-possible audio experience to consumers. They've already made the investment in good sound. We have to push harder to deliver that.
Elements of future premium sports-media audio will include Dolby's Atmos, soundbars capable of reproducing immersive sound without the need for multiple speakers, and voice-activated smart speakers, which will bring a heightened level of interactivity to the experience.
A Look And Listen At The Olympics Sahara's presentation was followed by an in-depth and technically detailed description of how Atmos was scaled up by NBC Sports for its Tokyo Olympics broadcast last summer, and how that represented a test run of what will be a similar effort for the upcoming Winter Olympics. The presentation outlined the overarching goal: perfectly phase-aligned 10-channel immersive surround sound accompanied by 4K-UHD video sent to the NBC plant in Englewood, CA, as well as an 8-channel distribution of an HD network-to-TV-station feed. Outlined was how the production team pioneered metadata-stripped, high-bitrate distribution version of AC-4, configured as clean piece of wire.
It was also pointed out that there were enough crew and other team members in the event facilities to negate the need for contingency plans to generate augmented crowd sounds in Tokyo, where fan attendance had been prohibited due to Covid. In addition, the OBS-supplied 5.1.4 ambience audio from all of the various venues was further enhanced by additional NBC-supplied microphones used to sweeten the .4 height speakers.
Attribution was limited in this presentation, but one presenter's comment that, It can get technologically overwhelming, summed up what was a huge effort that would presage another equally enormous undertaking scheduled for February in Beijing.
Channel Vs. Object In the presentation entitled Streamlining Edit Workflows to Support Live Production in Atmos, Brian Rio, Director of Creative Services for Warner Media Studios, pointed out that Creating quick-turn, HDR, Atmos content in post [production] doesn't have to be that complicated, thanks to the beautiful simplicity of channel-based audio versus object-based audio workflows. We need to keep elevating the workflows as the industry moves further into the UHD/Atmos ecosystem, he added.
DTV Audio Group Workshop: WarnerMedia Studios' Brian Rio (featured) delivered a presentation about streamlining edit workflows to support live production in Atmos.
Co-presenter Lane Crouse, Senior Sound Designer and Tech Workflow Lead at Warner Media Studios, added some interesting specifications: that fades between overhead and horizontal zones cannot presently be done when mixing immersive audio in Avid's Pro Tools system, a limitation he said Avid is working on resolving. Instead, the downmix coefficient between upper and horizontal planes from 5.1.4 to 5.1 is a 6-dB attenuation, and a 3-dB reduction from 5.1 to stereo.
A presentation by Rob Oldfield, co-founder and CEO of Salsa Sound, which provided the systems for augmented crowd sounds for several broadcast sport
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
02/12/2025
Faculty Notes: Fall/Winter 2025 Recent accomplishments, releases, and events by Berklee faculty.
December 1, 2025
By
Editorial Staff
The cast of Kind of M...
01/12/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
01/12/2025
Artemis II is NASA's first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The crew, from left: Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Vic...
01/12/2025
IRVINE, Calif. Wooden Camera has introduced its new Accessory Collection for the Canon EOS C50. The new lineup includes a low-profile, gimbal-ready cage, expand...
01/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for its Dec. 18 Open Commission Meeting that will include a vote on a report an...
01/12/2025
In most years, a graph of annual local TV ad spending is about as predictable as an electrocardiogram of a reasonably healthy patient in a doctor's office. ...
01/12/2025
Many industries have seen big-ticket hardware turn into software. Switchers, though, demand a combination of real-time performance and sheer bandwidth that has ...
01/12/2025
GENEVA Shanghai will host the next quadrennial Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-27) and World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27), Oct. 11-Nov. 12, 2027. This...
01/12/2025
NEW YORK Just in time for Giving Tuesday tomorrow (Dec. 2), the Broadcasters Foundation of America is seeking out donations to help television and radio industr...
01/12/2025
STOCKHOLM, Sweden Net Insight CEO Crister Fritzson has informed the company's board that he will retire from the video transport and media cloud technology ...
01/12/2025
01 Dec 2025
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Select Go...
01/12/2025
The prequel to the global hit Sky Original mob crime saga, Gomorrah' is a s...
01/12/2025
Featuring Florence Welch, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea, designer Bella Freud...
01/12/2025
Back to All News
A Down to Earth, All Too Relatable Hero: Cashero' Teaser ...
01/12/2025
In the rush to deliver content to every screen, many broadcasters overlook one of the most crucial steps in the workflow: format and frame rate conversion. Get ...
01/12/2025
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in Upcoming ...
01/12/2025
Arvato Systems' Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Receives BSI C5 Certification (T...
01/12/2025
Summary This short video gives you an summary of the changes in under two minutes.
--...
01/12/2025
As the festive season approaches, RT Supporting the Arts is proud to showcase a...
01/12/2025
Researchers worldwide rely on open-source technologies as the foundation of their work. To equip the community with the latest advancements in digital and physi...
01/12/2025
Festive specials of Christmas in Kilmainham presented by Marty Whelan, High Road Low Road, Callan Kicks the Year and Keys to My Life
Ring in the New Year with ...
01/12/2025
Architect and television presenter Hugh Wallace, best known to RT audiences as a long-serving judge on Home of the Year, has died at the age of 68.
In a state...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
SVG Summit Recap: DTV Audio Group Workshop Explores Audio Production & Distribution in the Modern Age By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
