Paris 2024: Immersive Sound Makes for Intimate Storytelling NBC Sports is providing 10-channel audio mixes in 5.1.4 Atmos By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Thursday, August 8, 2024 - 10:26 am
Print This Story
Film director John Krasinski may have been able to build the Quiet Place movie franchise on a premise of silence, but that's the exact opposite of what broadcast sports wants to hear. After the relative quiet of the pandemic-plagued previous Summer Olympics, having the noise of the crowds back is the kind of sonic challenge that audio professionals love.
The biggest challenge for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris is a good one to have: the return of crowds to events, observes Karl Malone, senior director, audio engineering, NBC Sports and Olympics. The crowd did not disappoint. Thousands are turning out for all sports, and, if French athletes are competing, the decibel level goes up. It's great to have the crowd bring passion and emotion back to the Olympics. The opening-day football game, with a crowd of 76,000, was a sign of crowds to come. Of course, it's also harder now to hear the runners run and the arrows fly.
One of 16 audio-control rooms in NBC Sports' main control center in Stamford
The return of crowds is facilitating greater use of immersive mixing techniques and allows audio teams to take full advantage of Dolby Atmos' overhead channels. Mixing all those events with 10-channel mixes [in the 5.1.4 Atmos format] has allowed us to spread that crowd out in the immersive soundscape, he explains. As immersive sound systems become more common in homes, more people get to appreciate the sounds we are capturing and mixing.
Immersive 5.1.4 NBC Sports' 5.1.4 immersive audio mixes were enhanced when the broadcaster's parent company, Comcast, requested several months ahead of the Games that cable channel USA Network also be in Dolby Atmos for the Olympics, says Malone.
We had already built out all incoming audio from OBS and NBC feeds to be 5.1.4, so we were prepared to get it through the facility and out to distribution, he says. Having the Stamford [CT] facility run on an ST 2110 infrastructure helped with routing 2110-30 audio around the building and offered us the flexibility that we did not have a couple of years earlier. NBC A1s in Stamford mixed all sports live on USA in 5.1.4, and our edit teams, who were planning to cut across 16 channels for the primetime show, decided to do so for all venues.
NBC mixes a 5.1-surround mix in remote trucks onsite in Paris, with a pair of iso tracks on channels 7 and 8, and passes through OBS-placed height microphones on channels 9-12 and NBC-placed height microphones on channels 9-16 for a total of eight tracks purely for overhead effects. Those eight tracks are mixed down to four that make up the .4 of the 5.1.4-channel array. Says Malone, That allows those with Dolby Atmos setups to appreciate these mixes, which immerse the listener in what it's really like to be at the event in Paris.
The facility last year upgraded its immersive-mixing capability with three new studios. Audio Control Room (ACR) Submix 1 houses a 128-fader Calrec Apollo console; both ACR 12 and ACR Submix 2 have 64-fader Calrec Artemis desks. In addition, two Calrec ImPulse core routing and processing engines are part of the new suite of studios, with one assigned to the Apollo console and the other shared by the two Artemis desks.
Big Sound, Close In As big as the sound has been for the Olympics this year, though, there is equal emphasis on sonic intimacy, in pursuit of storytelling.
The audio-control room for the Gold Zone show
We have continued to bring the families and friends of athletes into the broadcast and have miked many of them for live integration into the show, Malone says. Athletes cannot be wired on the Olympic field of play, but working with the host broadcaster, Olympic Broadcast Services, during both of the COVID-era [Summer and Winter] Games has brought broadcast organizations closer to athletes with mic positioning. We are always trying to get as close to an athlete and alongside their apparatus [as possible], whether they are a gymnast or a high jumper. The camera can zoom in close for an athlete clapping their hands, but, with audio, we have to get the mic to the right place, no matter where the athlete ends up.
With sports like swimming, we know where that is, he continues. The start and the finish are where we pick up the emotions of the athlete, the slap of the water, the yell of the swimmer at the finish, and the actual swim race itself. Particularly in Paris, the crowd has been all about telling the story of what is happening in the pool. We try to follow this action by capturing the stroke of the swimmer and the sound of the turns with underwater cameras and microphones.
NBC Sports A1s - led by NBC Senior A1 and Audio Design Engineer Mike DiCrescenzo, working with team members Brian DiCrescenzo, Eric Paige, Joe Vercesi, and Rick Bernier - were crucial in building the audio infrastructure for all 16 audio-control rooms in NBC's main control center in Stamford, CT. Mike DiCrescenzo and the audio team designed, tested, and trained audio operator pilots for the 28 off-tube booths, which are run off Calrec headless consoles on dual ImPulse IP cores. The booths give NBC the ability to deliver every venue live with NBC announcers. Every booth outputs a 5.1.4 mix, ready for integration into a production-control room or direct-to-air transmission. Each booth has a producer section attached for communication with the reporter/talent in Paris, as well as the ability to insert basic graphics.
Twenty-eight announce booths are managed by two audio pilots controlling the Calrec headless console, providing 5.1.4 mixes out of each booth.
Additionally, the producers have the ability (and
North America Stories
16/07/2026
This recent graduate and Georgia native has turned an early fascination with live production into a growing passion for camera work
In the live-sports-video in...
16/07/2026
TNDV is marking the first anniversary of Aspiration 35, a mobile production truck built around ARRI Alexa 35 Live camera systems. Over its first year, the truck...
16/07/2026
ATSC has completed a major revision to its A/85 Recommended Practice: Techniques...
16/07/2026
FloSports has announced an exclusive global media partnership with CrossFit for the 2026 CrossFit Games, presented by Air National Guard, beginning July 21 in S...
16/07/2026
Sennheiser has released firmware version 1.4 for its Spectera wireless system and announced the Spectera Command Button (Cat. No. 701014). The update adds comma...
16/07/2026
ESPN and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) have announced a multi-year...
16/07/2026
Audio-Technica has announced the 20 Series Control Application, a Stream Deck plug-in for compatible Audio-Technica USB microphones. The application is compatib...
16/07/2026
The fifteenth season of The Voice - La plus belle voix on TF1 used four Solid St...
16/07/2026
Gray Media and the Atlanta Hawks have announced a broadcast partnership that wil...
16/07/2026
Season 3 of Netflix's docuseries, which dropped this week, follows Jayden Da...
16/07/2026
The Texas Rangers and Rangers Sports Network presented by Progressive (RSN) have announced BZZR as the new direct-to-consumer distributor for Rangers game broad...
16/07/2026
With England's FIFA World Cup 2026 team getting ready to fly home after losi...
16/07/2026
In a return to Royal Birkdale, the team enjoys partnering with ETP and Gravity M...
16/07/2026
Along with a new studio at Ball Arena, the Colorado-based RSN is working with XR...
16/07/2026
Austria was back at the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, and the team d...
16/07/2026
With 42 RF cameras and high-power radio mics deployed, the spectrum environment ...
16/07/2026
June brought stabilization to the television market. Poles spent an average of 3 hours and 36 minutes a day in front of their TV screens exactly the same as i...
16/07/2026
Glensound returns to IBC with a major new addition to its intelligent loudspeaker range, the Greater Divine Supernal studio monitor, alongside recent developmen...
16/07/2026
33 leading exhibitors are taking part in the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions and linked locations across IBC2026 (Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September)...
16/07/2026
Hitomi Broadcast will introduce Spectra, a new HDR colour verification solution measured in picture, not using VPID, at IBC2026 (Hall 10, Stand A40). Expanding ...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
16/07/2026
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is coming to GeForce NOW at launch, with the playable...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
Paris 2024: Immersive Sound Makes for Intimate Storytelling NBC Sports is providing 10-channel audio mixes in 5.1.4 Atmos By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
