SVG Audio Symposium: A Focus on the Future of Advanced Production Digital mics, alternative sports genres, immersive sound, streaming topped the agenda By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Thursday, July 31, 2025 - 11:09 am
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The SVG Audio-hosted annual Advanced Audio Production Symposium on Tuesday brought together leading audio-production mixers, sound designers, and sports-media manufacturers and technologists for a full day of knowledge exchange. The emphasis was on the future, with discussions of immersive broadcast sound, the (elusive) potential for digital microphones, a preview of audio plans for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, and the audio for rising racing formats MotoGP and MotoAmerica.
SVG Audio Executive Director Roger Charlesworth welcomed the 50-plus attendees and panelists to the Westin Detroit Metro Airport Hotel and previewed the topics to be considered.
The Challenges Ahead Because some of the comments and information at the invitation-only event are off the record, not every presenter can be identified. All agreed that broadcast sports' near future will be challenging to navigate, not least because broadcast and cable, the primary media for sports for nearly a century, are rapidly giving way to streaming distribution, an outlet that is sometimes even more opaque than traditional broadcast, which is under growing financial and political pressure.
SVG Advanced Audio Production Symposium attracted more than 50 attendees and panelists.
What is clear is that the slew of features promised by ATSC 3.0 are nearing reality, including support for formats like Dolby AC-4 (which supports Dolby Atmos). Another potential is a more immersive listening experience with object-based audio that can be personalized by, for example, adjusting dialog volume independently - thus making dialog clearer, improving accessibility for viewers with hearing loss or those watching at low volumes, and providing consistent audio levels via real-time loudness algorithms.
In particular, Dolby AC-4 offers a Dialog Enhancement feature, which can make dialog more distinct from background noise and improve dialog intelligibility for streamed content. The algorithm automatically analyzes the audio stream during encoding, even with a traditional stereo mix, to identify and differentiate dialog from other sounds by generating a parametric analysis of the dialog, which is sent along with the audio in the AC-4 stream.
One presenter pointed out, The streaming world is virtualized. It can be as many channels as it wants, which makes it easier for streamers to do the necessary encoding for audio. Streaming architecture is a whole list of possible audio and video rates that can be chosen to match the devices viewers are watching on. They'll also be able to pick and choose among various features for audio available on both ATSC and streaming.
Immersively Speaking Consultant Ceri Thomas, who has worked at both Dolby Music and Apple's Spatial Audio Services, noted that immersive audio's evolution has been anything but linear: almost everyone likes the concept, but not all potential users see it as ready for wider application. That stands in contrast to the fact, pointed out by another commenter, that we all hear naturally in immersive sound.
Sound has always been an immersive experience, Thomas said. We talk about immersive sound as though it was something new, but what we're really doing is translating it into current technologies.
Immersive was advocated by many present as one of the remaining ways to reach increasingly fragmented viewing audiences. The recent cancellation of Stephen Colbert's CBS late-night show was very much on people's minds but not for its political implications. Rather, said one participant, the opening monologues of those shows, which are often their main attraction, are increasingly being viewed online the next day, undermining the programming's advertising-based economics.
Sports, that observer noted, is the only remaining appointment viewing left.
Dolby Atmos was available for auditioning in a Cadillac Optiq SUV outside the Westin Detroit Metro Airport Hotel.
Dolby had its Atmos system available for auditioning in a Cadillac Optiq SUV. In a presentation exploring the in-vehicle immersive-audio experiences, Dolby Senior Director, Sales, Chris Slocum noted that, as cars become more expensive and more software-based, buyers expect more of them, which helps set the stage for greater uptake of immersive sound: Vehicles have become the so-called third space,' after the home and the office, ready for a technology makeover.
With podcasts and music are driving audio in automobiles, cars are now among the more than 4 billion Atmos-accommodating devices, most of which are mobile devices. The vehicles - 29 brands include Atmos as standard or an option - have at least six speakers, making them good environments for object-based audio. Said Slocum, The 7.1.4-channel car is here.
Winter Sports The 2026 Milan Winter Olympics and Paralympics will take place in 14 venues across seven locations - the two farthest apart being Milan and Cortina, a nearly six-hour drive. That will challenge the broadcast logistics for the events, according to someone close to the event's production. But many of its solutions will be cut-and-paste from last year's successful Paris Olympics. That will include extensive use of REMI production, which will deploy such hardware as Calrec's RP1 remote-production audio-processing engine and Dante connectivity kits. Viewers will be able to hear an immersive 5.1.4 mix of the events on certain distribution channels, such as Peacock streaming, thanks to more-immersive microphone choices - such as the Audio-Technica BP3600 and Voyage Audio Spatial mic - available to capture
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SVG Audio Symposium: A Focus on the Future of Advanced Production Digital mics, alternative sports genres, immersive sound, streaming topped the agenda By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
