NHRA Takes the Racing Lead With Dolby Atmos Implementation is part of a transition from stereo to immersive in less than two years By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Tuesday, April 24, 2018 - 8:00 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
A typical NASCAR racer brings about 400 horsepower to the track. A typical NHRA top-fuel dragster comes in at about 11,000 horsepower. The differential in their sonic impact is just about vast as well.
When you stand next to one of them at the start line at a track, the sound just goes through you, says Mike Rokosa, the National Hot Rod Association's technology executive. Not only do you hear this incredible sound, you actually feel it in your bones. Thus, he adds, pairing the NHRA and Dolby's immersive Atmos audio format made tremendous sense.
Production trials with Dolby Atmos at NHRA events began last year, culminated at the NHRA Nationals April 6-8 in Las Vegas, and may continue through the NHRA season, which runs through November. According to Rokosa, carriage and STB technical details are being worked out with several major MPVDs. However, no decision has been made yet as to when they may go to air with a Dolby Atmos-encoded broadcast.
A1 Josh Daniels aboard Game Creek Nitro B mixes the Dolby Atmos audio on a Calrec Artemis console.
The first live-produced Dolby Atmos event in the U.S. was the 2018 Winter Olympics, available to Comcast and DirecTV subscribers, and Atmos is being used in the UK by Sky Sports and BT Sport for Premier League and Championship League soccer on their 4K channels.
Time To Develop
Much of the past year, Rokosa says, has been spent developing techniques for implementing Dolby Atmos. NHRA decided to test out the format after a demonstration using mixes that Dolby engineers had done of audio stems taken from races. The decision followed the organization's leap from stereo broadcasting to 5.1 surround in less than two years, after the NHRA shifted its shows from ESPN to Fox Sports.
Rokosa - who previously had helped launch NBA TV, shepherded the Q5X PlayerMic into the league, and supervising the first broadcast use of surround sound at Super Bowl XXI in 1987 - says that most of the startup effort will be invested in adapting mix techniques for Dolby Atmos. The effort uses a pair of Game Creek remote-production trucks, with effects mixer Rusty Roark and A1 Josh Daniels.
Most of the work falls on Rusty's shoulders, notes Rokosa. The challenge is how to take what can be done in postproduction and make it work in a live-broadcast environment. This was completely new ground.
The process involved a borrowed Calrec Artemis console aboard the B unit for sound effects, replacing a Calrec Brio console; a Calrec Summa desk was permanently installed for the Las Vegas races.
What didn't change were the existing microphones or their placements. The way sound is captured for racing remains perfectly valid, Rokosa explains. It's the way they're mixed that we had to change.
Nonetheless, during the test, one or two microphones were damaged through overpressure per race, where sound levels routinely reach 160 dB. In continued testing in subsequent races in Houston and elsewhere, several new types of microphones will be evaluated, because the Dolby Atmos sound field lets the broadcast audio become even more granular. One type will also include the first use of a multi-element dedicated surround microphone, which will be placed 60 ft. ahead of the starting line.
A Team Effort
Rokosa says development of Dolby Atmos mixing techniques requires the cooperation of camera operators and the show directors, as well as the audio mixers.
Unlike before, where the audio was just catching up to and following the shots, we are setting shots up ahead of time for the purpose of moving sound with the shot, he explains. Specifically, shots at the start line with handhelds and the jib [cameras], we began to correlate both video and audio together as part of the director's call.
Microphone placement between cars at the start of the race
The audio starts with a 5.1 surround bed, upon which key audio elements can be moved up and down, exploiting the format's height speakers. This is done using dual 5.1 buses on the console, one bus for upper sound sources and one for lower, and panning between them manually using the console faders.
Imagine a jib camera sweeping upwards across the top of a car, then down the other side. We're moving the audio to match that arc, Rokosa says. It took a lot of practice, over the course of five or six events, to get those moves to be smooth and fluid.
The NHRA is looking forward to having Dolby Atmos represent its trackside experience for home viewers, he says, adding that even homes without height speakers will hear improved audio, because the format has helped raise audio quality across the board.
One thing we've found since we began this is that the fold-down of our 5.1-surround and stereo mixes has gotten markedly better, he notes. It's forced us to look at things differently and to become more aggressive with the mixes, especially in the LFE area. We're also using the enhanced audio to press our announcers more, too. The whole sound package is better. Sound is a huge part of what we are, and this is now putting viewers inches away from the cars.
Most recent headlines
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
09/05/2025
Wooden Camera, a leading innovator in camera accessories, is proud to announce the launch of a new line of products for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Cameras. These ...
09/05/2025
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions is expanding its popular Series 5000 platform with three new 12G-SDI cards. The new cards provide ...
09/05/2025
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, has completed a project to migrate ON TV, the major independent broadcaste...
09/05/2025
NUGEN Audio launches its new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck. A mono, stereo and multichannel dialog clarity meter, the software provides an objecti...
09/05/2025
Disguise the technology platform and solutions provider that powered MDL Beast Soundstorm 2024, Dubai Expo's Al Wasl Dome and visual displays at the Burj ...
09/05/2025
CVP has announced it will demonstrate its cutting-edge broadcast, live production and studio solutions at MPTS 2025. Taking place at Olympia London from 14th - ...
09/05/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, and White Peaks Solutions, the prominent e...
09/05/2025
SportsEngine Play, the first-of-its-kind streaming service for youth sports, has agreed to a multi-year extension with AI-automated sports content leader, Pixel...
09/05/2025
Friend MTS, a leading global provider of content protection services, today announced that TOD, the premier sports and entertainment OTT subscription service fo...
09/05/2025
ZEISS announces that it is in development on a new virtual lens technology that will allow visual effects and compositing artists to apply an authentic lens loo...
09/05/2025
At the 2025 Media Production & Technology Show (MPTS), Cerberus Tech will showcase the latest major enhancement to its Livelink IP video delivery platform the...
09/05/2025
Capitol Broadcasting Company welcomed Warren Thomas as the new Vice President an...
09/05/2025
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Studio Technologies said the Harvard University athletics department has integrated Dante-enabled equipment from the vendor into its broadcast ...
09/05/2025
NEW YORK ITN, a provider of a local linear supply side platform, and Magnite, a independent sell-side advertising company, have announced that they working toge...
09/05/2025
LEEDS, U.K. Nugen Audio has launched a new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck and offered up quotes from technologists working at places like Netflix p...
09/05/2025
AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
When working remotely on broadcas...
09/05/2025
What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course?
Roland Kahlenberg May 8, 2025
0 Comments
There aren't many advanced After Effects co...
09/05/2025
Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
Trevor Morgan, COO of OpenDrives, shares how the co...
09/05/2025
Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...
09/05/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
In the season finale of The Late Late Show, ...
09/05/2025
My Eurovision Party 2025 - join in on the fun with RT Kids!
Eurovision launche...
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...
08/05/2025
As expected, continued weak demand from key sales markets and declining economic...
08/05/2025
A new three-part series is coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One
(Image: The Christie Archive Trust)
The BBC has announced Agatha Christie's Endless Night, a...
08/05/2025
For skyward-bound operators, training focuses on the unique aspects of flying ISR missions, including the management of onboard surveillance equipment and the e...
08/05/2025
The cable industry has told the Federal Communications Commission it supports the National Association of Broadcasters' proposal to allow broadcasters to us...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Consumer Technology Association has continued its opposition to mandates requiring that NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuners be included in new TV sets, sa...
08/05/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real time visualization, has named Paul Maroni as Vice Pres...
08/05/2025
This year's UK Pavilion in hall 5, once again managed by Tradefair, will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to discuss and be involved in cutting ...
08/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Broadcast technologies, designed to support network operators and content provider...
08/05/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has tapped Bill Nardi as vice president of station operations, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day broadcast operations ...
08/05/2025
SEATTLE LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy's training simulat...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Society of Broadcast Engineers has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that support a proposal by the National Association ...
08/05/2025
Senior adviser to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake has announced that One America News Network (OAN) will provide newsfeed services for fre...
08/05/2025
EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden an...
08/05/2025
Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro
Graham Quince May 7, 2025
0 Comments
This very quick tutorial shows you how to take an RGB clip and apply its ...
08/05/2025
OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Nativ...
08/05/2025
Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...
08/05/2025
08 May 2025
VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board at 2025 AGM, Founder Augie Fabela ...
08/05/2025
Comedy and entertainment channel U&Dave bring back their #1 ranked programme of ...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music
Slick Rick's Victory with Idris Elba a...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit
11-Day Industry Event Launches with Tal...
08/05/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on AI in Workflows, Pushing Boundarie...
08/05/2025
Creating Alternative Brand Experiences: Live Sports in the Age of Fortnite, Meta...
08/05/2025
PGA TOUR's David Piccolo: Advanced Graphics and Virtual Production Tools are...
08/05/2025
Tech Focus: Advancing Immersion in Sports Broadcasting with AR and Virtual Produ...
08/05/2025
Expect even more chaos this July with Harriet Webb leading the returning cast, p...
08/05/2025
Back to All News
Now in Production: Comedy Action Film Husbands in Action'...
NHRA Takes the Racing Lead With Dolby Atmos Implementation is part of a transition from stereo to immersive in less than two years By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
