STOW, Ohio—Audio-Technica has introduced the 20 Series Control Application, a Stream Deck plug-in designed to provide streamlined control of compatible Audio-Technica USB microphones directly from Elgato Stream Deck devices.

Developed for streamers, content creators, podcasters, gamers and audio production professionals, the application delivers fast access to essential microphone functions through customizable Stream Deck keys, dials and foot pedals.

Compatible with the Audio-Technica AT2020USB-X, Audio-Technica AT2020USB-XP and Audio-Technica AT2040USB microphones, the 20 Series Control Application allows users to mute and unmute microphones instantly, adjust microphone input levels, and, for AT2020USB-XP users, control Automatic Gain Control (AGC) and Noise Reduction (NR) functions directly from the Stream Deck interface.

The plug-in integrates with the Elgato Stream Deck ecosystem through simple drag-and-drop configuration, enabling users to assign controls to specific keys, dials or foot pedals and customize layouts to match individual workflows for streaming, recording, gaming, podcasting or content production.

Among the plug-in’s key functions is instant mute/unmute control, allowing users to silence or reactivate their microphone with a single press. The feature is especially useful for live streamers and gamers; it can also be assigned to compatible Stream Deck foot pedals for convenient hands-free operation.

The Virtual Fader function enables precise microphone input adjustment directly from the Stream Deck interface. Users can configure the control to set fixed microphone levels or increase and decrease levels incrementally using keys or rotary dials.

For users of the AT2020USB-XP microphone, the application also provides direct access to the microphone’s onboard AGC and Noise Reduction functions. AGC helps maintain a consistent output level regardless of changes in speaking or singing volume, while the Noise Reduction control allows users to select from multiple levels of ambient noise suppression or disable the feature entirely depending on their recording environment.

The Audio-Technica 20 Series Control Application is available now through the Elgato Marketplace.

For more information, read a recent blog from the company.

WILSONVILLE, Ore.—Eric Reese has been named vice president of Audix, the Videndum Creative Solutions-owned manufacturer of professional microphones for stage, studio and broadcast use.

He’ll be tasked with overseeing all of the company’s functions including sales, marketing, product development and operations, Audix said.

“My goal is to increase the awareness of Audix products and technologies with engineers, artists, and system designers, and to challenge more people to take the ‘Audix Challenge’ and listen to what they’ve been missing for over 40 years,” Reese said. “I look forward to utilizing my varied skillset and industry knowledge to collaborate with the team at Audix to continue the brand’s legacy and usher in a new era of quality audio.”

A 26-year veteran of the AV and entertainment industry, Reese began his career as a reliability engineer at Peavey Electronics. Since then, he spent 11 years with Sennheiser and five years with Shure, and has also worked for Peavey, Ford Audio-Video, AVI-SPL and Blizzard Lighting. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Michigan State University and an Executive MBA from Marquette University.

He also owns and operates live sound production company Loud and Clear Productions and is the frontman for a John Mellencamp tribute band.

“Audix has been an iconic, product-focused brand for over 40 years," Reese said. "Its passionate following is due to its dedication to unique products, for engineers and musicians, designed and built by engineers and musicians right here in the USA.

“Ironically, as a professional live sound engineer, my exposure to the full span of their catalog was limited, aside from their industry-leading drum microphones, which are ubiquitous,” he added. “Now that I’ve dug deeper into their products and technologies, I believe that Audix is the best-kept secret in microphones.”

As the unsung heroes of live media production, intercoms provide the vital link to ensuring a smooth running production. With the move to cloud and IP, today's intercom systems provide more flexibility, scalability and reliability than ever before. And as sports fans ask for more immersive experiences, wireless mics are becoming ever more ubiquitous on the playing field. In our latest guide, we examine the latest trends, gear and people involved in connecting media production and providing an increasing array of audio options.

Download the guide here.

Sports television has always chased immersion. Higher frame rates, longer lenses and increasingly complex graphics all served the same goal: putting the viewer closer to the action.

But for all the visual advances, sound remains a powerful shortcut to realism.

At the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships in St. Louis on Jan. 11, a quiet piece of audio innovation brought audiences closer to the ice than ever before by placing microphones directly inside it.

Cutting Into the Ice
Broadcast audio technicians arrived in St. Louis early to help the ice operations team install prototype Audio-Technica contact microphones directly into the skating surface. These contact microphones converted vibrations in the ice into an electrical signal that could be amplified for broadcast.

From there, a narrow trench ran from the mic location back to the dasher boards, allowing the cable to exit cleanly at the rink perimeter. Once the microphones were seated, the cabling was dressed tightly against the wall so it could later be tied into the broadcast infrastructure.

After installation, the ice team packed slush over the microphones and trenches, resurfaced the area, and painted the ice to conceal any visible lines. When finished, there was no visible evidence that 10 microphones were sitting just beneath the surface, positioned evenly around the rink.

Once the physical work was complete, the broadcast audio team tied the microphones into the broadcast truck, where the real test began.

A Different Kind of Microphone
The prototype microphones were contact mics, capturing only vibrations from the ice. Audio-Technica supplied the mics, with Gary Dixon, director of broadcast business development, closely involved in testing and exploring their applications.

“The goal is always the same,” Dixon explained. “How do we make sounds more interesting to people?”

Because the element was embedded directly into the ice, the microphones were inherently isolated from ambient noise. The mics use standard phantom power and were connected to conventional microphone inputs, with an internal amplifier bringing the piezo-element (an electrical charge or voltage generated by mechanical stress) signal up to microphone level.

Crowd reaction, PA spill and arena noise simply did not factor into the signal path. What remained was pure mechanical sound: blades carving ice, shifts in pressure, landings, takeoffs and the rhythm of the skating itself.

The microphones used in St. Louis were available through Audio-Technica’s rental program, with plans for a future commercial release. Dixon sees broad potential well beyond figure skating, such as basketball rims, soccer goalposts, swimming environments and even engines. Anywhere vibration tells a story, contact microphones offer a new way to listen.

Mixing the Ice
For Randy Pekich, senior audio mixer with NBC, the first listen was eye-opening.

“When I heard them, my first reaction was, ‘No way that’s a shotgun mic,’” Pekich said. “I was completely fascinated.”

With more than three decades in television audio and a background spanning music recording, studio television and large-scale remote productions, Pekich had embedded microphones into just about every imaginable place. But contact microphones in ice were new territory.

His initial concern was physics. With roughly an inch of ice covering each microphone, Pekich expected the sound to be thin, fragile or highly localized. Instead, he found that each mic captured a surprisingly wide area, roughly a 6- to 8-foot diameter, with enough detail to hear skaters working at center ice.

“They’re outstanding,” he said. “One of the best inventions to happen to the sport.”

Historically, figure skating audio relied on a combination of shotguns, PCC-style boundary microphones and occasionally lavaliers embedded in the dasher boards. As overall venue levels increased, those microphones inevitably behaved more like crowd mics, capturing PA and audience noise instead of isolating on-ice action. The in-ice contact microphones changed that equation entirely.

Simplifying the Mix
During the event, Pekich continuously monitored ambient sound levels in the arena, including crowd noise, music playback and general environmental spill, to understand what he was up against. With the contact microphones, much of that fight disappeared.

“I worried whether 10 microphones would be enough,” he admitted. “Then I heard everything.”

Because the microphones only responded to vibration in the ice, fader management became significantly easier. Instead of chasing skaters around the rink or riding levels to avoid crowd surges, Pekich could focus on storytelling. Subtle compression and minimal EQ were all that was required.

“Considering the massive frequency restrictor of the surrounding ice, they performed flawlessly,” he said. “They’re very true to sound.”

Importantly, the sound resonated with those who knew it best. Former skaters serving as on-air analysts commented that the audio matched exactly what they remembered hearing while skating. In some cases, they could even identify blade placement, helping them explain technique and judging decisions to viewers.

The Ice Team Perspective
Embedding equipment into the field of play is always a sensitive issue, particularly in a sport where surface quality directly affects athlete safety. John Monteleone, director of education with the U.S. Ice Rink Association, who oversaw the ice operations, acknowledged the initial hesitation.

“Most ice operations staff shy away from placing any foreign matter in the ice,” Monteleone said. “But after refining the process since 2019, we’re confident in the installation.”

The key, he explained, was precision and consistency. Keeping the cable runs straight, thoroughly removing ice shavings and carefully packing slush over the microphones ensured a uniform surface. Throughout the event, there were no impacts to ice quality, no interference from resurfacing equipment and no contact from skaters’ toe picks.

Removal, however, remained the most time-consuming part of the process. Locating and extracting the microphones after the event could take time and required chipping and hot water. Even so, Monteleone said he would be comfortable deploying the system again.

“My preference is always to keep the field of play as clean as possible,” he said. “But with the experience we’ve gained, I have no reservations about continuing to use in-ice microphones for these events.”

A New Layer of Immersion
Figure skating is a deceptively difficult sport to mix. The action is fluid, the pacing varies and the most important moments are often quiet, such as a subtle shift before a jump or the scrape of an edge setting up a landing. These embedded contact microphones added an entirely new layer of that story.

The on-ice sound translated exceptionally well, earning praise from the production team, leadership and viewers alike.

For audio, innovation doesn’t always mean more microphones or more channels. Sometimes it means listening differently. By installing directly to the ice, these contact microphones offered a rare combination of isolation, authenticity and emotional impact, bringing audiences closer to the sport without ever being seen.

Broadcasters, production companies, and show producers alike know that engaging audiences more deeply in their productions not only makes their work memorable but keeps the public coming back for more.

That’s why there’s been so much attention paid over the past few years to enhancing resolution—taking it to 4K and even 8K UHD—and transitioning to high dynamic range (HDR) pictures offering a much wider color gamut than standard dynamic range. Each helps to put lifelike images—those that pull viewers into content—on screen.

But what about audio production? Equal effort is being given to enhancing viewers’ audio experience as well. A number of technologies have emerged to enhance the audio experience, such as speech enhancement and descriptive audio. But it’s immersive sound that most directly engages audiences in the action by creating a captivating audio experience that’s the perfect match for 4K/8K UHD images and HDR.

Until recently, capturing immersive audio, especially for live productions like sports, has required elaborate, time-consuming mic setups and exceptional mixing diligence to create an immersive sound experience. Not only was a good deal of work needed to precisely position and tweak the mics' aim to pick up the channels required for the immersive mix, but cabling and mounting complexity grew with each new microphone.

A new digital broadcast microphone array from Shure, however, is changing that equation. The Shure DCA901 is equipped with 78 individual microphone elements that form eight lobes, which can be steered remotely in real time to create a sound field that changes as the action moves across the screen. During setup, having steerable lobes means adjusting the pickup from a central computer, not physically at the mic. During production, they mean being able to capture audio as the action unfolds.

For instance, for basketball games, two DCA901 arrays—one mounted to each backboard stanchion—provide A1s with total court coverage and the ability to steer audio pickup to capture dribbles and shoe squeaks as play moves around the court.

Beyond sports, the DCA901 is leaving its mark in live studio production, newscast production, reality TV production, and even after a shoot is finished in post-production.

Bill Oakley, Shure Associate Director of Global Product Development, recently sat down with TVTech contributing editor Phil Kurz to discuss immersive audio and the role the company’s DCA901 is playing in simplifying production of live immersive audio.

Click here to watch the interview.

STAMFORD, Conn.—NBC Sports is mounting mics in unconventional places to bring the sounds of NASCAR into the living rooms of sports fans.

Whether affixed to the front of a bump on a rear quarter panel or even directly inside a driver’s helmet, DPA Microphones’ powerful 4062 Omnidirectional Miniature Lavaliers have proven to be a “game-changer,” not simply a novelty, when it comes to telling the story of a race, said Matt Hogencamp, director of remote technical operations for motorsports at NBC Sports.

“In NASCAR, grams matter, and race cars generate brutal wind speeds, punishing vibration, extreme temperature shifts and showers of track debris,” he said. “We needed mics that were small enough to hide, light enough to avoid affecting aerodynamics and strong enough to survive extreme conditions lap after lap, while still delivering top-tier audio. The 4062 checked every box and gave us a real leg up in the sound department. Now, fans can hear the gritty scrape of a car skidding along the wall without crashing or the vacuum of ‘dirty air’ when one car tucks in behind another, the sound vanishing into eerie silence.”

While new camera angles and visuals are regularly incorporated into productions, audio is just as important, Hogencamp said.

“When we put a mic under the hood, our viewers can hear the engine in a way that changes how they experience the race,” he said. “It’s like they are in the car themselves. Even more revealing, viewers can now catch a driver’s unfiltered thoughts mid-race—the adrenaline-laced monologue they usually have on their own, as they hurtle toward a 200-mile-per-hour turn. These mics nearly disappear into the car but still capture everything we want.”

The microphones perform consistently regardless of where they are placed, which reduces postproduction fixes and allows engineers to focus on the dozens of other live feeds streaming into the truck, Hogencamp said.

“Durability is another win,” he said. “During multiday events, where crews have little time for repairs, the DPA mics kept running, meaning we had fewer midrace swaps and less risk of losing key audio moments. Quick mounting and low maintenance also made life easier in the high-pressure environment of race day, where every second of setup time is precious.”

For NBC Sports, the future of NASCAR broadcasting lies in this blend of technical ingenuity and creative risk-taking. With DPA on board, Hogencamp expresses confidence the audio side of the sport will only get more immersive.

“We’re always looking for new ways to put viewers closer to the action,” he said. “With DPA, we’re not just showing them the race—we’re letting them feel it.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

NEW YORK—The “MTV Video Music Awards” on Sept. 7 set a record for the most-viewed and engaged “VMAs” in history with more than 5.5 million viewers watching on CBS, MTV and Paramount+, a 42% jump in viewers from 2024.

A team of audio engineering professionals from Firehouse Productions contributed to the success of the awards show, held at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., turning to Shure wireless audio technology to ensure the evening’s production was as iconic as the artists performing.

Audio coordinator Mark Dittmar, broadcast production mixer Sean Prickett, music mixers Eric Schilling and John Harris, RF coordinator Cameron Stuckey, front-of-house mixers Dan Gerhard, Adam Armstrong, Simon Welch and Mike Bové and monitor mixers Chris Prinzivalli, Brett Taylor and Tom Pesa made up the Firehouse Productions audio team.Firehouse Productions provided equipment for the event. The team deployed 56 channels of the Shure Axient Digital Wireless Microphone System and 52 channels of the Shure PSM 1000 In-Ear Personal Monitoring System, including 110 P10R receivers.

“Even with the huge differences in artists and their performances, the Axient Digital system, coupled with ultrareliable Shure capsules, made every vocal performance predictable and rock solid,” said music mixer Harris. “From Busta Rhymes’ hip-hop to Alex Warren’s massive pop vocals, and from reggaeton with J Balvin to country rock with Bailey Zimmerman, I always had the control and sound that I needed.”

Added audio coordinator Dittmar: "Shure wireless provides us with the seamless technology to execute a large show like this, and of course, the sound quality is amazing.”

Shure microphone capsules graced the stage with a myriad of the award show’s performers, including Doja Cat on a Beta 54 headset mic, and Alex Warren, Sombr, Bailey Zimmerman and Busta Rhymes on SM58 capsules. Notably, J Balvin and Mariah Carey, recipients of the 2025 Video Vanguard award, both sang into new Nexadyne 8 vocal microphone capsules, with Carey’s mic featuring a custom gold Shure Axient Digital handheld transmitter. Lady Gaga, Artist of the Year winner, shared a prerecorded performance where she was singing into the new Shure SM39 headset microphone.

“For the MTV VMAs we debuted the Shure Nexadyne capsule with J Balvin, and it was a game-changer. Right out of the box, the capsule delivered a crystal-clear vocal that sat perfectly in the mix; we barely touched the EQ on his channel strip. Huge clarity, great rejection and broadcast-ready tone without extra work,” said Hugo Pinzon, monitor and broadcast engineer.

Each of these artists, in addition to Lola Young, Tate McRae, Sabrina Carpenter and Conan Gray, all relied on Shure Axient Digital wireless handheld transmitters.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.—PGA Tour Studios has deployed the new Sennheiser Spectera bidirectional wireless audio ecosystem across its new campus here.

Responsible for extensive live PGA Tour coverage and diverse studio shows, the PGA Tour Studios audio team required a system that could support a state-of-the-art facility with seven dedicated studios and manage up to 11 shows broadcasting at the same time in an environment packed with competing RF signals.

PGA Tour Studios needed a wireless solution that could keep pace with the demands of a fast-moving, multistudio production environment. Spectera emerged as the best choice due to its technical capabilities as well as how it simplified installation and allowed the engineering team to focus on production rather than infrastructure.

The new system needed to offer effortless transitions between studios and a dramatically simplified management interface. The PGA Tour chose Spectera, Sennheiser’s wideband, bidirectional wireless ecosystem, the company said.

Seamless Integration
Unlike traditional wireless audio setups, Sennheiser said, Spectera doesn’t rely on a complex mix of separate systems for microphones and in-ear monitors or interruptible foldback (IFB) monitors—each on its own frequency and requiring channel and guard band planning.

Spectera combines microphones, IFBs and control data on a single wideband RF channel, managed from a compact 1 rack-unit base station. This fundamentally simplifies the handling of wireless audio in live production. PGA Tour Studios strategically implemented Spectera as the backbone audio infrastructure of its new campus.

“Our original vision was to implement a building-wide RF system that offered seamless coverage across all studios, regardless of location,” Ricardo Landaeta, manager of audio broadcast for the PGA Tour, said. “We have seven studios, each with three or four talents, and our goal is to run six shows weekly with a maximum of four talents per show, operating four days a week for 12 hours. Resilience, quality and versatility are important. With Spectera, talent can easily transition between studios by simply grabbing a pack, and guest integration is smooth.”

Spectera’s breakthrough runs both microphone and IFB channels together in the same centrally managed 6 or 8 MHz of bandwidth. Up to 64 audio channels (32 in, 32 out) can be handled from a single rack unit, something previously requiring a tangle of receivers, transmitters and careful manual frequency calculations.

The bidirectional SEK bodypacks operate as a mic or line transmitter and an IFB receiver at once, reducing gear and cabling for everyone on stage. Operators are also able to monitor and control packs remotely, leveraging Spectera’s continuous two-way link, the company said.

“It’s rewarding to see the system commissioned and performing precisely as Ricardo and his team envisioned,” Valerie Seward, broadcast engineer at PGA Tour Studios, said. “We’re managing up to 10 shows concurrently, and engineering has enabled talents to work across multiple studios without impacting audio quality. Our main goal was to deliver a pristine audio environment and foster clear communication for our talents, and we’ve achieved and exceeded that goal without needing any backend changes.”

The setup includes two Spectera base stations supporting 24 microphones and IFB monitors, distributed across the facility with seven dedicated antennas to ensure optimal coverage. There are plans for this setup to be expanded to six base stations and additional packs in fall of 2025, providing building-wide coverage and hardware redundancy, it said.

The infrastructure cost savings were an important factor in selecting Spectera. The system does not rely on RF-over-fiber converters, combiners and amplifiers, or ¾-inch RF cable, all of which add large overhead to the cost of the system. In the case of Spectera, base stations are connected to antennas using standard Ethernet cables, and the antennas are POE (Power over Ethernet), further simplifying the setup, it said.

“The commissioning process was remarkably swift and straightforward,” said Joel Latimer, audio engineer A1 at PGA Tour. “It took just 10 minutes to turn it on, set it up and showcase what it can do. The ease of use took all of us pleasantly by surprise.”

This rapid deployment allowed the system to go live quickly. After two weeks of extensive testing completed in early January, PGA Tour Studios fully deployed Spectera, actively supporting on-air broadcasts across four studios.

Streamlined Workflow
For PGA Tour Studios, Spectera demonstrated its RF resilience and stability, even in demanding broadcast environments. During times of heightened activity, such as The Players Championship, the campus is surrounded by a massive truck compound generating a large amount of external RF signals. Despite these difficult conditions and numerous internal shoots occurring at the same time, the Spectera system did not experience a single dropout, hit or interference issue, Sennheiser said.

The system’s simplicity has streamlined PGA Tour Studios’ workflow. Talent can move between different studios without worry, pick up any available pack and immediately be operational without the need for any backend reconfigurations or manual adjustments.

Engineers can swap out depleted batteries during live broadcasts, significantly cutting down on delays to production. The process of going live again after a battery swap now takes 7 seconds. Spectera integrated with PGA Tour Studios’ existing Dante and Calrec 2110 audio environments, ensuring that even with signal conversion occurring, there was no discernible delay or compromise in audio, it said.

“Our expectations for stability have been met even with other studios and activities happening around us,” Latimer said. Battery life has also been surprisingly good—we’ve even seen packs last up to seven hours on new batteries. The key is that we want everything to run smoothly, and nothing has gone wrong.

“We really like the software as well; it provides a fantastic visual reference for everything that’s happening with each pack,” Latimer continued. “Especially when mixing a show, we can quickly check the band RF levels. If there’s any signal loss, we can immediately identify it and communicate with engineers to allocate resources. Spectera is incredibly intuitive.”

The PGA Tour Studios audio team has set up Spectera in such a manner that it can have access to all base stations from all computers around the facility. Using Spectera WebUI for each base station, the team can continuously monitor the health of microphones, IEMs/IFBs and antennas, as well as critical battery and RF levels. The audio team can log into any base station from anywhere on the network as needed enabling the team to be proactive in its management to prevent surprises and ensure system integrity, it said.

Spectera’s versatility makes it integral to a vast array of PGA Tour Studios’ productions. It’s consistently used across coverage of numerous live tournaments, including four streams for PGA Tour Live on ESPN+, PGA Tour Champions and Korn Ferry Tour on Golf Channel. It is also the core system for popular studio shows including “The Drop” on Golf Channel, “On the Range” on Golf Channel and YouTube and the “Creator Classic Series presented by YouTube.”

More information is available on the Senneheiser website.

LONGMONT, Colo.—DPA Microphones said Chris Kontopanos has joined the microphone solutions provider as its new regional sales manager, Mid-Atlantic.

The 30-year industry veteran will oversee sales of DPA Microphones, Austrian Audio and Wisycom products in Washington, D.C., Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Eastern Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Kontopanos joins DPA from Digital Video Group, where he was senior broadcast account manager. A top-performing, multi-award-winning sales executive, DPA said he brings to the company a history of strong professional audio and AV integration sales results, proactive account management and strategic problem-solving.

“Chris’ vast knowledge of the pro audio market and proven record for pursuing sales opportunities and building solid partnerships will be a great addition to our sales network,” said Chris Spahr, vice president of sales and marketing for Wisycom USA and DPA Microphones, which owns the Austrian Audio brand. “Chris’ experience will further strengthen our position as a renowned leader in the professional audio industry, and we look forward to the contributions he will bring to the brand.”

Prior to DVG, Kontopanos supported pro audio solutions sales at Sennheiser for nearly 18 years and worked for more than five years at guitar retail store Corner Music in Nashville, Tenn. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, he has decades of experience in performing, recording and sound engineering, DPA said.

Broadcast sound is crafted from a variety of microphones so that the final/composite sound field replicates what your ears really hear and the information your brain processes as the sound environment. It is amazing that your brain, along with some directional head-pointing, creates and mixes the soundtrack of life, everything around you, with all of its glorious sonic details. Plus, the brain remembers what you think it all sounds like and what you like.

A sound field is a composite of all the acoustic environment’s sounds with all the different intensities, moshed with direct and reflected sound waves that all blend and interfere with each other to create an “acoustic gumbo.” This is the simple reason why it is impossible to capture all the details of a soundscape with a single microphone.

Basic microphone physics begins with a single transducer/diaphragm capturing the entire sound field. In theory, a single omnidirectional microphone should be able to capture the sound field—like your ear—however, there are significant diminishing returns the further you move away from the microphone diaphragm. An analogy—a camera lens can focus in on an object for a “close-up” while a microphone cannot.

Separating the Noise
Typical sound environments are full of noise, which attenuates the clarity and fidelity of a sound source. Go into a venue and just listen—there is a base level of sound from HVAC systems and ice coolers, but mostly from the diffusion and decay of many complex sound waves. The problem is that your audio capture must be above this base layer of noise.

Early sports sound depended on just a few microphones that often blended a pleasant holistic representation of the sound field. Shotgun microphones inherently overreach their targeted sound and detect background clutter, like spectators. Often, this resulted in a good balance of sport and spectator sound from a single microphone. It was not until surround and immersive sound that the audio mix needed more defined spectator zones, which required the spectator atmosphere and ambiance to be captured separately from the event-specific sounds.

Mono transducers inherently have “full omnidirectional pickup” and are crafted for separation by physical characteristics like housing, porting and mounting. For example, a directional microphone is designed to reject directions and frequencies either physically by construction and design or electronically. Construction and porting creates cancellation of certain frequencies in the sound field that may not be desired, while electronics are also used to shape aspects of a sound field through cancellation, equalization and electronic manipulation.

Further, with fast computers, there has been success with multicapsule microphones that are capable of specific pattern isolation known as “beam forming.” The beams are electronically mapped and able to track the focused microphone beam pattern on a moving object such as an athlete or a ball.

Additionally, combinations of microphone capsules are used to create the illusion of stereo, surround and even immersive sound.

There is no doubt that the materials and technology of modern microphones are capable of a close-to-perfect representation of a sound field; however, capture still seems to be a mystery. A mediocre microphone can sound decent if it is properly mounted. Unfortunately, I am surprised that I still see shotgun microphones flat on camera lenses—check out baseball.

How to Aim a Shotgun
A shotgun microphone is designed and constructed to have focused-forward reach where the microphone is pointed; however, this requires full 360-degree free-field sound, not reflective sound from the camera lens. When the shotgun microphone is placed flat on the camera lens there is a “boundary” boost, but there is also frequency alteration.

Microphones benefit from accurate and proper axis and direction orientation. When stereo shotgun microphones were introduced, there was some carelessness with the left/right and even the up/down orientation of the microphone, so the sound didn’t match the picture. In a quiet setup, this may be difficult to detect, but it is obvious when the microphone is mounted on a handheld camera.

Television sound is about presenting an appropriate enhancement to the picture subject to interpretation, taste and the technology of the day. Most sound mixers work hard to get those singular microsonics that are unmistakably the event, but the great sound mixers have clean capture and a knack for that proper sonic blend.

Even though the entire broadcasting signal chain is digital, the beginning and the end are still analog. We live in an analog world and we ingest analog sound and visuals and convert frequencies to brain waves. So when the A1 sound mixer asks for some more microphone, humor them, because you know why.

SINGAPORE—Atomos introduced its StudioSonic shotgun mic for filmmakers, journalists, YouTubers and production professionals at Broadcast Asia here, May 27-29 at the Singapore Expo.

StudioSonic, a good match for the Atomos Ninja and Shogun monitor-recorders as well as professional cameras and recording devices, is designed for filmmakers, journalists, YouTubers and production professionals, the company said.

With a dual-mode design, StudioSonic offers the ability to operated wirelessly over 2.4 Gighahertz or via direct USB-C digital audio connection with the company’s locking USB-C connector, it said.

The StudioSonic Shotgun Mic combines both wireless freedom and reliable wired connectivity to support a diverse range of scenarios, including on-location interviews, run-and-gun shooting, field reporting and capturing unscripted dialogue.

Offering a high-quality 480-Hz, 24-bit super cardioid design, StudioSonic isolates voices with precision even in noisy environments. The mic has an internal USB-C rechargeable battery that’s capable of powering the device for seven to eight hours in wireless mode and up to 50 hours when wired, it said.

The mic has analog and digital outputs, and the USB-C output enables users to directly connect the mic to a computer for podcasts or live streaming, it said.

“With StudioSonic, we’re delivering a microphone that matches the mobility and precision today’s content creators demand,” Atomos CEO Peter Barber said. “It brings together robust construction, flexible connectivity and studio-quality audio, all in a smart looking directional shotgun form factor.”

The microphone incorporates a 75-Hz low-cut filter and a 150-Hz high-cut filter to minimize unwanted noise, high frequency boost to improve clarity and manual gain control for precise adjustments.

The integrated OLED screen provides real-time monitoring, giving users total confidence in the sound quality. The mic is supplied with a 2.4-GHz receiver. Latency is less than 20 milliseconds and the working range is up to 328 feet (100 meters), with line of sight of up to 65 feet (20 m) in busy environments, the company said.

Built with a shielded, all-metal body, the mic is engineered to operate in rugged field environments. The USB-C connection is reinforced with the same locking mechanism used across other Atomos products, it said.

The StudioSonic shotgun mic is available for preorder and will ship in mid-July. It has an manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $249.

More information is available on the company’s website.

Even with only a few decades’ perspective, it’s reasonable to look back at the development of IP, the internet protocol, as an enabling technology on par with the plow, the printing press and the steam engine. In broadcast, as audio-over-IP standards have solidified in recent years, networking has become increasingly commonplace, providing a solid foundation for future developments.

Until relatively recently, microphones were the one component in the audio signal chain that wasn’t networked.

“There are some huge advantages to networked microphones,” Roger Charlesworth, executive director at DTV Audio Group, said. “They reduce some cost, and they reduce some rigging time.”

It’s no surprise, then, that Voyage Audio’s Spatial Mic Dante, a recipient of the Best of Show Award from Mix magazine last year at this convention, has been finding applications at major sports events nationwide, including the biggest date on the NFL’s calendar.

The eight-capsule, Dante-networked mic supports Ambisonics, surround and immersive formats and, new at NAB Show, a 4.0.4 output, as well as stereo and mono. Preamps, converters and the digital signal processor (DSP) are housed within the mic casing, remote-controlled by software and routed over Dante.

SOUND ON THE MOVE

“A lot of major broadcast companies are testing them out for hockey, baseball, football and soccer,” typically to capture the crowd or other ambience, such as a marching band, said company co-founder Steve Silva.

“Since there’s not a whole bunch of extra gear to set up, it allows you to deploy it in unique locations,” he said, such as a hallway that the players take to get to the field.

The polar pattern and stereo width are software-controlled, and, in the new update, Voyage is adding 360-degree rotation in any format.

“It’s another tool for the user to tailor the sound to how they want it,” Silva said, by optimizing the image or steering it away from, say, a noisy crowd section, without an A2 having to go and physically adjust the mic.

Other mic manufacturers have developed AoIP mic products, certainly, but typically for applications such as conference rooms. Some sports broadcast A1s have taken notice and have been testing some of those products at events, Charlesworth said.

For example, “Shure has been quietly adapting their conference microphone technology for live sports.” He noted its MXA710 linear-array mic system.

Going forward, Charlesworth continued, multiple beam-forming mic arrays might be networked together. “Maybe they can also train the DSP to listen for ball sounds, rather than human voices.”

While financial considerations may have previously limited wider adoption of networking, any organization undertaking a new build or an upgrade these days typically bases it on an AoIP infrastructure.

“Even if a station isn’t implementing a full SMPTE ST 2110 system with redundant networking, they want to be sure that gear purchased today will fit into that architecture tomorrow,” said Phil Owens, senior sales engineer at Wheatstone.

“To that end, Wheatstone is making sure that our endpoints will support the redundant ports and protocols required for 2110 and associated specs like 2022-7 hitless switching.”

Audio board sizes are shrinking, Owens noted, as AoIP’s switching and routing capabilities mean users need fewer physical faders. “Only the largest network facilities require more than a 32-fader board,” he said. “It seems like the days of ‘big iron’ are drawing to a close.”

That said, broadcasters still need large input counts. “Typical newsroom automation systems don’t support changing sources on input channels, so more input channels are required to provide control over all the sources needed for a newscast,” Owens said.

“Oftentimes, there is no board op required, so layered channels on a touchscreen-based software mixer are quite acceptable. Our Virtual Strata system provides 64 input channels with all the processing and bussing that its physical counterpart has.”

REMOTE WORKFLOWS ON THE RISE

The COVID-19 pandemic hastened wider adoption of remote workflows in broadcast, a boon for

Calrec, which had already introduced its RP1 remote production processing engine. While the RP1 supported remote control of basic functions like faders and auxes, its new True Connect 2.0 enables remote operation across the board.

“We’ve put that control mechanism into our Argo S, Argo Q and new Argo M console,” Henry Goodman, director of product management, said. “It’s also in Type R and in our Cloud Processing engine.”

The DSP cores of any of those products (and soon, Apollo+ and Artemis+ consoles) at the event site may be mapped onto another of the desks back at the broadcast facility.

“True Control allows you to maximize your utilization,” he said. For instance, an operator at the studio could mix multiple remote events in a single day, significantly reducing travel and associated costs.

Now add the cloud piece. “A cloud instance could be controlled directly from an Argo surface in the same way,” Goodman said. “You’re using processing that is in a different location, whether in the cloud or in another DSP core somewhere else. From an operator’s point of view, it’s pretty much transparent.”

Copyright NAB 2025.

KOKKEDAL, Denmark—DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas.

“CORE+ is a game-changer for the world of condenser microphones and blurs the lines of what is acoustically possible in microphone design,” said Helga Volha Somava, product management director at DPA Microphones.

“With an advanced approach that ensures a clear and precise audio experience, CORE+ provides an unprecedented level of accuracy and detail in sound reproduction and sonic fidelity, whether recording or amplifying content.”

The company’s CORE+ technology eliminates the non-linearities generated by a mic’s membrane and electronic components and redefines what is possible when capturing sound. CORE+ neutralizes distortion across the entire dynamic range of the microphone, making any non-linear artifacts imperceptible and unmeasurable, the company said.

The technology elevates audio clarity and purity while reducing the hassle of unpredictable challenges of sound environments, such as when talent speaks or sings at louder volumes or in productions with multiple mics, DPA said.

Microphones with CORE+ eliminate artifacts and enhance the transparency of the entire sound image, it said.

The implementation of CORE+ requires redesigning DPA microphones, which the company plans to accomplish with by rolling out a slow update across its portfolio. The first solutions to be addressed are the 5-milimeter omnidirectional headsets and lavaliers.

Among the microphones planned for the CORE+ upgrade are 4060, 4061, 4071, 4661, 4066, 4266 and 4466. This will be followed by the brand’s miniature cardioid solutions, the 4088, 4188, 4288 and 4488, and the 4166 and 4062 omni. The company is also exploring the possibility of implementing CORE+ with some of its other products, it said.

All DPA microphones incorporating CORE+ will retain the same microphone specifications, including dynamic range and noise level.

DPA Microphones introduced CORE+ technology earlier in 2025 and will present it to broadcasters and filmmakers for the first time at NAB Show, the company said.

See DPA Microphones at 2025 NAB Show booth N767.

More information is available on the company’s website.

Another year has passed and it seems there has been little progress toward improving the sound of television, plus there are the same old problems with microphones, compression, synchronization, audio-follow-video and ATSC standards.

With COVID-19 came the proliferation of stay-at-home journalism, principally with so-called experts who seem to fill time and echo the thoughts of the studio commentators. The occasional off-microphone talking head was tolerable, but with over four years of this practice, I find this unacceptable and very unprofessional.

The computer is a wonderful all-in-one streaming device with automatic gain control for poor lighting and some level of bad sound, but someone decided that poor lighting and “raccoon eyes” were not a good look for television. Quickly, light rings and the occasional background lighting on the bookcases or guitars were adopted, so the viewer could see the subject’s faces and how cool they were by what they read or did. Most news stories could exist without a fuzzy portrait of a talking head but when speech intelligibility becomes a problem, what’s the point?

Upgrade the Home Studio
Every home journalist should have a kit that includes lights, a real microphone, earbuds or headphones and an audio interface for the computer. The lapel microphone is often the first choice because of its small size, but that size also makes the microphone more omnidirectional. Thus, it picks up more room clutter than a larger diaphragm microphone with more directivity that picks up the desired voice and less room tone. Obviously, the art director would rather not see the presence of a large microphone, while the sound person wants better and closer sound capture.

Earbuds or headphones may be a bit of a stretch for the home journalist, but sometimes you can hear the audio return from the network if the sound from the computer is too loud. Finally, an easy improvement for the serious home journalist would be some sound treatment to reduce the sound bouncing around a big room with pretty books and a guitar in the background.

Every day, I am shocked at the misuse of audio compression across virtually all networks. How often have you heard the audio level drop dramatically and then recover a few milliseconds later? Audio compressors have an attack time and a release time that govern the function of sound compression.

A quick attack time is often undetected until a slow release time seems to keep the audio levels too unnaturally low for too long. Conversely, a quick release can make the audio sound like it is pumping up and down, electronically controlling the sound levels. My preference is to limit the audio peaks to not distort the program and to use your fingers and ears to find the right balance. Before there was compression or limiting, there was mixing.

Too Fast, Too Furious
Live television production is fast and furious and it can be challenging to get the right microphone fader up at the right time and to the correct level when the director is bouncing all over the place with more cameras than they know what to do with. College football is the worst, because the handhelds are close to the crowd and the poor audio person often does not know when the director will cut to that handheld. Most directors will argue that that is not the case, but in my 40-plus years of live sports mixing, I have heard more than once, “Ready camera two, ready camera four—take camera seven.” What?

Since the beginning of outside broadcasting, the video switcher has been capable of switching camera tally lights and microphones on and off. As a young, inexperienced sound mixer, I remember that I don’t need audio-follow-video until I uncut a couple of cheerleaders who had a camera in their face and heard about it from the director. AFV—audio-follow-video, even in its most basic form—is better than “uncut” sound.

My final two pet peeves have proven more difficult to tame and are beyond the control of the audio practitioner: lip sync and standards. Every year, I write about lip sync, but there seems to be little progress toward implementing a solution—probably because there are so many places for the sound to get out of sync.

Staying in Sync
I know you have seen programs where the content is out of sync and the commercials are in sync, and I know you have seen live content where different elements within the show are out of sync. Golf is the worst!

Finally, the ATSC needs to adopt—and the FCC needs to mandate—immersive sound as the audio standard. We probably would not have immersive sound because we probably would not have had surround sound if the ATSC and FCC had not selected the latter as the sound standard in ATSC 1.0.

I have covered all these issues on several occasions in these pages, including things the ATSC could endorse—for a long time now.

AMSTERDAM—DPA Microphones has introduced its 2061 Miniature Omnidirectional Microphone for applications ranging from broadcast studios and ENG to theaters, event venues and houses of worship here at IBC 2024.

“We launched the 2061 to appeal to audio professionals who are not yet part of the DPA family and are looking to upgrade their audio quality with a crystal-clear, no-frills microphone,” said Helga Volha Somava, product management director at DPA Microphones. “With its durable and rugged enclosure and premier DPA sound, the 2061 does not compromise on excellence. This is a great miniature microphone that is a worthy competitor to other well-known and widely used models.”

The 2061 features a new, simplified 5mm capsule construction that targets superior performance in the 50 Hz to 16 kHz frequency range, with 128 dB peak SPL. Like its predecessors, the 2061 has best-in-class speech intelligibility via the clear, natural DPA sound, as well as robust mechanical construction, the company said.

With an omnidirectional pickup pattern, this pre-polarized condenser microphone is designed to capture the human voice accurately with minimal coloration and a high level of fidelity and intelligibility from any direction. The DPA 2061 has a flat frequency curve with a soft 3 dB boost at 8 kHz – 16 kHz, it said.

The mic is not pre-tailored to compensate for any specific position in which a lavalier is commonly placed, which allows a sound engineer to capture authentic sound from any arrangement, it said.

The 2061’s 4.5-foot (1.5 meter) Kevlar reinforced cable offers flexible strain relief for resilience against physical damage. The mic’s advanced sweat-repelling capabilities and IP57 certification for exposure to water, dust and makeup further add to its durability and reliability, it said.

The IP57 international standard defines the degrees of protection provided by an enclosure. Testing determined the ingress of dust does not interfere with micro. Temporary immersion in water produces no permanent, negative effects. These features also ensure ease of cleaning and a prolonged life, the company said.

The mic has a fixed cap and includes permanent connector options that are compatible with 3-pin LEMO, TA4F and Mini-Jack, providing for easier use, especially in chaotic work environments requiring quick, smooth results, it said.

The company’s recently launched AIR1 Universal Miniature Fur Windscreen is well-suited to the 2061 for use in windy, outdoor applications. The SCM0030 and SCM0034 clips, and DUA056 series of foam windscreens are also compatible with the microphone, it said.

See DPA Microphones at IBC 2024 Stand 8.C42.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

LAS VEGAS—DPA Microphones’ 4466 CORE Omnidirectional and 4488 CORE Directional Headset Microphones will make their trade show debut at the 2022 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 23-27.  

Based on the design of the company’s 6066 Subminiature Headsets, the new microphones feature DPA’s popular 5mm round microphone capsule. These latest offerings provide the security, durability and flexibility necessary for use in broadcast, theatre, worship and corporate conferencing, among other applications, the company said. 

With the purposeful design of the boom and locking system, design and adjustable height and boom length, the 4466 and 4488 headsets are one-size-fits-all to accommodate all head types. This is even true for the directional option, for which the correct placement is so important. A unique, three-point gripping system (above, below and behind the ear) ensures a greater level of security, while the flexible ear hooks provide continued comfort during extended use.  

The design comes at the request of customers looking for DPA to deliver its latest small form-factor headsets with the highly regarded 5mm mic capsules. With the 4466 and 4488, users now have access to a wide array of solutions to meet an even greater variety of needs while also maintaining the typical clear and transparent DPA sound, which produces high speech intelligibility.

The headsets also share the same interchangeable cable and boom options as the 6066 Subminiature Headsets. This includes the 90-degree cable management at the neck. The headset frame, boom and capsule have a non-reflective surface for unobtrusiveness and ease-of-use for camera crews. With a high-quality, professional look, the 4466 and 4488 are available in black, brown and beige options.

DPA will be in Booth C8609. For more information on the NAB Show, visit nabshow.com.

Sports audio is defined by extremes in sound. From the tranquil timbres (tones) of chirping birds during golf to the deafening roar of motorsports or even by the non-relevant sounds of the whoop, whoop of a helicopter during downhill skiing. There is a base tone that exists within every sporting event and venue, and it cannot be under-estimated how extraneous noise contaminates and influences the listener’s perception of a soundscape.

There are four factors that contribute the most to television noise pollution and acoustic soup—compromised microphone capture; little cooperation between broadcasters and venue management; the lack of concern or control of the offending noises from broadcast directors, producers and executives; and poor acoustics.

SIGNAL TO NOISE
Microphone design and placement make pure separation of sound from noise very difficult and often impossible, which is why Joe Carpenter designs a very close and precise microphone design for super events such as The World Series. All my engineering friends understand the measurement of signal to noise. This principle is relevant to microphones as well—basically, the closer the microphone is to the sound source the greater the signal to the background noise. Carpenter has microphones everywhere and even where you wouldn’t think.

Often sports announcers are located where the amount of extraneous sound that is picked up by the announcer’s headset is astounding and a distraction to the production. This is particularly evident at golf when you often hear the background noise from activities on another hole in the announcer’s headsets. This is distracting and unnecessary and is usually not relevant at that moment with the action the announcers are talking about. Just put the announcers in a trailer or in the studio. The same with basketball. Why are the announcers on the floor? They are only closer to the PA and excessive PA chatter and volume.

Microphone placement has generally been a compromise for decades. I can verify the fact that many directors and producers do not want to see microphones, boom poles or microphone operators in the camera shot. Sadly, there are virtually no more parabolic microphones behind home plate and the 2021 NFL season saw the reduction of the sideline space for parabolic operators to just between the goal line and 20-yard line. 

Finally, I do not understand why European football does not allow microphone operators on the sidelines, but they do allow handheld camera operators. Not only is microphone placement compromised, but I am still surprised to see a microphone lying flat on top of a camera lens. A shotgun microphone flat on a camera lens acts more as a boundary microphone and not a shotgun microphone. At least the microphone is picking up something.

Often, effect microphones are hopelessly abrogated by the amount of excess sound particularly from enthusiastic PA announcers who talk too much through an over-the-top PA system that is way too loud. Bicycle motocross depends on constant PA chatter and music, while beach volleyball has cheerleaders and a DJ. I knew control of the venue sound was over when the head of production at the Brazilian Olympic Games said he wanted it to sound like a big party. Clearly in-venue entertainment has reached an annoying pinnacle. And if things haven’t gotten loud enough, the Atlanta Falcons were fined $350,000 and lost a draft pick for pumping additional crowd sound back into their home stadium.

DISTRACTING, DISORIENTING, DISRUPTIVE
I have had to accept that excessive PA volume, chatter and ear-piercing crowd noise are just a part of sports sound, but the noise that stadium fans have been allowed to perpetrate on TV audiences from the likes of cowbells, drums, thunder sticks and the dreadful vuvuzelas is basically unacceptable for a televised sporting event. The wall of noise is not only distracting, but disorienting and disruptive to the athletes and listening audience and dangerous to the spectators in an athletic venue. 

By comparison a jet engine emits 140 dBSPL while the vuvuzela metered in at 127 dBSPL. Exposure of audio in excess of 85 dBSPL will cause hearing loss and permanent damage to the ear, plus there is no relief from the vuvuzela’s constant killer bee drone, which I am certain has detrimental psychological effects as well.

I have learned to accept that the director and producer are always looking for another camera angle. For example, for the sake of another camera angle helicopter sound crept into the tranquil soundscape of winter sports interrupting the beautiful uncontaminated sound of a mountain with the whoop whoop sounds of “Apocalypse Now.” 

No doubt overhead cameras provide amazing camera perspectives, however even the first overhead cameras were noisy. Cooperation from the cable and railcam designers helped to minimize the noise that their belts, cables and pulleys made, but now the directors and producers are using drones, which are next to impossible to quiet down to an acceptable level.

Finally, I understand that sports venues are not designed with acoustics in mind. Parallel walls are a fundamental “no no” in acoustic basics and simple changes in the design of a venue would reduce sound buildup and help manage the wall of sound. There is no doubt that poor acoustics contribute to an acoustic soup that permeates much of television sports sound.

Sports such as golf, soccer and tennis verify there is an abundance of extraneous noise that permeates the base layer of sports audio including but not limited to HVAC, refrigerators, golf carts, generators, ice machines, aircraft, car/truck traffic and even wind noise. I understand team tribalism and how the fans, noise gadgets and the Tomahawk Chop unnerves the opposing team, but I wonder why the venue crowd needs a DJ, belly dancers and defining noise to enjoy a good sports match. 

My Christmas wish: Please spare the television listeners another noise-generated headache. 

I have never been comfortable talking into a microphone. I first noticed how awkward and funny I sounded when I was in the fourth grade in Madison, Ala., and was learning about girls, chit-chat and telephone etiquette over a rural telephone party line. Not only was the telephone in the kitchen, where I believed everyone on earth including my father was listening; but also the neighbors could listen in because there were three or four houses on the same telephone line as ours. Net result? A paranoid introduction to sound at 10 years old.

Later in my professional life, one of the first things I learned about a television set, announce booth or sports field of play was that there are microphones everywhere and some of those microphones may be open—and often they were. There are boom microphones, field microphones, headset microphones, even a “snoop” microphone, so the accountant could listen in and hear if we were working. Needless to say, there were no private conversations on a television set or in an OB van with so many headsets with open microphones lying around everywhere.

MOUTHY COMMENTATORS

In August, a story about a Cincinnati sports commentary made headlines because the announcer made an insensitive remark, which was accidentally streamed out live to listeners. The announcer awkwardly apologized, but ultimately left the announce booth. As in the “The Wizard of Oz,” the microphone had become the insular shield that precluded direct contact between the adoring peasants and the wizard—but ultimately, the bubble burst.

Mouthy commentators getting caught is nothing new. Early in my career, the live sports networks began using C-band satellite frequencies for transmission between the remote sites and network master control, (transmission was continuous from the location even when the network went to commercial break). Broadcast folklore has stories of drunk and misbehaving fans caught on camera accompanied by imaginative commentary being transmitted through cyberspace over satellite dishes. Not only was this unscripted broadcast picked up by master control, it was also heard by many shocked sports fans and snoops from the FCC. This content would not have met FCC censorship rules.

After phone calls to politicians, the FCC and numerous complaints to network management, live television engineers devised an audio-to-air bypass called a “bird-beater,” which took the announcers out of the audio transmission path and put their voices in the headsets of the director and producer who could strategize about the live production off-air.

At the time, the broadcast industry was flying high with little oversight by too many people with too many Emmys and big egos. But in the mid-1980s, the fiefdom came crashing down when freelance operators and technicians replaced loyal and spoiled network employees. Before Disney owned ESPN and ABC, colorful commentators, foul-mouthed directors and producers were common.

As freelancers, we even had a phrase for these types of people, “The Untouchables.” It always seemed (as it does sometimes today) that these folks were immune to the fallout from an open microphone. The untouchables were rampant in the late ’70s and ’80s until someone pushed the button—the record button.

In the early ’80s, I began working with a belligerent producer who, over the PLs (the communications systems), was extremely mouthy to freelancers. After a few years of listening to the B.S., I began to record the intercoms. First it was for a laugh and a cry and usually was recorded with nothing more than a Sony mini cassette recorder capturing an open microphone.

But after the producer called a college intern an unacceptable word, I went to upper management to complain on behalf of the crew. Of course the producer did not remember things exactly as I did, but the tape was damning evidence. However, the tape (recording) not only did significant damage to the producer’s career, but to my career as well. Essentially, the network had to do something and dismissed the producer from live television production for a year or so, but I was flat-out blacklisted.

NOT SACRED ANYMORE

The television intercom communication system is a closed private network and was often considered sacred and immune from any implications of harassment, but an open microphone and a recording has been the demise of not only a few commentators, but also television directors and producers and politicians long before Watergate and Nixon. I would think that if you are going to put on a headset and talk over a microphone, it is obvious that there is a good chance that a wide range of people with different sensitivities could be listening in.

Forget sensitivities, what about conspiracies? Consider this, if I make a recording of actual conversations or comments and alter the content and context of the recordings for fun or possibly for other nefarious reasons, it opens Pandora’s box. Even with my primitive sampling technology in the ’80s, I was able to edit words and phrases enough to construct a conversation, completely out of context, between a producer who was not on site yet and a gullible sports commentator who was on headsets.

A lot of the behavior I witnessed seemed to occur simply because people could get away with it, including my sampler escapade with the sports announcer, although I got an earful from the late, great Fred Rheinstein when he found out about my little prank. I still have Fred’s voice loaded up on my vintage Akai S900 Sampler and chuckle every time I play one of his witty comments. 

It is not necessarily illegal to record someone without their permission and I imagine most seasoned broadcast technicians can remember an incident where two or three people did not remember things the same way. But what about the morality of the recording? When there is little to no accountability the results are predictable. Remember the recording of a presidential candidate boasting about grabbing a person’s private parts? Beware, there may be an open microphone somewhere and someone may be listening and recording you!

Dennis Baxter has spent over 35 years in live broadcasting contributing to hundreds of live events including sound design for nine Olympic Games. He has earned multiple Emmy Awards and is the author of “A Practical Guide to Television Sound Engineering.” He is currently working on another book about immersive sound practices and production. He can be reached at dbaxter@dennisbaxtersound.com.

Sports production is moving forward with more 4K HDR productions, and there is an interest in improving the sound quality and advancing the standards for audio as well. For live entertainment and sports, improving the audio begins with sound capture. Live events are captured in real time using a variety of microphones placed on the sports apparatus, on the field of play, on cameras and around the venue.

Through the ’80s microphone selection and usage advanced beyond shotgun and lapel microphones because sound mixers began to have some influence over the microphones that the OB van carried from show to show. As sports productions got bigger many network-specified makes and models of microphones were based on the recommendation of the sound designer and mixers who worked on those shows.

INNOVATIVE APPLICATION

Microphones for sports have evolved through innovative application, advances in engineering and integration of different technologies. Innovative application is a natural progression—it begins by using and testing a variety of different microphone makes and models in unfamiliar and unintended applications. In 2004, I repurposed five high-quality Audio-Technica AT4050 vocal microphones and put them on the roof of the Olympic stadium in Athens. These microphones captured the explosions of the pyro-sound with great depth, clarity and believability, and surrounded the listener with the tone of the event. After this test, I used the AT4050 for atmosphere and ambience at every sporting venue until the stereo version AT4050ST replaced it (Fig. 1).

Over the last couple of decades, microphone technology seems to have advanced using different materials and construction. This has resulted in better quality with reduced costs, but looking forward, I expect next-generation sound should have some innovative microphone configurations and designs. I have seen several interesting prototype configurations that have promise, but in practice, next-generation microphones may require an open mind and deeper pockets.

To make a microphone selection, you must first analyze the components of the audio and how best to capture it. Sports capture is two separate but equal components: sports-specific and venue-specific (ambience and atmosphere) and each component generally requires different microphones and sound design.

Sports-specific sound capture and microphone selection could be as much about what sounds you want the microphone to capture and what sounds you want the microphone to reject. Passive off-axis sound rejection and filtering is the principle of removing certain off-axis frequencies from the on-axis sound. The interference tube impedes certain off-axis frequencies and attenuates them relative to on-axis frequencies making off-axis sounds perceptibly muted.

Familiar examples of these principles are the cardioid, super cardioid and shotgun microphone designs used to focus sound capture. Advanced concepts of focused capture have to do with forming capture areas, known as “beams” or “sweet spots,” from what are known as array and spherical microphones.

ARRAY MICROPHONES

Array microphones come in a variety of forms, but all share in the ability to adjust patterns and directivity as a result of computer modeling. An array microphone can technically be anything more than two capsules or like the Sennheiser Microphone Array prototype, which has 31 shotgun-type microphones. These microphones are oriented facing forward with all microphones aligned on a single horizontal plane (Fig. 2). Microphones can also be like the spherical Eigenmike array, which has microphone capsules mounted into a spherical form and captures sound from all directions (Fig. 3).

Array microphones are capable of beam forming, resulting in focused accumulation of sound through microphone modeling and computer manipulation. Beam forming is an active approach using multiple fixed microphone capsules and creates a variety of patterns or directions using the fixed capsules to optimize the capture of the desired objects such as the ball, the coach or the player. Not only does beam forming benefit from focused capture, but also rejection of unwanted off-axis sounds.

The Sennheiser Microphone Array is differentiated by its design to capture primarily 360 degrees, but only in a single horizontal axis. Sennheiser says that this type of array cluster can process up to four focused sound beams plus independently steer each beam’s focus. For example, the microphone can optimize the capture of the sound of the ball, the coach or any sound source in the horizontal sound space and output each beam separately. But this array cannot output an ambisonic soundfield because this array captures no discrete height information.

The size of this setup is cause for concern. The current Sennheiser prototype uses 31 short shotgun-type microphones and the form factor is large, but ultimately they expect the final product to be half the size while still using 31 directional microphones. An ambisonic approach attempts to capture and reproduce all dimensions and as much of the entire soundfield as possible.

An ambisonic microphone uses multiple closely spaced microphone capsules that work together to capture an ambisonic soundfield. As you add microphone capsules, the order of ambisonic increases along with additional amounts of detail: 1st Order—four capsules; 2nd Order—nine capsules; 3rd Order—16 capsules; and 4th Order—25 capsules or more.

A 3rd Order ambisonic microphone is available from Zylia and the well-known 4th Order MH Acoustics’ ambisonic Eigenmike array has become a reference standard for ambisonic capture and research. There clearly is a noticeable difference in the detail of the soundfield and better control of the beams as the ambisonic order increases.

A final benefit with beam-forming microphones is the ability to steer the microphone beam dynamically and in real time using positional information from video systems like ChyronHego’s sports tracking technology, which uses cameras to track objects on the field-of-play and creates positional information of where an athlete, ball, coaches or even a car is located.

One final thought: You do not need array microphones to track a sound or ambisonic microphones to create immersive sound, but these are tools to be considered for advanced audio production.

1st Order ambisonic microphones, such as the Sennheiser Ambio, are effective and economical packages that deliver a cohesive immersive sound bed. They are a small package with virtually imperceptible latency. Moreover, the price of these microphones allows for ambience and atmosphere capture from multiple capture zones. Multiple capture points deliver an acoustical representation of the venue space with on-axis presence and natural diffusion from the venue architecture.

Ultimately, chasing the sound of sports is a thankless job while beam tracking is a tool to support the innovative audio mixer. Novel microphone application and design are essential to advancing the art and science of sound and are the responsibility of both the users and the dreamers. The designers and manufacturers of audio equipment want good input and sound advice—and it is always a good time to participate.

Dennis Baxter has spent more than 35 years in live broadcasting contributing to hundreds of live events including nine Olympic Games. He is the author of “A Practical Guide to Television Sound Engineering,” and is working on a book about immersive sound practices and production. He can be reached atdbaxter@dennisbaxtersound.comor atwww.dennisbaxtersound.com.

London, UK— The decision to standardize on Point Source Audio (PSA) was led by Dave Cowell, lead sound designer and programmer for Carnival UK. Point Source Audio’s body-worn microphones will support the fleets’ performance venues which are in use a standard 15-hours a day, 365 days a year.

Carnival UK (which incorporates Cunard Cruise Line and P&O Cruises UK) are part of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest leisure travel company, with a cruise fleet of 102 ships operating in North America, England, Europe and Australia.

“The cruising industry is one of the harshest environments for product delivery I have worked in. When microphones fail due to sweat, cable failure or breakages, it significantly affects our product delivery to the thousands of guests we cater to on a daily basis,” described Cowell.

Having used microphones from different manufacturers over the years, Cowell experienced increasing costs but saw no major benefit change to the products. The variation of microphones from ship to ship—including a mixture of omni and directional units—made the shows sound different, as well as life more difficult for the engineers who had to come to grips with new sound challenges on a routine basis.

“There weren’t many available solutions to consider. First and foremost, I was looking for quality, followed very closely by sweat resistance and longevity,” said Cowell. “While the quality aspect was matched from our previous supplier, there were continued issues with sweat ingress and breakages as well as the aforementioned cost implications.”

Autograph supplied demo units of PSA’s CO-8WD omni headsets for Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth which led to Cowell’s ultimate recommendation to move ahead with Point Source: “From the moment the microphones were plugged in, I could hear the quality. Crystal clear mid and high frequencies made vocal mixing easy. The low end was also great for our male cast members. The gain before feedback was impressive and there was very little EQ applied to any of the performers as the response was so flat out of the box.”

The ability of the headsets to be bent and configured to any conceivable shape without breaking was incredibly important to Cowell. He described the wear and tear the mics typically face: “The production casts are on board between five to seven months and perform two or three shows a night, on average every two days. We have costume changes that run under 8 seconds, so having a unit which dealt with the day to day environment was paramount. The sturdy frame of the headset was also an important factor for the same reasons.”

Cowell summed up his experience by expressing that “our Point Source Audio microphones are delivering monetary benefits as well as continued quality across our delivered product.” He credited the marked improvements by saying, “Thankfully, our relationship with Autograph and the fact we were provided demo units to trial during the aforementioned installation meant that they could be properly tested by myself on board, allowing me to gather an informed opinion on their suitability, both from a product delivery standpoint as well as a cost benefit one.”

Visitors to PLASA 2019 from September 15-17 will be able to demo Point Source Audio’s collection of microphones at Autograph Sales & Installations’ stand H10 in Olympia, London.

To learn more about Point Source Audio products, visit www.point-sourceaudio.com or its UK distributor, Autograph Sales & Installations at http://www.autographsales.co.uk.

About Carnival United Kingdom Carnival UK (which incorporates Cunard Cruise Line and P&O Cruises UK) are part of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest leisure travel company, whose portfolio of global cruise line brands includes operations in North America, England, Europe and Australia. Their cruise fleet of 102 ships is the most extensive globally, visiting more than 700 ports around the world, employing over 120,000 people worldwide and attracting 11.5 million guests annually.

About Autograph Sales & Installation Autograph Sales & Installations was established in 1982 by Autograph Sound, a global pioneer in audio for theatre and one of Europe’s leading sound rental companies. Then, as now, Sales & Installations’ activities complement those of the hire division by bringing the same design principles, system engineering, technical expertise, and leading-edge technologies to a much broader spectrum of clients in education, worship, industry and retail. They are also acknowledged leaders in providing installed audio solutions for contemporary theatre and dedicated performance spaces.

About Point Source Audio Point Source Audio (@PSA_audio) manufactures and distributes worldwide their SERIES8, EMBRACE, and CONFIDENCE collection of miniature microphones—a unique line of headset, earworn and earmounted microphones known for their robust bendable boom and waterproof features. The company also holds two patents for the EMBRACE concealable microphone as well as the patent for the world’s first modular in-ear comms headset that is supporting the hearing health for audio, lighting and camera techs using headsets everywhere from sports to space. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Petaluma, Calif. For more information call (415) 226-1122 or visit www.point-sourceaudio.com. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PSA_audio.

Petaluma, Calif.— Point Source Audio (PSA), manufacturer of specialty sub-miniature body-worn style microphones, has launched Mic Finder, an interactive web-based tool designed to help sound teams—from TV to theatre—pinpoint specific mic elements and mic styles to suit applications from corporate presenters to rock n’ roll musicals to violin mic’ing.

Expanding beyond traditional lavalier and headset style microphones, recent advances in the company’s approach to body-worn mics include the patent-pending Confidence™Collection microphones highlighting built-in redundancy, and the EMBRACE™Collection of concealable microphones that are twice patented. The company emphasizes that these additions present a world of fresh possibilities when sound teams are challenged with unique requisites—from facial hair to drop hoop earrings—when fitting mics on actors or speakers.

The Mic Finder web tool is accessible online via desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. The tool presents a series of questions to narrow microphone choice and shares successful experiences from real-world examples that best match the users’ needs.

“What we’ve learned in working closely with our customers is that no two mic’ing situations are the same; the smallest variable can make one mic selection perfect in one situation, and a disaster in another,” said Yvonne Ho, sales and marketing VP for Point Source Audio.

Users looking for the right microphone simply select the relevant application with various considerations from Mic Finder’s menu settings. Product recommendations are then presented along with customer use cases including:

• Mics that hide
• Mics that survive heavy water/sweat
• Mics for fast-moving musical theatre
• Mics for preaching
• Mics that fight feedback
• Mics that shape and bend
• Mics that accept custom color
• Mics for bearded performers
• Mics that backup themselves

Besides finding the right microphone performance features, sound teams must also battle variables such as costuming, concealment, venue size, loudspeaker placement, vocal projection, and more. Ho explained with examples: “We get questions routinely on how to head mic an actor with no hair, or one who sweats heavily, or sometimes both at the same time.”

The novice sound person can learn about mic choice with consideration for speaking or singing, whereas those new to Point Source Audio mics can discover unconventional mic’ing possibilities including how EMBRACE microphones can be used for violinists or boom headsets for flutists doubling on several instruments in one performance.

The company expects to continue expanding the tool with new products and technology solutions alongside noteworthy applications in real-world environments. To access Mic Finder, visit www.point-sourceaudio.com/mic-finder

About Point Source Audio

Point Source Audio (@PSA_audio) manufactures and distributes worldwide their SERIES8, EMBRACE, and CONFIDENCE collection of miniature microphones—a unique line of headset, earworn and earmounted microphones known for their robust bendable boom and waterproof features. The company also holds two patents for the EMBRACE concealable microphone as well as the patent for the world’s first modular in-ear comms headset that is supporting the hearing health for audio, lighting and camera techs using headsets everywhere from sports to space. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Petaluma, Calif. For more information call (415) 226-1122 or visit www.point-sourceaudio.com. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PSA_audio.

Manteo, N.C.— Through wind and rain, stage fights, environmental acoustics and more, Point Source Audio mics have weathered all the challenges in The Lost Colony, the outdoor theatre production located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The audio team, confident in their PSA investment since 2013, recently added the new patent-pending CO2 Confidence Collectiondual-element headset mic to their collection of 24 active on set mics.

“We were excited to see a product that made the application of the dual elements simpler by combining those wire runs and keeping things as tidy as possible. That mic has been a great benefit to the production,” says Sound Designer/composer Michael Rasbury. “The [lead] character is most likely to have a mic issue due to the activity required by this role; stage combat; perspiration.”

Since 1937, The Lost Colony has been telling the story of the first English colonies in North America and their mysterious disappearance. Over the past few years, the audio systems have been overhauled, upgraded and redesigned, including the ever-important microphones.

Robust equipment to withstand elements including water—in the form of rain and perspiration— as well as wind and heat is invaluable for theatre, but especially for outdoor theatre. The associate producer Lance Culpepper explains: “To provide our audience the experience that they’re expecting, we really have to put a lot of our resources into ensuring that the audio equipment can sustain itself through all of these dynamic changes. That’s one of the reasons why microphones are so important to us. Prior to the Point Source mics, we saw a much shorter lifespan with the previous microphones and we had to send them out for servicing more frequently. We don’t see those problems with the Point Source mics.”

“I am beyond pleased with the addition of Point Source microphones to our production,” states A1 Joseph Reynolds. “The waterproof elements are paramount to an outdoor period drama, where the perspiration of the talent could compromise mic functionality. I especially enjoy the dual behind the ear headsets. It helps to have consistent placement and keeps the mic off the talent’s face.”

Placement is an important consideration as noted by Rasbury. “From a design perspective, the low profile of these microphones is key for getting the mic near the voice without detracting from the 16th-century costume design. Our show is also very physical in nature. We have a large company and large-scale fight choreography. Given the way these mics attach to both ears, they stay on the actor and in the correct place throughout the show.”

The other feature of the PSA mics that the team wants to highlight is that “the frequency response of these elements is excellent (20Hz to 20kHz),” says Rasbury. “Our show also includes gunshots, explosions, and loud actor responses; these do not distort at high SPL.” Reynolds adds, “The frequency response is tailored nicely to the full range of human speech and I don’t have to slice up every channel with a parametric scalpel.”

The CO2 Confidence Collection has two waterproof and frequency-matched elements, each measuring a tiny 3mm. Both elements offer built-in redundancy and integrate PSA’s first-to-market features including IP 57 waterproof rating and the “unbreakable” headset boom. Point Source Audio mics are engineered for durability and to endure challenging mic applications.

Culpepper appreciates the support from Point Source Audio. “They’ve been great to work with,” he says. “The communication has been excellent as well as customer service-wise. Knowing that we’re not just another account number with them means a lot to our organization.”

The audio team at The Lost Colony includes sound designer Michael Rasbury, A1 Joe Reynolds, and A2 Josiah Rodgers. Microphones supplied by Wake Forest, NC-based Provision Audio Video Solutions.

For more information about Point Source Audio and its products, visit www.point-sourceaudio.com.

AboutThe Lost Colony

First staged in 1937, The Lost Colony is the nation’s premier and longest-running outdoor symphonic drama. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green and produced by the Roanoke Island Historical Association, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, The Lost Colony’s 2019 season runs May 31-Aug. 23, 2019 at Roanoke Island’s Waterside Theatre, located within the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on the Outer Banks. For information, go to www.thelostcolony.org

About Point Source Audio

Point Source Audio (@PSA_audio) manufactures and distributes worldwide their SERIES8, EMBRACE, and CONFIDENCE collection of miniature microphones—a unique line of headset, earworn and earmounted microphones known for their robust bendable boom and waterproof features. The company also holds two patents for the EMBRACE concealable microphone as well as the patent for the world’s first modular in-ear comms headset that is supporting the hearing health for audio, lighting and camera techs using headsets everywhere from sports to space. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Petaluma, California. For more information call (415) 226-1122 or visit www.point-sourceaudio.com. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PSA_audio.

Petaluma, CA ­– Point Source Audio (PSA), will be displaying their patent-pending CO2 Confidence Collection, a new class of built-in redundant microphones, at this year’s Infocomm trade show being held June 12-14 in Orlando, FL.

The CO2 Confidence Collection all have dual elements, each measuring a tiny 3mm, that offer built-in redundancy and comes in three styles: headset, lavalier, and in Point Source Audio’s patented EMBRACE™ embodiment. The CO2 dual elements maintain two of the company’s signature features: IP 57 waterproof rating (rated against water, sweat and makeup), and the “unbreakable” headset boom bendable up to 360° to bolster durability.

The CO2 Confidence Collection, released in February 2019, has been gaining market acceptance as a convenient mic redundancy solution in their core theatre market as well as house of worship and corporate audio markets. Forty of PSA’s CO2 headsets were recently utilized for double mic’ing at the 2019 American Israeli Policy Conference (AIPAC) held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, in early March.

The CO2 headset microphones were also used at the recent USITT 2019 Stage Expo for the keynote speech and other high profile events. Jeff Polunas, Special Events Sound Coordinator for the USITT Sound Commission, incorporated the CO2 Confidence mics into his audio rigs saying, “I think they are top of the line products and anyone that would be using them would be happy to have them in their production.”

Attendees can see the full line of specialty miniature, body-worn style microphones and the patented EMBRACE™ earmounted lavalier, as well as in-ear audio headsets at the Infocomm booth 5443. For more information about Point Source Audio’s various audio solutions, visit www.point-sourceaudio.com.

About Point Source Audio
Point Source Audio (@PSA_audio) manufactures and distributes worldwide their SERIES8, EMBRACE, and CONFIDENCE collection of miniature microphones — a unique line of headset, earworn and earmounted microphones known for their robust bendable boom and waterproof features. The company also holds two patents for the EMBRACE concealable microphone as well as the patent for the world’s first modular in-ear comms headset that is supporting the hearing health for audio, lighting and camera techs using headsets everywhere from sports to space. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Petaluma, California. For more information call (415) 226-1122 or visit www.point-sourceaudio.com. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PSA_audio.

Petaluma, Calif. — Point Source Audio (PSA) announced that it has appointed China’s EAD and South Korea’s Capstone Pro to be distribution partners for its SERIES8 and EMBRACE™ microphones as well as its CM-i series of patented in-ear headsets. The appointments come on the back of an expansion effort in response to increased sales and product awareness outside of the USA for Point Source Audio. These partnerships further expand the company’s worldwide reach, which now includes international partners in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan Italy, Norway, Finland and France, among others.

“We’re excited to be working with both Capstone Pro and EAD,” said James Lamb, President of Point Source Audio. “The creative community in these regions is massive and our products fit their needs. Our goal is to continuously improve our customers’ experience around the world in every aspect and we are confident that our new partners will help achieve that.”

Integral to achieving this growth trajectory in the Asia Pacific region is also the appointment of AS Audio APAC Pte. Ltd. as the manufacturer’s representative in the territory. Based in Singapore, the company, led by Alex Schloesser, will support the Asia Pacific business and develop its distribution network. AS Audio will also handle all technical and sales support for Point Source Audio throughout the APAC region.

Schloesser comments, “Developing and growing the PSA business is a rewarding and enjoyable task. Wherever we take the products, they shine and stand their ground with the competition. I very much look forward to be taking PSA into APAC.”

Point Source Audio is a manufacturer of specialty sub-miniature body-worn style microphones and patented lavalier mounting systems specifically designed for theatre applications. The company creates value-added solutions through intelligent designs, driven by market demand — examples include their IP 57 rated waterproof models and unique headsets which retain the position of the microphone capsule regardless of performer activity.

About EAD
Established in 1997, Guangzhou Donghui Digital Technology Development Co, Ltd is a professional audio and video integrator and distribution company. The company is headquartered in Hong Kong with branches in Guangzhou and Beijing. For more information, visit their website at www.ead.cn.

About Capstone Pro
CAPSTONE PRO, led by founders Kevin Kim and Jesse Park, both veterans of the professional audio industry, was established in 2018. The company distributes pro audio brands including Point Source Audio throughout Korea. For more information visit their website at www.capstonepro.co.kr.

About Point Source Audio
Point Source Audio (@PSA_audio) manufactures and distributes worldwide their SERIES8, EMBRACE, and CONFIDENCE collection of miniature microphones—a unique line of headset, earworn and earmounted microphones known for their robust bendable boom and waterproof features. The company also holds two patents for the EMBRACE concealable microphone as well as the patent for the world’s first modular in-ear comms headset that is supporting the hearing health for audio, lighting and camera techs using headsets everywhere from sports to space. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Petaluma, Calif. For more information call (415) 226-1122 or visit www.point-sourceaudio.com. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PSA_audio.

Washington, D.C.. — Point Source Audio’s CO2 Confidence headsets played a large primary—and a critical secondary—role for double mic’ing at the 2019 AIPAC Policy Conference held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington DC. Over 18,000 people attended the three-day conference and included members of Congress, students, and synagogue delegations. The guest speaker roster was massive (the AIPAC website lists over 400) and the audio needs were equally large with 120 channels of wireless mics being used. And, as typical, the expectations for fail safe reliability and sonic excellence with microphones were high.

AIPAC live interviews got “backup” from 40 redundancy headsets

To that end, audio supplier, Maryland Sound Industries (MSI) provided their client, Viva Creative, 40 of Point Source Audio’s CO2 Confidence headset mics for use with the Shure and Sennheiser RF systems that were utilized for the event. Given the amount of RF which, in addition to microphones, included IEMs, broadcast and security channels, the chance of being “stepped” on was very real and made frequency coordination and backup or redundancy options vital.

Robert Jones is the account manager for MSI and first tried the PSA mics at a demo and was impressed both with the sonic capability and the fact that he now had two identical microphones in one package. “In the past we’ve used two transmitters with a headset and with a lavalier mic as backup. If we lost a particular frequency, which can happen in an event this large, and needed to switch transmitters during the speech, the sound difference between the lav and headset is audible. With the Point Source Audio mics, the sound never changes and, on those occasions, where we do need to switch to the backup transmitter, the audience doesn’t notice. There is a sonic consistency we like.”

Jones also noted the increased speed and ease of mic’ing the talent with the PSA mics saying, “Once this thing gets rolling, it’s a constant process of removing the mic as the speaker leaves the stage, putting one on for the new speaker, and on and on. Anything that helps our techs with that process is much appreciated.”

Yvonne Ho, VP of sales & marketing at Point Source Audio, appreciates and understands the challenges of large-scale productions such as AIPAC and commented, “Beyond the audio quality aspect, our goal is to assist our customers in solving problems. If the tech crew can double mic speakers in half the time and ensure the live mic is fail-safe, then we are making real progress.”

The patent-pending CO2 Confidence Collection, a new class of wireless microphones, all have dual elements, each measuring a tiny 3mm that offers built-in redundancy. The CO2 mics also integrate two of the company’s important first-to-market features in miniature microphones: IP 57 waterproof rating, and the “unbreakable” headset boom bendable to 360° to bolster durability.

Point Source Audio will be showcasing the CO2 Confidence microphones for audio professionals at the upcoming InfoComm in Orlando, June 12 – 14, booth 5443. To learn more about Point Source Audio products, please visit www.point-sourceaudio.com

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About Maryland Sound
Founded in 1967 as a touring sound company, Maryland Sound has been an industry leader for over 40 years. While still maintaining a presence in the touring industry with artists such as Slash, Yanni, Seal, and other international artists, the company is now known as a leader in broadcast, sporting, and corporate events such as the Dew Action Sports Tour, multiple Presidential Inauguration Swearing In Ceremonies, as well as Inaugural Balls and, for 28 years, New Year’s Eve in Times Square. www.marylandsound.com

About Point Source Audio
Point Source Audio (@PSA_audio) manufactures and distributes worldwide their SERIES8, EMBRACE, and CONFIDENCE collection of miniature microphones — a unique line of headset, earworn and earmounted microphones known for their robust bendable boom and waterproof features. The company also holds two patents for the EMBRACE concealable microphone as well as the patent for the world’s first modular in-ear comms headset that is supporting the hearing health for audio, lighting and camera techs using headsets everywhere from sports to space. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Petaluma, California. For more information call (415) 226-1122 or visit www.point-sourceaudio.com. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PSA_audio.

Charlotte, N.C. — Charlotte-based Elevation Church now has 19 campuses around North Carolina, all with very high production values. Each of the locations has its own worship band, and services are streamed from Elevation’s broadcast location to its satellite locations and the internet during worship experiences each weekend.

About four years ago, one of the technical volunteers at the main broadcast campus where sermons originate, got tired of wearing the large bulky double muff can-style headsets for tech team communication. So he bought a Point Source Audio CM-i3 in-ear headset with his own money. Its innovative lightweight design goes behind the head, as opposed to over the top of the head. A lightweight frame goes over his ears and it has small earbuds, a head strap around the back, and a mic that’s a little larger than a lavalier-style mic.

Other techs took notice and now 15 volunteers at Elevation have all purchased their own set.

Jared Olson is production director at Elevation’s Ballantyne Campus. Olson says, “I wear mine for 8-10 hours a day every Saturday and Sunday. I’ve had the same headset for four years with no problems. Any production I do, I do with this headset. I wear glasses and any muff-style headset gives me a headache.” Olson continues, “Most of the techs have custom in-ear molds and you can easily replace the stock or standard earbuds with your in-ear molds. It’s even more comfortable, and also provides an added measure of isolation.”

During those 8-10 hours a day, Olson says he wears the headset listening to rehearsals, front-of-house mixes or the streaming mix, as well as for conducting party line communication with camera operators, graphics, the stage, the band—the full production team. As production manager, he says the team has to know he is always available, so that’s why he wears the headsets the entire day. “Even between services we often take cameras outside to shoot interviews and video,” he says. Through it all, Olson is wearing his CM-i3 headset.

Elevation volunteer Mike Mitchell was the first member of the team to buy the CM-i3 back in 2016. “When I first used the CM-i3 headset, it was transformational,” says Mitchell. “The ability to hear better and protect my hearing at the same time has improved the way I approach my role in the production process.”

The headsets feature the company’s EM-3 in-earphones which can be switched with earphones of the user’s choice. The flexibility also extends the serviceability and lifetime of the product. The headset has a boom moving coil dynamic element with a cardioid pattern and a frequency response of 300 to 10,000 Hz. The earphones feature a single-driver ported design and come with three sizes of ear tips, a windscreen with an o-ring, and a custom storage case.

The newer CM-i5 in-ear headset is a back-electret condenser design offering a noise-canceling cardioid pattern and expanded frequency response of 100 to 10,000 Hz. The earphones feature an improved single-driver ported custom-molded style, universal design that can also be easily switched with the user’s personal earbuds.

Volunteers and staff now using the CM-i3 and CM-i5 in-ear headsets at Elevation Church say using them has made a huge difference in the ease and comfort of the production process and has been well worth the personal investment.

Point Source Audio will be showcasing the CM-i3 and CMi-5 in-ear headsets at the NAB Convention in Las Vegas, April 6-11, booth C2357. To learn more about Point Source Audio products, please visit www.point-sourceaudio.com.

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About Elevation Church
Elevation Church is a multi-site church pastored by Steven Furtick, based in Matthews, North Carolina.Elevation has 19 locations, with 9 in the Charlotte area, as well as locations in Raleigh; Greensboro; Winston-Salem; Roanoke Virginia; Melbourne Florida; and the Greater Toronto Area. From 2007 through 2010, Elevation was cited by Outreach Magazine as one of the Top 100 fastest growing churches in the United States. www.elevationchurch.org

About Point Source Audio
Point Source Audio (@PSA_audio) manufactures and distributes worldwide their SERIES8, EMBRACE, and CONFIDENCE collection of miniature microphones — a unique line of headset, earworn and earmounted microphones known for their robust bendable boom and waterproof features. The company also holds two patents for the EMBRACE concealable microphone as well as the patent for the world’s first modular in-ear comms headset that is supporting the hearing health for audio, lighting and camera techs using headsets everywhere from sports to space. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Petaluma, California. For more information call (415) 226-1122 or visit www.point-sourceaudio.com. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PSA_audio.

Mexico City, Mexico — Televisa, the television studio and broadcast behemoth, has added Point Source Audio’s EMBRACE EO-8WL microphones for use in their popular telenovela and music competition reality productions. Headquartered in Mexico City, Televisa is considered to be one of the largest mass media conglomerates and content creators in Latin America. The vast majority of its programming is for the Hispanic market with much of its content airing in the United States. The microphone purchase was made through Point Source Audio dealer Magnum Digital based in Mexico City.

David Camacho is the sales manager at Magnum Digital and oversaw the sale to Televisa. Camacho was equally impressed by this new solution Point Source Audio provided to his customer, commenting that “They had been using ‘normal’ lavaliers and it used to take a lot of time to wire an actor; EMBRACE mics have allowed them to wire the actors so much faster.” He further emphasized, “There were always noise problems with clothing, jewelry, or chest hair when using traditional lavs; the EMBRACE products solved all those issues.”

The EMBRACE microphones hold two patents and were originally designed for use in theatre but have been finding their way into many new applications including television broadcast. Unlike traditional lavalier mics where the placement on the actor can lead to extraneous noise being picked up from clothing, jewelry or other elements, the EMBRACE microphones have a patented over-the-ear mic mount that can be customized for each actor which allows the mic to sit closer to the mouth and away from clothing. The earmount lavaliers maintain consistent placement from the mouth regardless of head movement and conceal easily.

Measuring only 4 mm in diameter, the EMBRACE model EO-8WL is an omnidirectional microphone that can be ordered in beige, brown, or black making it ideal for concealing. The EO-8WL boasts an IP 57 waterproof rating so it is protected from water, sweat, and makeup. The microphone ships with interchangeable X-Connectors compatible with all popular wireless systems including Sennheiser, Shure, Lectrosonics, Audio-Technica, and others. A windscreen, left and right earmounts, and an assortment of clothing clips are included.

“We’ve been very happy with all of the Point Source Audio products," states Camacho. “They sound great and our customers see them as problem solvers. Their compatibility with every pro wireless system on the market is also a big advantage.”

Point Source Audio will be showcasing EMBRACE microphones for broadcasters at upcoming industry events including the NRB Convention in Anaheim, March 26-29, booth 722; and the NAB Convention in Las Vegas, April 6-11, booth C2357. To learn more about Point Source Audio products, please visit www.point-sourceaudio.com

About Televisa
Televisa is a mainstream media company; a leader in the production of Spanish audiovisual content. A cable operator and a pay TV system via satellite in Mexico. Televisa distributes the content it produces through various open TV channels in Mexico and to over 50 countries through open TV channels, 26 pay TV brand-channels, cable operators and additional internet services. www.televisa.com

About Magnum

“Magnum” is a Mexican company founded in 1981 with a wide experience in the implementation of integral professional audio & video solutions as well as content transmission via internet and storage for the broadcast, live and post-production markets, while supplying technical support through an authorized and specialized service center of all the products and brands it represents. www.magnumdigital.com.mx

About Point Source Audio

Point Source Audio (@PSA_audio) manufactures and distributes worldwide their SERIES8, EMBRACE, and CONFIDENCE collection of miniature microphones—a unique line of headset, earworn and earmounted microphones known for their robust bendable boom and waterproof features. The company also holds two patents for the EMBRACE concealable microphone as well as the patent for the world’s first modular in-ear comms headset that is supporting the hearing health for audio, lighting and camera techs using headsets everywhere from sports to space. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Petaluma, Calif. For more information call (415) 226-1122 or visit www.point-sourceaudio.com. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PSA_audio.

Petaluma, California — Point Source Audio (PSA) today announced the patent-pending CO2 Confidence Collection microphones. The new class of wireless microphones all have dual elements offering built-in redundancy—and showcase an appealing new slimline design. They integrate two of the company’s important first-to-market features in miniature microphones: IP 57 waterproof rating, and the “unbreakable” headset boom bendable to 360° to bolster durability. All this unlocks new conveniences and simplicity for broadcast, audio, and production techs as well as please the presenters and performers they serve. The CO2 Confidence Collection microphones are shipping February 4.

“Double mic’ing can be heavy lifting when it comes to the cabling and their clutter; that’s why our CO2 Confidence Collection is specifically intended to ease the workload of many A2’s and sound engineers working in live mic applications. We released our first dual element mics in 2017 and now we’ve added other popular styles to the collection—our development team also originated a design such that the back-up mic practically disappears from view,” said Yvonne Ho, Point Source Audio’s vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The new form factor pairs our smallest elements at roughly 3mm each to create a dual mic’ing system that is barely detectable.”

Groundbreaking Double Mic’ing Simplicity in Three New Mic Styles

The ingenious double mic’ing setup of the CO2 Confidence Collection comes in three popular styles: headset, lavalier, and in Point Source Audio’s patented EMBRACE™ embodiment. The mics’ new petite form factor is based on the company’s existing omnidirectional single element microphones of a mere 3mm—and that are all waterproof. The backup element is fashioned to the existing mic in tandem and where the independent and continuous wire paths are integrated into a singular wire jacket giving audio technicians a clean alternative to cumbersome cable dressing. The mic cable splits approximately nine inches above connection to the body-packs to allow ample room for separation of the transmitters.

Time-Tested Waterproof Endurance

The CO2 Confidence mics utilize the same waterproof elements that have helped audio teams power through many challenging stage conditions from water, sweat, makeup and even (fake) blood-soaked stage actors in productions ranging from Sweeney Todd to Singin’ in the Rain to Monsoon Wedding. Cyril Auclair, Assistant and FOH Mixer at Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet, sums up his experience with Point Source Audio’s waterproof mics in Singin’ in the Rain this way: “We are happy with the product because after 110 shows and a lot of water the mic is perfect!!”

Sonic Excellence Seamlessly Matched in Both Elements

The Confidence microphones feature precisely matched elements to a near identical ±0.5 dB difference. Whereas a usual method of redundant mic’ing can be achieved with two separate microphones, audio between them may vary due to differences between the microphone brand, the microphones’ age, as well as variances in the specifications. The Confidence Collection solves this challenge with elements that are factory matched in frequency and sensitivity—so when a vital backup is initiated, any difference in audio performance is nearly undetectable.

SERIES8 Technology

All the dual element omnidirectional microphones come with SERIES8’s award-winning performance features and specifications. SERIES8 microphones are used worldwide—trusted by productions from Hamilton to the Tootsie Musical, and renowned performing arts programs at Belmont University, Berklee College of Music, Lindenwood and more. The backward compatibility is an advantage for existing SERIES8 customers to add the new dual element mics with total confidence in form, fit and function.

Locking X-Connectors for Added Confidence

All SERIES8 microphones feature convenient interchangeable X-Connectors for a rapid and inexpensive way to quickly change the microphone wireless termination from one brand to another. Both ends of the screw-on X-Connector now have locking “teeth” to give added confidence to the connection. More importantly, the low-cost X-Connector spares offer no-hassle repair or troubleshooting on-site.

Pricing and Availability

The CO2 Confidence Collection are offered in headset (CO2-8WD), lavalier (CO2-8WLp) and earmount (EO2-8WL) styles in beige, brown and black color starting at $825 (US) through Point Source Audio Authorized Resellers and Distributors worldwide (prices may vary).

More information about Point Source Audio and the CO2 Confidence Collection can be found by visiting www.point-sourceaudio.com.

Petaluma, Calif. — Point Source Audio® (PSA) announced the recipients of their $10K Anniversary Giveaway in celebration of its 10-year anniversary and “give back” initiative to benefit the performing arts. Each of the Grand, Great, and Good prize winners will select from Point Source’s full catalog of miniature microphones and headsets totaling their prize value of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.

The contest was open to public and nonprofit schools, nonprofit performance art and music-driven organizations, community theater and performing arts groups and clubs, and church performance groups. “The award winners exemplified to us how it is possible to use the performing arts to entertain while also magnanimously create goodwill throughout their community,” said James Lamb, President of Point Source Audio. “It is heartwarming to see so much good being done day in and day out by these unsung heroes.”

The $5,000 award is presented to the NewArts Foundation for its work towards youth development. NewArts was founded by Michael Baroody, MD, a resident of Newtown, following the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. The foundation’s mission is to empower children in an increasingly challenging world by providing programming to guide children through personalized character development. NewArts is the experiential learning component that is centered around challenging Broadway-style theatrical training. The foundation believes that if students can use the life tools they gain in the A.R.C. program and in the high-pressure and exciting environment onstage in front of thousands of audience members, they can do so readily in everyday life.

The $3,000 award is presented to the University of South Dakota Department of Theatre for its outreach to the Native American community. The University of South Dakota Department of Theatre drives forward arts engagement, diversity and inclusiveness in the region. It brings artistic and educational experiences to the surrounding regions’ native populations and underserved farming populations as part of the university theatre season. Tours of Shakespeare are taken to the local Native American reservations and schools. By doing so it brings an awareness of the arts to areas that typically have no artistic outlet, while also growing its artistic and collaborative bonds and connections with South Dakota Shakespeare Festival and the Black Hills Playhouse.

The $2,000 award is presented to the Chinese Alliance Church of Westchester for bridging cultures through collaboration. The church’s pastors strive for community by bringing together the Chinese church members who commute to “our little church” with the largely Latino community. Their theatrical productions have been the catalyst for this progress. Now, the kids from Ecuador and Peru are working side by side with the Chinese youth whose parents are from Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China.

The contest that began in January was an outlet for the company to give back after thriving for a decade in the audio industry supplying products to theatres, churches and schools. PSA’s vice president of sales and marketing, Yvonne Ho, headed the selection committee and requested that all the entries be delivered for review without identity of the organization so that the merits could be judged solely on the responses submitted. “Having a “blind” reading, if you will, opened our eyes and hearts to organizations that would not have seemed obvious,” explained Ho. “We hope that by highlighting a few of them, many others will be inspired to follow suit.”

To learn more about the Award Winners in the Point Source Audio $10K Anniversary Giveaway please CLICK HERE.

More information about Point Source Audio can be found by visiting www.point-sourceaudio.com.

About Point Source Audio
Point Source Audio (@PSA_audio) manufactures and distributes worldwide their SERIES8 and EMBRACE miniature microphones—a unique line of headset, earworn and earmounted microphones known for their robust bendable boom and waterproof features. The company also holds the patent for the world’s first modular in-ear comms headset that is supporting the hearing health for audio, lighting and camera techs using headsets everywhere from sports to space. As a result of PSA’s pro-audio expertise and its admired reputation for sales and service support, the company has also been named the North American distributor by audio networking companies Digigram and AuviTran. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Petaluma, Calif. For more information call (415) 226-1122 or visit www.point-sourceaudio.com. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PSA_audio

NILES, ILL.—Country music’s biggest night got an assist from Shure as the company’s wireless microphones and monitors were the product of choice for the production team.

Shure ended up providing dozens of its wireless microphones. Artists had their choice of microphones to use and they selected from the entire Shure range, including the 5575LE; the AD2/SM58 wireless; the SM58 capsule atop the UR2 handheld; the supercardioid Beta 58; the UHF-R wireless system; the condenser Beta 87; and the UR2 with KSM9 condenser mic elements.

In-ear monitoring systems also got a boost from Shure products. All wireless in-ear monitoring systems were powered by the PSM 1000, while 15 Shure P6HW units were used for hardwired in-ear applications.

The award show’s primary audio system and backline supplier was ATK Audiotek.

WASHINGTON—Wireless microphones are teed up for a regulatory update by the Federal Communications Commission at its July open meeting. The document circulated for consideration mainly addresses technical clarifications and post-incentive auction operations for licensed and unlicensed wireless mics across multiple spectrum bands.

“At a high level—what’s important—the items in this order are universally important for the manufacturers and the industry. The manufacturers were united in their request for clarification,” said Mark Brunner, vice president of corporate and government relations for Shure.

The draft Order on Reconsideration would eliminate a problematic out-of-band emission standard for wireless mics, according to Catherine Wang of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, who filed comments with the FCC on behalf of Shure.

OUT-OF-BAND EMISSION MASK
“First, the draft order will eliminate the -90 dBc out-of-band emission level,” she told TV Technology. “This promises to be a big win for wireless mics as that technical requirement, if retained, would have been difficult for anyone to meet!”

The -90 dBc OOBE would be replaced by the standard established by the European Telecommunications StandardsInstitute. Joe Ciaudelli, director of Spectrum Affairs for Sennheiser, parsed the wherefore of these OOBE metrics. The -90 dBc is a relative measurement based on transmitter power output, he said. This makes it more difficult for a low-power transmitter to comply even if it posed less danger of causing interference than a higher powered one. The ETSI OOBE, which is used across Europe, is an “absolute measurement” that will subject all wireless mics to the same limit, ultimately making it easier for microphone manufacturers to manufacture microphones.

“Bottom line, the new licensees actually get better protection and wireless mics can be built in the real world,” Ciaudelli said.

POWER LEVELS
The draft also addresses wireless mic power output levels for the 600 MHz TV and guard bands, and the duplex gap between wireless up- and downlink transmissions. The draft would allow power to be measured as effective isotropic radiating power—EIRP—or conducted, i.e., output at the antenna terminal, Ciaudelli said.

“This provides design flexibility, especially for equipment with internal antennas and/or in lower frequencies such as VHF that require larger antennas,” he said.

ANTENNA CONNECTORS
A 2015 rulemaking (p. 3) limited the type of antenna allowed on unlicensed wireless mics to those allowed under Part 15 rules. Specifically, Part 15 prohibits antenna swapping to avert potential interference. (Part 15 rules apply to unlicensed wireless mics, while Part 74 rules apply to licensed wireless mic operations that regularly use at least 50 microphones.)

Audio-Technica, Sennheiser and Shure requested that the general restriction on standard antenna connectors implied by Part 15 “do not apply to wireless microphones that are authorized to operate on an unlicensed basis under… Part 15 rules.” The draft would allow standard antenna connectors on unlicensed wireless mics, which Ciaudelli called “a vital feature for engineers in the field.”

LEGACY EQUIPMENT
“The FCC also has some helpful discussion of how legacy equipment can be transitioned to compliance with the new technical rules after the transition period,” Wang said.

The draft clarifies that unlicensed wireless mics can continue operating in the 600 MHz band under Part 74 rules until the end of the 39-month repack deadline in mid-2020. Afterward, they must abide by Part 15 rules, which set forth a lower allowable power level and don’t provide the same interference protections as Part 74. Nonetheless, this means legacy equipment can be modified for continued use.

“This will avoid pre-mature obsolescence of many existing wireless systems,” Ciaudelli said.

Unlicensed wireless mic users will still have to check the white-space databases for open TV frequencies during the repack, the draft rules said.

WIRELESS MIC FREQUENCIES
The draft further refines wireless microphone operation across several spectrum bands. First off, the draft denies petitions to allow Part 15 unlicensed mics to reserve TV channels—something Part 74 licensed mic operations are allowed to do. However, the commission recognized the need for flexibility on this rule and proposed allowing Part 15 operations to apply for vacant TV channels on a case-by-base, venue-specific basis. (Update: 07-05-17: Mr. Ciaudelli writes that the commission “will initiate a rulemaking that will expand license eligibility,” and that this was the issue that “is vitally important for many regional performing arts organizations who stage highly professional productions but don’t qualify for a FCC Part 74 license under current rules.”)

Operational rules also were refined for three other spectrum bands: 169-172 MHz; 1,435-1,525 MHz and 941.5-944 MHz.

Currently, 169-172 MHz is a public service band used historically by state and local governments—e.g., forest fire-fighting channels—commercial entities, hospitals and the like. The commission previously opened it up for licensed wireless mics to operate on a secondary basis to incumbents. The draft adopts a revised band plan that “eliminates intermodulation effects and thereby enables full use of the 54 and 200 kHz—narrowband and broadband—channels throughout the band.”

“The specified frequencies for mic use are now optimally coordinated to allow more mics to operate in this band,” Ciaudelli said.

According to Mark Brunner of Shure, the commission recognized less UHF spectrum would be available for wireless mics after the repack and opened up 90 MHz in the 1,435-1,525 MHz band, now used for Aeronautical Mobile Telemetry. Although 90 MHz total was made available, individual users would be capped at 30 MHz, to be coordinated through the Aerospace & Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council.

Finally, Part 74 wireless mics have “long” been allowed to operate at941.5-944 MHz, secondary to incumbents—primarily fixed microwave and aural broadcast auxiliary services. The draft lays out specific procedures for coordination through local Society of Broadcast Engineers designees, and licensing through the FCC for coordination with incumbent federal primary users, e.g., the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

“This band can be useful for fixed venues, as a casinos, who need ‘house mics’ on distinct frequencies from travel acts.” Ciaudelli said. “Broadway theaters are another example.”

The commission will vote on the draft July 13.

“The issues addressed this Order On Reconsideration may seem like minor details to many but they have significant impact,” Ciaudelli said.

NEW YORK—Smaller, cheaper, less obtrusive. That pretty much sums up the trajectory that mojo (mobile journalism) has been following in the last year. Some predicted it, but many resisted the notion that the cellphone would one day be seen as an acceptable platform to shoot video for at least some broadcast applications. That day has arrived.

Obviously, the quality of the video you shoot on your iPhone does not compete with recordings made on a professional device. In many cases, however, the general public is accepting these images. The audio that onboard microphones capture, however, leaves something to be desired.

SHURE MOTIV

Shure’s MV88 ioS Digital Stereo condenser Microphone Shure released the Motiv product line in September 2015 in part to address this. Of the five products in the range, the MV88 iOS Digital Stereo Condenser Microphone is the most relevant for TV and radio applications. It plugs directly into the lightning port of any iOS-based device that has one, and Shure provides a free app that lets the user configure settings to customize the sound of the mic at the point of capture, so he or she doesn’t have to worry about correcting things in post.

“Once you make settings for gain, EQ and compression, these settings remain on the microphone itself, which makes it easy to move between different devices,” says Soren Pedersen, product specialist for wired microphones for the Chicago-based audio vendor. “That’s the direction mojo is going. The MV88 fits in your pocket right next to your phone.”

The Android platform is open source, and that creates problems for manufacturers, according to Pedersen, who says that the fact that there are currently about 22,000 different Android devices on the markets has made it difficult for Shure to integrate the MV88 with Android phones. MV88 specs are hard to complain about, particularly since the microphone has a MAP of only $149. The A/D converter goes all the way up to 24-bit/48 kHz and the frequency response spans the full range, from 20 HZ to 20,00 HZ. Shure’s goal was to develop a microphone that that helps turn the iPhone into a full service mobile recorder.

THE DISCREET LOOK

DPA d:fine In-Ear Broadcast headset Microphone Denmark-based DPA Microphones has a direct view of the European broadcast industry. James Capparelle, marketing manager, USA for DPA says that European studios have been stressing a tapered look for some time, and the U.S. market seems to be catching up.

“DPA is a Danish company, and that influence is something we try to introduce to the American markets throughout our entire product line,” he said. “We realized that television stations and news networks were leaning towards a discreet, less invasive look. Our d:fine In-Ear Broadcast Headset Microphone, which we released in January of 2015, is less visible than large over-the-ear headphone/microphones combinations.”

CNN used d:fine headset microphones throughout the recent series of presidential primary debates. “We assume that CNN chose this microphone for two reasons,” says Capparelle. “One, the capsule’s unparalleled ability to reject unwanted background noise, and two, its unobtrusive presence from the camera’s perspective.”

DPA also offers the d:screet Slim Miniature Microphone, a more discrete lavalier mic. Caparelle says that the Slim has gained considerable traction in the film and television areas, where hiding the presence of a microphone is critical. DPA also says its d:facto Interview microphone has wind rejection that is superior to any other product on the market.

TWO CHANNELS IN ONE

Sony’s URX-PO3D dual-channel portable wireless receiver Sony has released updates to both its UWP-D two channel portable and slot in receivers. Sony shouldercams feature a slot in the back which integrates well with their new URXS03D two-channel slot-in wireless receiver, providing a direct digital audio internal interface. The device is cosmetically clean, no external wires are required, and even some metadata information (audio and RF level) is included that is shared with the camcorder display.

Sony also has a new body pack transmitter, the UTX-B03HR, that has a four-pin Hirose lavalier mic connector that allows for connection with their ECM-77BC/9X lavalier mic. It’s a very robust connecter, especially for broadcast field applications.

According to Andy Munitz, professional audio product manager for Sony, the URXPO3D dual-channel portable wireless receiver is particularly relevant. “Operators who use smaller cameras, ones that don’t have a slot-in architecture, may want the ability to have two channels of wireless in one unit, as opposed to having two separate single channel receivers Velcro-ed together and jury-rigged mounted onto a camera,” Munitz said. “This is our first two-channel portable battery-operated receiver for easy camera mounting. It is also fully compatible with all of our UWP-D family transmitters and even has backwards compatibility with many Sony legacy analog transmitters from the past.”

A unique aspect about the receiver according to Munitze, is its integration with many Sony camcorders that utilize the “MI shoe,” or multi-interface architecture. “The new SMAD-P3D MI shoe supports two audio channels and camera battery powering,” he said. “We’ve also added an internal mixer function in the URX-P03D that allows either of the wireless channels to be routed out of either of the unit’s outputs or routed to both channels simultaneously.”

Panning, which could be confusing, is simplified by taking channel one, which has talent one, for example, and mapping it to both output channels, which results in that audio coming out in the center. The operator could do the same thing for the second talent.

“We’ve taken things one step further, and this is quite important,” says Munitz. “We’ve added a local microphone input on the receiver itself which accepts either a mono or stereo source, essentially turning the unit into a four input receiver which can be mixed down to the two outputs.

STOW, OHIO—Audio-Technica is heading to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics as NBC Olympics, a division of NBC Sports Group, has announced it will use the company’s microphones, broadcast headsets and monitor headphones for production of the XXXI Olympiad.

The Ohio-based company will provide its BP4027 and BP4029 stereo shotgun microphones to mount on cameras; its AT4050ST large-diaphragm stereo microphones and BP4025 X/Y stereo microphones to capture ambiance from the events; the BPHS1 broadcast stereo headsets will be worn by announcers; the BP4001 handheld cardioid dynamic microphones will be used for interviews; and the ATH-M50x professional monitor headphones will be used in edit rooms for monitoring RF mic receivers and sub mix consoles.

The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will take place from Aug. 5-21.

NILES, ILL.—The 58th Grammy Awards earlier in February featured a bevy of performances by some of music’s names, and a number of them utilized Shure microphones. The new KSM8, established SM58 and Axient wireless mics were put to use during the show that took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Recording artist Tori Kelly performs onstage during The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/WireImage)

Shure’s new KSM8 Dualdyne microphone on a UHF-R wireless transmitter was the mic of choice for host LL Cool J, as well as for three of the musical performances from Tori Kelly, Hollywood Vampires, and for three members of Little Big Town. Grammy Audio Coordinator Michael Abbott had previous experience using the KSM8 mics on reality show “The Voice.”

The Axient wireless mic also played a role in some of the performances from the likes of Justin Bieber, who used it with a KSM9HS capsule, and the Alabama Shakes, who used a SM58 capsule. The production team also used an Axient with a SM58 capsule as the production’s spare mic.

Tributes to Lionel Richie, Glenn Frey of The Eagles, and B.B. King, meanwhile, used the “old reliable” SM58 mic. SM58 was used atop UHF-R handhelds for the Richie tribute, with hardwired versions used for the backing vocals during the Frey tribute. Robin Thicke also used the SM58 during his performance.

Shure also provided all wireless in-ear systems with its PSM 1000s. The mics have been used for the last five years during the Grammy broadcast, as it comes with a de facto standard for RF-intensive live broadcasts.

As we start a new year, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at new technology trends. Three areas that attracted my attention are ATSC 3.0 (no surprise), two-way ENG and new technology for wireless microphones. After this year’s spectrum auctions, it’s expected that the number of vacant VHF and UHF channels available for wireless microphones will shrink as TV stations are tightly packed into a limited number of UHF channels and some stations move from UHF to VHF.

ATSC 3.0 ARRIVES
I’ve been writing about ATSC 3.0 for a while, but 2016 should be the year the standard finally arrives. As I’m writing this in late December, there are now six ATSC candidate standards available at www.atsc.org/candidate-standards. Last month the ATSC announced that it was conducting demonstrations of ATSC 3.0 over-the-air technology from multiple companies at CES and I’m also sure the standard will be rigorously tested in the lab and the field this year.

Some of the things I hope will happen in 2016, or soon thereafter, are the start of an FCC process to allow broadcasters to transition to ATSC 3.0; agreements among broadcasters on how to transition to ATSC 3.0 while preserving ATSC 1.0 signals for existing over-the-air viewers; and commitments by transmitter companies to make the equipment to transmit ATSC 3.0 and by consumer electronics manufacturers to include ATSC 3.0 in a range of products. ATSC 3.0 won’t be available to consumers in 2016, but we should see one or more “model” stations on the air to give broadcasters and device manufacturers a chance to demonstrate its capability.

TWO-WAY ENG
ENG crews have gotten used to the convenience of using 4G wireless networks to send stories, live and recorded, from the field to the studio. It isn’t surprising that companies are looking to make newsgathering using broadcasters’ own 2 GHz spectrum just as easy. This will require two-way communication, which could complicate deployment in markets where 2 GHz spectrum is heavily used. Even if the system can work on one channel—perhaps by using time domain multiplexing—other broadcasters are not likely to appreciate having a transmitter on an adjacent channel at popular ENG receive sites.

Silvus Technologies’ MIMO radio As with the transition to ATSC 3.0, it will be essential for broadcasters in a market to work together if two-way ENG is to replace today’s one-way truck to ENG receive site model. Two companies taking two different approaches demonstrated their technology at CCW (now called “NAB Show New York”) last November. Silvus Technologies showed a private MESH network using the Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) multi-hop IP packet-based wireless networking technology, which they first announced at the 2015 NAB Show. The nodes, which could include a mobile unit on the back of a camera; portable units on the mast of ENG trucks; and fixed units on the roofs of buildings form a mesh where any node can communicate with any other node, even if the data has to pass through other nodes on the way.

JVC camera with MESH transmitter/radio in use There is no need to aim dishes and if nodes can see more than one other node, the system becomes self-healing should one node go down. The Silvus Technologies equipment is compact, making it easier to set up temporary networks for certain events. Additional details are available in this whitepaper: http://pro.jvc.com/pro/pr/2015/nab/JVC_PrivateMESH_WhitePaper.pdf.

Silvus Technologies gear is already being used for military and government operations and has been successfully used to provide live, moving camera coverage from sporting events like endurance races where conventional microwave links break. This may be the year the technology moves into the street for live ENG. The Silvus Technologies website, http://silvustechnologies.com, describes their products and applications.

The Moseley AxxceLTE radios are based on the LTE standard, which could make them a solution for a shared, market-wide ENG system. Conceivably, broadcasters in a community could set up their own LTE network and if it is standards-based, it should work with LTE-compliant radios from other vendors’ LTE-based ENG systems we might see at the 2016 NAB Show. One complication is that LTE requires a management computer to control access and allocate spectrum. I had pictured this as a high-powered server, so I was surprised to see the Moseley Broadcast demonstration at CCW running on a little Linux box.

A bit of Googling found OpenLTE— http://sourceforge.net/p/openlte/wiki/Home. This is an open-source implementation of the 3GPP LTE specifications. With a transmit/receive SDR like the Ettus B2XX you can build your own OpenLTE eNodeB. I hope to have some time to play with that this year and learn more about LTE.

You can learn more about Moseley’s plans for LTE in their 2015 NAB Show press release: http://moseleysb.com/mb/pdf/Ax-cellLTEBAS_PressRelease.pdf.

NEW FREQUENCIES FOR WIRELESS MICS
A hot topic at a meeting last month was the impact of the loss of 600 MHz TV spectrum after the incentive auction on everything from live news coverage to the production of major sporting events and Broadway shows. The analog shutdown resulted in the loss of 18 TV channels widely used for wireless microphones. Anyone using wireless microphones on these channels found them obsolete and illegal.

The same thing will happen after the incentive auction as TV spectrum will again be reduced. Fourteen TV channels will probably go away. If the FCC efficiently packs the remaining VHF and UHF spectrum, there won’t be enough TV channels for the wireless microphones in use today.

Wireless microphone companies are developing products for alternative spectrum— 1.4 GHz and/or 5.0 GHz. A replacement for the analog FM technology used today for wireless microphones will be needed to take advantage of the limited spectrum and provide high-quality sound without dropouts. Swapping out existing wireless microphone equipment will take time, so prudent broadcasters and production companies will start looking for solutions this year.

2016 will be an interesting and challenging year, but new technologies are appearing that will help the broadcasters that don’t sell out in the incentive auction. Look for those technologies in a few months at the NAB Show. I’ll be writing about them in this RF Technology column and on other postings on www.tvtechnology.com.

Comments are welcome! E-mail me atdlung@transmitter.com.

Michael Pettersen

ALEXANDRIA, VA.—Anyone who has been in the television industry for more than a few months knows that getting good audio is much harder than getting good video. And poor audio will make even the best-looking video seem like the overall production is amateurish.

So it’s time to take a look at audio and examine the state-of-the-art in microphones. Good audio begins with a quality mic and the right technique, but there are always technical advances that can mean new mic designs and operating procedures.

Broadcast Engineering Extra talked with Michael Pettersen, the director of product technical support for Shure. Shure is one of the oldest and most-trusted names in the microphone business—for example, Shure supplies the two SM57 microphones used by the U.S. president at press conferences.

In addition to being Shure’s director of product technical support, Pettersen is also the company’s corporate historian. Throughout his 38 years of service with Shure, Pettersen has held multiple positions within sales, marketing and engineering. He created the Shure Consultant Liaison Program and co-authored the two-volume, 400-page Shure history book published in 2000.

BE Extra: Are there any new active technologies for improving the directionality of microphones? How do these work?

Pettersen: Yes. An array of multiple mics controlled by digital signal processing can produce different pick up patterns. These pickup patterns can be electronically aimed at desired sound sources and away from noise sources. Typical applications that could benefit from array mics are video conferences and talk shows.

BE Extra: Lavalier mics are available in both directional and omnidirectional varieties. When and why should one be chosen over another?

Pettersen: It is true that a directional lavalier will pick up less background noise than a similar-quality omnidirectional lavalier. However, an omni lavalier has these advantages over the directional lavalier: Less wind noise, no bass build up due to proximity effect, reduced handling and vibration noise, works no matter how it is oriented toward the talker’s mouth, impossible to talk outside of the polar pattern, and less P-popping from plosive sounds.

BE Extra: Often when listening to a news story on television, the reporter’s voice differs dramatically between when speaking on camera and off camera—clearly two different mics are used. What do you advise a broadcaster regarding this situation? Always use the best mic for the application? Or simply use the same quality mic to get both the on-camera and off-camera audio?

Pettersen: These differences are primarily a result of the acoustical conditions. Voice-overs are created in an acoustically treated (“dead”) room by using a mic optimized for an announcer. Meanwhile, the live broadcast is “on location,” with a mic optimized to minimize wind noise and handling noise; and the “location” is not acoustically treated. Place the location microphone in the acoustically treated room, and it will sound quite different because of the room acoustics. Choose the best mic for the job and accept the acoustical results.

The Shure QLXD124 is a digital wireless mic system.

BE Extra: There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding the upcoming spectrum auction, including its effect on wireless microphone systems. If a video producer needs to buy a wireless system today, are there any features/specs that will future-proof the product? What should the producer look for?

Pettersen: Unfortunately, no wireless system can be 100-percent future-proof, as the FCC is in control of the spectrum situation, not wireless mic manufacturers. However, some good advice for purchasing wireless systems in 2015 is to procure a digital UHF system that operates in the range of 470 MHz to 600 MHz band. And, a wireless system that offers battery rechargeability is a plus. A digital wireless system in this band should be useable for many years.

BE Extra: How many wireless systems can be running in one location at one time? How might this be affected by the spectrum auction?

Pettersen: The number of systems that can be used at one time is dependent on the wireless series selected. Shure offers many different systems at different price points, which results in a variance of this capability. As an example, the Shure ULX-D Series, in High Density mode, can support up to 100 systems in one venue. At this time, it is impossible to predict the impact the spectrum auction will have on this aspect of wireless use, but reduced available wireless spectrum may indeed reduce the number of systems that can operate simultaneously.

BE Extra: What else should we know about either wired or wireless mics? Is there new technology coming that promises to improve the quality/performance of microphones?

Pettersen: The audio quality of wired mics has been excellent dating back to the 1930s. I would say that the audio quality of microphones has been evolutionary, not revolutionary! Dynamic, condenser and ribbon transducer technologies are well established and will continue to be in use for many decades. In the wireless realm, the shift from analog to digital has been a major innovation, allowing for better audio quality, more simultaneous systems in operation and precise control of wireless parameters using computer networks.