Audio-Technica is supporting the host broadcaster of China’s winter sports event with a huge number of microphones, headphones and associated accessories. The company has in fact been providing audio solutions to global broadcasts of such events for some 26 years.

Microphone innovation can be found in the locations where events take place on ice such as speed skating, ice hockey and figure skating. There, approximately 60 pieces of AT880b contact microphone are sunk into the ice fields before being frozen, to pick up the often subtle sound of competitors’ skates.

In order to bring the action of the curling events to viewers at home, there are over 50 channels of ATW-5000 Series wireless belt-pack microphone systems, often working continuously for up to 13 hours per day in challenging environments in terms of temperatures.

A long-running signature of the sports broadcasts is the detail of a venue’s ‘ambient’ sound, delivered in 5.1 surround. This relies on a combination of AT4050 mono and AT4050ST stereo large diaphragm microphones, often hung from high in venues. In total there are over 200 of these ambient microphones throughout the various competition sites.

U851R boundary microphones, in special ‘winter white’ colours, BP899 & BP898 lapel microphones, in-ear E-Series monitors and Mx-Series headphones help complete the extensive inventory delivered by Audio-Technica into the host city of Beijing.

Finally, making a second appearance after their inaugural success in Tokyo last summer, are 14 of Audio-Technica’s prototype 8.0 Microphones. which also form part of the host broadcaster’s immersive audio programme delivery package.

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The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 will be broadcast for the first time in Dolby Atmos immersive audio, as part of a test transmission.

Dolby has partnered with local Pay-TV operator KPN in the Netherlands, to deliver the immersive Atmos audio mix live from Rotterdam to homes in the Netherlands, for both the semi-finals and the big Eurovision finale on Saturday May 22.

The show will be broadcast on NPO1. KPN customers with the latest TV receiver will be able to hear the mix in Dolby Atmos on temporary test channel 109. In addition to the correct TV receiver, viewers will need a TV or Soundbar that supports Dolby Atmos decoding. 

Javier Foncillas, VP Commercial Partnerships, Dolby Europe said: “Eurovision is a huge cultural event globally with countries like Australia and Israel even taking part in recent years. It’s great that the organisers are able to put on a live event this year, even if it is to a limited audience and it’s fantastic that KPN will allow Eurovision fans in the Netherlands to be able to experience the event in immersive Dolby Atmos and allow them to feel as if they are actually there in the auditorium in Rotterdam from the comfort of their homes.”

The annual competition will be broadcast live with an audience in attendance, albeit at a lower capacity than normal. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, for the first time in its 64 year history. 

Representing the UK in Eurovision 2021 is James Newman (pictured), with the dance track Embers. The UK has won Eurovision five times, but has failed to impress judges in recent years, having last won in 1997, with Katrina and the Waves and Love Shine a Light. Favourites to win the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 include Italy’s glam rockers Måneskin, France with Barbara Pravi and Malta’s entry by Destiny.

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Media and entertainment tech solutions firm Evertz has acquired HARMAN’s Studer brand, with the deal set to close in the first quarter of the 2021 calendar year.

The acquisition of one of HARMAN’s most revered brands is a seismic deal for the broadcast market, with Evertz taking ownership of the Studer brand, technology and related assets. The fee is as yet undisclosed.

“We’re pleased to welcome this iconic audio brand to our Evertz family of products and solutions that has been serving the broadcast market for more than 50 years,” said Brian Campbell, EVP business development, Evertz. “We also welcome the many valued Studer customers who depend on Studer technology and reliability to deliver the best audio to their audience.”

In a statement, Evertz promised that it will be investing in Studer for developing ‘next-generation products to meet broadcast customers’ future needs, while creating synergies between its current product suite and the Studer product environment’.

“We saw an exciting opportunity to evolve these premium products with new products and feature development while having Studer continue to redefine how broadcast audio is produced,” added Campbell.

The Studer brand is one of the most iconic brands in the audio business, having made its name in the 1960s when a Studer tape deck was used to record The Beatles’ legendary Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album at Abbey Road Studios. It has since become synonymous with some of the world’s most prestigious broadcast facilities. 

HARMAN acquired Studer in 1994 and modernised the brand with such releases as the digital Vista mixing console series.

“We are very pleased that the stewardship of the iconic Studer brand will continue on under Evertz’s leadership,” said Brian Divine, president, HARMAN Professional Solutions. “The HARMAN team will be working very closely with Evertz over the coming weeks to assure a seamless transition for the customers.”

“We are very proud of the 26 years we brought industry leading Studer products to our broadcast customers,” David Glaubke, director of corporate communications, HARMAN Professional Solutions, told AMI “The transaction will allow HARMAN to further invest in our core AVL brands and products, while the broadcast industry continues to be served by Studer through Evertz.”

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Broadcast audio specialist BroaMan and Spiritland OB will co-host a Zoom-based webinar on January 14 exploring how a bespoke fiber point-to-point solution was conceived for the Spiritland One OB truck.

BroaMan’s point-to-point fiber transport solution, based on the Repeat48WDM platform, was chosen by one of the UK’s leading OB trucks – Spiritland One – to provide a multi-format stagebox system to run multiple video, audio and data signals between stage and truck. 

Co-hosts, Spiritland co-founder, Antony Shaw, and BroaMan technical sales manager, Maciek Janiszewski, will present a case study on the system design, discussing how they developed the compact custom solution. The webinar will feature an interactive Q&A element for participants.

You can register for the webinar at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/6316103590492/WN_RseZpQqYTl-VPIvXCThhOQ

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Sennheiser has lifted the lid on its new MD 435 vocal microphone, designed for use in live sound and broadcast applications. 

The MD 435 has been built to offer the performance of Sennhesier’s MD 9235 capsule to a wired vocal microphone.

“With the MD 435 cardioid high-end microphone, even soft voices will effortlessly assert themselves,” said Kai Lange, senior product manager with Sennheiser. “Singers will not only cut through the mix, their voices will also retain that natural quality and detail that the MD 9235 is so famous for.”

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The MD 435’s lightweight aluminium-copper voice coil is designed to offer fast transient response. The large-diaphragm microphone features wide dynamics of 146 dB(A) and can handle sound pressure levels of up to 163 dB/1 kHz. It also features a metal casing and has a shock-mounted capsule to protect it from structure-borne noise. A hum-compensating coil protects the microphone against electromagnetic interference.

For use with Sennheiser’s wireless transmitters, the capsule of the MD 435 is also available as the MM 435 microphone head. With what the company described as an improved production process, it will soon replace the existing MD 9235 capsule. The MM 435 features Sennheiser’s standard capsule interface, ready for use with Sennheiser wireless series ranging from the evolution wireless G4 and 2000 series to Digital 6000 and Digital 9000.

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Music technology author and lecturer Stephen Bennett recently put Shure’s new DuraPlex DL4 condenser lavalier mic through its paces. Here’s what he had to say on the company’s smallest microphone yet…

The lavalier microphone has come a long way from its humble beginnings recording voices onto Dictaphones or wax cylinders. Modern film directors usually try to capture as much on set dialogue as possible, so the requirement for small, durable, easily camouflaged microphones that can compete sonically with the big boys on a boom has become even more acute. Lavalieres also allow the recordist to get that ‘close up’ voice sound even when a boomed mic is out of the question.

The Shure omnidirectional DuraPlex DL4 condenser lavalier reviewed here is the company’s latest product that attempts to address the requirements of film, television, and, increasingly, the production of high-quality audio-visual material in the education market. Shure says that the 5mm DL4 is built to IP57 standards, i.e. it has adequate dust protection for the applications in which it will be used and can survive immersion in water of up to one meter. Though I didn’t have time to take it to a desert location, I can attest that the latter specification was admirably met.

To clean the microphone after a particularly muddy battle scene, you just wash it down with distilled water. The DL4’s protection from environmental crud is probably enhanced by the fact that it features a Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) device that uses a chip rather than a diaphragm as a transducer. This technology is used in mobile phones and the microphone should, in theory, be also sonically consistent between models due to the reproducibility in manufacture – which might be important if you’re renting equipment.

I decided to audition the DL4 in a less demanding situation than a full-scale war movie. I, like many academics, have had to produce top notch online learning material pretty damn quick this year, and what often sorts out the wheat from the chaff regarding the quality of these academic productions is poorly recorded audio. As I tend to move around a lot during lectures, I wanted to capture this element of ‘performance’ at the highest audio quality. To this end, I’ve been using wireless lavaliers for my recordings and was keen to try out the new Shure. The company supplied the DL4 microphone with a lockable LEMO three-pin connector, but you can also specify a TA4F (mTQG) connector.

The captive 1.6mm diameter PLEX cable is excellent and doesn’t ‘remember’ how you’ve bent it, which is a godsend. It’s also paintable – essential for on-set work – and I managed to hide it under my shirt effectively. You can also specify the mic in a range of different and useful colours, including several skin tones. The specifications for the microphone read well, with excellent sensitivity (-42.5 dBV at 1 kHz) and the ability to respond well to unexpected bangs during any fight sequences (Maximum SPL of 132.0 dB at 1 kHz and with one per cent THD) alongside a dynamic range of over 100 dB. Self-noise is low, and the microphone caused no audible problems during the review, responding well when matched with high-quality recording equipment.

As you might expect from a microphone designed mainly to capture speech, there is much focus on the ‘presence’ region of the audio spectrum. Unadorned, the DL4 is fairly well balanced and reproduces male and female voices in a pretty neutral fashion. Fitting the supplied ‘Presence Cap’ provides a few dB of boost around the 10 kHz mark, making voices sound more ‘airy’ and ‘breathy’. The effectiveness of this option is going to be determined by the voice you are recording and what you want to achieve, but the option is a useful one to have and it works very well without adding harshness.

Shure also supplies windshields for use with both EQ curves – you need to use the correct one for each application – alongside tie-clips and sticky mounting devices. Attaching a lavalier is an art in itself, and I’m sure the customers for the DL4 will have a range of fixtures and fittings for any occasion. The microphone itself comes in a small semi-hard protective case.

In use, the DL4 delivered a clean, noise free and ‘weighty’ yet balanced sound, reproducing my voice, warts and all. My teaching material has clear audio that is intelligible on everything from a smartphone to studio monitors – though my videos could do with a better-looking actor. I tried some outdoor recordings with the Shure as well, and the wind-noise suppression was perfectly acceptable, even in the blustery city where I live. Clothing noise – the bane of the on-set recording engineer – wasn’t too bad with the supplied mountings, but any engineer worth their salt will have bespoke solutions that cover just that problem.

Sadly, I didn’t have the time to check the DL4’s performance in capturing dialogue while swinging on a rope across a ravine, but I’ve no doubt that it would have passed the test with flying colours too. The DL4 is a welcome addition to Shure’s microphone range and it’s hard to find fault with it – it just does what it says on the box without any fuss.

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Riedel Communications has appointed Vincent Lambert as general manager for Japan and South Korea as part of its continued expansion into the APAC territory.

Lambert moves into the new role after four years as the company’s head of global system consulting. He will now report to APAC direct Simon Roehrs.

“Vincent is the ideal choice to head Riedel Japan,” said Roehrs. “He brings a powerful mix of broadcast engineering, sales engineering support, and business management to this important position, as well as in-depth knowledge of the Riedel product family and our customers’ requirements. He and his five-member team are perfectly positioned to propel Riedel into the next generation of growth in the vital APAC region.”

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Lambert takes charge of a Tokyo-based operation that has grown significantly since its opening five years ago. In 2018, Riedel Japan moved to a new HQ located between the Shinjuku and Shibuya districts and near the new National Stadium. The Tokyo facility is located near Riedel’s long-term local partner Otaritec.

Martin Berger, CSO of Riedel, added: “Since opening our Tokyo headquarters back in 2015, we have doubled our size and presence in the world’s largest metropolitan economy. Our current office reflects our company’s commitment to further improving communication and customer service, support, and relationships with APAC partners and customers. The investment has really paid off: We’re able to serve local customers even better than before, especially at large, high-profile events in Japan such as the 2019 Rugby World Cup and next year’s Summer Games.”

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Iowa-based production company BNY Productions has been remotely broadcasting an average of 100 live and virtual hybrid events every week for the past six months, with Meyer Sound’s Bluehorn System selected for monitoring duties.   

The full bandwidth monitors have been playing a key role in the monitoring of several high-profile political rallies and speeches in the run up the 2020 US election, which will be held on Tuesday, November 3.

BNY, a Meyer Sound dealer and collaborator, is a full-service production company, that delivers events that vary from phone and television interviews, video conferencing, and remote recordings.

“Bluehorn eliminates the guesswork,” said Bill Kristijanto, co-owner of BNY. “So if it sounds good here, that is how it is going to sound everywhere. That makes my job so much easier — it is what it is and I love that.”

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In addition to BNY’s remote-only events, it has taken on hybrid events, which include physical and virtual attendees who access the event via a virtual conference room. While in-person events in cities around the country are still produced and broadcasted remotely in the BNY studio, ULTRA-X40 point source loudspeakers have been used for on-site monitoring. The sound reinforcement systems for the events vary by location, but are comprised of Meyer Sound equipment including ULTRA-X40 and LINA very compact linear line array loudspeakers.

“When people send me materials recorded on an iPhone, for example, I’m going to have to fix it,”  Kristijanto continued. “If I didn’t have a good set of monitors, then I would be doing a lot of guesswork. So, Bluehorn has helped in a way that most monitors can’t.”

BNY’s Studio A is also equipped with nearly 50 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers, including MM 10XP miniature subwoofers, MM-4XP miniature self-powered loudspeakers and UP 4slim ultracompact installation loudspeakers. The studio is also used as a recording studio and laboratory to test new ideas for live events.

Since 2016, BNY Productions has provided the audiovisual support for political events for a range of clients. In March 2020, the COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions forced their live operations to shift to remote, virtual-only broadcasts.

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CEntrance has announced the PortCaster, a professional, portable broadcasting interface for recording podcasts and livestreaming to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other platforms.

The Pordcaster allows podcasters and broadcasters to easily add music or packages, either locally or remote, via mobile or VOIP.

Features include a Mix-Minus feature to prevent audio feedback for the caller, and a Mono Blend control to stream to monophonic platforms like Instagram. To better control recording levels, PortCaster offers soft-knee, analogue and optical limiters for both Host and the Guest. 

An optional 24-bit/48 kHz stereo SD card recorder allows One-Button recording and a pair of built-in mic preamps, which support two microphones or one microphone plus a remote guest.

A stereo aux  input allows creators to add background music or sound effects from a secondary device. The PortCaster is also compatible with Zoom and Webex. An optional internal, rechargeable battery can be charged over USB. 

“We have a PortCaster version for every budget, from beginners to professional broadcasters,” explains Michael Goodman, CEntrance CEO. “The entire model range is designed to dramatically improve the audio quality of remote broadcasts, especially for journalists, TV, and media personalities working remotely.”

Prices begin at $200. More can be found here entrance.com

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Amazon Studios and Amazon Prime Video have announced a $6 million commitment to support the European TV and film production creative community through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Donations from the fund will be made to COVID-19 relief funds in countries across Europe to support the creative community as TV and film production begins to restart across the continent.

The first confirmed awards from the $6 million fund include a £1 million donation in the UK to the Film and TV Charity’s COVID-19 Response to kick-start a new grants scheme to help the industry recover; and a £500,000 donation to the Theatre Community Fund, launched by Olivia Colman, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Francesca Moody to provide hardship grants to theatre workers and freelancers across the UK.

The Film and TV Charity has already distributed more than £3.3m in financial support affected by the crisis, and launched a range of new mental wellbeing services to support thousands of workers in the UK film, television, and cinema industry. 

The donation from Amazon Prime Video will kick-start a second wave of support including a major new grants scheme that will focus on supporting diverse talent as the industry recovers and production resumes. 

“The creative community in Europe has been vital to our success in producing high-quality Amazon Original TV series and movies for our global audience, and it is essential for us to help that community through this pandemic,” says Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios. “We’ve made our first donations of £1.5 million today (August 13) to provide support to the talented freelancers from the UK’s creative community who have been directly affected by the closure of theatres and halt in TV and film production. As we gear up production on a number of Amazon Original series across the UK and Europe in the coming months, we’re committed to continuing to support Europe’s talented creative community through this crisis.”

Eligible individuals will be able to apply for up to £4,500 as part of a transformative package of support that will enable those hit hardest by the shutdown to remain in the industry. The charity is now calling on the industry and individual donors to come forward and add to the founding donation from Amazon Prime Video, and has set a goal of raising £3.2m, which would enable the charity to continue to provide essential services and launch this major grants scheme next month.

“We’re incredibly grateful to Amazon for demonstrating such huge support for people working in television and film at this most difficult time for the industry,” says Alex Pumfrey, CEO of the Film and TV Charity. “This fantastic donation to the Film and TV Charity will kick-start a new fund to support the diverse talent in our industry through the recovery process. We know that the pandemic has a disproportionate impact on people who are already underrepresented in our industry and that we must take action to prevent even greater inequality. There is a time-limited opportunity to protect the diversity of our industry for the future and I hope that others will seize this moment to contribute to our Covid-19 response.”

The second beneficiary, the Theatre Community Fund is a new initiative launched by Olivia Colman, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Francesca Moody, dispersed and monitored by the Royal Theatrical Fund in partnership with the Fleabag Support Fund. 

The fund launched in late July with a £1 million pledge made up of donations from its founders as well as other leading names from the entertainment industry including Tom Hiddleston, Gillian Anderson, Danny Boyle, Emilia Clarke, Richard Curtis, Kit Harrington, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen, Daisy Ridley, Daniel Radcliffe, Andrew Scott, Meera Syal, Emma Thompson and Rachel Weisz. 

Amazon Studios is donating £500,000 to enable the fund to continue to offer grants of up to £3,000 across two priority strands. It’s aim is to help freelancers survive the present by providing hardship grants to those in immediate need, and to ensure a healthy future for the industry by providing innovation and creation grants for artists to produce work.

“We’re utterly blown away to have such an extraordinary level of support from Amazon. Our theatre community has never been more threatened or fragile and this donation, alongside those from other industry individuals, is a game changer for its future” says The Theatre Community Fund (Olivia Colman, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Francesca Moody). “On behalf of the Theatre Community Fund we extend a huge thank you to Amazon for the acknowledgement of the value and power of UK theatre and how we as an industry will survive anything when we hold each other up in times of crisis.” 

Amazon Studios has made over 20 Original series across Europe since 2016, including UK-made hits like The Grand Tour, Fleabag, All or Nothing: Manchester City, James May: Our Man in Japan and Good Omens; and a number across Europe like BEAT (Germany), Love Island France, Celebrity Hunted – Caccia all’umo (Italy) and El Corazón del Sergio Ramos (Spain). 

Amazon Studios has also announced a number of highly-anticipated dramas including The Power (UK), based on the best-selling book of the same name by Naomi Alderman, La Templanza and El Cid (Spain), Deutschland89 and We Children from Bahnhof Zoo (Germany) Bang Bang Baby (Italy), and Voltaire, Mixte (France); as well as more unscripted series including All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur (UK), Vita da Carlo (Italy), Dinner Club (Italy) Ferro (Italy) and further projects from all three The Grand Tour presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. 

Amazon Studios has also signed overall deals to create new television content with British creators including Neil Gaiman, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Steve McQueen.    

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