SoundField Deliver A Sporting First For Spanish Television

In March, UK microphone company SoundField were instrumental in bringing 5.1 surround sound to live Spanish television for what is believed to be the broadcast debut of live surround audio on the Iberian peninsula. Spanish PayTV channel Sogecable elected to follow the lead of other European broadcasters such as Sky TV and Premiere and begin broadcasting high-definition video and audio, commencing with the March 5th UEFA Champions League soccer clash between Real Madrid and AS Roma.


The DSF-2 microphone in position at Real Madrid's Bernabeu Stadium

A SoundField DSF-2 microphone provided the basis for the broadcast 5.1 audio mix, supplementing the usual microphone set-up used for recording Real Madrid games. The proprietary four-channel SoundField B-Format audio captured by the microphone was decoded to 5.1 Surround by a SoundField SP451 processor, and this 5.1 feed was then passed into the main mixing console in the on-site OB vehicle at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, which was provided by Spanish broadcast services provider TSA. This main surround audio mix was then split and fed to Dolby encoders to provide the stereo downmix for SD transmission, and a Dolby E-encoded 5.1 stream for the HD broadcast. The HD production was carried live on Canal Plus's HD channel to Sogecable's Digital Plus platform, and also delivered via the EBU to Sky in the UK and Premiere in Germany for those companies' HD services. The SD version was also made available to international broadcasters in the same way.

"I've been working with the DSF-2 for some time, using it on the 2006 World Cup and for 5.1 audio on Sky's HD broadcasts" comments engineer Mick Dwyer of Dolby, who was instrumental in arranging the use of the SoundField equipment at the Spanish game, and carried the DSF-2 and SP451 to Spain personally for the match. "It's the surround microphone system that actually works — plug it in, rig the SP451, and 5.1 comes out. End of story!"