Audio-Technica is supporting the host broadcaster of the major winter sporting festival currently taking place in Beijing, China, with more than 2,300 microphones, plus headphones and associated accessories.
Camera positions are set up with over 700 Audio-Technica shotgun microphones, the majority being BP4027 and BP4029 stereo models in order to deliver an enhanced soundscape. Approximately 60 AT880b contact microphone were been sunk into the ice for speed skating, ice hockey and figure skating before being frozen, to pick up the often subtle sound of competitors’ skates.
More than 50 channels of ATW-5000 Series wireless belt-pack microphone systems bring the tactics, action and excitement of curling to the home, often working continuously for up to 13 hours per day in what can be a challenging competition environment, both in terms of temperatures and radio frequency planning.
A long-running signature of sports broadcasts is the detail of a venue’s ‘ambient’ sound, delivered in 5.1 surround, which relies on a combination of AT4050 mono and AT4050ST stereo large diaphragm microphones, often hung from high in venues – as well as the more recent introduction of a pair of stereo BP4025 microphones fitted to a custom windshield mount in a 4.0 setting. In Beijing, 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 hidden discreetly around the fields of play, and a healthy quantity of in-ear E-Series monitors and Mx-Series headphones help complete the extensive inventory delivered by Audio-Technica into the host city.
Finally making a second appearance after their inaugural success in Tokyo last summer, are 14 of Audio-Technica’s prototype 8.0 Microphones, each consisting of eight 12mm diameter microphone elements. The 8.0 microphones form part of the host broadcaster’s immersive audio programme delivery package, mixed real time in this fast-paced live sports environment, they all contribute to delivering close-up action and an encompassing audio experience of each sporting discipline.
