Bengaluru, 8th February 2022: Audio-Technica is delighted to once more support the host broadcaster of the world’s most significant live sporting event this winter with an exceptional number of microphones, headphones and associated accessories.
For over 26 years, Audio-Technica has provided innovative audio acquisition solutions to biennial global broadcasts covering multiple sporting disciplines across various venues, played out over two weeks of intense physical activity.
Camera positions are often set up with Audio Technica’s shotgun microphones. In Beijing, there are over 700, with the majority being BP4027 & BP4029 stereo models to deliver an enhanced soundscape.
Microphone innovation has been incorporated in multiple locations that call for competition on the ice, such as speed skating, ice hockey and figure skating. Across sites, approximately 60 pieces of AT880b contact microphones are sunk into the ice fields and frozen to pick up the often missed subtle sound of competitors’ skates.
Bringing the tactics, action and spine chilling excitement into the homes is handled by over 50 channels of ATW-5000 Series wireless belt-pack microphone systems. These microphone systems often work continuously for up to 13 hours per day in a challenging competitive environment in terms of temperatures and radio frequency planning.
A long-running signature of the 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 ceilings in venues. These are complemented by the recently introduced pair of stereo BP4025 microphones with a custom windshield mount in a 4.0 setting. 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.
