Fox Sports has adopted SoundField X-1 upmix/downmix and a UPM-1 stereo-to-5.1 upmix processors as an integral part of its audio production. The same equipment has also been installed on GCV Encore and is being used to enhance Fox Sports’ golf and NFL broadcasts.

‘The various audio elements that contribute to a sports programme, from studio and location dialogue, to commentary, music, and crowd atmosphere typically come into us from a wide variety of mono, stereo and 5.1 sources,’ explains Fox Sports audio mixer Fred Aldous. ‘As the sound supervisor, it is my job to mix a show that immerses viewers in the surround sound atmosphere of the event while maintaining clear, consistent imaging of dialogue, and ambient sound.’

A broadcast audio consultant and mixer for more than 30 years, Aldous has worked on Fox Sports’ Super Bowl, NascarDaytona 500 coverage, as well as several Olympics, and is credited with forging new ground for live surround mixing in sports. Recently, he used the SoundField X-1 and the UPM-1 stereo-to-5.1 upmixer to create a 5.1 mix for Fox Sports’ broadcast of the Women’s World Cup from Vancouver.

The UPM-1 uses a proprietary algorithm to perform real-time analysis of stereo source material, identifying and separating ambience from direct sound. Mono sources (dialogue, commentary) are extracted from the stereo signal and fed to the centre channel, and a stereo image is maintained by keeping the direct sound sources at the front. The UPM-1 then feeds the extracted natural ambience to the rear surround channels.

‘At Fox Sports, the edict is that all of the dialogue stays in the centre channel only,’ says Aldous. ‘However, with conventional upmixers, all sorts of content ends up going into that centre channel, which dilutes my dialogue/announcer channel. With the UPM-1 I can use the divergence control to either allow content to be steered to the center channel completely, or to take it out and move it to left, right, left surround and right surround channels.

‘One of the things I really like about the X-1 is that it gives me both an upmixer and a downmixer in a single device. I also like the fact that I can create presets on the GUI and hand that off to the other mixers. This way I know that the setting are correct to ensure complete consistency of the sound we are trying to accomplish.’

More: www.soundfield.com
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