German audio specialist, Sennheiser, has taked a different spin on its presence at the BroadcastAsia2018 trade show. The brand partnered with six industry affiliates at their booths to best showcase the breadth of solutions that both Sennheiser and Neumann offer: A&L System (Booth No. 6G3-01), Avid Technology (Booth No. 4T3-01), XN3 (Booth No. 6E4-05), Zoom (Booth No. 6C1-01), Cathay Photo (Booth No. 6G2-01) and Alan Photo (Booth No. 6F2-04).
Broadcast solutions for every audio challenge
The demands on audio professionals are constantly evolving: more channels, bigger stages, more complex RF conditions, faster setup. Sennheiser’s wireless transmission expertise helps audio professionals meet these challenges in the form of our digital wireless technology that has played a pivotal role in the success of industry-proven events. Adopted by numerous major 2018 live shows including the Eurovision Song Contest, Grammy Awards and Brit Awards, the Digital 6000 and Digital 9000 series will be featured at the Acoustics and Lighting booth in BroadcastAsia 2018.
At the Avid® booth, visitors can discover the award-winning Avid VENUE™ | S6L Unified Platform and learn how it works seamlessly with the Digital 6000 series. The booth’s creative zone will also house a joint display of Pro Tools®paired with the KH 80 DSP nearfield studio monitor—Neumann’s first studio monitor with digital signal processing—for an outstanding audio experience. The KH 80 DSP is designed as an ideal monitor solution for recording, mixing and mastering in project, music, broadcasting and post-production studios. With the upcoming “Neumann.Control” software that is due to release in the later part of 2018, the new KH 80 DSP two-way near-field studio monitor will be able to fully calibrate itself to the room. This can be performed either automatically (Precision Alignment), with some simple questions (Guided Alignment), or adjusted with complete flexibility using the built in 8-band fully parametric equalizer (Manual Alignment).
Take audio broadcasts to new heights with 3D audio
As the collection of VR/AR content grows by the hour, learn how 3D audio is keeping up with 360-degree visual content and how Sennheiser’s innovative AMBEO initiative has trail blazed the path of VR audio production so content creators can produce more realistic and immersive content today. AMBEO represents a truly immersive audio experience, encompassing the recording, mixing, processing and reproduction of sound. Sennheiser’s 3D audio platform features easy-to-use recording and modelling tools, including a virtual-reality microphone.
To augment our AMBEO portfolio, Sennheiser has joined hands with several brands to offer a complete VR production experience within the framework of Sennheiser’s AMBEO for VR partnership program. The first is a collaboration with renowned recording devices manufacturer, Zoom Corporation. The result of this partnership is a compatibility of the AMBEO VR Mic with Zoom’s F8 and F4 MultiTrack Field Recorders. The Zoom F8 and F4 will offer gain-linking capability, allowing creators to adjust the gain on all four capsules of the Sennheiser AMBEO VR Mic evenly and simultaneously with one knob, helping users monitor and adjust audio levels when recording in the field. The Zoom F8/F4 field recorder and Sennheiser AMBEO VR Mic combination will be illustrated at the Zoom booth. The Pro Tools® display will also feature the AMBEO VR Mic for creators who want to integrate Ambisonics content into their 3D audio workflow for VR content.
Sennheiser has also partnered Sound Devices, a specialist in portable equipment for sound and video recording, in the form of an AMBEO VR Microphone compatibility with the Sound Devices MixPre-6 and MixPre-10T audio recorders. These will be the first portable recorders to not only feature AMBEO A-B conversion for the AMBEO VR Mic, but also an AMBEO to binaural decoding for fully immersive binaural headphone monitoring. VR content creators can therefore assess immersive audio content right at the time of capture without requiring a post-production workstation. The MixPre-6 recorder will be featured together with the Sennheiser’s AMBEO VR Mic at the XN3 booth.
Smart audio solutions for mobile journalism and mobile content creation
For the growing field of mobile journalism, Sennheiser is showcasing the wireless microphone systems from its AVX series, which operates in the license-free 1.9 GHz range. Wired microphones on show at BroadcastAsia 2018 include the MKE 2 digital clip-on microphone as well as the HandMic digital. All of these models utilise Apogee‘s multi-award-winning A/D-conversion technology which ensures professional recording quality with smart devices. For semi-professional users and demanding consumers, Sennheiser is also showcasing the MKE 440 stereo microphone for DSLR cameras, and the mono MKE 400 and MKE 600 models. Sennheiser’s mobile journalism portfolio will be featured at the Cathay Photo and Alan Photo booths.
Understanding RF in the age of new regulations
Wireless microphones, in-ear monitoring systems, ENG and instrumental transmission paths, wireless conference and interpreting systems, plus visitor guide systems all need one thing to work properly: a high-quality high-frequency spectrum to transmit audio signals. For years, Sennheiser has been working with national and international bodies to obtain and secure the right quality range for operating these wireless production tools for our customers on a long-term basis. As the trend of digital dividend continues to rise around the world and here in Asia, frequency changes in the 600 and 700 Mhz range will affect RF users and result in fewer radio frequencies available for wireless microphones. With these developments in mind, Sennheiser will be hosting an exclusive workshop at the Conrad Centennial Singapore on 27 June 2018, where we explain the complex legal regulations surrounding digital dividend, advise on selecting the right radio frequencies, and how we are committed to maintaining a high-quality frequency range to ensure sustainable RF use and development in the broadcast industry.
