Software-defined Video Production (SDVP) tools are making their presence felt at all levels of television production. Whether it’s a software-defined production switcher running on-premise or slow-motion replay running in the cloud, SDVP is transforming how TV gets made.
Audio production, on the other hand, has been rather late to the game. Complicated mic’ing setups, cable runs, and mixing have required extensive hands-on manipulation, making the prospect of software-defined audio production seem a distant dream.
However, the Shure DCA901 digital broadcast array microphone is shaking things up. The DCA901 slashes setup time. Rather than requiring hours to position and precisely point multiple mics, the array mic can be ready in as little as 30 minutes. Gone too are the need for excessive redundancy to protect against equipment failure, multiple cable runs, and even the prospect of an overwhelming number of channels to mix—in large part due to the DCA901’s features and software-defined control.
Software-based coverage decisions
The DCA901 array leverages 78 separate microphone elements to create eight software-steerable lobes, an audio DSP to power a built-in automixer, and software for precise control. Together, these features form the foundation of a workflow that is radically transforming audio production.
Before the array, an A1 in the booth working with assistants on the pitch, at the court, or in the studio would painstakingly coordinate with one another to ensure individual shotgun, parabolic, lavalier, and other mics were precisely aimed to pick up audio. Not only was the process time-consuming, but if something changed during a live production, there was little flexibility to adapt to new conditions.
However, the DCA901 eliminates that inflexibility and reduces setup time from hours to minutes because of its ability to steer each lobe remotely via software.
Consider the power of Software-defined Audio Production with the DCA901 in a football production scenario. Replacing the 12 shotgun mics from their mandated positions along the pitch (three along each sideline, one at each corner and one behind each goal) with 12 DCA901 arrays improves audio production in a number of ways.
Under the control of Edge Sound Research’s positioning data-driven software, the complement of array mics will automatically capture the sound of action as it moves from lobe to lobe, bringing a level of sound to fans they’ve never before experienced.
Not only will the software isolate audio pickup to the lobe or lobes where action is taking place, but it will reject sound outside those lobes, which means crowd noise that once made hearing the sound of a kick or a sliding tackle impossible to hear is no longer an issue.
Additionally, choosing to record every isolated lobe, including those not a part of the main action, in this scenario, opens up new opportunities in post-production. For instance, if a scuffle breaks out away from the ball, editors have access to the audio for a highlight reel or post-match show.
For other sports productions, Shure offers AI-powered sound isolation software for the DCA901. It automatically isolates pickup of a DCA901’s lobes where action occurs, but does not require interfacing with a third-party system to receive positioning telemetry.
Dante-enabled
Further enhancing the DCA901 as a Software-defined Audio Production powerhouse is its Ethernet connectivity and support for AES67 and Audinate’s Dante digital audio. Leveraging the array mic’s built-in automixer in a Dante digital mixing environment simplifies audio production workflows.
For example, one user, who serves as producer, director, and announcer of a professional fighting sport, has dramatically simplified his audio workflow by allowing the DCA901’s built-in automixer to create a submix that automatically tracks the action as it moves from lobe to lobe and feeds Dante protocol audio from the array’s Ethernet output to his Dante mixer.
The Shure DCA901 is making software-defined audio workflows a reality today and positioning production companies, broadcasters, and others for what lies ahead. With the DCA901, audio becomes another piece of the puzzle as broadcasters, producers, and even coaches and organisations come to regard it as just another source of data that doesn’t simply contribute to efficient production workflows but also serves as another source of valuable information in which data captured on the field improves training and coaching.
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