Forthcoming Wetten, dass...? television broadcasts from around Germany will see rental company Audio Broadcast Services (ABS) providing Lawo equipment for sound reinforcement and monitoring duties.
Having supplied a 64-fader Lawo mc²56 mixing console with 240 DSP channels and four Dallis stageboxes for a recent show in Offenburg, which aired on German public TV channel ZDF in January, ABS will extend the scop of broadcast operations thought the linking of the same conole to an mc²66 in ZDF’s on-site OB van.
ABS also provided the fibre-optic wiring for the sound reinforcement system at the Offenberg show under the supervision of Matthias Paha.
ZDF has been using several mc² series consoles in its OB-vans for some time. However this is the first occasion when a Lawo console has been used for a live sound reinforcement and monitoring mix. The additional possibilities gained through the mc²56 required the ZDF team to rethink the sound reinforcement concept that they have devised over a number of years.
The technical requirements for TV shows on the scale of Wetten, dass...? (Let’s bet that …) have increased significantly in the recent years. Among the changes, the number of microphones in use has sky-rocketed. Moreover, the size of the set has made it increasingly necessary to stage the show in convention centres and multifunction halls, resulting in a work environment that is particularly challenging in terms of acoustics. In addition, the ambient noise level in these venues is relatively high due to the use of studio lights and their cooling fans, as well as other devices. Nevertheless, the broadcast feed has to remain clean and unaffected – this is particularly important and challenging for those parts of the show that involve bets that rely on careful listening.
Equally challenging is the monitor mix for the different stage areas. Without this complex aspect of the sound reinforcement, conversation between the moderator, bet sponsors, bet candidates, remote units and interpreters would be impossible.
The sound reinforcement area is subdivided into a number of zones, and a variety of speaker types is used to serve them, with the specifics depending on individual hall requirements. Among recent developments made to the show presentation is a movable landing that has integrated loudspeakers with wireless control, and also configured for the different zones. For WLAN connection, all components are monitored and can be reconfigured during the broadcast if it is deemed necessary.
The routing possibilities offered by the Lawo consoles, the overview – even with complex set-ups – and configuration possibilities all benefit the FOH/monitor console sound engineers. Using the HD-Core and the Dallis I/O frames, the console can be adapted according to individual engineers’ preferences.
More: www.audio-broadcast-services.de
More: www.lawo.de
