More than 50 Lawo systems, used by numerous national broadcasters and for the production of international audio feeds, are in use at the World Cup in South Africa. Audio feeds from all the commentators are sent digitally from the stadiums to the International Broadcast Center (IBC) via a Lawo Nova73 HD routing matrix, and are available directly from the IBC or via ISDN for use in home country broadcasts.
- Audio Broadcast Services (ABS), a rental company and subsidiary of Lawo, was responsible for the installation of container-housed mobile control rooms at each of the ten venues designated for this year’s football event in South Africa. Equipped with a Lawo mc256 and an Innovason Eclipse, multiple feeds are created at each stadium: the main stereo audio feed, merged with the respective commentators’ audio by the national broadcasters, which authentically reproduces the stadium atmosphere and the sound of the ball in the home, several interview feeds and, for the first time in history, a program feed specifically designed for cell phones. Pre-mixing for the surround feed is also handled at the stadium. The complete surround feed is created at the IBC using two latest-generation Lawo mc266 consoles. A surround program is preferred by many broadcasters, rather than stereo, in order to deliver the atmosphere inside the stadiums to the domestic audience with more reality and transparency.
Several other Lawo customers are using Lawo consoles on-site: ARD and ZDF for the daily broadcast of all the games and studio broadcasts to Germany, numerous providers, such as outside broadcast units from Alfacam, Outside Broadcast, HD Signs and Sky TV, South Africa’s nationwide TV Broadcaster SABC, and, finally, the Chinese national broadcaster CCTV. British broadcasters BBC and ITV, and, for the first time, the American sports channel ESPN are also using Lawo systems for the World Cup.
To guarantee the best possible support for their customers at all times, Lawo specialists are standing by at all the venues and in the IBC, ensuring the sound of football is always perfectly reproduced on TV, radio, and at the public viewing sites.
