WLS ABC7 Chicago Uses Ultimate Technology For Lights Festival Broadcast

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Jan 8, 2012 3:42 PM, By Jack Kontney

The live HD announce of Chicago's 2011 Magnificent Mile Lights Festival by WLS-TV, an ABC-owned TV station, is a severe event, requiring endless use of wireless microphones and intercom systems in an RF-intensive outside environment.

Performers enclosed Grammy-winning sister twin Mary Mary. Parade splendid organise Mickey Mouse was on palm to irradiate more than a million lights on 200 trees backing Michigan Avenue, strictly kicking off Chicago's legal holiday season.

This perennially tough choice became sufficient simpler in 2011 with the use of two new and unique wireless systems: the Shure Axient microphone network with magnitude diversity, and the Tempest900 digital intercom from Clear-Com . In addition, the Shure PSM 1000 in-ear wireless was used in point-to-point (P2P) mode to supply audio to the event's PA system. WLS enlisted the assist of On Stage Audio (OSA) in suburban Wood Dale to supply the equipment.

In beta assessment but due to liner imminently, Axient is Shure's state-of-the-art wireless network administration system, written to hoop the many swarming RF condition. Its modernized features add exceedingly parsimonious RF filtering amalgamated with spectrum management, magnitude diversity, and remote receiver manage around a wireless information backchannel.

In its initial documented use in Chicago, the Clear-Com Tempest900 utilizes law Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) technology, ceaselessly varying frequencies in the 900MHz rope to break by sound and interference whilst perspicacious unenlightened structures to supply arguable communication in rigorous RF environments such as Chicago's Michigan Avenue in the heart of downtown, inside of line of steer of a few DTV announce towers.

ABC7's proxy announce site enclosed a "backstage" tech area and within reach dais for 3 announce anchors. It moreover compulsory wireless signals for lane contributor Val Warner on the march highway and the within reach opening stage. Eight channels of Axient were employed, inclusive a handheld and bodypack network for Warner, and a span of handhelds for Mary Mary.

After the capabilities of Axient were explained to them, WLS audio engineers Lou Sabatini and Mike Cunningham could not pass up using the new Shure system. Sabatini, who rubbed the announce mix, reported, "We got to see firsthand how Axient can discover and head off a complaint before it happens."

During rehearsal, the network rescued interference on a of the anchors' system. "The manifestation on the receiver incited red to uncover us the problem," reports Cunningham, who was accountable for magnitude coordination. "It incited out to be interference from an random in-ear system. Axient switched the receiver and receiver to a protected frequency. That would have been a leading anxiety situation, but Axient rubbed it seamlessly - detecting the problem, alerting us, and having a protected duct ready to go."

The group had identical success with the Tempest900. The reach and trustworthiness offering by the Tempest900 systems authorised eventuality coordinators to ramble and talk openly along Michigan Avenue. The network effectively covered a three-city-block span north of the Michigan Avenue Bridge without issues.

"The Tempest900 functioned well, providing arguable communication throughout an endless area of Michigan Avenue," says Cunningham. "We simply commissioned two Tempest900 systems at a singular place at the bottom of the celebration route, and that was sufficient to capacitate coherent conversations to happen throughout the course of the event. This designation authorised for faster preference making, edited reply time, and ultimately, more efficient collaboration."

One last square of new technology was in use to residence other disturbing situation - getting announce audio to the bleachers located opposite Michigan Avenue from the announce position. For this task, OSA comparison staff operative Pete Wiejaczka in use the Shure PSM 1000 personal monitoring network in its point-to-point mode, sending full-range audio to the PA network with no discernible latency or high quality loss.

As he says, "The sound high quality is excellent, and the PSM 1000's point-to-point mode allows me to use a Shure UHF-R receiver, that meant we had offset XLR outputs instead of the mini headphone jack that's on an in-ear bodypack. It's a great answer anytime you can't run line to the PA system."

Video from the Nov. 19 live announce of the 2011 Magnificent Mile Lights Festival is existing on the WLS-TV7 website .