Stagetec, manufacturer of digital audio mixing and routing systems, has announced that the weekly Monday and Thursday night NFL broadcasts now have Stagetec systems in place for both the broadcast audio submix and fiber optic connectivity and routing. The arrangement was arranged through CP Communications, provider of advanced audio and video broadcast solutions in the HD and the RF Digital domains.
The Monday ESPN night game utilizes a Stagetec AURUS console for audio submixing of all field, crowd and camera mics, and a NEXUS system to transport all audio and control signals, including the intercom control data (RS485) and 4-wire, from the truck bay to the booth and field. The NEXUS routing system connects the trucks via fiber and MADI so that the main production truck can grab the announcer’s mics and whatever other signals are needed to augment the submix. Connections between the mobiles, booth and field devices are via single-strand, single-mode fiber.
Weekly Thursday night broadcasts on NFL Network began Nov. 10 in San Diego, and will go through the rest of the season. A Stagetec NEXUS base device is in place, with a Crescendo audio console connected to the NEXUS router in the audio submix unit. With a base device in the RF receive field rack connected to the compound via fiber and connecting to both the main audio production and submix trucks, the NEXUS transports the sounds on the field from the RF racks and parabolic microphones for use back in the compound, as well as all 4-wire used for on-field communications.
At the helm of the Crescendo submix console, engineer Robert Qua took to the system immediately.
“It was not only my first time mixing on a Stagetec system, but also my first NFL submix,” he said. “I jumped on the Crescendo system and was impressed how quickly I was actually up and running and getting what I needed out of the system.”
Kurt Heitmann, CP Communications SVP of sales and marketing, is very impressed and pleased with the system.
“We made a commitment to and a valued partnership with Stagetec, and they have proven to be the right fit for this industry,” Heitmann said. "With today’s complicated sports shows, you need the flexibility and scalability of the Stagetec systems.
“We now have two systems operating and shining on two major NFL telecasts and we think this is just the beginning.”
