NBC aims to broadcast stereo / 5.1 mixes simultaneously during Olympics
Rest assured, NBC isn't taking this year's Olympics broadcast lightly. After announcing that some 3,600 hours of the games would be shot (with many in HD), we've now learned that the network will be broadcasting the 5.1 surround mix and stereo mix simultaneously. According to Bob Dixon, NBC Olympics' director of sound design, 2008 marks "the first time the games will be produced totally in high-definition with 5.1 discrete channels of audio," and the plan is to send six discrete channels to those capable of receiving it and carefully downmix for those with stereo capabilities. Needless to say, there's going to be extensive work happening behind the scenes in order to pull off such a feat, and if you're the technical type, feel free to tap the read link to get a sense of just how elaborate the setup will be.
Filed under: Industry, Other hardware, NBC, Sports
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Galley @ Apr 11th 2008 10:21AM
Doesn't every HDTV signal do this already, or does the receiver handle it?
CharlieX @ Apr 11th 2008 10:30AM
if a tree falls in 5.1 surround in the forest and no one is there to hear it.....
Naman @ Apr 11th 2008 3:50PM
Now I can experience NBC's lousy Olympic coverage in 5.1! Imagine, listening to pointless human interest pieces and non-sports related stories in breathtaking surround sound...
Adam @ Apr 12th 2008 9:18AM
Why don't they drop the 5.1 audio and use that bandwidth to improve the picture quality? No matter how good it may sound I'm still not going to be sitting down to watch a lousy picture. So it looks like I wont be watching this Olympic coverage either. :(
Adam @ Apr 12th 2008 9:18AM
Why don't they drop the 5.1 audio and use that bandwidth to improve
the picture quality? No matter how good it may sound I'm still not
going to be sitting down to watch a lousy picture. So it looks like I
wont be watching this Olympic coverage either. :(
Adam @ Apr 12th 2008 9:23AM
Why don't they drop the 5.1 audio and use that bandwidth to improve
the picture quality? No matter how good it may sound I'm still not
going to be sitting down to watch a lousy picture. So it looks like I
wont be watching this Olympic coverage either. :(