Bel monitors helping to deliver UEFA referee training

European football governing body UEFA recently upgraded the Match Centre and Master Control Room media facilities at its headquarters in Switzerland ready for the 2012-13 season. The installation was carried out by Gearhouse Broadcast and included four Bel Digital Audio monitors/de-embedders, which play a part in referee training.

The BM-A2-E16SHD units are used to remove the commentary from SDI video feeds arriving at UEFA’s Nyon broadcast centre, while leaving crowd noise and other sounds from within the stadium. This allows UEFA officials, including referees, trainers and delegates, to review decisions taken during matches without having any outside opinions from commentators and pundits but maintaining the atmosphere of the game.

The Bel monitors being used by UEFA are able to decode Dolby E, Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus feeds in any AES inputs, as well as working with embedded audio on SDI bit streams. Each unit can handle up to 16-channels, with de-embedding capability on any SDI input. All channels are represented by three-colour bar graphs on the front panel, with assignable ballistics available for different metering formats, including BBC PPM, VU and Nordic. ITU-R BS 1770 is included for loudness monitoring.