HBS takes World Cup pitch with Sennheiser mics

During the World Cup tournament, production company Host Broadcast Services (HBS) is using wireless and wired microphones from Sennheiser — including the new Esfera surround microphone system — to capture stadium amosphere as realistically as possible and provide the matches with commentaries and pitchside reports.

The equipment and teams required for Brazil have been on-site since the beginning of April, carrying out intensive groundwork in order to ensure smooth broadcasts from the twelve stadia. HBS is for the first time using Sennheiser’s new Esfera surround microphone system, which produces complete 5.1 surround sound from the signal of a stereo microphone.

“Due to their compact construction and the small amount of cabling required, Esfera microphones will be used in a number of areas in the stadia, e.g. in the players’ tunnel, outside to capture the atmosphere and in the Camera 1 position as a fail-safe for 5.1 surround sound,” said an HBS spokesman. A total of 36 Esfera microphones (SPM 8000) record the sound in the twelve stadia; in the International Broadcast Centre, two Esfera processing units (SPB 8000) are then used to produce 5.1 sound from the stereo signals.

The sound of volleys and goal kicks are captured using around 300 shotgun microphones – including MKH 8070 long gun microphones for the very precise recording of distant sound sources, MKH 8060 short gun microphones and MKH 418-S stereo shotgun microphones. MD 46 reporter microphones are also in action at the edge of the pitch.

A total of 24 plug-on transmitters from the 2000 series are used for wireless boom microphones and for spidercam-mounted MKH 8060s. Every camera team also has a wireless reporting set (EK 2000 camera receiver and SK 2000 bodypack transmitter with MKE 1 clip-on microphone) and a wired MD 46 reporter microphone at its disposal. The audio signal is monitored via HD 25 headphones.

Of course, background reports about the teams and other stories from Brazil are a vital element too. To this end, HBS has also put together additional wireless packages for reporters: 40 wireless reporting sets with technology from the 2000 series will provide crystal clear sound transmission (EK 2000 camera receivers and SKM 2000 handheld transmitters with MMD 935 microphone heads), while 40 talk-back links will enable reporters to maintain contact with editorial staff (SK 2000 transmitters and EK 1039 bodypack receivers with HD 25 headphones).