NDR uses Jünger to judge Loudness

Germany: They think it’s all over, it is now. In what is positively our last Eurovision 2011 story, Jünger Audio is talking about its T*AP Television Audio Processor playing a key part in helping NDR deliver the audio from the contest, including some interesting customisation involving surround dynamics processing in combination with sophisticated loudness control.Ulli Fricke, sound engineer from NDR and Head of Sound at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, who was responsible for the audio output, says four of Jünger Audio’s T*AP Television Audio Processors were used for the international broadcast where they performed dynamics control across both the stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes. Two were deployed for the music mix and two for the final mix and in all cases they were used in conjunction with Stagetec Aurus consoles. NDR also used a fifth unit for national German transmission out of Hamburg.

Ulli Fricke says: “We created separate but simultaneous mixes for stereo and 5.1 surround sound and we also had a full “hot” backup system.”

Prior to the Eurovision Song Contest, Jünger Audio worked closely with NDR’s technical team to ensure that the T*AP units delivered exactly what the broadcaster needed. This meant incorporating some customisations.

Fricke explains: “We wanted the ability to easily and simultaneously control limiting and compression for stereo and 5.1 surround sound.”

Peter Poers, Managing Director of Jünger Audio, adds: “NDR has used Jünger Audio’s dynamics control units for many years and has always been happy with their audio processing performance. On this occasion, NDR came to us with a special request – for surround dynamics processing in combination with sophisticated loudness control. This was something we had not tackled before but we rose to the challenge and were able to meet their request by making some small customisations to our new, flagship T*AP television audio processor. This enabled us to meet their expectations with regard to sound quality and timeframe. The Eurovision Song Contest is a very well respected live production and we were delighted that it acted as a launch event for our new T*AP. It was a success story for all those who participated.”

Fricke adds that being part of the Eurovision Song Contest was a fantastic experience.

“This was something that I will probably only do once in my lifetime,” he says. “We had so much fun with all of the 43 broadcasters involved and I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work on such a prestigious event. It was a logistical challenge because we had very little time between each act to change the whole stage situation, including mikes, stands, instruments and props etc. But everyone played their part and it was like lots of small gears working in one big machine. The end result was a huge success.”