In Broadcast - September 2015 - 88


88

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 9 | September 2015

InAudio

K-Tek Debuts
Stingray Audio
Ergonomic Harness
K

-Tek, specialists in audio, are to
debut the Stingray Audio Harness
at IBC 2015, designed to reduce back
fatigue.
The audio specialists at K-Tek have
introduced a new concept in audio
bag support, the Stingray Harness,
designed to take the strain of a frontmounted audio equipment bag off
a working sound mixer's shoulders
and back. Ergonomically designed
and lightweight, it can be adjusted to
comfortably fit most body types.
Decades in the audio field and
consistent feedback from audio
professionals has given K-Tek the
know-how to create the optimum
harness design for comfort, ease
of use and integration with a sound
mixer's array of working tools.
The Stingray Harness employs a

rigid exospine backbone, designed
to transfer the audio bag weight
throughout the harness to the
hips - instead of weighing down the
user's shoulders and back. The Hip
Fins transfer the rigid spine's load
to the user's hips and legs, while
six mounting straps effectively and
comfortably secure the bag to the
body.
Due to its adjustable butterfly
configuration that curves over the
shoulders, plus the proprietary height
adjustment ladder, and strategically
placed pull-style straps - the Harness
quickly fits the widest range of body
types and sizes.
Though compatible with most audio
bags, the Stingray Harness integrates
perfectly with K-Tek's Stingray Bags.
With six bag attachment points, it is

the most secure way to wearand-work with audio sound
gear. Plus users appreciate
the ample array of D-rings,
strap mounts and Molle
straps that offer a
multitude of attachment
points for various sound
accessories.
Even
the
padding
has been rethought. A
smart air-thru design
and premium breathable
materials, makes the harness
comfortable and cool to wear.
After beta-testing the Stingray
Harness for nearly a year, Sound Mixer
Aaron 'Cujo' Cooley gave the new
harness' breathable design high marks
when working in his native Georgia in
the summer, explaining "...it ventilates

Stingray
Audio
Harness
has a rigid
exospine
backbone

better than anything else I've tried."
But it's the added back support that
really sold him: "You can wear it loose,
or wear it tight. The tighter I pull it,
the better it feels. The benefit is being
able to wear my bag for hours at a
time without crying in agony."

FOX Sports And TSL Team Up For FIFA
Women's World Cup
T

SL Products has announced
that FOX Sports has chosen TSL
Systems' SoundField X-1 Upmix/
Downmix Processor, and a Soundfield
UPM-1 Stereo to 5.1 Upmixer as an
integral part of its audio production
process.
FOX Sports first employed TSL
Systems during its critically-acclaimed
coverage of the FIFA Women's World
Cup 2015, and it played an integral
role in the superior quality of its audio
production. This equipment has also
been installed on GCV Encore and is
being used to enhance FOX Sports' golf
and NFL broadcasts.
"The various audio elements that
contribute to a sports programme,
from studio and location dialogue,
to commentary, music, and crowd
atmosphere, typically come into us
from a wide variety of mono, stereo
and 5.1 sources," explains FOX
Sports' Emmy Award-winning Audio
Mixer Fred Aldous. "As the sound

supervisor, it is my job to mix a show
that immerses viewers in the surround
sound atmosphere of the event while
maintaining clear, consistent imaging
of dialogue, and ambient sound."
Aldous has been a broadcast audio
consultant and mixer for over 30
years. As a Multi-Emmy Award winner
(for television sports audio), Aldous
has worked on FOX Sports' Super
Bowls, NASCAR's Daytona 500's,
as well as several Olympics, and is
credited with forging new ground for
live surround mixing in sports.
Recently, Aldous used the SoundField
X-1 Upmix/Downmix Processor and
the Soundfield UPM-1 Stereo to 5.1
Upmixer, to create a natural sounding
5.1 mix for Fox Sports during the
Women's World Cup in Vancouver.
The UPM-1 uses a unique algorithm
to perform detailed real-time analysis
of the stereo source material,
identifying and separating the
ambience from the direct sound. Mono

sources (dialogue,
commentary, etc.)
are
extracted
from the stereo
signal and fed to
the centre channel
and a good frontal
stereo image is
maintained
by
keeping the direct
sound sources at
the front. The UPM-1 then feeds the
extracted natural ambience to the rear
surround channels.
"At FOX Sports, the edict is that
all of the dialogue stays in the
centre channel only. However, with
conventional upmixers, all sorts of
content ends up going into that centre
channel, which dilutes my dialogue/
announcer channel. With the UPM-1
I can use the divergence control to
either allow content to be steered to
the centre channel completely, or to
take it out and move it to left, right,

Fred Aldous, FOX Sports'
Emmy Award-winning Audio Mixer

left surround and right surround
channels," says Aldous.
The X-1 is a 1U rackmount device that
combines broadcast-quality upmix and
downmix processing in one box. When
presented with an inconsistent variety
of stereo and dual mono sources the
SoundField X-1 is able to separate the
dispersed crowd sound, reflections,
reverb and atmosphere - offering the
user adjustable parameters to position
this diffused sound as desired into 5.1
image.
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://ktekpro.com/product/kshrn1-stingray-harness/ http://www.foxsports.com/
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - September 2015
