iZotope ANR-B Brings Adaptive Real-time Noise Reduction to ESPN for the 2010 FIFA World Cup

The Worldwide Broadcast Used ANR-B to Reduce Fan Noise

We talked with ESPN's Jon Bernegger (Audio Team Leader of Production Operations) about having ANR-B on set at the 2010 World Cup.

How was ANR-B used in the broadcast?

It was used to reduce the amount of noise produced by an enormous 16’ X 9’ video monitor (Yes, 16 foot X 9 foot!), which has 120 five-inch vent fans. Instead of putting each microphone (each with its own EQ and compression settings) through an exclusive channel of ANR-B, we just put our mic group through the ANR-B. The amazing thing is that even though we didn’t use it the way it was intended, we still got very pleasing results that impressed all of us!

Where was your feed sent? Does it go to ESPN exclusively or out to the world for pick-up/re-broadcast by others?

Our feed was ESPN exclusive, but the network broadcasts to several countries.

Can you envision other applications and situations where ANR-B would be useful?

Because of the fantastic results we have had with the ANR–B, I can envision its use in many of the studios that ESPN builds. Our set designers are utilizing very large Barco screens—they look very nice in a studio, but can be a big challenge for audio.

What’s next for ANR-B in your setup?

Any enclosed studio like the one we have constructed in South Africa, along with all the studios in ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, CT, are good candidates for the use of an ANR-B. I am based out of Bristol, but I spend a good deal of time on the road mixing ESPN’s studio coverage of certain large events.

When I am in Bristol, I mix anything from SportsCenter to Baseball Tonight and everything in between. When I’m on the road, my events include Monday Night Countdown (the pre-game show leading up to Monday Night Football) for the entire football season, plus our week-long coverage of the Super Bowl. We purposely put the mixing desk in the stadium at these events so that we can see and hear the ambient sounds of the stadium on game day.

Over all, how did ANR-B perform?

The iZotope ANR-B is an excellent product which far exceeded my expectations. I would highly recommend it to other broadcasters.

Visit http://izotope.com/products/audio/anrb to learn more about ANR-B.