Can Immersive Sound Save Your Team’s Season?

New York, NY (June 22, 2020)—With COVID-19 forcing many professional sports teams to play with no spectators, much has been suggested about providing viewers at home with faux crowd noises to supplement the game. Little, however, has been said about providing a similar consideration for the actual players, aiming to rack up points within a cold, empty stadium…until now. Playing without the motivational force that is an alternately jubilant crowd or seething mob, athletes may not be as engaged in their performance on the field, and thus TiMax Crowdscape has been invented, says the company, to provide athletes with “a live and interactive sonic cocoon of sound that immerses the players in realistic and responsive spectator reactions to the game.”

Kensington Enter Ziggo Dome with TiMax

The Crowdscape system includes on-board playback, spatialization, mixing and system zone management as it utilizes a multichannel “bowl” sound system mounted in the bleachers, pointing in towards the playing area. One or more operators use iPads to trigger and variably spatialize selected crowd atmosphere loops as well as cheering, applause and booing spot effects, plus whatever other tailored content is relevant to the game and teams. Samples are spatially mixed to anywhere in the arena or stadium using individual iPad 3D panners, faders and triggers, and can be merged selectively into the existing house system for added immersion.

Crowdscape operators can also spatially mix external crowd effect stems from broadcasters or Viewer Response systems and place them in the appropriate segments of the arena or stadium.  Downmixed stereo, 5.1 and mono crowd content feeds can also be simultaneously generated live in Crowdscape and returned to the truck for broadcast or streaming.

TiMax Crowdscape is currently being tested in Canada in an NHL hockey arena format, using a 10.4 multichannel bowl system with also includes spatially distributed sub-bass. Fully-scaleable Crowdscape is also offered, in conjunction with regional PA rental houses, in larger 12.6 configurations and beyond for football and baseball stadiums.

TiMax • www.outboard.co.uk/timax.html