Philippe Tohme
Audio Consultant, Future TV
Philippe Tohme, audio consultant for Beirut-based Future TV, says that audio in Arab television stations occupies the last priority on their rosters. According to Tohme, stations are satisfied as long as the microphones are functional, the speakers are working and the sound mixer is on air. “Anything other than that is considered to be improving the working environment,” he says. Although soundproofing the studio’s control room is a given, stations in the Middle East give little or no attention to interior acoustic treatment. This treatment is necessary to better judge the sound quality coming from the studio. “If you detect resonance, you should be able to know if it’s produced by the room or coming from the actual recording,” Tohme says. He indicates that audio control rooms should be governed by internationally renowned standards such as those of the BBC. Those standards, found in the BBC’s white papers, define the room’s dimensions in terms of height, width, length and wall thickness, which material should be used to soundproof it and the echo levels after testing. “We are still very far from that,” he says. Tohme has devised a “primitive” but effective way to detect possible accoustic flaws in the control room. “We use the same brand and model of speakers in all our control rooms so that sound engineers get used to the quality,” he says. “This way, they’ll be able to eliminate confusion and detect flawed sound.”
Microphone selection is also key. Sometimes it is necessary for the audio consultant to build a microphone from two different brands components. “By fitting a Shure microphone head on a Sennheiser’s wireless system, we have managed to get the best of both worlds,” he says. Even this process, however, has proved to be somewhat of a problem in the Middle East. Contrary to countries where you can order a customized microphone built from different models, Tohme has to buy both models and dismantle them himself. This, he says, is because dealers in the Middle East refuse to build customized microphones. “The Sennheiser people don’t talk to the Shure people and the Shure people are not friendly with the AKJ people. It’s like confessionalism,” he says. Tohme recommends working with Shure SM58 microphones because they have become a universal standard. When working on shows like Superstar, however, he recommends using the new Shure SM Beta-58. “On stage, you will want to use a microphone that gives you maximum volume gain level before feedback sets in.” When a microphone receives its own signals back from the studio speaker system it creates something called feedback loop. This loop will not break unless the link between the speaker and the microphone does. “The Shure SM58 will give you a certain maximum output 1 meter away from the speakers before feedback,” Thome says. “In the same conditions, The Beta-58 will give you an additional gain of six to 10 decibels before feedback.”

Giorgio Ungania
Sound Engineer, Dubai TV
In broadcast studios, the volume range can vary widely when the hosts or guests are speaking over a microphone. To regulate the dynamic range, compressors are a must so that viewers at home can pretty much hear shouting or whispering on the same level. Compressors, which eliminate distortion caused by sudden and sharp sound variation, can also double as limiters. The latter is a device that modifies the dynamic range of the input audio signal, ensuring that the output signal level does not exceed a user-defined threshold. Ungania recommends using compressors as limiters to leave the lower audio signals intact when needed. “If I’m whispering, for example, the viewer will hear me whispering,” he says. Ungania also uses limiters in music shows where the singer’s voice dynamic range should be preserved for clarity.
When buying small to medium-sized mixers like Yamaha, one should always take notice of the embedded compressors. “Sometimes those compressors are not really good,” Ungania says, adding that good units do not modify the nature of the signal after the processing. They only modify its dynamic range, leaving the tone intact. The dubai-based sound engineer recommends investing money in such sound compressors. “My personal favorite is the 33609/J from AVS NEVE which costs around $4,000.
It is equipped with the best electric and electronic circuitry available.” But not all units, have to be top-of-the-range quality. While a first-rate compressor is a must-have, Ungania says sound engineers can still choose the rest of their needs from a variety of good but low-priced models such as the $600 DBX 160A or the $270 ART pro212. Preferably, the best compressor should be connected to the main speaker in the show, such as the host or the newscaster. The arrangement of those units is also bound by the show’s nature.
For talkshows, Ungania recommends that each microphone should have its own unit to process the signal. In music shows, however, where many sounds and voices are mixed together it is necessary to create microphones’ subgroups and put each of those under one compressor. This will save on the number of units used and make groupings less complicated for sound engineers. For example, in case of a live orchestra, microphones placed for string instruments like guitars should be connected to only one compressor with predetermined levels customized specifically for strings. “Each instrumental subgroup should have similar sound characteristics so that compressors are tailored according to the dynamic range of the instrument section,” Ungania says.
The sound monitoring system is important for Ungania, especially during live broadcasts. The system should provide audio engineers with a live sample of how a broadcast is sounding on air. To this end, Ungania says that TV sound galleries should be equipped with the range of equipment used by audiences. “This way when you are mixing a show you can make instantaneous adjustments,” he says. “I personally like Dynaudio’s BM5A Compact because of the sound quality and reduced sized.” If there is enough space available, Ungania recommends adding a pair of Dynaudio’s BM15A to monitor high-end home theater systems.

Dave Letson
Sales Manager, Calrec Audio
When making the switch to HD broadcasts, the sound should also make that leap. HD will have to be coupled with 5.1 Dolby surround sound. This means that the sound will be channeled through 5 speakers and one subwoofer. Dave Letson says that the 5.1 system will require much more mixer inputs than conventionally needed. “Each 5.1 channel is actually made from 2 stereo channels and 2 mono channels as opposed to the traditional one stereo channel,” Letson says. A good example would be SKY TV’s new Calrec 5.1 mixer which houses 480 channels compared to the previous 144-input system. The sales manager explains that when converting to HD, audio mixers will more than likely have to be replaced because many functions have to be added like the 5.1 ability and monitoring and connectivity to and from Dolby decoders. Switching to 5.1 Dolby will also mean that physical compressor/limiter units will become rarely used since mixers will have those embedded. “Compressors/limiters are built into the consoles and are on every channel,” he says. “It’s a real dedicated hardware within the system that gives you much more processing facilities for things like dynamic ranges and equalizers.” The sound monitoring system will also be changed and will require more physical space than before when only two speakers were used. “Now you will have left, center and right in addition to surround left and surround right and a subwoofer,” Letson says.
He mentions a problem commonly encountered in the UK, but also present in the Middle East. Sometimes two or more studios share the same control, which creates a problem when operating simultaneously. Although the technology exists in some mixing consoles to share two studios, Letson recommends against it. “The sound engineer will have to listen to two different outputs. He wouldn’t be able to do that easily. One program will suffer,” he says. The sales manager recommends the “Drive-in” method where an OB van is parked just outside the studio and linked to its audio system. The OB van is used as a control room.” It’s absolutely feasible. They do this quite a lot in the UK.”