First Presidency Broadcast quiet in chapel

[lajackson]

The only thing that changed was swapping out the Satellite receiver. Hmmmm.

I don't think that was the problem for this particular broadcast. We had to walk up to the front of the chapel and significantly increase the sound once the actual broadcast started.

I do not know how they staff the crew, but it seemed as if the "B" team was at the controls in the conference center that evening.

[Aczlan]

I do not know how they staff the crew, but it seemed as if the "B" team was at the controls in the conference center that evening.

Did anyone else notice that the sound from the conference center seemed to be riding on the ragged edge of feedback for most of the time when someone was speaking?

Aaron Z

[jbh001]

We also had to crank the volume on both the PA and Satellite systems to maximum, and still the volume of the broadcast was just under adequate to not be drowned out by the squeals and babel of the infants in our congregation viewing the broadcast.

[russellhltn]

Did anyone else notice that the sound from the conference center seemed to be riding on the ragged edge of feedback for most of the time when someone was speaking?

Yup. I spent too many years trying to coax more volume out of PA systems. My ears to tuned for that sound.

I had just been reading about feedback controllers and wondered if they were relying on one to keep them out of trouble. Of course it can only work once the feedback becomes detectable....

[Aczlan]

Yup. I spent too many years trying to coax more volume out of PA systems. My ears to tuned for that sound.

Yeah, that little ringing sound that says turn down the fader or else.

I had just been reading about feedback controllers and wondered if they were relying on one to keep them out of trouble. Of course it can only work once the feedback becomes detectable....

Something like a feedback ferret? I would LOVE to have one of those, but I don't do enough live sound reinforcement to make it worth buying one.
From what I have been told of the sound system in the conference center by some of the people who run sound there, the Church had to do a lot of work to the sound system after they took possession of the conference center to control echos and other sound problems.
As such, I would be surprised if they didnt use something like a feedback ferret somewhere in the mix.

Aaron Z

[russellhltn]

Something like a feedback ferret?

I was reading about a Sabine Feedback Exterminator {drool}

But then I talked to a sound guy and he claims that feedback controllers don't work - at the end of the day, the mic still hears the speaker.

I can see his point. Unless the room acoustics are highly resonant at a few frequencies, you're not going to get much additional gain out of using any feedback device - because there's another frequency just behind it.

Speaking of feedback controllers, I ran across a very old Altec anti-feedback device. Looking at it, I think what it did was modulate the audio into a Single-Sideband and then demodulate it. That would cause the frequency of all sounds to shift sightly. Thus the feedback couldn't reinforce itself.

That must have been interesting to listen to. When you pushed it to where it started getting echo-y, it must have gone up or down in frequency with each "ring". It must not have worked too well as Altec made very few of them. I think it goes back to what the sound guy was saying - the mic hears and speaker. No getting around that.

[jbh001]

Did anyone else notice that the sound from the conference center seemed to be riding on the ragged edge of feedback for most of the time when someone was speaking?

Yes. I also noticed it during October conference and kept thinking that the speakers needed to get closer to the mic. But the First Presidency broadcast was even worse in sound quality.

[Aczlan]

Yes. I also noticed it during October conference and kept thinking that the speakers needed to get closer to the mic. But the First Presidency broadcast was even worse in sound quality.

There is only so much that you can do with amplification. We had stake conference recently and I was impressed with how the mission president spoke. When he started speaking, I said to myself, there is a man who knows how to speak into a microphone.
For a building that has the acoustic properties of a large airplane hanger with a balcony and speakers pointed at the balcony, I think they do pretty well in the conference center.


Aaron Z

[jbh001]

There is only so much that you can do with amplification.

True. But the current situation seems to represent a downward trend in the quality of sound coming form the conference center. I think that is the point of the thread. It makes one wonder what the problems can be that after 10 years of broadcasting from the conference center, the sound quality starts to get worse. It suggests that either there is some equipment that is wearing out, someone has tweaked the system unintentionally resulting in increased feedback and decreased sound quality, or that the "B" team is running the system and has several incompetencies they have yet to overcome.

[lajackson]

But the current situation seems to represent a downward trend in the quality of sound coming form the conference center.

I don't think I would call it a trend yet. This was just one technically poor broadcast.

I did notice from watching that they were using a different stage setup than has been used in past broadcasts. I do not know if they have set up that way before, but it certainly could have contributed to the problem, especially as far as the podium location and mike are concerned.

Still, there is not much further we can do here in this thread now that the general issue has been raised.