LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Since its inaugural event in 1970, the World Series of Poker, which will be hosted in June by Harrah's Rio Suite Hotel and Casino, has evolved into a hugely popular sporting event worthy of its ambitious moniker.
As a result, ESPN has greatly benefited by the widespread appeal of this burgeoning gaming competition and is currently preparing to air
coverage of the 2005 WSOP tournament, held June 2-15.
For Tony Kremer, principal engineer and founder of Kinetic Productions Las
Vegas, the World Series of Poker is one of the more enjoyable location
recording events. "I work on the Olympics for NBC and have a wide range
of
other sports clients, such as Championship Boxing for both Showtime and
HBO," explains Kremer, who launched Kinetic in 1990. "Obviously, this
is not
a physically active sport like most you see and hear on television. It's,
well, a bunch of people sitting down at a table to play a game of poker! But
it does require intense mental skill and stamina."
The intimate, subdued drama of a broadcast event such as the World Series of
Poker essentially demands superb location sound. "There is no second
chance," explains Kremer. "In terms of actual game play on the table,
what
happens is what happens, and we've got to get it. If somebody mutters
something clever or interesting, ESPN wants it to be there on tape. It's got
to be as clean and clear as possible with no breakups or hiss."
Realizing this, Kremer chose to record all current and future WSOP events
using the Lectrosonics Venue Series of receivers along with LM Digital
Hybrid Wireless(tm) transmitters and Countryman EMW lavaliers. According to
Kremer, Kinetic Productions' mobile recording rig greatly benefits from the
ergonomics for which the Venue Series has become quickly and deservedly
known. "I've had great experiences using all of the Lectrosonics ENG stuff,"
recalls Kremer. "Lectrosonics is well known for reliability and durability.
Their transmitters are made of machined aluminum, and they take a pounding
in the field while always working strong. Last year, Lectrosonics' Gordon
Moore showed me a prototype for the Venue receiver, which really interested
me. At the time, I realized that I was going to start doing more
reality-type television programming where multiple microphones would be
required in a very small amount of space. After seeing the Venue receiver, I
knew it would fit this application nicely."
Operating via Lectrosonics' exclusive Digital Hybrid Wireless technology, the
Venue Receiver System is a six-channel, 1U modular UHF unit that works seamlessly
with both digital hybrid and select analog transmitters. The Venue Receiver
combines 24-bit digital audio with an analog FM radio link, overcoming channel
noise while eliminating compandor circuits and their accompanying artifacts.
Features include 256 synthesized UHF frequencies per receiver module, a built-in
antenna distribution amplifier, and much more.
Tony Kremer, Kinetic Productions, Las Vegas, selected
the Lectrosonics LM Digital Hybrid Wireless(tm) transmitters for ESPN's World
Series of Poker.
The Venue's DSP compatibility modes, in addition to the Digital Hybrid
Wireless mode, allow backwards-compatibility with all Lectrosonics analog
wireless systems and certain models from other manufacturers. For Kremer,
this was an especially attractive feature. "With the exception of older
VHF
stuff, the Venue worked with the existing transmitters that I already had,"
Kremer explains. "That was an interesting benefit of which we are just
now
starting to take advantage. We had some Sennheiser handheld microphones that
we wanted to use with the Venue Receiver, and after testing them, we found
that they worked great."
For recording WSOP events, Kremer and sidekick Alan Strusser, record all
production audio - ten player mics, two dealer mics, a PA feed and a
hardwired stereo effects mic - to two sync'd TASCAM DA-88 machines via a
Mackie 1604 VLZ mixer. "The Mackie is used for the reference mix,"
explains
Kremer. "The receivers plug into the Mackie. Then we take the preamp outputs
straight to tape. Our configuration uses two Venue receivers and a total of
twelve wireless units. At any given time, we can have anywhere up to ten
players at the table. We also pre-wire a second dealer because dealers are
always changing out, and both dealer mics are always being printed to
DA-88."
The addition of the Lectrosonics Venue receiver to Kinetic Productions'
mobile rig has also physically lightened Kremer's load. "Suddenly I could
fit six receivers in one rack space," Kremer explains. "The Venue
has the
features I need to do multi-channel wireless without additional bulk. It's
not just six receivers. It's six receivers, plus an antenna multi-coupler
with looping outputs. That's a great advantage because we only need one set
of antennas to feed all twelve receivers instead of a separate antennas,
multi-couplers, etc. The Venue receiver has everything I need in one
package. It even has a spectrum analyzer built in."
Since 1971, Lectrosonics has served those in the audio production industry
requiring maximum product innovation, build quality and customer service. Used
in Academy and Emmy award-winning productions for cinema and television, as
well as in audio for theaters, corporate boardrooms and multimedia production,
Lectrosonics wireless microphone systems and audio processing products are relied
on by users who appreciate the immense dedication of this Rio Rancho, New Mexico-based
pro audio firm.
Lectrosonics deals the winning hand for ESPN's
World Series of Poker Tournament.
www.lectrosonics.com
For more information about the services of Kinetic Productions, visit their
website at www.kineticproductions.com.
