Can you briefly explain what makes audio transmission with Spectera different from the wireless mics that sports broadcasters have used so far?

Theresa: “The whole approach to wireless transmission is different. We have moved from individual frequencies for individual audio links and transmitter/receiver combos – so narrowband transmission – to a wideband channel the size of a TV channel that can be shared by 32 audio inputs and 32 outputs, all handled by a single Base Station.”

“Through a proprietary variant of OFDM-TDMA, which has been tailored to multichannel, bidirectional, low-latency communication, all audio links get defined time slots when they either “listen” or “speak”. This allows wireless mics and IEM/IFB to exist in the same TV channel for the very first time, and use just one bidirectional beltpack for the mic and monitors. The very same RF channel is also used for control and monitoring data – no need to set up a separate control network.”

“With Spectera, you have a totally new level of control over your broadcast and production audio, as regards audio quality, latency, and range, which can be set for every device individually, and even differently for the receiving and transmitting channel. Plus you can flexibly adapt the settings of your mobile devices any time during a show, depending on when you need which resources.”

What would you say are the biggest changes to audio and RF with Spectera?

Theresa: “The biggest change to RF is perhaps the massive simplification of the workflow. You simply sync the bodypacks with the Base Station and assign a TV channel, and the rest of the frequency coordination is done by Spectera. All RF components are part of the antenna and not the Base Station; the signal is digitized at the antenna and you can use Ethernet cables for your installation instead of loss-prone and heavy BNC antenna cables. That’s another example of our engineers rethinking broadcast audio.”

“Coverage can be easily extended: You just take a 50- or 100m Ethernet cable and add another transceiving antenna – done! For larger venues, Layer 1 media conversion to fiber can be used.” 

“The biggest change to audio is the quality you can give it, which you will particularly notice with digital in-ears – many users have told us the difference is like night and day. Spectera delivers signature Sennheiser digital audio quality, employing different application-optimized audio codecs, which are all internally processed with 32-bit-float precision. All audio over RF is word clock synchronized, so Spectera is also the first wireless audio solution able to capture phase-coherent wireless audio for immersive productions.”

How will it change workflows for broadcasters, both in the studio and on prem/in the OB vehicle? How would a production team approach wireless audio in an outside broadcast environment?

Tobias: “The first thing you will notice for on-prem use, say for a football match and subsequent interviews, is that you will not have to lug the usual amount of equipment to the location. A single 1U Base Station can manage up to 32 wireless mics and up to 32 mono in-ears or 16 stereo in-ears. While this number varies with the audio quality you will want to assign, it’s still an incredibly smaller footprint compared to a standard narrowband system. The same goes for the bodypack: It can do mic and in-ear at the same time, so just one pack to carry and to outfit an interviewee with – less hassle for your audio team. Plus the system does not require any boosters, splitters or combiners. Also, it’s no longer an issue if you need to add another mic spontaneously, just fire up an additional SEK bodypack.”

“Secondly, and for all the above reasons, set-up time is reduced massively, typically from several hours to under one hour. You do not have to set up racks with boosters and splitters and cable everything, you do not have to perform the usual frequency calculation, and you simply fit everything into one TV channel, so into less spectrum than before. We’ve heard concerns about using a full TV channel, but you can use that one channel so efficiently that you end up occupying less spectrum than before, especially as in-ears, mics and control data are in the same TV channel. What might be worth mentioning is that in today’s congested UHF spectrum, users in EMEA can also switch to the 1.4 GHz version of Spectera. Similarly, the 1.4 GHz range will become available for the US in 2026, when the electronic key handling feature for the AFTRCC band is provided via a firmware update.”

“Of course, the same goes for studio use, plus with the lower spectral density – which is at 50 mW for Spectera, and does not add up like with narrowband wireless – it will be much easier to reuse a TV channel when in a broadcast complex. My application engineering colleagues were able to collect practical insights during a music festival where they had five stages running on Spectera, and they all used the same TV channel. For stages that could “see” each other, they simply reduced the power further to 30 mW or even 10 mW and everything worked smoothly.”

“After on-prem use, Spectera is much faster to load-in and will also take up less space in storage. In the studio, large backstage racks with IEM transmitters and microphone receivers are replaced by a single smart Base Station.”

Audio latency is a very specific challenge, especially for IEMs. How do you overcome this in a typical sports broadcasting workflow?

Tobias: “The very nice thing about Spectera is how easy it is to set up an IEM/IFB with multi-zone coverage. Traditional narrowband in-ear systems are a bit of a pain. Because power levels need to be considered throughout all the components, it’s much more complex and expensive than a multi-zone wireless mic system. But with Spectera it becomes as easy as plugging in an Ethernet cable and adding another antenna. No more complex antenna solutions or complicated RF distribution networks.”

“Bone conduction is what drives IEM/IFB users crazy – they can hear themselves much faster than a high-latency IEM signal played back to them. However, low-latency IEM is something Spectera excels at. IEM audio latency is selectable depending on the application, and can range from an incredible (and imperceptible) 0.7 ms for a presenter or talent to an excellent 1.1 ms, 1.6 ms or 2.7 ms. For backstage comms, you can also choose higher latencies and thus fit more channels in. One-to-many multicasts are also possible, with one audio channel going to up to 128 bodypacks without using up additional frequency resources.”

How do you ensure reliability and redundancy?

Theresa: “Due to the wideband approach, Spectera is remarkably resistant to RF fading, as each device uses the full TV channel bandwidth when it’s their turn to transmit or receive. Also, all Spectera units help in continuously sensing the spectrum. They scan for potential interference from other RF sources, and with Spectera, for the first time it is possible to see “behind” your own RF channel to detect interference. Live shows will thus be less stressful for RF managers – if an unexpected ENG team should show up, it will not knock a mic or an in-ear out, and you will have ample time to look for the source of interference.”

“The Base Station has been designed with a focus on redundancy. It features two PSUs, primary and secondary Dante connections, two slots for optional redundant MADI connections, and four antenna ports, which can be used for adding redundancy. And it’s worth noting that there are no RF components in the Base Station, so there is no interference with other wireless equipment in the rack.”

Remotely controlled equipment can be an asset in sports broadcasting – can you give a few typical use cases?

Tobias: “Spectera represents a total shift in control and monitoring: It doesn’t just offer a back channel, but continuous AES 256-encrypted two-way communication throughout, for truly complete remote control. Via this permanent control data stream, audio settings can be adjusted remotely, IEM/IFB and mic levels adapted, RF health and battery status monitored, and much more.”

“On the one hand, these remote-control capabilities reduce the need for onsite adjustments. This will take some workload off the crew members in the field and give more control to the A1 in the OB vehicle. Also, as Spectera’s coverage can be so easily extended with Ethernet cables and optical fiber, the Base Station can sit in the OB vehicle, it does not have to be taken to the field, where there is always a risk of hits or bad weather conditions in sports broadcasting.”

To close with, why do you call Spectera an ecosystem?

Theresa: “We call Spectera an ecosystem because it will evolve over time, and be shaped according to customer wishes. We have an idea space in place where our customers and users can enter their wishes for Spectera. What hardware, software or services would they like to see implemented? Which features would mean an essential improvement to their workflows? And then there’s the open roadmap, where we share which features and products will come when, such as the handheld transmitter, command adapters or SMPTE 2110 integration. Let me emphasize that Spectera is shaped by user and owner input – and that’s the way it should be for any product designed for professional users.”