Stagetec and Dolby Singapore conduct first RTM surround sound recording
Published: ASIA
MALAYSIA: The first RTM Malaysia production to be recorded in 5.1 surround sound recently entered the record books as part of a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the RTM Orchestra, entitled Gemilang 50 – RTM Orchestra. The event, led by music director Datuk Mokhzani Ismail, saw a 50-piece orchestra performing in front of a full house at the historical Auditorium Perdana, Angkasapuri, while both Stagetec and Dolby were invited to participate with the RTM Audio team in the surround sound recording.
The production was the first in Malaysia to produce 5.1 surround sound according to best industry practices as specified by Dolby and in line with the station’s objective to support HDTV by 2015. It was guided by Geoffrey Low, a well-known audio engineer and lecturer in Singapore who was brought on to the project by Dolby Singapore. Mr Low and his ‘Soundfarm’ production team used a Stagetec Aurus digital mixer together with Nexus audio routing, installed in Auditorium Perdana, to produce the symphonic 5.1 mix.
‘It was my first time using the Stagetec Aurus and I’m very impressed with the surround capability and functionality,’ explained Mr Low. ‘The Nexus audio routing provided flexible on-the-fly routing for all the inputs to be monitored, recorded and mixed at the same time.’
The production was part of a larger initiative from Dolby to bring surround sound to the shores of Malaysia. Dolby together with its partner Stagetec ensured proper workflow integration with the Stagetec mixer.
‘We are very pleased to be working with RadioTelevision Malaysia for their first 5.1 surround sound production, celebrating their 50th Anniversary concert.’ commented Mahesh Sundaram, vice president, Asia Pacific for Dolby Laboratories. ‘This marks an important step in Dolby’s support of broadcasters in Malaysia to produce compelling and immersive surround sound programming for next generation high definition services.’
‘We are glad to have partnered with Dolby in order to improve the broadcast knowledge in Malaysia,’ added David Chan, managing director of Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup Sdn Bhd. ‘We will continue to support RTM together with Dolby to create a strong partnership to achieve national goals. The live hands-on experience will surely benefit RTM’s audio team to move on with the knowledge and skill required for surround sound production.’