MARLINS' CONVERGED NETWORK INTIMIDATION FACTOR ...

Vol. 57 No. 11 

INTIMIDATION FACTOR 

TECHNOLOGY 

UPGRADES FANS’ 

EXPERIENCE AT 

MICHIGAN’S FOOTBALL 

STADIUM. 

MARLINS’ CONVERGED 

AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT 

NETWORK 

THE FLORIDA MARLINS’ 

BALLPARK IT AND AV. 

FIBEROPTIC LINKS 

FOR VIDEO 

IN THE 

BIG HOUSE 

DETAILING THIS REAL-WORLD 

ALTERNATIVE TO COPPER 

CABLES. 

November 21, 2011

INTIMIDATION FACTOR 

IN THE BIG HOUSE 

Michigan’s venerable football stadium gets a new 

round of AV updates. 

BY DAN DALEY 

Texas, meet Michigan. At least as far as it applies to 

college football, the Lone Star State that prides itself on 

all things big meets its match in Michigan Stadium at 

the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. And that nearly 

90-year-old bowl recently became even bigger, as a result 

of an expansion completed this year: Seating now holds 

just a hair under 110,000 Wolverines fans, both outdoors 

and in 85 new suites and new press boxes, allowing the 

stadium, popularly known as The Big House, to easily hold 

onto its ranking as the largest stadium in the US and the 

third largest in the world. 

New AV Systems 

Last summer, The Big House also got a new array of AV 

systems, most notably a pair of giant new LED screens, 

each 85'x47½' in landscape layout, located at opposite 

ends of the stadium. This reportedly adds to Michigan 

Stadium’s large-scale “intimidation factor,” which almost 

certainly contributes to the Wolverines’ ownership of the 

most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in 

college football history, finishing in the Top Ten in the 

AP NCAA poll a record 37 times. 

That kind of confidence allows Michigan to do what few 

other universities would attempt, even in better economic 

times: After installing a new sound system in 2010, the 

school had the nearly new system removed so it could 

replace the scoreboard with the new digital video edifice, 

and then reinstalled the previous PA system in it, along 

with additional components that help it tackle a truly intense 

challenge: covering a massive stadium with throws 

as long as 800 feet with a single point-source PA system. 

Really Big Sound 

Where the trend in multi-tiered new-stadium sound design 

has been toward distributed systems in recent years, 

Michigan Stadium is a classic old bowl design, with none 

of the architectural elements, such as upper deck lips, for 

attaching the potentially hundreds of near-field speakers 

that would be required to cover all of the seating areas. 

Mark Graham, an associate at consulting firm WJHW 

54 

Dan Daley is a freelance writer based in Nashville and New York. 

Sound & Communications 

(www.wjhw.com), which designed the sound, broadcast 

cabling systems, distributed television, scoreboards and 

video replay for the stadium, stated that they considered 

a number of PA system designs for the stadium during 

the early design phase in 2006-2007, including, ironically, 

some of the components and concepts that were just deployed 

last Summer. But the new scoreboard, whose heft 

would be required to support additional sound system 

elements, was not in the budget in that time frame. 

“So we moved forward and designed a system based on 

the existing scoreboard, knowing that we might have to 

redo it when a new scoreboard was put in place, but also 

knowing that we had to work with a point-source type of 

sound system in any event,” said Graham. “And when that 

did happen, we had to work very fast.” 

The 2010 upgrade was pivotal: It saw the older PA system 

(installed in 1997 and consisting of line arrays atop 

the original press box augmented by a “clock array” of 

subwoofers: a dozen subs mounted at the equivalent of the

hours on a clock face in order to attain some directionality 

of low frequencies) removed in favor of an end zonebased 

point-source system using Meyer Sound MILO 60 

line array speakers, with seven four-box arrays mounted 

horizontally across the top floor of the old scoreboard. 

The upgrade changed that to a pair of 13-box vertical line 

arrays in order to provide better low-frequency pattern 

control and more even coverage. These are supported by 

four Meyer MSL-4 horn-loaded long-throw loudspeakers 

as fill speakers on either side of the main line arrays. 

Big Difference 

“The use of a [vertical] line array was the big difference,” 

explained Peter O’Neil, systems designer at TeL 

Systems (www.thalner.com), the integrator that installed 

the sound system as well as the video replay camera system 

and digital audio and video switching and routing systems. 

“There weren’t a lot of choices to cover the entire bowl 

because we didn’t have the architectural infrastructure for 

a distributed audio system, so we had to go with a pointsource 

approach.” 

Installing the new scoreboard 

required that the sound 

system, installed just a year 

earlier, be removed and reinstalled. 

This scoreboard was replaced 

by the newly designed digital 

video scoreboard. 

However, that wasn’t a drawback as far as the integrator 

was concerned. Although distributed systems offer better frequency 

response due to more speakers closer to seats and 

the elimination of sonic reflection issues in a large stadium, a 

point-source system provides greater phase coherence. “With 

either approach, you have certain advantages and certain tradeoffs,” 

he said. 

The main PA system is rounded out with a BSS Soundweb 

London DSP for system management and distribution, and a 

Yamaha LS9 mixer for FOH audio, which O’Neil described 

as “not the fanciest” but which gave him a flexible digital 

signal path with AES signal capability to interface with the 

Soundweb in a small footprint for the control room. 

Sound Wave Reflections 

Sound wave reflections in a large space had to be addressed, 

and the line array system did that by allowing the 

system to be more precisely aimed and its horizontal dispersion 

pattern narrowed to 60 degrees, helping direct the 

sound away from the tall suite and press box towers on either 

side of the field, the source of some of the worst reflections. 

The longer line array design—the latest version increases the 

hang from four boxes to 13—also means improved frequency 

range and response because the longer array design means 

it can take pattern control capability further into lower frequencies 

and control directionality throughout that frequency 

range more precisely. 

The system’s design was helped in part by ray-tracing 

analysis done by WJHW in 2007, when the 2010 upgrade 

was in its design phase, because the new architectural additions 

included a lot of glass surfaces in the suites and new 

press boxes. The design was refined using AFMG’s EASE 

predictive modeling software. 

One new component that intensified the effort to control 

November 2011 55

Jesse Goff 

Michigan’s control room. 

56 

aiming and pattern dispersion was the 

Meyer SB-3F sound field synthesis loudspeaker, 

a dedicated long-throw device 

capable of projecting mid-to-high-frequency 

energy over distances of nearly 

1 kilometer (about 1000 yards). The 

field synthesis DSP achieves a narrow 

coverage angle (as tight as 7°) using 

448 one-inch neodymium transducers as 

multiple small point sources encompassing 

a frequency range of 2kHz to 9kHz, 

to achieve a coherent sound field over 

that distance. Like the other PA system 

components, the SB-3F is self-powered, 

using a multichannel, high-power (9000 

watts burst power), class AB/H power 

amplifier, which eliminated the need to 

run cabling to an amplifier closet for 

the massive scoreboard. The SB-3F also 

runs on Meyer’s RMS remote monitoring 

network, which monitors system 

parameters on a Windows-based PC. 

Eight of the SB-3F speakers were 

added to the system, placed four per 

side in a vertical array aimed at precise 

locations in the south end zone, specifically, 

at the center of each seating section 

of the south end zone beginning at 

the ends of the press box towers, four 

from east to center, and four from west 

to center. 

Solved Two Problems 

The SB-3F solved two problems, according 

to TeL Systems. First was the 

need to span the length of the stadium 

with a high degree of throw; it also 

helped reduce the effect of sonic reflections 

that ray-tracing had determined 

would impact fans in the first 10 to 15 

high-cost-ticket rows of certain sections, 

by focusing the higher frequency 

direct sound on those sections. Secondly, 

O’Neil said, “It addressed the issue 

of air absorbing the upper-mid to high 

frequencies over that distance. When 

you get beyond 650 feet—and we have 

to go 800 feet and more—you’re going 

to progressively lose a lot of higher frequency 

information. This was a unique 

product that let us extend frequency 

response out to those distances, and 

that means you’re extending the fan 

experience, as well.” 

Full frequency range coverage of 

the entire stadium is important be- 

(continued on page 60)

Equipment 

Video Replay 

2 Shure SM63LB mics 

3 Sony HSC300K 2/3" portable 3-chip 

cameras w/accessories 

2 Sony PDW700 cameras 

2 Sony DWRS01D receivers 

2 Sony DWTB01 transmitters 

2 Sony ECM-77BC/9X lavalier wireless mics 

2 Sony DWTP01E transmitters 

1 Sony RCP1500 camera remote control panel 

1 Telecast CHG3-BS-3200-2ST-RTS 

base station 

1 Telecast CHBR-SON-BVP3-8-BNC base 

station remote cable 

1 Telecast CHG3-CAM-3200-N-EU-V-V 

CopperHead G3200 camera unit 

1 Telecast CHCR-SON-BVP3-8-0 remote 

cable, assembly 

1 Telecast CH3BA-DB25-O-2X-L3M 

audio breakout cable 

1 Telecast CH3BA-DB25-I-5XL-3F audio 

breakout cable 

5 Winford Engineering BRK25M-R-DIN 25-pin 

breakout adapters 

Camera, Support Gear 

2 Fujinon ZA22X7.6BERM lenses 

1 Fujinon HA14X4.5BERM lens 

1 Fujinon MS-11 semi servo lens controls 

1 Fujinon HA42X13.5BERD-S48 lens 

w/semi servo lens controls 

1 Sony RCP1500 remote control panel 

Field Producer's Kit 

1 Lectrosonics UCR-401 receiver 

1 Lectrosonics SMDa SMQv transmitter 

w/SMDBC clip 

1 Sony PMWEX1R camera 

1 Sony ECM680/S shotgun mic 

1 Sony ECO5X5F3m stereo 5-pin to 

dual-pin XLR 

1 Sony ECM-88BPT lavalier mic 

1 Sony SBAC-US10 SxS memory card reader 

1 Sony PDWHR1MK1 VCR 

2 TV Logic LVM-071W field monitors 

Video Replay 

1 Analog Way BHD930-AG scaler 

3 Chief FTR wall mounts 

1 Dell 8054187 P1911 monitor 

6 Dell 8166006 U2211H monitor 

4 Dell AX510 AX510 sound bars 

3 Dell AX510 sound bars 

1 Harris CEN-GPIO24E 

1 Harris CONFIG SW 

3 Harris HV-SXH-32X2 

1 Harris PM-FR-9 

5 Harris PM-HS-IB 

1 Harris PT-128X128-3G15 

2 Harris PT-PS 

1 Harris PTX2 

1 Ikegami DKH501B HD-SDI input card 

4 Ikegami HLM1704WR monitors w/rack kit 

1 Ikegami HTM1517R monitor 

1 JVC SR-HD1500USDVD recorder 

1 Lenova THINKPLUS USB keyboard, mouse 

1 Marshall R171X-IMD-HDSDI 17" rackmount 

monitor 

2 Marshall V-R1042-IMD-TE4U rack 

mount monitors 

58 


1 Middle Atlantic RM-KB-LCD17 rackmount 

LCD, keyboard, touchpad 

2 Middle Atlantic RSH4S2R rackmounts 

w/C clamp 

1 Panasonic AJHD1800 DVCPRO VTR 

1 Ross MDX-MV1 single head multi viewer 

1 Ross QMDX-003 QMD-X live production 

Engine 3 MLE 

1 Ross QMDX-010 MediaCache for Global Store 

1 Ross QMDX-012 proc amps, system wide 

1 Ross QMDX-013 RGB color corrector 

1 Ross QMDX-015-NET network port expanders 

3 Ross QMDX-020 MD inputs, 16 additional 

3 Ross QMDX-021 MD outputs, 16 timed 

outputs 

1 Ross QMDX-140 Squeeze & Tease for 

MD carrier 

1 Ross QMDX-141A Migrating Squeeze & 

Tease MD channels 1 & 2 for MLE 1 

1 Ross QMDX-142 Migrating Squeeze & Tease 

MD WARP, for MLE 1 

1 Ross QMDX-143-SBC XFX board for MLE 1 

1 Ross QMDX-241A Migrating Squeeze & Tease 

MD channels 1 & 2 for MLE 2 




1 Ross QMDX-340 Squeeze & Tease for 

MD carrier 

1 Ross QMDX-341A Migrating Squeeze & Tease 

MD Channels 1 & 2 for MLE 3 




1 Ross QMDX-90 serial tally interface 

1 Ross QMDX-901 VTR remote control 

1 Ross QMDX-903 video server control 

1 Ross QMDX-904 audio server control 

1 Ross QMDX-905 routing switch interface 

1 Ross QMDX-912Y large audio mixer 

1 Ross QMDX-913 robotic camera system 

1 Ross V-145-1 Shot Box Module Slot 1 

2 Ross V-159-24 assignable remote aux panel 

1 Ross V3P-001 Vision 4 control panel 

1 Ross V3P-005 Mnemonics for custom control 

macro buttons 

1 Ross V3P-105 Mnemonics for MLE 1 sources 



1 Ross V3P-501 Vision End blocks 

1 Sony BDP-S580-3D Blu-ray DVD 

5 Sony BKM-FW16 HD-SDI input cards 

5 Sony FWD-S47H1 47" monitors 

2 Sony PDWF1600 

3 Sony PDW-U1VCRs 

2 Sony PDW-U2VCRs 

4 TV Logic LVM071W 7" monitors 

3 TV Logic PRM-902A monitors 

2 TV Logic RMK71D dual rack kits for LVM071Q 

Routing Switcher 

1 Harris outboard loudness control 

2 Harris APM6801LC+8+D DTS neutral loudness 

controls 

9 Harris PT-AECT-IB Platinum 16 AEC coaxial 

Input module/back panels 

9 Harris PT-AECT-OB Platinum 16 AEC coaxial 

output module/back panels 

1 Harris PT-ATDM16-X15 Platinum MX ATDM 

for 16 slots audio crosspoint 

1 Harris PT-MADI-IM-E Platinum MADI audio 

input module 

1 Harris PT-MADI-OM-E Platinum MADI audio 

output module 

1 Harris RCP-24LCD-OLED router control panel 

24 LCD button, OLED display 

1 SSL 726901X1 converter 

Distribution 

2 AJA HDP2 SDI to DVI converters 

1 EEG DE280 closed caption decoder 

1 EEG EN530 closed caption encoder 

4 Harris 6800+ FR6822+QXFE frames w/single 

power supply, Ethernet resource card 

14 Harris DA-DHR6802+D dual-path 

distribution amps 

5 Harris DA-HR6802+D distribution amps 

4 Harris HDC6800+AD digital to analog 

composite-single path 

2 Harris OP+SFP+TR13P transceivers 

12 Harris VDA6800+S/D distribution amp 

4 Harris X50-AV-2PS component to serial digital 

converters: single path 

4 Harris X50-AV-2PS converters 

4 Harris X50-AV-2PS w/X50OPTCAB-AES frame 

synchronizers: single path 

48 Harris X50OPTCAB-AES AES interface cables 

4 Harris OP+SFP+TR13P 131- NM SFP 

transceivers 

1 Matrox Convert DVI Plus DVI to HD SDI 

converter 

RF 

1 Blonder Tongue DQMx-20 multiplexer 

1 Blonder Tongue DQMx-ASI multiplexer 

1 Blonder Tongue OC8 RF combiner 

2 Blonder Tongue RMDA 86A-30 RF amps 

1 Harris HALRENC-H11-ATSC MPEG-2 

HD encoder 

1 Harris HALRTMX-M12-TNL1 HD encoder 

1 Harris HALRSYS-350AC-A22 HD encoder 

(frame) w/power supply 

1 Harris HALRSYS-A22-CTL HD encoder (frame 

controller) 

Intercom 

5 beyerdynamic DT280 single muff headsets 

4 beyerdynamic DT290 dual muff headsets 

1 Comrex DH20 telephone hybrid 

4 RTS CRO-AI/OFC AI/O balanced analog 

4W interfaces 

1 RTS CRO-MCKIT MC Kit controller 

1 RTS MCE 325 user station 

1 RTS MCP1 rackmount adapter 

1 RTS MCS 325 speaker 

10 RTS PH88 headsets 

1 RTS RTS-CRONUS DSP matrix 

1 RTS TR-800 beltpack transceiver 

2 Sony MDR-NC500D headsets 

3 Studio Technologies SPC32494 Model 47 

intercom interfaces 

Cable 

Gepco cables 

POV Camera for Crisler Arena 

1 Chief CMA110 mount w/pipe 

1 Chief CMA100 mounting plate for camera

1 Sony BRCH700 3-chip HD camera 

1 Sony HFBKHD HD-SDI output board 

1 Sony RMBR300 camera remote control 

1 Telecast T-POV-301-TDL-BS-2ST-12V fiber 

base station 

1 Telecast T-POV-301-TDL-CA-ST2-12V fiber 

camera station 

4 Telecast CAXXX-1-T2S-SAT2-SC2 fiber ST to 

SC adapters 

Wireless Video 

2 Geffen EXTRS232 RS232 extenders TX, RX 

1 IMT/Nucomm 70CP2PA-01A power amp for CP2 

8 IMT/Nucomm 70DR2-BDC-03A 5.8-7.75GHz BDC 

1 IMT/Nucomm CCU-ACC-S-FHSS 900MHz cable 

kit-Sony 

1 IMT/Nucomm CCU-FHSS 869/900MHz camera 

control 

1 IMT/Nucomm CCU-FHSS-TX (2) 869/900MHz 

Laird transceiver 

1 IMT/Nucomm CCU-HUB camera control HUB 

1 IMT/Nucomm CCU-OPT-CP-AB camera control 

A/B assembly 

1 IMT/Nucomm CO640-4.5-CMB-FLX 4.5dB 

collinear omni antenna 5.6-7.1GHz 4.5dBi 

vertical polarity 

1 IMT/Nucomm CP2-HD CamPac configuration 

1 IMT/Nucomm CP2-OPT-BP-ABD Anton Bauer 

PRO bat. plate 

1 IMT/Nucomm CP2-OPT-HD HD option 

1 IMT/Nucomm CP2P PRO Tx chassis 

1 IMT/Nucomm CP2-RPS camera control system 

1 IMT/Nucomm DR2-HD NewsCaster diversity 

receiver 

1 IMT/Nucomm DR2-OPT-4D DR2 quad input 

1 IMT/Nucomm DR-OPT-HD HD option 

1 IMT/Nucomm NCDR2 DR2 chassis 

8 IMT/Nucomm SCR640-12 12dB compact sector 

antenna 5.7-7.1GHz, 12dBi, vertical polarity 

2 Marshall VLCD5.6-PRO 5.6" 4:3 composite video 

confidence monitors 

2 Telecast T-POV301 kit fiber transmitter/receiver 

packages 

Second Wireless 

1 Geffen EXTRS232 RS232 extender TX, RX 

1 IMT/Nucomm 70CP2PA-01A power amp for 

CP2, 5.8-7.75GHz 

4 IMT/Nucomm 70DR2-BDC-03A 5.8-7.75 

GHz BDC 

1 IMT/Nucomm CCU-FHSS 869/900MHz camera 

control 

1 IMT/Nucomm CCU-FHSS-TX (2) 869/900MHz 

Laird transceiver 

1 IMT/Nucomm CCU-HUB camera control HUB 

1 IMT/Nucomm CCU-OPT-CP-AB camera control 

A/B assembly 

1 IMT/Nucomm CO640-4.5-CMB-FLX 4.5dB 

collinear omni antenna 5.6-7.1GHz 4.5dBi 

1 IMT/Nucomm CP2-HD CamPac configuration 

1 IMT/Nucomm CP2-OPT-HD HD option 

1 IMT/Nucomm CP2P PRO Tx chassis 

1 IMT/Nucomm CP2-RPS camera control system 

1 IMT/Nucomm DR2-HD NewsCaster diversity 

receiver 

1 IMT/Nucomm DR2-OPT-4D DR2 quad input 

1 IMT/Nucomm DR-OPT-D dual pedestal 

1 IMT/Nucomm DR-OPT-HD HD option 

1 IMT/Nucomm NCDR2 DR2 

chassis 

4 IMT/Nucomm SCR640-12 

12dB compact Sector 

antennas 5.7-7.1GHz, 

12dBi, vertical polarity 

1 Marshall VLCD5.6-PRO 5.6" 

4:3 composite video 

confidence monitor 

1 Sony PMW350K 2.3" HD 

camcorder, paintable 

1 Telecast T-POV301 kit fiber 

transmitter/receiver 

package 

Audio 

1 Airtools 6200 digital VOX 

processor 

2 AKG HSC271 announce headsets 

7 APC SUA2200RM2U Smart UPS systems 

1 APX NEMA 3R rack w/heating, cooling 

11 ATI MIDA100-1 distribution amps 1x6 

2 ATI RM100 rackmount frames 

94 Atlas FAP42T Type 1F speakers 

151 Atlas SM52T Type 1S speakers 

115 Atlas FAP62T Type 3 speakers 

238 Atlas FAP62T Type 5 speakers 

Atlas AT-10RM volume control 



2 Audio-Technica Pro-49Q press announcer mics 

2 Audio-Technica AT8666RSP programmable 

desk stand 

AVP patch bays, cables 

AVP RPTW-A series punch blocks 

Belden B9W230 6-strand fiber, armored 

Belden 12-2 speaker wire plenum, non-plenum, 

digital mic/line plenum, production intercom 

cable plenum 

Belden antenna cable 

Belden 5T00UP 10-2 speaker wire, speaker 

wire plenum 

5 BSS BLU-320 BSS London Expander/CobraNet 

networked signal processors 

6 BSS BLU-160 BSS London DSP networked 

signal processors 

1 BSS BLU-120 BSS London DSP networked 

signal processors 

11 BSS BLUCARD-IN analog input cards 

1 BSS BLUDIGITAL-IN digital input card 

29 BSS BLUCARD-OUT analog output cards 

1 BSS BLUDIGITAL-OUT digital output card 

8 Community R.5-99tz Type 2C speakers 

53 Community R.5-99tz Type 2S speakers 

4 Community R1-66Z Type 2L speakers 

4 Community TRC400 transformers 

56 Community W2-2W8T Type 6 speakers 

8 Community i-2W8T Type 7 speakers 

1 Community W2-2W8 Type 8 speakers 

10 Community R.5-66Z Type 9 speakers 

2 Community R2-94Z Type 10 speakers 

1 Contemporary Research 232-MTA TV tuner 

1 Contemporary Research RK1 Rack Mount Kit 

2 Crestron MC2E control processor 

1 Crestron TPMC-8LWT 8.4" wired touch screen 

1 Crestron BB-8LWT back box 

1 Crestron MMK-8LWT mud ring kit 

1 Crestron TPMC-8LWT 8.4" wired touch screen 

1 Crestron BB-8LWT back box 

1 Crestron MMK-8LWT mud ring kit 

2 Crestron CNX-HUB CresNet hub 

8 Crestron C2N-HBLOCK CresNet block modules 

18 Crestron CRESNET-P-TL-SP1000 cabling 

70 Crestron CNTV/AV control module 

4 Crown PZM-11LLWRS1 PZM ambient mics 

6 Crown PZM-11LLS2 PZM ambient mics 

5 Crown CTs600 LITE amps 



1 Crown D75 amp 

1 Crown IQwic control system software 

1 Avocent Longview 1000P KVM extender 

1 Avocent SwitchView 1000 4-port KVM switch 

1 Avocent AMIQ-USB dongle USB 

1 Avocent CBL0029 6' USB connection cable 

1 dbx 386 mic preamp 

2 dbx 1066 compressor 

3 Dell computers 

2 Denon DC-620 CD players w/wired remote 

5 EDCOR S2M passive sums 

7 Furman P-1800-PFR power conditioners 

7 Furman PL-Pro C rack power/lights 

1 Furman PL-Pro-DMC rack power strip 

11 GE Fiber Options B7722AT-RST fiber 

transmitter cards 

1 GE Fiber Options 517R1 card enclosure 

11 GE Fiber Options B7722AR-RST fiber 

receiver card 

1 GE Fiber Options 517R1 card enclosure 

1 GE Fiber Options S7714D-RST2 fiberoptic 

Ethernet transceiver 

1 GE Fiber Options S7714D-RST2 fiberoptic 

Ethernet transceiver 

Gepco intercom cables 

10 Gepco GA61806PEF 6 pair audio flooded 

5 Gepco 1500A UTP 

2 Gepco DS401 mic line digital cables 

2 Heil Sound PL2T announcer's booms 

3 HP J9279A#ABA 24-port Ethernet switches 

3 HP J4812A 12-port switches 

2 HP J4132A GBIC LX transceivers 

6 HP J4859C fiber transceiver module mini Gbic 

7 IED Model 500HH page mics 

4 JBL AM6212/77-WRX Type S3 speakers 

5 Listen LT-800-216 transmitters 

(continued on page 60) 

November 2011 59

cause sports fans have come to expect 

it outdoors as well as indoors, but it 

took on added significance at Michigan 

Stadium because O’Neil has a deeper 

interest in the project than the typical 

systems integrator might: Since 2002, 

he’s been the TeL Systems employee 

responsible for game day operations as 

(continued from page 59) 

1 Listen LA-126 antenna mount kit 

3 Listen LA-122 universal antenna kits 

2 Listen LA-107 ground plane antenna kits 

24 Listen LR-400-216 receivers 

24 Listen LA-164 ear speakers 

8 Listen LA-165 headsets 

1 Logitek UV1-D level meter 

1 Lucid GENx192 word clock generator 

1 Mackie ONYX 400F Firewire interface 

1 Marantz DN-V755 network audio player 

8 Meyer Sound SB-3F sound field synthesis 

speakers, weather protected 

2 Meyer Sound Galileo 408 processors 

1 Meyer Sound RMS remote monitoring system 

1 Meyer Sound i.LON 10 Ethernet card interface 

28 Meyer Sound MILO 60 line array speakers, 

weather protected 

4 Meyer Sound MSL-4 speakers, weather 

protected 

7 Meyer Sound MG-3D/M Grid cluster/array 

truss modules 

7 Meyer Sound MLK-MILO grid link kits 

2 Middle Atlantic WRK-44-32 equipment racks 

w/accessories 

2 Middle Atlantic WRK-44-32 equipment racks 

w/accessories 

2 Middle Atlantic WRK-44SA-32AXS-26 

equipment racks w/accessories 

1 Middle Atlantic DWR-24-22 equipment racks 

w/accessories 

1 Middle Atlantic BRK-12 equipment rack 

w/accessories 

1 Middle Atlantic MDV-R12 equipment rack 

w/accessories 

1 Middle Atlantic SGR-12-18 swing gate rack 

60 


Jesse Goff 

the stadium audio engineer, a unique 

situation that came about when he 

worked on the PA system at the stadium 

for Creative Audio, which later 

merged with TeL Systems as the latter’s 

audio division. 

He said that TeL Systems’ subsequent 

successful bid on the 2010 PA 

w/accessories 

4 Neutrik NA3FF XLR F to F adapters 

4 Neutrik NA3MM XLR M to M adapters 

4 Neutrik NA3FJ XLR F to TRS F adapters 

4 Neutrik NA3MJ XLR M to TRS F adapters 

4 Neutrik NA3FP XLR F to TRS M adapters 

4 Neutrik NA3MP XLR M to TRS M adapters 

4 Neutrik NA2FP XLR F to TS M adapters 

4 Neutrik NA2MP XLR M to TS M adapters 

4 Neutrik NA2FPMF XLR F to RCA socket adapters 

4 Neutrik NA2MPMF XLR M to RCA socket 

adapters 

4 Neutrik NA2FPMM XLR F to RCA plug adapters 

4 Neutrik NA2MPMM XLR M to RCA plug adapters 

1 Rane AD-22b digital delay 

1 RDL RU-MX4T mic mixer 

1 RTS 803 master station 

4 RTS BP-351 A4F beltpack stations 

4 RTS WMS-300A4F speaker stations, dual channel 

12 RTS PH-1 headsets 

6 RTS PH-2 headsets 

1 RTS 4012 50-pin interconnect 

2 Shure UR4D dual receivers 

2 Shure UR1 beltpack receivers 

2 Shure WA360 mute switches 

2 Shure WL184 cardioid lavaliers 

2 Shure UR2/Beta58 HH transmitters 

2 Shure HA-8089 PWS helical antennas 

1 Shure UA845-SWB antenna distribution 

1 Shure UR4D dual receiver 

2 Shure UR1 beltpack receivers 

2 Shure WL184 cardioid lavaliers 

12 Shure Beta 58 dynamic mics Type 2 

2 Shure Beta 57 dynamic mics Type 

2 Shure SM7B announcer mics 

Sound field synthesis loudspeakers 

were added to control aiming and 

pattern dispersion, projecting 

mid-to-high-frequency energy over 

distances of about 1000 yards. 

upgrade was simply serendipitous. His 

involvement with Michigan Stadium’s 

audio operations extends to him using 

Sennheiser shotgun microphones on 

poles to mic the University’s Michigan 

Marching Band (MMB), a 350-member 

ensemble that would be considered 

loud under normal circumstances but 

whose volume is tested by the cavernous 

stadium. Although many broadcast 

mixers purposely position microphones 

in front of marching bands for collegiate 

football broadcasts, it’s nearly unheard 

of to see them miked for inclusion as 

an element in the PA sound, but that’s 

what O’Neil does regularly. 

“With the PA configured with these 

components now, we can distribute the 

marching band [audio] at full fidelity 

4 Shure A15LA line input adapters XLR to XLR 

4 Shure A15BT line bridging transformers 

XLR to XLR 

4 Shure A15HP high pass filters F XLR to M XLR 

4 Shure A15AS switchable atten. F XLR to 

M XLR 

4 Shure A15TG mic level tone generators 

4 Shure A15PRS Polarity Reverse F XLR to 

M XLR 

8 Shure A95UF line matching transformers 

F XLR to M TRS 

4 Shure A96F camcorder interface cables 

2 Switchcraft 921K corded PTT switches 

2 Switchcraft 297 plug corded PTT switches 

1 Symetrix 322 DSP 

1 Symetrix 528E Vox processor 

2 Tannoy 8001-3550 cue/monitor speakers 

1 TASCAM CD-RW901SL CD recorder 

1 TASCAM TU-690 AM/FM tuner 

2 Telex BTR-800 2-way wireless intercoms TEL [Z] 

4 Telex TR-800 beltpacks TEL [Z] 

2 Telex 1147000 wireless active antennas 

ALP450 

1 Telex SC-600 antenna combiner TEL[Z] 

Whirlwind 25', 50', 100' mic cables 

2 Whirlwind Medusa field level snake cables TEL [Z] 

1 Whirlwind PRESSPOWER 2 active press box 

1 Whirlwind USA MCT-7 cable tester 

1 Yamaha LS9-16 digital mixing console 

2 Yamaha MY16-AE AES I/O card 

2 Yamaha PM Lights gooseneck lights 

1 Yamaha MS101 portable speaker 

List is edited from information supplied by TeL Systems.

and full-frequency music response, as 

well as provide full-frequency response 

for program music and audio-for-video,” 

he said. WJHW’s Mark Graham, 

who has designed systems for dozens 

of college stadiums, was singularly 

impressed. “Having the marching 

band coming out of the PA system at 

90dB is pretty staggering,” he offered. 

“They’re loud and they sound great.” 

WJHW designed and TeL built and 

installed a control room to manage 

audio and video content for the scoreboard. 

A 24-channel fiber snake runs 

from the scoreboard to the control 

room situated about 500 feet from the 

north scoreboard, distant but nonetheless 

closer than the old control 

room it was replacing, said Graham. 

TeL also installed fiber and copper for 

video and control cabling between the 

scoreboards and the control room, as 

well as hybrid ad triaxial cabling to the 

new broadcast truck interface area, 

located across a main road from the 

stadium. “We’re approaching the limits 

of HD capability from the field at that 

distance with the triax, so fiber cable 

was essential,” stated Graham. 

Other Systems 

Other sound systems include a combination 

of ceiling- and surface-mounted 

Atlas FAP42T, FAP62T and SM52T 

speakers, as well as pole-mounted Community 

R and W Series speakers at the 

stadium’s entrance gates that run a 

looped message from a Marantz DN- 

V755 digital networked audio player 

about stadium rules and other information 

as fans make their way in, but can 

be overridden globally or locally with 

more urgent information. Graham said 

that the distance that the gates are from 

the nearest AV closet—more than 1000 

feet in some cases—led to the choice 

of using handheld IED 500HH paging 

microphones that take DC power from 

a pair of 10-gauge wires to power a microphone 

preamp internal to the microphone 

and send a line level signal back 

to the system, thus maintaining a high 

quality audio signal. “It works surprisingly 

well,” said O’Neil. 

The new indoor club areas also share 

in the upgraded audio. Although the 

new glass façades on the clubs are designed 

to keep out extraneous noise, 

WJHW designed in a feed, controlled 

using a Crestron TPMC-8WL touchpanel 

operating a Crestron MC2E 

processor that interfaces with the 

BSS London system via GPIO control 

ports, from the PA that sends program, 

announcement and ambient sound to 

the private lounges. “We didn’t want 

to have high-value patrons feel isolated 

behind the glass, so we brought some 

of the crowd and other sounds inside,” 

O’Neil stated. 

By The Boards 

The scoreboards are indeed massive. 

More than 4000 square feet of display 

for each is made up of over panels 

that were assembled into 18 sections 

by TS Sports, which installed the LED 

video displays based on Lighthouse 

November 2011 61

Technologies’ StarVision 16mm SMD 

panels (Surface-Mount Device, referring 

to the configuration of the LEDs 

on a single platform) that produce an 

overall HD image that’s 900 pixels tall 

and 1632 pixels wide, each made up of 

three LEDs for a total of 4.4 million diodes. 

“Michigan Stadium features the 

first outdoor 16mm SMD video display 

in collegiate athletics,” said Matt Ritter, 

vice president of TS Sports. 

According to Ritter, the assembly of 

the video screen components is simplified 

by a jagged-edge design on the 

62 


jupiter systems | www.jupiter.com | 

One of the polemounted 

speakers 

at the stadium’s 

entrance gates. 

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M Dual-link DVi for resolutions up to 2560x1600 

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M up to 94 DVi, HD, or rGB inputs 

M up to 376 streaming video inputs 

M up to two intel Quad core Xeon cpus 

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M integrated pc—run windows apps on your wall 

M Hot swap fans, power supplies, hard drives 

+1 510.675.1000 

sides of the 9600-plus individual modules 

that facilitate alignment across 

the entire display. “It’s like a very 

large puzzle: The challenge is making 

sure that each piece fits exactly right. 

When done right, the alignment is perfect 

and there are no visible seams 

in the image,” Ritter said. Cabling is 

prewired on the rear of each assembly 

and is plugged in as the structure 

moves upward, with the signal daisychained 

from panel to panel by Lighthouse 

Technologies processors. 

The new LED video displays are 40% 

larger than the first-generation LED 

displays they replaced, and required 

solid concrete footers and additional 

steel beams for internal support. The 

rigidity of the structures was based 

in part, but critically so, on wind load 

data supplied by Ann Arbor and Michigan 

state meteorological departments. 

The display’s content is controlled by 

Click Effects software, which pulls 

graphics and prerecorded video from 

a server, which is combined with realtime 

video from the stadium’s three 

HSC300K handheld cameras and solomo 

replays cameras via a Harris PT 

Series switcher in the control room. 

Almost Anticlimactic 

Fitting the PA into its new home in the 

upgraded scoreboards was almost anticlimactic, 

though it had its own stresses, 

thanks to the need to get the entire 

project done in time for the first game 

in August: a little more than a week to 

reinstall the PA system, O’Neil recalls, 

featuring a lot of “creative rigging.” TeL 

Systems disconnected the existing PA 

systems’ cabling connections inside 

the old scoreboard, taking the cabinets 

back to its shop and readying them for 

reinstallation along with the new components, 

including the SB-3F speakers 

and a Meyer Sound Galileo loudspeaker 

management system, which provides 

system drive and alignment. 

The University of Michigan stadium 

project was all about getting sound 

and light from one end of a very big 

place to the other. But as a result 

of some big systems, U of M’s “Big 

House” keeps its Texas-sized bragging 

rights for the college football 

circuit. n

MARLINS' CONVERGED NETWORK INTIMIDATION FACTOR ...

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