As President and CEO of Audio2, Michael Kastelic and his team are passionate about
making audiovisual media more accessible for people who are blind or visually
impaired. By describing central plot elements, people, gestures and facial
expressions acoustically, Audio2 is providing a broader understanding of the event
taking place. To bring these wonderfully vivid images to those who may not be able
to see them, Kastelic relies on a range of Sound Devices audio mixers and
recorders as well as the Sound Devices brand of Video Devices on-camera video
recording monitors.

One of Audio2’s largest efforts is with sporting events, particularly European
football. For a typical match situation, Kastelic utilizes a selection of Sound Devices
and Video Devices equipment, including the 552 and 664 mixer/recorders, the
MixPre-D compact mixer, and the PIX 240i and PIX-E5 recording field monitors.

“We have two people describing what they see inside the football stadium,’ says
Kastelic. “Using a standard radio receiver, visually impaired and handicapped fans,
as well as anyone else, can sit anywhere in the stadium and get a detailed
description of what is taking place on the field without being bound to cables. You
can hear the transcribed audio via headphones throughout the stadium, not only in
the stands, but also in the restrooms and corridors.’

Kastelic and his team mix multiple channels of audio, giving them the ability to
portray the various aspects of the game being played on the field, as well as the
stadium ambience. In addition to his detailed in-match accounts for those that are
blind or visually impaired, Kastelic is also tasked with supplying broadcast quality
audio to several German public television stations, as well as live web streaming to
the Austrian Football Association (Österreichischer Fußball-Bund or ÖFB).

Video Devices PIX 240i and PIX-E5 are important tools in describing what is
happening on camera. Kastelic typically employs two PIX 240i’s and one PIX-E5 for
each event to help commentators describe exactly what is being captured. “We are
the only company that provides live audio descriptions,’ says Kastelic. “In addition
to football games, Audio2 also supports other events including television shows,
Formula 1 and skiing, to name a few. We support about 1,000 hours every year of
on-air live audio descriptions. We use the PIX 240i and PIX-E5 along with our range
of Sound Devices audio products for this.’

The PIX-E5’s SpeedDrive™, a custom-designed media enclosure that houses an
industry standard mSATA solid-state drive, has also proved invaluable for Kastelic,
especially during sound checks and prep. When connected to the rear of the PIX-E5,
the SpeedDrive’s USB 3.0 interface automatically switches to a mSATA interface. It
can then be easily plugged directly into a computer for efficient and fast transfer of
files.

Kastelic also plans to integrate the latest 688 mixer/recorder for some upcoming
projects, as he is excited to see how the recent Dugan Speech System™ automixing
feature performs inside the loud atmosphere of the stadium.