TV studio acoustics: isolation, quiet air conditioning and reverberation

Broadcasters, universities, government media cells and production houses in Pakistan are building or upgrading studios for news, talk shows, teaching and streaming. Cameras and lighting get most of the attention, but poor acoustics show up straight away on air: traffic rumble, generator hum, air-conditioning hiss and a hollow sound on presenters’ voices.

1. Keep noise out

Studios are often in buildings next to roads, generators or busy corridors. Isolation starts with the room itself:

• Walls and ceilings built for a high STC target, often as a room within a room for the main studio.
• Acoustic door sets with seals, and a sound lock where the studio opens to a corridor.
• Floating floors where vibration from plant, lifts or roads is a problem.
• Sealed cable and duct openings.

2. Keep the air quiet

Studio lighting makes heat, so cooling runs throughout the recording. Air-conditioning noise is one of the most common studio problems we fix. Use low-speed ducts with silencers, lined runs, flexible connections and quiet diffusers, and keep fan units outside the studio. Typical design targets for studios are around NC 20 to 25. See our guide to isolated ceilings for how services pass through without leaks.

3. Control echo on the set

• Studios usually aim for a short, even reverberation time so voices sound close and natural.
• Treat the walls above the cyclorama or set line, and the ceiling area above the lighting grid.
• Keep set pieces and hard flats from creating strong reflections back to presenter microphones.
• Chroma and cyclorama walls are hard, so absorption elsewhere in the room matters.

4. Separate the rooms

The production control room, the studio and any voice-over booth need isolation from each other, especially where talkback and monitors run loud in the control room. Glazed observation windows should use two panes of different thickness with a wide gap. Our TV and media studio setup page covers the full studio, from acoustics to cameras and control rooms.

Plan acoustics before equipment

A studio with new isolation and treatment takes time to build and must be finished before cameras, lighting and furniture go in. Planning acoustics first avoids rebuilding later. See our UMT broadcast studios case study and recording studio soundproofing for related work.

Common mistakes in TV studio acoustics

• Choosing equipment before acoustics: cameras and lighting can be changed later, but walls, floors and ducts are very hard to change once the studio is fitted.
• Noisy air conditioning: cassette units or split units inside the studio are picked up by every presenter microphone. See soundproofing HVAC ducts and air vents.
• Single doors to busy corridors: a sound lock with two sealed doors stops corridor noise and keeps the studio quiet when people move in and out.
• Too much hard surface: cyclorama walls, glass and hard set pieces reflect sound. The rest of the room needs enough absorption. Our acoustic panel placement guide explains where it does most good.
• Control room loudspeakers heard in the studio: the wall and window between the two rooms must be built to a high level.
• Ignoring the generator: many studios record during load-shedding. If the set is close, it must be treated too. See generator noise control.

What a site survey checks

• Noise sources around the studio: roads, generators, plant rooms, lifts and corridors.
• The structure: slab, ceiling height and whether a floating floor or room within a room is possible.
• The lighting grid and its heat load, which sets the cooling needed.
• Duct routes and where fan units can be placed outside the studio.
• The layout of the studio, control room, voice booth and equipment room.
• Cable routes between rooms and how they will be sealed.

Step by step: planning a TV studio

1. Define the use: news, talk shows, teaching, streaming or drama, and how many sets.
2. Set the targets: isolation, background noise and reverberation for each room.
3. Plan the layout so noisy rooms sit away from the studio and the control room has a clear view.
4. Design the shell: walls, ceiling, floor, doors and windows. See our guide to the room within a room.
5. Design the air path with the MEP team: low speed, silencers and fan units outside.
6. Design the interior treatment around the sets, cyclorama and lighting grid.
7. Build, inspect and test before cameras, lights and furniture go in.

How to choose the level of isolation

A studio in a quiet, well-built block may only need a decoupled lining, sealed doors and quiet air. A studio beside a main road, a generator or another studio usually needs a full room within a room. The control room window should use two separate panes of different thickness with a wide gap, as explained in our guide to acoustic glazing vs double glazing. For the typical STC ranges of each approach, see commercial soundproofing materials and STC ratings.

Applications in Pakistan

• News and entertainment channels: news sets, talk show studios and voice booths.
• Universities: media studies studios used for teaching and campus channels.
• Government and corporate media cells: studios for briefings, messages and video content.
• Production houses and streaming studios: flexible studios for shows, podcasts and advertising.
• Education and e-learning studios: lecture recording rooms that need clear speech on camera.

Echo control and the set

Hard set pieces, desks and screens close to presenters create short reflections that make voices sound hollow. Keep reflective surfaces angled away from microphones where possible, and add absorption on nearby walls and the ceiling above the set. Glass desks and large screens are common in news sets, so the surrounding room needs enough treatment to balance them. Our guide to echo in glass meeting rooms covers the same principle in smaller rooms, and NRC explained helps when comparing treatment products.

Quick checklist before a survey

• The type of productions planned and the number of sets.
• Floor plans showing the studio, control room and nearby rooms.
• The lighting plan or expected lighting load.

Frequently asked questions

What causes noise on studio recordings?

Usually air conditioning, generators, traffic or corridors. The fix is isolation for the room and quiet, low-speed air-conditioning ducts.

Does a chroma studio need acoustic treatment?

Yes. The cyclorama is hard and reflective, so the rest of the room needs absorption to keep voices clear.

Can you upgrade an existing studio?

Yes. We survey the room and can upgrade doors, ducts and treatment, or rebuild the room for full isolation.

Do you build the control room too?

Yes. We plan the studio, the control room and any voice booth together.

How quiet should a TV studio be?

Studios are usually designed for very low background noise, with typical targets around NC 20 to 25. The exact target depends on the type of production and the microphones used.