At least some relief has arrived for World Cup soccer fans being driven crazy by the bee-like buzzing of South Africa's Vuvuzela. Viewer complaints of the games causes HBS, TF1 and BBC to filter out the instruments' incessant drone.
Moved by hundreds of complaints over World Cup viewing, the Host Broadcast Services (HBS) company that provides video/audio feeds for World Cup soccer broadcasts around the world has upped its audio filters--to diminish the blaring from the ubiquitous Vuvuzela plastic horns, making the announcement: "Despite HBS' core philosophy, which is to provide 'realistic' host broadcast coverage reflecting the ambiance in the [sports] stadiums, additional audio filtering has been implemented [to accomodate for the World Cup Vuvuzelas]," according to Host Broadcast Services.
Reducing the sound of the Vuvuzela by Host Broadcast Services does not come without costs to soccer fans: The audio filters also used by the broadcast station for the World Cup also minimize crowd noise in the stadiums--World Cup viewers will hear less chants and cheers.
HBS said it has increased the level in the ball mics to provide some balance. The South African Vuvuzela horns have become the talk of the World Cup soccer games, with some commentators admitting the emitting of sounds--that is similar to swarming bees--is driving them crazy.
Vuvuzela is also gaining in popularity--maybe more for the World Cup fans that can't attend the soccer matches in person, than those experiencing the incessant buzzing in person. An iPhone application which imitates the blasting of the Vuvuzela horns has been downloaded for iPhone devices more than a million times since the matches began.
World Cup watchers, though-even those watching the soccer matches by television broadcast--have made their feelings about the Vuvuzela known. Flooded with complaints from viewers around the world, several broadcasters already have taken steps to reduce the drone of the instruments.
French broadcaster TF1 replaced their mics with ones commentators hold close to their mouths to better filter out sound. BBC is debating a plan to give World Cup soccer viewers an option of watching the games with commentary only. "We have already taken steps to minimize the noise and are continuing to monitor the situation," the BBC said in a statement, adding that it has received nearly 550 complaints. "If the Vuvuzela continues to impact on [World Cup] audience enjoyment, we [BBC] will look at what other options we can take to reduce the volume further."