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Active: 1467 users

MLG "white noise" for the players?

Forum Index > SC2 General
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Capped
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom7236 Posts
October 20 2011 10:32 GMT
#1
Hi guys, so i have 100% no idea what white noise is and i heard someone at MLG orlando say that the players had ipods playing white noise so that they couldnt hear the crowd or casters during the games.

So if it blocks out noise, they cant even hear the game sounds?? Im confused T_T

Feel free to call me a retard, just tell me what white noise is and how that works xD
Useless wet fish.
Barbiero
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
Brazil5259 Posts
October 20 2011 10:33 GMT
#2
the white noise is on the booth AFAIK, not directly to their ears.

They also use headphones to play.
♥ The world needs more hearts! ♥
CursOr
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States6335 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-20 12:02:39
October 20 2011 10:34 GMT
#3
http://www.google.com/search?q=white noise



edit: exactly how it's setup in the Booth:

[image loading]
MLG_Lee October 20 2011:
...we pipe white noise into the over ear headphones too. And that the over ear headphones are also sound dampening.

There's 6 (or 7) levels of sound dampening in effect. Just depends on what you count.
CJ forever (-_-(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)-_-)
cosineInfinity
Profile Joined April 2011
United States178 Posts
October 20 2011 10:37 GMT
#4
White noise basically serves to drown out sound.

It's a collective "static" of all frequencies that the human ear can perceive. Think about being in a crowded, bustling street - there are so many sounds that it is difficult to perceive a single one. The idea behind white noise is that for each actual sound the hearer is exposed to, there is an identical sound (in terms of frequency) in the white noise. Two sounds of the same frequency will essentially meld into one another - thus, the humdrum of the crowd is washed out by the white noise in the booth, making it so the players can focus and not get tipped off.
rckY
Profile Joined June 2011
Germany116 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-20 10:45:39
October 20 2011 10:45 GMT
#5
What the f...? Players need to listen to that while they play? Jesus.. get some decent noise erasing headphones....

edit: oh ok its only in the boxes?
Capped
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom7236 Posts
October 20 2011 10:48 GMT
#6
Somebody has said that MLG require ipods with the white noise playing in the players ears.

I am pretty sure this is true as they put ipod earbuds in and then their headphones on top. the white noise could come through either one but probably one of them.

Thanks for clarifying what white noise is ^_^
Useless wet fish.
Soviet_NeMesIS3
Profile Joined October 2011
Canada4 Posts
October 20 2011 10:49 GMT
#7
--- Nuked ---
zaii
Profile Joined October 2010
Guam2611 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-20 10:50:56
October 20 2011 10:50 GMT
#8
MLG has like triple sound protection. A bit overkill but they're being extra careful.
CursOr
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States6335 Posts
October 20 2011 11:01 GMT
#9
Found the MLG tweet that says the "booths" are equipped with White Noise, which wasn't all that long ago. I'm 99% sure the Earbuds are from the comp with the gamesound...

http://wellplayed.org/OMGtv/status/16500
CJ forever (-_-(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)-_-)
SpectralFremen
Profile Joined January 2011
Australia386 Posts
October 20 2011 11:06 GMT
#10
Earbuds are probably there own personal ipod
"And so he spoke, and so he spoke, that lord of Castamere"
Capped
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom7236 Posts
October 20 2011 11:07 GMT
#11
On October 20 2011 20:01 cursor wrote:
Found the MLG tweet that says the "booths" are equipped with White Noise, which wasn't all that long ago. I'm 99% sure the Earbuds are from the comp with the gamesound...

http://wellplayed.org/OMGtv/status/16500


Thanks for that :-) unless their booths fucked up i guess thats how the white noise is implemented.
Useless wet fish.
Ingebrigtsen
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
Norway343 Posts
October 20 2011 11:10 GMT
#12
what's with the "Ipod" headphones then, always wondered:p
"These animals should be rewarded for not being people... I hate people"
mewbert
Profile Joined April 2011
United States291 Posts
October 20 2011 11:11 GMT
#13
On October 20 2011 19:45 rckY wrote:
What the f...? Players need to listen to that while they play? Jesus.. get some decent noise erasing headphones....

edit: oh ok its only in the boxes?

rofl...do you actually think they listen to that? read the thread they dont need to listen to that its just used to "absorb" the noise that comes into the booth
CursOr
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States6335 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-20 11:14:08
October 20 2011 11:12 GMT
#14
Funny the more I think about it there are probably very few people who know exactly how it is setup. The few admins who made up the setup guidelines, a few techs/crew at MLG itself, and the gamers (only the ones who make it to the main stage too). And... of course... the people that THOSE people have talked to specifically about how this works. You're looking at maybe 100 people or so, up to 200, knowing exactly how it really works.

-_-
CJ forever (-_-(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)-_-)
eviltomahawk
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States11135 Posts
October 20 2011 11:14 GMT
#15
I remember seeing an old pic of the MLG booths when they were first previewed. Apparently, they had a loud fan inside the booth to help create the white noise and keep the players a bit cooler, and they have dedicated white noise generators.

ㅇㅅㅌㅅ
partisan
Profile Joined January 2011
United States783 Posts
October 20 2011 11:16 GMT
#16
This is fairly common. Most call centers pump white noise into their phone lines to drown out background noise and you don't even notice it.
MLG_Lee
Profile Joined July 2010
279 Posts
October 20 2011 11:22 GMT
#17
On October 20 2011 19:34 cursor wrote:
http://www.google.com/search?q=white noise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZrH00YfiXU

edit: exactly how it's setup in the Booth:

[image loading]


Close

Add in that we pipe white noise into the over ear headphones too. And that the over ear headphones are also sound dampening.

There's 6 (or 7) levels of sound dampening in effect. Just depends on what you count.
Twitter: @MLGLee ( https://twitter.com/#!/MLGLee )
Capped
Profile Blog Joined June 2011
United Kingdom7236 Posts
October 20 2011 11:28 GMT
#18
Knew i was right about the headphones :D

Thanks for clearing it up lee. Thanks for everyone else informing me of what white noise actually is
Useless wet fish.
CursOr
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States6335 Posts
October 20 2011 11:33 GMT
#19
Earbuds do count as sound dampeners too! I've talked to enough people with them in to know that.

CJ forever (-_-(-_-(-_-(-_-)-_-)-_-)-_-)
FreudianTrip
Profile Joined July 2011
Switzerland1983 Posts
October 20 2011 11:54 GMT
#20
JUst out of interest, would you be allowed to listen to music if you wanted to?
Firesilver
Profile Joined December 2010
United Kingdom1190 Posts
October 20 2011 12:44 GMT
#21
On October 20 2011 20:54 FreudianTrip wrote:
JUst out of interest, would you be allowed to listen to music if you wanted to?


Good question, In major tournaments they probably wouldn't want to and just pay attention to the ingame sounds but I wouldn't be surprised if they were allowed to.
Caster at IMBA.tv -- www.twitter.com/IMBAFiresilver -- www.youtube.com/FiresilverTV
vyyye
Profile Joined July 2010
Sweden3917 Posts
October 20 2011 12:48 GMT
#22
On October 20 2011 20:54 FreudianTrip wrote:
JUst out of interest, would you be allowed to listen to music if you wanted to?

I am quite sure Incontrol has said he listens to music during tournaments in SotG, he also has iPod earphones in quite often from what I can tell.
Bayyne
Profile Joined January 2011
United States1967 Posts
October 20 2011 12:54 GMT
#23
motherfucking inception levels of noise cancelling and dampening, this shit is legit.
Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
AmericanUmlaut
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Germany2594 Posts
October 20 2011 12:57 GMT
#24
It always blows my mind just how hard it is to create silence. There was an article recently -- I think in the Times? -- about a guy who went on a quest to find perfect silence, and it's nearly impossible. If you want to prevent yourself from seeing something, hanging a sheet of opaque cloth between you and it pretty much does the job, but making it so you can't hear someone requires a seven-layer system of sound dampening and interference generation, and I'll bet you at least a little of the outside noise is still getting through to the players.
The frumious Bandersnatch
freestalker
Profile Joined March 2010
469 Posts
October 20 2011 12:57 GMT
#25
It's there to prevent "Tahts halo" moments.. and I don't think allowing personal music is ok, as there could be individuals playing tracks with sounds in certain periods reminding them of macro etc..
Veggietech
Profile Joined February 2011
Sweden2 Posts
October 20 2011 12:59 GMT
#26
On October 20 2011 19:34 cursor wrote:
http://www.google.com/search?q=white noise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZrH00YfiXU



What you hear in this clip though, is not really white noise, as the terrible mp3-quality of this youtube video ruins alot of frequenzies. That's why the clip sounds a bit like waves, and not like static noise.
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