GN and RNID Launch Auracast Installation Guide for Theaters

LONDON — RNID and GN Hearing have introduced Auracast for Theatres, a practical guide for venues considering Bluetooth’s Auracast broadcast technology as an assistive listening service. Released October 14, the resource tackles questions that extend well beyond buying a transmitter: Where should coverage reach? What should audiences hear? How will patrons connect—and who will help when something goes wrong?

With GN’s support, the UK hearing loss charity Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), developed the playbook which draws on research and input from theater patrons, venue staff, and technical specialists. Its guidance covers project planning, installation, daily operations, and promotion, with an emphasis on involving those who will actually use the service. Although GN supported its development, the playbook does not endorse specific hearing aids, transmitters, receivers, or installers.

Bringing the performance directly to the listener with Auracast

For hearing aid users, theater dialogue can be difficult to understand even when it is loud enough. Distance from the stage, competing sounds, and auditorium reverberation can obscure speech.

Auracast broadcasting allows a venue to transmit audio to an unlimited number of compatible receiving devices, including hearing aids, earbuds, headphones, and receivers loaned to patrons. Delivering the program directly to the listener can reduce reliance on sound traveling through the auditorium and give compatible-device users greater independence.

GN’s media fact sheet also highlighted potential applications such as audio description and translation through separate broadcasts. Auracast can operate alongside hearing loops and other assistive listening technologies, preserving options for patrons with different devices and preferences.

In 2023, GN was the first company to introduce an Auracast-enabled hearing aid. Auracast has since been included as standard in all new ReSound and Beltone hearing aids.

Designing Auracast coverage for the real world

RNID recommends covering the entire audience area of each performance space. It also suggests providing a speech broadcast in the foyer or receiver collection area so patrons can check their equipment before entering the auditorium.

Coverage planning should account for differences between receiving devices: hearing aids and earbuds may need a stronger signal than dedicated receivers. Some venues will require multiple transmitters, and transmitter placement must consider building construction, available connections, maintenance access, and possible obstructions.

Testing an empty auditorium is insufficient. RNID advises verifying performance at full capacity with electronic equipment operating as it would during a show. Wi-Fi, other Bluetooth devices, and wireless production equipment can all contribute activity in the shared 2.4 GHz band.

The guide encourages venues to verify whether their current audiovisual contractor has Auracast installation experience. An installer should help determine transmitter and receiver requirements, integration with existing infrastructure, broadcast configuration, and ongoing monitoring. RNID also recommends confirming that the contractor can investigate radio-frequency interference and verify the completed system.

Audio quality requires attention to details

A strong wireless signal does not, by itself, ensure understandable dialogue. RNID’s operational guidance addresses intelligibility, listening comfort, and the differences between preparing audio for assistive listening and mixing for the auditorium’s PA system.

Broadcast signal levels are also important to check. RNID notes that an excessively low signal may leave listeners without sufficient adjustment range on their receiving devices. Its guide provides an interim level-setting recommendation and points venues toward IEC 60118-17 when published.

Another consideration is latency. Patrons may hear both streamed audio and sound arriving through the room, either naturally or through their hearing aid microphones. Differences in arrival time can produce distortion or an echo. The guide discusses managing these pathways, including adjusting the balance between streamed sound and hearing aid microphone input where supported.

For audiologists, these issues offer practical opportunities to help patients prepare for theatre visits: confirm device compatibility, explain how to access a broadcast, and demonstrate relevant streaming controls.

Introducing Auracast to patrons and making it easy to find and use

The playbook treats audience support as part of the installation project. Venues are encouraged to involve people with hearing loss during planning and testing, train staff, and use customer feedback to improve the service after launch.

Patrons should be able to discover the available support before booking, understand their listening options, and get help before the performance begins. RNID’s communication guidance includes opportunities to try the technology and ways to reconnect with people discouraged by previous theatre experiences.

For London hearing aid user Gideon Hoffman, the benefit extends beyond catching individual words.

“It excites me that I may hear better in venues that I have not heard well in up to now. I normally rely on captions, but with Auracast I can hear the expression in actors’ voices,” he said.

The Auracast for Theatres playbook is available on RNID’s website, with chapters directed to technical, operational, accessibility, and marketing teams.

SOURCE: GN and RNID website