As time turns and the old year bids farewell, a new chapter begins on the journey ahead. On December 31 at 19:30, theTelunsu Better 2026 Jiangsu TV New Year's Eve Concertonce again took place at the Galaxy Arena in Macau, China, with a simultaneous global livestream. This marks the ninth annual collaboration between Digital Media Technology and the Jiangsu TV team. The Macau New Year's event draws global attention and conveys the voice of the era, deeply integrating music and technology to strike the prelude of striving forward into the new year.

This year's concert centers on the core theme of“Igniting Happiness Through Striving”, deeply uniting festive emotions and cultural exchange consensus. It aims to guide hundreds of millions of viewers to pursue the light with a striving attitude and jointly usher in a beautiful new chapter for 2026. The gala not only fully aligns with the aesthetic preferences of audiences of all ages but also precisely anchors the core concept of “striving,” deeply incorporating the spirit of the times, annual hotspots, and current social affairs into the content framework and program arrangement. Through a series of themed performances, it passionately interprets the aspiration to strive, showcases the power of creation, and pays tribute to the fruits of development.

The guest lineup for the concert has been upgraded once again, gathering powerhouse singers from the Chinese music scene, rising new stars, and cross-disciplinary talents. Through uniquely creative arrangements and boundary-breaking crossover combinations, it builds a diverse artistic matrix that appeals to audiences of all ages. Powerhouse Chinese music artists such as Li Yuchun, Wang Junkai, Zhou Shen, Xue Zhiqian, Lo Ta-yu, and Angela Zhang, along with emerging artists and crossover guests, gather on stage. Relying on meticulously crafted creative arrangements and cross-dimensional mashups, the gala constructs a diversified artistic content matrix, paired with customized performance designs — such as Liu Yuning performing "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" with a simultaneous “ten thousand arrows fired” shocking visual effect; Xue Zhiqian delivering a high-energy song medley paired with giant AR portraits; and Zhou Shen incorporating fun virtual interactive segments during his performance. All artists deliver full open-mic powerhouse performances combined with innovative presentation formats, creating an immersive viewing experience for the audience.

The stage design and technical system achieve another breakthrough, with the core design concept of “Eye of the Stars.” It uses a giant ring structure as the foundation, combined with water-and-fire special effects stages, metallic reflective materials, and an overhead “droplet fleet” dynamic installation, along with over 1,300 computer-controlled lighting fixtures, to create an immersive “interstellar roaming” stage scene that blends technological texture with artistic beauty. At the same time, the gala introduces holographic imaging, AI virtual avatars, and multi-layer spatial design technologies to enhance the sense of infinite visual depth. It also launches an audience interaction collection program, incorporating ordinary people's New Year's wishes and striving stories into the performance segments, further strengthening the gala's core attributes of “companionship” and “empathy.”

As the core carrier ensuring audio quality for the gala, the audio system employs 7 SSL Live consoles paired with 1 SSL System T S400 console, combined with 18 SSL stageboxes to build an ultra-large-scale audio processing architecture.Facing the demands of massive signal channel processing and the stringent requirement of zero errors in live broadcasting, the system adopts a rigorous main/backup redundancy design:

• The sound reinforcement (FOH) system is configured withSSL Live L550 Plus + L350 Plus main/backup console combination;
• The monitor system is configured withSSL Live L650 + L350 Plus main/backup console combination;
• The final mix (OB) system adoptsclassic SSL Live L550 Plus + L350 Plus as primary, with System T S400 as auxiliary, jointly completing the first live broadcast in Audio Vivid;
• The broadcast (EFP) segmentreplaced by SSL Live L550 Plus instead of previous HD OB van roles.

All mixing consoles are equipped with SSL's proprietary SuperAnalogue™ analog preamp technology,featuring a pure design architecture without VCA circuits or transformers, achieving an ultra-wide dynamic range and ultra-low distortion to lay a clean, solid audio foundation from the signal input for subsequent mixing processes.

To achieve “mirror-level” physical-layer backup between main and backup consoles, the system core deploys the DirectOut PRODIGY.MP multifunctional audio processor. This device is not merely a simple signal switcher; it also handles signal routing matrix construction between consoles and peripheral equipment, as well as final output main/backup switching. It supports full-format signals including analog, AES/EBU, Dante, MADI, AVB/Milan, etc., serving as the central control hub of the audio system.

In actual operation, PRODIGY.MP relies on its powerful internal matrix and EARS™ (Enhanced Automatic Redundancy Switching) technology to build a safe and reliable main/backup switching mechanism.Unlike traditional designs that only switch the main output signal, this processor can simultaneously manage the insert routing of all outboard hardware effects— which means that when switching between main and backup consoles, engineers do not have to worry about losing outboard signal chains or sudden changes in sound quality. PRODIGY.MP enables all processing resources to migrate smoothly and seamlessly to the backup surface, ensuring fully consistent sound quality and control parameters throughout the entire signal path, and achieving true system‑level, end‑to‑end safety protection.

For secure transmission of artist monitoring signals, PRODIGY.MP also plays a key supporting role. Leveraging its flexible routing configuration, the technical team designed a tightly interlocked cross‑backup scheme: instead of using a single console as a direct source, critical in‑ear monitor (IEM) sends are output simultaneously from both the main and backup consoles and then centrally managed by the PRODIGY.MP matrix. This architecture keeps the two signal paths running in real‑time sync inside the processor, so no matter what unexpected situation arises on site, PRODIGY.MP serves as the final line of defense, ensuring that monitoring signals delivered to the artists remain continuously stable and uninterrupted, minimizing the risk of single‑point failures and providing solid, reliable technical support that allows performers to focus on their performance.

This year, the Jiangsu TV New Year's live broadcast system continues the dual main/backup OB mixing architecture. The two independent systems are each equipped with SSL Live 550+ and 350 dual-position consoles, plus a System T S400 console.The monitoring system uses a 5.1.4 format, leveraging the console's flexible multi-format buses, convenient 5.1.4 Panner, and externalEventide H9000multi-channel effects processor to create and polish the sound field.

Additionally, the biggest highlight is that the entire broadcast system has been upgraded to 4K Ultra HD. Both audio and video systems adopt a mobile EFP rack-based architecture. The previous HD OB van system is no longer suitable for such high-format live broadcasts. This time, the broadcast-end console also uses the newly acquired SSL Live 550+. In this way, from on-site reinforcement to OB mixing and final broadcast output, the entire chain uses consoles from the same series — achieving unprecedented consistency in tone and audio quality, allowing warm and delicate vocals to transmit to the encoding end in true high fidelity.

On site, we also have an independent EFP control room mainly for final control of the broadcast signal and emergency switching between main/backup OB signals. The system includes a 5.1 Genelec monitoring setup, along with RTW loudness and true peak level metering, to monitor the status of multiple broadcast signals in real time. Any phase issues in multi-channel signals can also be spotted at a glance.

Ultra HD broadcasting requires not only HDR high dynamic range and refined visuals but also an elevated audio playback format to enrich the audience's immersive experience. Jiangsu TV's audio team engaged early with the UWA Ultra HD Video Industry Alliance.This live broadcast used Audio & HDR Vivid encoders and renderers, and for the first time on the ai Lizhi app, Audio Vivid was adopted for concert livestreaming.

The mix engineer produces 5.1.4 audio signals through 5.1.4 and Audio Vivid binaural monitoring. After embedding with the video signal, it is transmitted via SDI to the main/backup Audio & HDR Vivid encoders, encoded into main/backup Audio & HDR Vivid streams, and transmitted via RTMP to ai Lizhi for livestreaming.At the same time, a CTVIT decoder is deployed for real-time decoding of the live signal and binaural monitoring.

From immersive innovations in stage visuals to ultimate reliability in the audio system, theTelunsu Better 2026 Jiangsu TV New Year's Eve Concerttakes the spirit of striving as its core and cutting-edge technology as its presentation vehicle. It not only delivers a high-quality New Year's Eve audiovisual feast to global audiences but also establishes a new benchmark for “Asia's Top Show” in technical application and artistic expression.

Concert Audio Team:

• Sound Design:Jin Shaogang
• Sound Coordination:Hou Dawei
• Sound Engineering Director:Zhang Xiaonian
• Sound Engineering Coordination:Huang Chen, Wu Hao
• FOH Sound Engineer:Li Yongjun
• MON Sound Engineer:Li Anzhen
• OB Sound Engineer:Li Jun, Tong Shangze
• Audio Team Agent:Yang Fan
• Tuning Team:Nanjing Le'er Culture & Art Studio
• Sound Engineering:OST Production