The Opportunity
For more than a century, Auckland Town Hall’s Great Hall has welcomed audiences to concerts, theatre productions and community events. Operated by Auckland Live on behalf of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, the iconic venue accommodates up to 1,529 people across three levels.
As audience expectations and accessibility requirements continue to evolve, Auckland Live began exploring next-generation assistive listening technologies that could complement its existing systems while providing improved experiences for people with hearing loss.
The venue had been evaluating Auracast™ technology for a while, supported by growing interest from key stakeholders including the Auckland Philharmonia. At the same time, the team needed a solution that could be deployed within a heritage building without extensive modifications to existing infrastructure.
The Solution: Bettear Auracast™
To meet these requirements, Auckland Live’s Technical Team deployed a Bettear Auracast™ assistive listening solution, distributed in New Zealand by JPRO.
Unlike traditional hearing loop systems, which can require extensive cabling throughout a venue, the Bettear solution allowed Auckland Live to introduce Auracast without major building modifications. The compact B-CASTER transmitter mounts discreetly like a standard Wi‑Fi access point, connecting easily over existing network infrastructure providing coverage throughout the Great Hall.
Auckland Live has been able to utilise a high-quality stereo broadcast feed, providing a detailed audio source for Auracast users.
The flexibility of Auracast™ also enables the new system to operate alongside existing assistive listening technologies, allowing the venue to support current users while embracing emerging accessibility standards.
Beyond hearing assistance, Auckland Live has already begun exploring additional applications made possible by B-CASTER’s multi-stream capabilities. During a recent opera performance, the system was used to deliver audio description services for audience members who are blind or have low vision. This demonstrates the potential for the technology to support different accessibility services in the future.
The technology creates opportunities to explore other applications, including multilingual audio and personalised listening experiences.
In Practice
For Auckland Philharmonia performances, Auckland Live has been able to utilise a high-quality stereo broadcast feed, providing a detailed audio source for Auracast users. The opera audio description demonstrates how the technology can support a wider range of accessibility services.
In addition, the technology’s multi-stream capabilities create opportunities to explore new applications, including multilingual audio and personalised listening experiences within the venue.
Why Auracast™ Matters
As more hearing aids, headphones and mobile devices become Auracast-compatible, venues are gaining new ways to improve accessibility without significant building modifications. Beyond assistive listening, the technology can support audio description, language translation and other specialised audio services, helping a broader range of patrons engage with live events.
The Auckland Town Hall deployment demonstrates how heritage venues can introduce new assistive listening technology using existing infrastructure.
