NEW YORK—Audience complaints have increased as TV soundtracks evolved from the intelligible speech of the analog era to the cinematic-style wide dynamic range digital multichannel productions of today. Addressing this omnipresent issue, the AES Technical Committee for Broadcast and Online Delivery has published the comprehensive Technical Document (TD1009), “Improving Dialogue Intelligibility in Media,” which diagnoses the intelligibility problem and presents solutions.

“Dialogue intelligibility affects today’s audiences,” said Jim Starzynski, NBCUniversal Director and Principal Audio Engineer and Chair of the working group. “Increased reliance on captions has become apparent and indicates a problem. This study reveals why audiences can struggle to understand their favorite shows and offers in-depth solutions.”

Sound for picture delivered through broadcast and streaming is the primary focus of TD1009. Solutions also apply to audio-only media. Important takeaways from the study include detailing the “Dialogue Intelligibility Ecosystem”—dialogue’s journey from acquisition to the ear of the consumer and the application of how humans understand and interpret dialogue. Solutions presented include fostering a culture of dialogue intelligibility in the post-production process; addressing the limitations of TV sets, set top boxes and audio/video receivers; and identifying what can go wrong in distribution.

Production insiders and subject matter experts have collaborated for over two years in the development of TD1009 to guide creative professionals, content distributors, device manufacturers and consumer enthusiasts, AES said. The guide was created under the leadership of the AES Technical Committee for Broadcast and Online Delivery (TC-BOD), an international group that addresses audio quality chaired by David Bialik, Kimio Hamasaki, Matthieu Parmentier and Jim Starzynski.

The publication of TD1009 follows its initial public presentation at the AES Show 2025 – Long Beach Convention, during the session “Improving Dialogue Intelligibility in Media: A Report from the AES Broadcast and Online Delivery Technical Committee.” “With AES TD1009 now publicly released,” notes Rafael Kassier, who co-chairs the AES Technical Council with Lesley Fogle, “we encourage broadcasters, streaming platforms, content creators and audio engineers worldwide to explore and apply its recommendations to enhance speech clarity and overall listener experience.”

This paper is distributed openly by the Audio Engineering Society and may be viewed/downloaded at https://aes.org/community/technical-council/aestd1009/. The TC-BOD can be contacted by email at broadcast@AES.org.

NEW YORK—The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and Audio Engineering Society (AES) have announced the promotion of two senior staff members to newly created Associate Executive Director positions, effective Jan. 1, 2026.

The appointments reflect both organizations' commitment to strategic growth and enhanced industry engagement following their recent shared management arrangement.

Brienne Willcock has been promoted to associate executive director of Strategy, Standards and Industry Engagement at IES. Willcock currently serves as director of Education and Standards at IES.

AES has promoted Graham Kirk to associate executive director of Strategy, Events and Industry Engagement. Kirk currently serves as director of Marketing and Business Development at IES,

"Brienne and Graham have been invaluable in helping IES achieve significant milestones over the past several years," said Colleen Harper, CEO and executive director of IES and executive director of AES. "These promotions recognize their leadership and expertise while positioning both organizations for continued innovation and growth. As we integrate our management structures, having leaders of their caliber focusing on strategy and industry engagement will be essential to serving our respective technical communities. "The newly created roles will focus on advancing each organization's strategic priorities, strengthening industry partnerships and enhancing member value.

More information is available on the AES website.

NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society will hold the 2026 AES Show, Oct. 30–Nov. 1, 2026, at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn.

AES Show Nashville will offer attendees and exhibitors new and exciting programming, which will extend beyond the normal scope of previous AES Conventions. From pre-show events and experiences to extensive studio tours and involvement with the local audio community, the new location will open up Nashville’s rich audio legacy to the international community of AES Show attendees.

Nashville has earned its nickname “Music City” by way of a uniquely concentrated ecosystem of world-class studios, live music venues, leading audio education institutions, pro audio manufacturers, engineers, artists and audio professionals. Music creation and production are woven into daily life of Nashville.

The city is home to many world-class recording studios, production and rehearsal facilities, a local network of top engineers and producers as well as several major record labels, music award shows and specials, film and TV scoring studios, live sound venues, broadcast facilities and top-tier professionals pushing the art and science of audio.

AES Show Nashville will also take advantage of the unique offerings of the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, located steps from the world-famous Opry House facilities, home to the “Grand Ole Opry” live radio broadcast, the longest-running live radio broadcast in U.S. history. The radio show started in 1925 on WSM Radio. The AES will offer exhibitors and attendees specially priced hotel and registration packages.

More information is available on the AES Show website.

NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society (AES) has signed a new shared resource arrangement with the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), that AES said marks an important step forward in strengthening the organization’s leadership, operational capacity and long-term growth and stability.

The new relationship between AES and IES will begin on December 16, 2025.

As part of this collaboration, Colleen Harper will serve as executive director, serving AES in a shared role with IES. Harper previously served as AES executive director from 2019-2022, and her proven leadership helped guide the Society through significant growth and development. Graham Kirk will also again work with AES in a shared role as director of business operations, reinforcing a successful track record of industry partnerships and revenue growth.

“This partnership represents IES’s commitment to supporting technical and professional societies,” said IES president Wilson Dau. “By sharing our resources and expertise, we can help AES continue its important mission while leveraging the operational efficiencies that benefit both organizations.” In this new relationship, some current IES staff will support both IES and AES initiatives, and IES will hire three additional staff members to accommodate the increased workload.

“We are very excited about this next chapter,” said Audio Engineering Society president Gary Gottlieb. “The last time we had the winning combination of Colleen, Graham and Clyne Media, AES saw measurable gains in membership and event attendance. We believe this shared arrangement brings us back to that successful formula, while also giving AES access to the depth and flexibility of a larger team.”

AES leadership emphasized that this transition provides all the benefits of working with an association management company (AMC), including the ability to pivot staff resources to where they are most needed in an open collaboration between like-minded organizations.

“This arrangement empowers AES to focus squarely on serving its members and advancing audio innovation,” stated Harper. “By partnering with IES, we’re able to add new resources, and tap into the strength of a team that already has critical experience working with a highly technical society. It allows AES’s membership and volunteer leadership to focus on what AES does best: connecting our global audio community, supporting education and research, and creating world-class events. Most importantly, it ensures that members remain at the heart of every decision we make and every initiative we pursue.”

Kirk added that “I’m thrilled to work with AES again in this new partnership with IES. I have seen firsthand its passion and creativity of this community. I know how important it is to have the right team and resources in place to support our members and partners. This arrangement gives us the flexibility to expand opportunities, strengthen industry relationships, and deliver even more value to our members, whether through conferences or conventions, events or ongoing global engagement throughout the year.”

The Audio Engineering Society remains committed to its mission of promoting the science and practice of audio by bringing together engineers, researchers, manufacturers and practitioners worldwide. The partnership with IES ensures AES is strategically positioned to expand its influence, enhance member services, and continue hosting world-class events.

Legendary broadcast engineer Dick Burden has died. He passed on Saturday, peacefully in his sleep, according to a post on the Facebook page of the Los Angeles chapter 47 of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.

He was 92.

“It is not often in life that you meet someone who loves his family, friends and profession like Richard Burden,” the chapter post reads. “He gave 200% to everything he did with a smile on his face and love in his heart. We are all better people having known him.”

Richard W. Burden, born in 1931, played an influential role in several facets of broadcast engineering in the mid to late 20th century, including FM stereo, TV/radio audio engineering and the creation of the Traveler’s Information Service.

Yet decades into the 21st century, he remained a visible presence at trade shows and an active supporter of organizations like the L.A. SBE chapter.

According to the website of his firm Burden Associates, Burden originated the concept of initiating a control carrier as a means of switching from FM mono to FM stereo when stereophonic programming was present and adding an indicator that became known as the stereo light.

He was called "the father of the Traveler’s Information Service" for his work on the original TIS facility at the Los Angeles International Airport and the establishment of 530 and 1610 kHz as the original TIS operating frequencies.

In television he suggested a means to improve signal-to-noise performance to the proposed Stereophonic Television standard while maintaining authorized occupied bandwidth and de facto monophonic deviation, according to the website.

Burden became SBE member No. 450 in 1966 and was an original member of SBE Chapter 1 in Binghamton, N.Y., according to a 2005 profile article in Broadcast Engineering.

He helped organize Chapter 47 in Los Angeles, serving as its second chairman and as program chairman from 1979–1981. Maria Laing, current vice chair of the chapter, told RW: “He was a kind man who was happy to share his knowledge and time with anyone who asked. He always showed up with a smile on his face and love in his heart. In honor of his memory I challenge everyone to do something nice for someone today and to make a donation to SBE in his honor.”

Early Days
His career started as a student at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., where he was appointed chief engineer of college radio station WJRH in 1950. He transferred to RCA Institutes to study Radio Broadcast Engineering and graduated in 1952, holding a 1st Class Radio-Telephone License.

In 1952, according to the profile article, he was appointed to the Signal School in Fort Monmouth, N.J., as a civilian instructor. “Dick was assigned to the Armed Forces Radio Service in New York as staff engineer and was released from active duty with citations as a staff sergeant in 1955,” the article stated.

“He was employed at General Precision Laboratory for five years doing circuit design of audio-video and pulse modules, technical writing for video systems and engineering on the Air Traffic Control System for the Federal Aviation Administration.”

In 1958, he worked on the development of a system of stereo broadcasting in conjunction with Multiplex Development Corp. and held a patent in that field.

In 1960 he formed Burden Associates in Mount Kisco, N.Y. and in 1972, opened an office in Canoga Park, Calif.

Engineering Honors
He also served on the Ad Hoc Committee for the Study of Television Sound (ACHSTS); as a member of the Broadcast Transmission Systems Committee (BTS) on the study of Stereophonic Sound of Television; and as a member of the National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC) working toward improvements in radio broadcasting in the early 1990s.

He was a former chair of the AES Los Angeles Section and former Western Region vice president of AES.

He was also a founding member and original chief engineer of the Audio Internet Reading Service of Los Angeles, which he served as president and chairman.

Burden achieved the rank of Fellow in the Society of Broadcast Engineers and the Audio Engineer Society, and was a Life Member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.

He was honored by the Audio Engineering Society in 1998 on its Golden Anniversary as one of 25 internationally known audio engineers who had made significant contributions to the art and science of audio during the preceding 50 years.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers honored him in 2005 with its Lifetime Achievement Award for what was then already 55 years of service.

A 1995 oral history interview with Richard Burden is available, conducted by Frederik Nebeker, IEEE History Center. He discussed his work at Fort Monmouth and at Armed Forces Radio and his interest in hi-fi recording and FM. He describes his work with Bill Halstead in creating and demonstrating a proposed FM system as members of the National Stereo Radio Committee as well as his work in television sound and the National Radio Systems Committee, and the work he and Halstead did at the Los Angeles airport and the FCC’s consequent request that Burden remain in California to provide the Commission with data on the system.

You can read that oral history here: https://ethw.org/Oral-History:Richard_Burden

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand Radio World. 

The media technology industry is striving to create a more diverse, equitable, and long-lasting workforce of passionate engineers and technologists. Three organizations are leading the way in this charge, expanding diversity initiatives, and creating a more inclusive industry. These organizations include  SMPTE, AES, and VDT. Each of these influential entities have expanded diversity in their leadership, and  things are only looking up from here. 

SMPTE 

SMPTE is the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. The organization has existed for over a  century and is responsible for many of the industry’s most innovative standards from film sprocket size  and placement to the famous Color Bars and more recently ST 2110. In 2023, the organization welcomed  its first African American president, Renard T. Jenkins. Jenkins began his career in college, working as a  PA and eventually a location sound engineer on national film and television productions as well as being  an on-air radio personality. He soon moved into live sports, working freelance for ESPN and ABC covering  golf, tennis, and college sports. 

Jenkins was recruited for a job at CNN/Turner Broadcasting, rising the ranks fast and gaining valuable  knowledge along the way. “The thinking at that time that was instilled in all of us was, if this is  something cutting edge, throw all your efforts and resources into it to see if it will fly. If it does, great. If it  doesn’t, take what you’ve learned and apply it to the next project. Dream big,” said Jenkins. “I always  look at that as the turning point in the way that I thought about my career because it helped me to  understand that, really and truly, the only limitations that you have, even in a giant corporation, are the  ones that you put on yourself.” 

After more than a decade and a half at Turner Broadcasting, Jenkins moved to PBS. His most current role  was SVP of Production Integration & Creative Technology Services for Warner Bros. Since leaving that  role, Jenkins has focused on completing AI coursework at UC Berkley and MIT as well as his AR/VR  content company. He has also dived headfirst into his presidential duties at SMPTE. Jenkins hopes to  continue fostering innovation at SMPTE, expanding student chapters, especially amongst HBCUs, and  supporting international sections in their film technology endeavors. 

AES 

AES is the Audio Engineering Society, and Leslie Gaston-Bird, author of Women in Audio (Focal Press) and  Math Fundamentals for Audio (A-R Editions), is their first African American president. Gaston-Bird began  her career by studying audio technology and telecommunications at Indiana University Bloomington where she got a work-study with public radio affiliate WFIU-FM. Soon thereafter, she was hired at NPR  headquarters in Washington, D.C. "I got the job just three months after graduating from IU,” said Gaston Bird. “Looking back, when I think about the first time I saw the blue AES Journal, and if I imagine  someone telling me I would be AES President one day, I would say, ‘Yeah, I can see that!’”

Gaston-Bird’s career flourished after leaving NPR headquarters. She’s held positions at Colorado Public  Radio, Post Modern Company, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, and the University of Colorado Denver.  Her current position is at City, University of London and she is a director of Immersive and Inclusive  Audio. Though her jobs keep her busy, her presidency at AES has become a major priority. 

“Our members have such great ideas and share my passion for audio. My job as president is to help bring  those ideas to fruition and hopefully grow and strengthen our society, increasing the value of  membership while expanding our umbrella worldwide,” said Gaston-Bird when asked about her goals for  the future of AES. “There are so many people who can benefit from what AES has to offer, and we need  to let them know to join, get involved, and bring their great ideas to the table.” 

VDT 

The VDT is the German Association for Audio Professionals, and Ulrike Schwarz is their first female  president in the 73-year history of the organization. Along with partner, Jim Anderson, she has over 30  Grammy nominated recordings and a slew of international awards involving her audio engineering work.  She also has perfect pitch. 

“At a very young age I was drawn to music. I could read and write music before I could read and write.  The transition into playing an instrument and studying music and the field of audio engineering and  producing was natural for me,” said Schwarz. “I had great mentors and having had the chance to work  with world class musicians very early on prompted me to match their vision and results in my field of  audio engineering. I love my job and am thankful that I get to spend most of my days listening to great  music and learning from the masters in our fields.” 

Schwarz worked with German Public Radio for more than ten years, serving as the audio engineer on some of their biggest broadcasts. Along with being president of VDT, she also recently received a grant  from the Women’s Fund of the New York Foundation of the Arts for her work on Jane Ira Bloom’s  Grammy nominated album (2023) Picturing The Invisible – Focus 1. “I plan to keep working on bigger and  better projects, helping and growing the VDT and strengthening the connections between the SMPTE,  AES and VDT.” 

Conclusion 

SMPTE, AES, and VDT play major roles in the media technology industry, especially when it comes to the  world of audio. The diverse leadership of these organizations reflects a positive change in the industry,  and that trend is sure to continue as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are cemented in the  cultures of these companies. The future looks bright, especially with these great leaders at the helm. As  Jenkins surmises, “The three of us have committed to working together to change the world around us  for the better. There will be more collaboration between our organizations that we feel will create more  opportunities for our members and the industry starting very soon.”

The AES Technical Committee for Broadcast and Online Delivery will hold an in-person meeting next week during the AES Show in New York.

The one-hour meeting will be in Room 2D02 of the Javits Convention Center starting at noon on Thursday, Oct. 26.

Chairman David Bialik said the group and meeting are open to all.

“The committee creates technical documents and standards for broadcast and streaming. Most recently we released TD-1008, which has been elevated to the AES77 standard ‘AES Recommended Practice Loudness Guidelines for Internet Audio Streaming and On-Demand Distribution.’”

The group also recently created a loudness educational web portal to help educate the public about the importance of loudness. It currently is exploring the issue of dialog intelligibility for television.

The Audio Engineering Society has announced the incoming Officers and Governors following the 2022 Board of Directors and Board of Governors elections.

Leslie Gaston-Bird has been voted in as President-Elect and Valerie Tyler has been reelected as Secretary and Marina Bosi reelected as Treasurer, both for the Board of Directors.

In the AES Elections for the Board of Governors (BoG), Angela Piva has been elected Vice President Eastern Region, USA/Canada, David v.R. Bowles has been elected Vice President Western Region, USA/Canada and Jamie Angus-Whiteoak has been elected as Vice President Northern Europe Region. Additionally, newly elected Governors-at-large are Lesley Fogle, Toru Kamekawa and Marcela Zorro. 

Save for the President-Elect, each newly-elected individual will serve a two-year term and Bosi and Tyler with have their current terms extended by two years. Gaston-Bird will serve a year on the AES Board of Directors as President-Elect, in 2024 as President, in 2025 as Past-President, followed by two years as a Governor. All those newly elected will begin their terms on Jan. 1, 2023.

Also on Jan. 1, 2023, current Past-President Jonathan Wyner will transition to Governor for the first year of a two-year term. Beginning one-year terms will be President Josh Reiss, who will transition to Past-President, and President-Elect Bruce Olson, who will become President.

Outgoing from the Board of Governors in 2023 as regional Vice Presidents are Gabriel Herman (Eastern Region, USA/Canada), Alex Kosiorek (Western Region, USA/Canada) and Elena Prokofieva (Northern Region, Europe). Governors with terms ending this year are Brad McCoy, Paul Womack, Jun Yamazaki and Governor and Past-President (twice removed) Nadja Wallaszkovits who completes her five-year commitment to the BoG. Board of Governors-elected Director Brecht De Man’s two-year term will also end; his replacement on the Board will be named by the Board of Governors in 2022 Q4.

“On behalf of the entire Society,” says AES President Josh Reiss, “I offer a hearty congratulations to all the newly elected Governors and officers – we look forward to your contributions to AES governance. We also offer a heart-felt ‘Thank you’ to all who showed their willingness to serve by accepting a nomination. And those who are leaving the Boards at the end of the year go with our deep gratitude for their service and commitment to the Society.”

The election was monitored, and the results presented, by Gary Louie, Chair of the AES’s Tellers Committee.

The 2023 Audio Engineering Society Board of Directors will be:

• Bruce Olson: President
• Joshua Reiss: Past-President
• Leslie Gaston-Bird: President-Elect
• Valerie Tyler: Secretary
• Marina Bosi: Treasurer
• Cesar Lamschtein: Director

One additional Director will be named by the Board of Governors per the AES Bylaws in 2022 Q4.

In addition to the Directors listed above, the 2023 Board of Governors will be:

• Bill Schulenburg: Vice President, Central Region, USA/Canada
• Ewa Lukasik: Vice President, Central Region, Europe
• Angela Piva: Vice President, Eastern Region, USA/Canada
• David v.R. Bowles: Vice President, Western Region, USA/Canada
• Jorge M. Azama: Vice President, Latin American Region
• Jamie Angus-Whiteoak: Vice President, Northern Region, Europe
• Alberto Pinto: Vice President, Southern Europe/Middle East/Africa Region
• Kazuhiko Kawahara: Vice President, Asia-Pacific Region
• Prince Charles Alexander: Governor
• Areti Andreopoulou: Governor
• Toru Kamekawa: Governor
• Hyunkook Lee: Governor
• Lesley Fogle: Governor
• Agnieszka Roginska: Governor
• Jonathan Wyner: Governor
• Marcela Zorro: Governor

Eleven engineers who developed recommendations for loudness in internet audio streaming and on-demand applications are being honored by the Audio Engineering Society.

The inaugural AES President’s Award, which recognizes group collaborations, went to David Bialik, Rob Byers, Jim Coursey, Eelco Grimm, Bob Katz, John Kean, Scott Norcross, Robert Orban, Shawn Singh, Jim Starzynski and Alessandro Travaglini.

They were honored for technical achievement in drafting TC document TD1008: “Recommendations for Loudness of Internet Audio Streaming and On-Demand Distribution.”

“This award recognizes that contributions to the goals of the AES are often made collaboratively in groups,” the society wrote in its announcement. “The President’s Award may be given to a group of individuals in recognition of diligent and significant joint efforts on behalf of the Audio Engineering Society — those efforts making substantial contributions to the science or application of audio engineering.”

The society held an online ceremony last week honoring all of its recipients.

Its highest technical award, the AES Gold Medal Award, was presented to Richard Factor and Tony Agnello “for making the world sound better — and often weirder — through the continuous development of signal processors that inspire users and delight listeners.” Factor is co-founder and chairman of Eventide Audio, Agnello is managing director.

AES Fellowship Awards were presented to Ian Dennis, Mark Ethier, Paul Gallo, Leslie Gaston-Bird, Alexey Lukin, Doug McClement and Valerie Tyler.

AES Board of Governors Awards were given to Aníbal Ferreira, Valerie Tyler, Joel Brito, Paul Womack,  Jonathan Wyner, Ruud Kaltofen, Bert Kraaijpoel, Michael Fleming and Bill Crabtree.

Those and other award announcements can be viewed on the AES YouTube channel. The awards ceremony program with recipient bios is online. 

NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society will receive a Technical & Engineering Emmy Award for its work with audio over IP, sharing the award with six partners who were involved in developing the AES67 standard: ALC NetworX, Audinate, Kevin Gross, QSC, Telos Alliance and Wheatstone.

The award is for “Development of synchronized multichannel uncompressed audio transport over IP networks,” and will be given in a ceremony at the NAB Show at the Wynn Encore on Sunday, April 19. The Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards actually are given for developments or standardization in engineering technologies that affect television.

AES67 is a protocol that established a standardized language for audio transport. AES noted that its AES67 standard for high-performance streaming audio-over-IP interoperability was introduced in 2013. It stated: “AES67 compliance allows audio content interoperability between the proprietary IP-based audio networking protocols developed by the Emmy co-winners: RAVENNA, Dante, Q-Sys, Livewire+ and WheatNet-IP.”

AES Fellow Kevin Gross led the AES67 Standards effort and is the chair of the AES Technical Committee on Network Audio Systems.

In the AES announcement of the award, Gross was quoted: “The improvement from audio networking born in the mid-1990s to new IP-based solutions emerged as a simultaneous invention from the honored companies. While collectively this represented a technical improvement, interoperability was not addressed until the AES initiated the X192 project on audio interoperability.”

He thanked the late Steve Church, Rich Zwiebel, Philip Lawo and Andreas Hildebrand as leaders of companies who “understood the potential for a standard to take audio networking to the next level,” and thanked then AES Standards Manager Mark Yonge for mentoring the process.

AES Executive Director Colleen Harper said AES67 “fundamentally changed the broadcast audio landscape and paved the way for recent similar developments for video.”

ARLINGTON, Va.—2020 is the year that ATSC 3.0, aka Next Gen TV, will make its way to consumers. SMPTE plans to offer a preview of many of things that will come with ATSC 3.0’s rollout with its Next Gen TV Summit on Jan. 16.

SMPTE’s Washington, D.C., section will host the all-day conference with SBE and AES. The summit will cover how ATSC 3.0 will transform the consumer experience and create new opportunities, as well as how simultaneously emerging 5G broadcast technologies will impact the media industry.

Presentations will be given from Madeleine Noland, ATSC president; Thomas Janner of Rohde & Schwarz; Jeff Andrew from Osborn Engineering; Perry Priestley of Elenos Group; John McCoskey, SpectraRep; Triveni’s Mark Corl; Rick Ducey from BIA; and NAB’s Skip Pizzi, as well as others.

Registration is required for the event. SMPTE, SBE and AES members can register for $50; non-members can register for $100.

The event will take place from 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. at WETA TV, 2775 S. Quincy St., Arlington, Va.

For more information, or to register for the summit, visit SMPTE’s website.

For a comprehensive source of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see ourATSC3 silo.

Webinar – IP Audio Systems

 Standards such as AES67 and SMPTE ST 2110-30 have both appeared within the past three years, and are already making significant impact on the industry. With IP-based audio systems, hundreds of high-quality, 24-bit audio streams can be transported using a single, inexpensive gigabit Ethernet connection, thereby greatly reducing the cost and complexity of multichannel audio production.

TV Technology will be presenting a live webinar at 2:00 pm EST March 21st that will begin with an overview of IP audio technology. The new standards will then be reviewed, followed by a discussion of design tips that can promote interoperability between various IP audio systems.

Webinar topics will include:

• Fundamental concepts of IP Audio
• Understanding AES67 and SMPTE ST 2110-30
• Interoperable IP audio network design tips

Click here to register and learn more. 

Dennis Baxter is the new columnist for Inside Audio

The beginning of a new year is a good time to reflect on the past and look down the road to the future. Jay Yeary, my friend and colleague, is taking some time off. I will attempt to fill his big shoes by continuing to present concepts and ideas about audio for broadcast and broadband and how to navigate through the sound minefield to success. TV Technology is known for presenting the latest in technology and innovation, and I plan to continue Jay’s excellent work with a year long exploration of the technology and production practices that will make possible the transition into a new world of sound.

Technology makes possible advances in production practices and value. For example, advances in technology resulted in stereo and surround sound, and today we have the technology to transmit between 16 and 24 full fidelity audio channels and many more channels by adjusting the encoding parameters.

But now the question is: what will we do with all those channels of audio? Immersive sound and interactivity come quickly to mind.

IMMERSIVE AUDIO

For several years we have all read in TV Technology and other publications about ATSC 3.0, a set of voluntary broadcast standards for the production of advanced audio and video and at least one major U.S. network, NBC, has been moving forward with testing immersive audio.

NBC has successfully completed the audio testing by capturing and producing immersive sound using Olympic and college football content and distributing the production over its DirecTV partner. At an AES presentation, I heard a senior level NBC audio executive acknowledge it was better than he expected.

But there can be confusion. There have been a variety of audio papers and publications espousing a multiplicity of opinions about what immersive sound is, so it is beneficial to hypothesize a set of discussion parameters. Fundamentally, immersive sound includes some sound reproduction above the listener: either two front speakers for height, denoted as 5.1.2 or four speakers for height represented as 5.1.4. The 5.1 is the typical surround sound speaker setup and the .2 or .4 is the number of sound source channels above the listener. I say “sound source channels” because the sound above the final listener will likely be from side-firing or up-firing speakers or soundbars.

The question now is how does the audio practitioner get from 5.1 surround sound production to some sort of immersive sound?

There is little information and practical experience on how to produce immersive sound live and I plan to share the experience of my fellow sound designers and mixers as well as my practice with producing immersive sound in my 11.1 Genelec studio for the last six years. I assure you the solution is more than a “black box.”

Over a series of columns, I will examine the technology that will make immersive sound possible for the audio mixer, sound designer and content producer. Additionally, we will discuss production practices and possibilities to inform the audio practitioners who has to craft immersive sound.

In the last decade, audio has seen the development and implementation of digital infrastructure technology with digital networks using MADI and IP protocol and it seems that IP systems have touched virtually every signal path and flow that an audio person deals with. This may be the death of analogue audio except for the conversion of sound with transducers such as microphones and speakers.

Microphone reviews show up in the pages of TV Technology, but I plan to look at new approaches to conventional analog capsule microphones such as MEMS-based technology and computer controlled microphones that can beam form into a variety of patterns.

All the microphone manufacturers are experimenting with MEMS technology, but I suggest they get away from conventional microphone design. A MEMS-based shotgun microphone would probably improve durability, but I see new capture methods using beam steering as the future. Now marry those technologies. I have listened to a 19 capsule MEMS microphone and was surprised at the cost and sonic performance. We will discuss these topics later this year.

IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD

Fundamental to immersive sound production is vertical panning. The mixing consoles used for live broadcast and broadband are different than the virtual mixing desk in the post production world. Mixing immersive sound in a studio is firmly entrenched with film and drama because vertical panning is possible with Dolby Atmos, Auro 3D, THX and many other unknown (cheaper) programs that have vertical panners. However, 3D panners for live production of sports and entertainment have only recently seen the light of day with 2018- 2019 offerings from SSL, Calrec, LAWO and Stagetec, to name several. This year I will take the time to explore the possibilities and requirements of next generation mixing consoles.

I believe if we sound practitioners/mixers can hear it, we can mix it. Immersive sound monitoring in the confined space of the OB van is going to be a significant challenge. Test productions have been conducted in some existing OB vans and OB suppliers and designers are considering ways to accommodate immersive sound. Additionally, speaker manufacturers such as Genelec have a range of speaker sizes that seem to be a temporary solution. I would like to suggest that speaker manufacturers come up with alternative designs that would fit better in small spaces. I suggest there could be mathematically placed speakers to create some sort of virtual sound reproduction of any format from stereo to 11.1 or even a 22.1 immersive soundfield that would reside in the OB van. Master control would monitor in a proper acoustical environment with a variety of speaker configuration including soundbars and advise accordingly. Remember, essentially all consumers will listen on some configuration/variation of a soundbar, making a virtual sound reproduction platform at the capture point useful.

CONSUMERS DRIVE THE ADOPTION

Immersive sound is coming quicker than expected because there are standards, encoders and processors, but most importantly, the consumer can experience a better sound product over soundbars and headphones. Reproduction quality is only getting better. Is it perfect immersive sound? Good question, but probably not. Does it sound better to the consumer? Probably. But the consumer will get the ear of the content producers and drive the adoption of immersive sound.

For the audio practitioner the question is how do we produce sound for the future? Practice, test, learn and question.

The question that concerns me the most is how does the audio practitioner design sound for a wide range of playback options? Last month’s CES showed that there are plenty of consumer playback options… but soundbars are at the top.

Audio production will suffer from a range of reproduction options which are probably not capable of precisely reproducing the sound designer’s aural vision. The consolation is that it probably sounds better than what the average consumer was listening to and that is the starting point.

Over the course of the next year, we will take a look into that crystal ball for the future of audio, and most importantly, how you can best prepare for it.

Dennis Baxter has spent more than 30 years as a sound designer. He is the author of “A Practical Guide to Television Sound Engineering,” and is working on a book about immersive sound practtices and production. He can be reached atdbaxter@dennisbaxtersound.com.

GLENDALE, CA.—National TeleConsultants (NTC) has joined the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), a nonprofit industry group working to foster the adoption of open standards for moving from SDI- to IP-based media networks.

NTC provides strategic technology and operations consulting, engineering design, software development, and systems integration to the media and entertainment industry. Clients rely on NTC's industry expertise to select, customize, develop, and deploy innovative advanced technology solutions. 

AIMS comprises broadcast and media companies and technology suppliers working together to promote industry standards for transmitting video, audio, and ancillary information over IP infrastructure in professional applications, as well as products based on those standards.

"Open standards developed by SMPTE, AES, EBU, and AMWA and promoted by AIMS are an important foundation for the transition to all-IP workflows in television production and distribution," said Ken Long, NTC principal consultant, who led an NTC team that provided systems-integration support for the IP Showcase interoperability demonstration at the 2018 NAB Show and who will represent NTC in the AIMS Technical Working Group. "We believe strongly in the AIMS roadmap, which seeks to tie all those standards together into a single system that benefits all of us."

NTC is expanding its participation in industry-wide activities to accelerate the IP transition.

"We see IP technology as fundamental to our clients' efforts to meet increasing audience expectations for technical quality while improving flexibility and reducing costs," said Laurie Morse, head of corporate strategy at NTC. "That's why we found it so important to be a part of the charge toward an all-IP world."

AMSTERDAM—The IP Showcase will return to the IBC for the third year in a row, according to several broadcast technical and standards organizations.

The Audio Engineering Society (AES), Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), and Video Services Forum (VSF) will again host the IP Showcase at the annual IBC Show in Amsterdam, Sept. 14-18.

The Showcase, which started out as the “IP Interoperability Zone” at the 2016 IBC Show, will feature vendors and broadcasters who will provide instructional and case-study presentations and an array of IP-based product demonstrations highlighting the benefits of, and momentum behind, the broadcast industry’s move to standards-based IP infrastructure for real-time professional media applications.

[Read: IP Showcase Returns To IBC2017]

Organizers say the event has been instrumental in helping the industry to galvanize behind the standards-based approach to IP. This is the first IBC show since the publication of documents within the SMPTE ST 2110 Professional Media Over Managed IP Networks suite of standards, the foundational standards for essence-based transmission of video, audio, and metadata.

“The broadcast industry reached a crossroads when it faced the choice of pursuing a standards-based approach to IP or pursuing multiple alternatives and directions,” said Brad Gilmer, executive director of the IP Showcase. “Almost unanimously, the industry chose the standards-based approach, uniting behind SMPTE ST 2110/ST 2059, AES67, and AMWA IS-04/IS-05. As we move from watching the progress of the early adopters into seeing how the industry as a whole will move into the IP transition, the IP Showcase is more important than ever.”

The IP Showcase will feature equipment displays and product demonstrations that emphasize everything industry vendors have achieved in support of IP standards and specifications. The displays will showcase the benefits IP can bring to an operation and will comprise equipment from an estimated 50 vendors — one of the most massive assemblies of interoperable IP products ever. Displays will highlight the benefits of IP signal transport and focus on SMPTE ST 2110-10/20/21/30/31/40, the SMPTE ST 2059 Broadcast Profile for IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP), AES67, and AMWA IS-04/IS-05.

The IP Showcase Theatre will provide an education resource of information about the phases of IP adoption. Vendors, broadcasters, service providers, and integrators alike will highlight their solutions to technical challenges related to the transition from SDI to IP. Choosing from a full slate of presentations on IP technology and installations, professionals ranging from broadcast/IT engineers and CEOs to TV producers can learn how to unlock the full potential of using IP for real-time professional media.

The IP Showcase will take place in rooms E106 and E107 at RAI Amsterdam during the show. More information is available at www.ipshowcase.org.

NEW YORK—The 143rd Audio Engineering Society International Convention and Exposition promises more synergies of people, ideas and technologies than any AES event in history. That's important to consider, as the modern audio engineer will likely touch down in fields of broadcast and content streaming, networked audio, live sound, recording and music production, audio for games, films and multimedia content—and who knows what else—just within the next year.

AES attendees will continue to find the most carefully curated new technologies on the exposition floor, yet a broader sense of purpose will be emphasized through the Javits Convention center. Co-located with the debuting NAB Show New York event, AES allows members and attendees with an Exhibits-Plus or All Access AES registration the full scope of what it means to both literally and figuratively network in pro audio today.

Nothing more effectively exemplifies the necessity of these AES Convention synergies than the AoIP revolution within professional audio. More often paired with the video content, the workflow of audio engineering is increasingly distributed via Ethernet and manipulated via GUI, or touch, devices. And despite the stalwart creative uses of analog signal processing, most historically analog products have been effectively emulated in digital tools, or plug-ins, today, thus processes living in an at-the-source captured digital world offer a variety of positive benefits. So the network controllability of, for example, a digital microphone opens up a world of workflow (and cashflow) benefits. Such concepts are just the tip of the iceberg; one that is melting due to the hot brain trust to be found at gatherings like AES NYC 2017.

“Networked audio affords end users and installers so many benefits that it's easy to see why [many] customers are demanding it,” note Audio-Technica Engineer Ben Cochran, who has worked on his company's AoIP/Dante-ready microphone initiative—a “disruptive tech” success, like USB microphones—from the beginning. “Installs are cheaper and easier when using Cat5 over traditional copper cabling. Giving customers the ability to remotely-control their devices over the same cable connection that's providing audio means less confusion in routing, channel identification, and establishing presets between different setups or shows. Customers are always excited by the ability to plug a host of microphones into a network switch and configure them without worry that something was plugged in to the wrong channel, or has the wrong setting. Once the audio is on the network, it can go anywhere and easily be reconfigured. For that reason, we believe that networked audio is the future of connectivity for professional media products.”

NEW YORK—AES New York 2017 lives up to its Maximum Audio theme with over 200 sessions across the four-day technical program, presented by over 700 of professional audio’s leading luminaries. Included in the four days of intense audio research presentations, workshop and tutorials are themed presentation stages on the floor of the world’s largest dedicated pro audio gear exhibition. Six offsite technical tours take the convention to the New York streets, with an extremely exclusive, fully-booked tour of One World Trade Center’s new broadcast operations as a special evening event. The convention’s technical program has been crafted over months by experts representing the full gamut of pro audio specialties within dedicated content tracks—Archiving & Restoration, Audio for Cinema, Broadcast and Streaming, Game Audio and VR, Networked Audio, Product Development, Recording & Production, Sound Reinforcement, Spatial Audio and a host of Student and Career Development sessions. All Access registration is an attendee’s portal to all the convention has to offer.

The convention will also see the return of the popular series of exhibition floor Expo events, open to all attendees, including those registered with an Exhibits-Plus pass. Along with the return of the popular Project Studio Expo and Live Sound Expo events, AES New York 2017 brings the debut of the Broadcast Audio Expo, Broadway Sound Expo, a new software@aes pavilion and a series of Mix with the Masters Mixing Workshops.

software@aes Pavilion: As software continues to play an ever-increasing role in audio recording, production and delivery, the AES has worked in partnership with IMSTA (International Music Software Trade Association) to create a new showcase featuring leading software manufacturers and developers of DAW’s, plug-ins, virtual instruments and apps.

Mix with the Masters Mixing Workshops: The AES and Mix with the Masters have teamed together to bring a program of workshops from some of the world’s best engineers and producers for this first-ever AES exhibit floor collaboration. The workshops are held in association with Barefoot Sound, Solid State Logic and Apogee Electronics.

Project Studio Expo: The PSE provides a stage for icons of the industry to offer practical advice and to share knowledge and experience to personal studio owners. The PSE is being hosted in partnership with Sound On Sound magazine and sponsors Focusrite, Genelec and Neumann/Sennheiser.

Broadcast Audio Expo: The BAE sessions cover vital broadcast audio issues in networking, radio and TV studios, outside broadcasts and major events. The Broadcast Audio Expo is being held in partnership with sponsors Yamaha, Neumann/Sennheiser, Clear-Com and Calrec.

Broadway Sound Expo and Live Sound Expo: The BSE and the new LSE sessions will offer an in-depth look at these fast-growing segments of live production audio. The Live Sound Expo is being hosted in partnership with sponsors Yamaha, Neumann/Sennheiser, Cadac, Clear-Com and LAcoustics.

NEW YORK—2017 marks a big year for One World Trade Center, as television transmission will be returning to the building. To recognize the event, AES New York has announced it will host an exclusive event that will look at the broadcast operations of One WTC.

Part of the Broadcasting and Streaming Track of the convention, the One WTC event will feature a guided tour by John Lyons, Durst Organization, of the One WTC broadcast facility as it finalizes its preparations for broadcasting before the end of the year. In all, the event will cover the design, development and technology of the facility.

The event is opened to all convention attendees, but there is a limited capacity and requires mandatory pre-registration. Registered convention attendees can begin applying for the event on a first-come, first-serve basis on Oct. 9 at 11 a.m. ET. Individual registration only; no plus-one or group options.

AES will host the event on the opening night of AES New York, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m.

NEW YORK—The ballots are in for the Audio Engineering Society International elections, with Nadja Wallaszkovits being voted into the position of President-Elect. The election also raised a new Treasurer-Elect and new governors and vice presidents for the organization.

Nadja Wallaszkovits

As President-Elect, Wallaszkovits will first serve on the AES Board of Governors and Executive Committee before she will fully assume the presidency in October of 2018 for a one-year term. This October, current President-Elect David Scheirman will take over the presidency from Alex Case, who will remain on the Executive Committee as past president for the 2017-2018 term.

The AES’ new Treasurer-Elect will be Richard Wollrich. Joining the Board of Governors, Wollrich will serve alongside current Treasurer Garry Magolis for one-year before beginning his own two-year term as treasurer.

The election also added eight new governors and officers, all of whom will begin two-year terms this October. Mike Porter joins as vice president, central region, U.S. & Canada; Thomas Görne as vice president, central region, Europe; Ufuk Önen as vice president, southern region, Europe/Middle East/Africa; Cesar Lamschtein as vice president Latin America region; Shusen Wang as vice president international region (Asia); and Kyle P. Snyder, Jonathan Wyner and Martha de Francisco have been elected as governors.

In addition, a bylaw was approved that will change the position of VP International Region to VP Asia Region.

NEW YORK—The doors to the Audio Engineering Society’s 143rd International AES Convention in New York are now open with the announcement of online advanced registration. The International AES Convention serves as an audio education, networking and gear exhibition, featuring three full days of presentations, events and experiences.

Interested registrants who sign up through advanced registration, which will offer the lowest price on technical program All Access badges, will also receive complimentary Exhibit-Plus registration until June 17. In addition, with AES New York 2017 being co-located with NAB Show New York 2017, registration at any level for AES New York will give attendees access to the NAB Show New York exhibition floor and the content in the NAB Show New York’s Core Package.

For full program details about AES New York 2017, visit www.aesshow.com.

AES New York 2017 will take place from Oct. 18-21 at the Jacob Javits Center.

NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society has announced the people who will be behind the scenes organizing the upcoming 142nd International AES Convention.

Sascha Sports, professor at the University of Rostock and chair of AES’ North German section, and Nadja Wallaszkovits, chief audio engineer, Phonogrammarchiv, Austrian Academy of Sciences and former AES VP of the Central Europe Region, will serve as the convention’s co-chairs. The pair will be joined by AES Fellow Jamie Angus and current AES VP for the Central Europe Region Thomas Sporer as papers co-chairs; Sascha Disch of Fraunhofer and AES Fellow Natanya Ford as workshops co-chairs; Jens Aherns, University of Technology Berlin, as facilities co-chair; and André Maletz, Mixing Ambulance, as co-chair for technical tours. Additional committee members are expected to be announced in the near future.

The 142nd International AES Convention will take place in Berlin from May 20-23. The four day program will include programs and presentations, technical tours, and a three-day manufacturer exhibition. For more information, visit www.aeseurope.com.

At the 2016 Audio Engineering Society Convention in Los Angeles, I ran into a friend who was manning the booth of a broadcast audio console manufacturer. I had finally managed to get to the show floor for a quick walkthrough of the exhibits before heading back to another meeting room. He expressed consternation about why they were there since it wasn’t a broadcast show and few attendees would be looking for a high-quality digital audio console.

Along with seeing demos of new products, the AES Convention has become an opportunity to dive into the technology of what we do and see how it is being used. This struck me as odd since there were many years where that was exactly why I went to the show. Manufacturers of larger audio products now tend to stick to broadcast- focused shows since recording and post engineers have gravitated to working inside the box with emulations of hardware, including features from audio consoles.

As I pondered the implication of my friend’s words—that the convention dedicated solely to audio is no longer the place for audio consoles with amazing sound and incredible technology—I realized that the dynamic of the convention has changed for me as well. It’s no longer primarily about getting to play with fantastic new audio products, but it has become an opportunity to dive into the technology of what we do and see how it is being used.

AUDIO FOR VR

Merely judging the show by exhibit space alone gives an incorrect impression of what is going on at the show because the technical program of workshops, papers, tutorials and technical tours were incredibly busy. In addition, the AES Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality (AVAR) technical conference was held in conjunction with the convention this year, which meant some of us were standing around with boxy, modern day Viewmasters on our faces.

VR and immersive audio seem to be exciting people and offering opportunities in television, film and gaming that may not have previously been on their radar. VR, while an interesting technology, is not one I’ve seen much practical value in until this show when I ran across a small company called Audio Fusion who deservedly won the AES Silver Award in the student design competition.

Audio Fusion has created a virtual studio training environment by modeling an analog recording studio to provide hands-on training for those who don’t have access to an actual studio. Trainees use headsets, headphones and custom controllers to manipulate audio consoles, patchbays and other studio equipment.

NEXT-GENERATION AUDIO

The status and production of immersive and object-based audio, now collectively referred to as next-generation audio (NGA), was discussed in several sessions.

Dolby AC-4 has been selected as the next-generation audio format for the United States, while MPEG-H will be used in the country with the most aggressive timeline for ATSC 3.0 rollout, South Korea. This is the first broadcast format designed to deliver broadcast content to devices of all types, not just to televisions, including new devices as they arrive on the scene.

Mobile devices in particular bring with them an array of level and dynamic range problems due to the nearly limitless number of viewing environments they could be used in. AC-4 will manage these mobile environments as well as static listening environments, by utilizing multiple metadata profiles and rendering audio at each device. MPEG-H proponents remain skeptical as to whether the metadata in AC-4 can survive the distribution process despite the benefits of audio control and interface customization.

Audio Fusion has created a virtual studio training environment by modeling an analog recording studio to provide hands-on training.AUDIO FOR OTT

At last year’s convention, the AES Technical Committee on Transmission and Broadcasting published their technical document for audio music streaming and this year their subcommittee, AGOTTVS, has released technical document AES TD1005.1.16-09, which covers loudness for OTT streaming. “Audio Guidelines for Over-the-Top Television and Video Streaming” provides more than the lengthy acronym for the subcommittee; it also provides initial loudness recommendations for a problem-fraught delivery medium.

There are four recommended practices in the document: the use of agile or static metadata when devices are full-range and distribution is able to support it; a list of how to handle content when the distribution system does not have metadata capabilities along with a recommended loudness setting of –16 LKFS for devices with limited dynamic range; the recommendation that all loudness implementations be tested for anomalies; and recommendations for versioning of the same material with metadata encoded versions left at full range and reducing the dynamic range of versions without metadata.

AGOTTVS is made up of broadcasters, manufacturers and streaming companies, and is headed by NBC’s Jim Starzynski, who helped forge the A/85 loudness recommendations that form the core of the CALM Act. It is a testament to this group that they have been successful in engaging some of the streaming providers in the standards process. Hopefully all of them will get involved as the group’s work develops into a standard.

AUDIO-OVER-IP

Sessions on AES67 drilled down into this maturing technology, covering some large deployments of it in real-world live events. One important point that was brought up, and one I’m not sure I’ve stressed enough, is that AES67 is not a competitor to other AoIP technologies, but is meant to help them all work together.

Video is certainly a big part of the broadcast world, but it was not originally mentioned in AES67 despite the possibility that it could be included later. AES67 has now been adopted by the Joint Taskforce on Networked Media (JTNM) in its Video Services Forum (VSF) technical recommendations TR- 03 and TR-04 for inclusion into the upcoming SMPTE ST-2110 standard. This means that manufacturers adhering to AES67 technical recommendations now have access to the television market as long as they also adhere to the Networked Media Open Specifications (NMOS) from the AMWA.

There were many other interesting sessions this year, and we’ve only scratched the surface of the few covered here, but we’ve run out of space. December is traditionally a time for gift giving and making resolutions, so I encourage you to consider giving the gift of education in some form this year because it truly is the gift that keeps on giving. Keep on learning!

Jay Yeary is a broadcast engineer and consultant who specializes in audio. He is an AES Fellow and a member of SBE, SMPTE, and TAB. He can be contacted through TV Technology or attransientaudiolabs.com.

NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society has announced that Dr. Richard Cabot, a former president of AES, will assume the duties of standards manager upon Mark Yonge’s retirement after the 2017 AES International Convention in Berlin.

Dr. Richard Cabot

Cabot has long been involved in AES standards. He chaired the development of the AES17 standard on digital audio measurement and was a founder of Audio Precision and helped develop its digital audio measurement technology. Cabot works for XFRM, Inc., designing professional audio equipment, consulting on intellectual property patentability and infringement issues, and evaluating technology.

Yonge and Cabot are currently working together on their transition.

The AES Standards Committee conducts the standards program of the AES, and have developed such industry standards as AES3, AES10, AES67 and AES70.

NEW YORK—A handful of students are getting some kudos from the Audio Engineering Society, as the organization has announced the recipients of the 2016 AES Educational Grants for Graduate Students in Audio Engineering. Eleven grad students received new grants or renewals of grants.

AES named Sina Hafezi and David Moffat as its 2016 Harman Scholars. Hafezi received a renewal grant to continue his PhD studies in speech and audio processing at Imperial College London. Moffat’s grant will help with his PhD candidacy in computer science at Queen Mary University of London. These scholarships are offered from Harman International Industries to encourage excellence in audio, per AES’s press release.

The Bruce Swedien Scholarship is designed to aid young recording engineers who follow Swedien’s mantra to put “music first.” This year’s recipient was Natasha Branch, who is pursuing an MFA in recording arts and technologies at MTSU.

NYU graduate student Juan Simon Calle, who is studying performing arts and technology, has been tapped for the Emil Torick Scholar distinction, which is handed to a student with “exceptional career goals.”

Given to students who excel in both technology and music, this year’s John Eargle Award was renewed to Jonathan Kaspy, a sound recording student at McGill University.

Named after Grateful Dead system engineer Don Pearson, the Don and Fran Pearson Award goes to a student with an interest in audio research and focus on live sound, music and innovation. This year’s recipient is Ross Hammond, a grad student in audio engineering at the University of Derby, U.K.

Another renewal was provided to Spencer Shafter, who will once again receive the Larry Estrin Scholarship. The scholarship is meant for students with a commitment to audio engineering in the broadcast industry. Shafter is currently a MM student in music technology and performing arts at NYU.

Rounding out the grants are Ana Djordjevic, a PhD candidate in EE from Nis, Serbia, who received the Advancing Audio – Tom Kite Scholarship. Jose Ernesto Valenzuela Arena of NYU and Jack Kelly from McGill University both received renewal grants; Jennifer Nulsen from McGill University also received a grant.

WASHINGTON—News from the convention planning circuit…

The National Association of Broadcasters and Audio Engineering Society will collocate their fall conferences next year.

The AES East Coast convention, with its emphasis on audio, and the NAB Show New York, slanted to video and content distribution, will be held side by side in October of 2017 at the Javits Convention Center. The move is likely to help the events benefit from one another rather than compete for attention and audience at about the same time. Organizers expect a combined total of 25,000 attendees.

This also is another step in the evolution of two events that were at one time known as Content & Communications World (CCW) and the Satellite Communications Conference and Expo. NAB acquired those in 2013 from trade show organizer JD Events, further ramping up the association's profile in the conventions business, where it has long been known for its large spring convention. NAB subsequently named its fall event NAB Show New York.

“The AES annual fall USA convention will be held Oct. 18–21, 2017, and NAB Show New York will be held Oct. 18–19, 2017,” the two organizations announced. “The adjacent location of these events creates the most comprehensive and largest media and entertainment event held on the East Coast with more than 600 exhibitors.” 

The announcement was made by AES Executive Director Bob Moses and NAB Executive Vice President of Conventions and Business Operations Chris Brown. It did not indicate whether the arrangement would be repeated in the future. The fall AES event typically is held on the east and west coasts in alternating years, while NAB Show New York presumably will not.

This story originally appeared in TVT's sister publication Radio World.

NEW YORK—In conjunction with the 141st AES Convention that will take place in Los Angeles, the Audio Engineering Society is set to host the inaugural AES International Conference on Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality. In the lead-up to this new conference, the AES has announced some of the expected presenters, which include the likes of Magic Leap, BBC, Dolby, Sennheiser, Qualcomm, NASA and Fraunhofer.

Presentations during the conference plan to cover technical and practical aspects of audio for VR/AR, including papers on research developments, workshops and tutorials on production tools.

The opening keynote will be given by Philip Lelyveld, the head of the virtual reality/augmented reality initiative at USC’s Entertainment Technology Center. George Sanger, “Grand Vizier of Noise” for Magic Leap, will issue the closing keynote.

AES 141 registrants will be able to attend the AES AVAR Conference, as well as additional educational sessions and special events, for free with an Exhibit-Plus badge.

For more information on the upcoming show, click here.

NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society has announced a series of Broadcast and Streaming Media Track events that will take place during the 141 AES International Convention in Los Angeles. Organized by Track chair David Bialik, the sessions will feature panel discussions and presentations from industry professionals during the four-day conference.

The sessions kick off on Sept. 29 with “Immersive Audio Absorbing Radio and TV Audiences in 2016 and Beyond” from John Storyk of Walters-Storyk Design Group, which will focus on the technical and acoustical challenges of upgrading existing broadcast studios to handle immersive audio. Subsequent panels will be held on the physical and psychological effects of listener fatigue and the capabilities of immersive and object-oriented audio for home listening experiences.

On Sept. 30, the “Audio Considerations for 4K and 8K Television” seminar will tackle the evolution of 4K and 8KUHD broadcasting and ATSC 3.0 and Super Hi-Vision experimental transmitters. There will also be an Engineering Brief lecture, interview with Orban Stereo Synthesizer creator Bob Orban, and an “Audio Considerations for Over-the-Top Television” presentation examining advancements in online content delivery will take place that day.

A trio of sessions will be offered on Oct. 1, including “Designing, Building and Maintaining a Radio Performance Space” with CBS Radio’s Tracy Teagarden; a session of IP in the broadcast world with Steve Lampen of Belden; and “Considerations of Podcast Audio” discussing the craft of sound design for podcast audiences with experts from American Public Media and Love + Radio.

The Track events will round out on Oct. 2 with a “Grease: Live – the Mixer’s Perspective” panel about the production of the “Grease: Live” broadcast on Fox from earlier this year.

The 141 AES International Convention will take place in Los Angeles from Sept. 29 - Oct. 2 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

NEW YORK—The DTV Audio Group returns to AES International Convention this year with its DTVAG Forum, this year ready to address new developments with audio production and delivery in television. The forum, titled “The Changing Face of Television Audio: Objects, Immersivity, and Personalization,” will take place on Oct. 1.

Among the topics that will be covered in the forum are: the impact of VR on immersivity and personalization in television; evolving tools for object audio post production; advanced authoring tools: live audio production; challenges and opportunities for live production deliverables; and the challenges of loudness management in multi-platform streamed content delivery.

“The impact of streaming is upending the entire television business, and audio is benefitting,” said Roger Charlesworth, executive director of DTVAG. “The migration from traditional broadcasting to an IP stream-based model is accelerating the uptake of advanced encoding solutions with sophisticated audio services. This is good news, but expect turbulence along the way.”

AES 141 will take place in Los Angeles from Sept. 29-Oct. 2. The DTVAG Forum will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Oct. 1 from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

NEW YORK—Members of the Audio Engineering Society are getting some new benefits per a recent press release from the professional audio organization. AES members will now have access to the AES E-Library as a benefit for all members, associate members and student members.

The E-Library offers documents and other resources of the entirety of AES’ history and contributions to the audio industry in an online database. Additional benefits of AES membership include discounts on AES events, and access to the organizations library of streaming videos with industry leaders.

As a result of the new features, AES has announced that it will raise its membership dues as of Sept. 1; annual dues for AES members/associate members will be $125, while AES student members will pay an annual due of $50. AES is offering current members to renew their membership, and for new members to sign up under current rate for the month of August. Up to five years of membership can be purchased at the current rate.

For more information on how to become an AES member, visit www.aes.org/join.

NEW YORK—Long-time broadcast professional Larry Estrin is having his legacy remembered by the Audio Engineering Society Educational Fund, as the organization announced the creation of the Larry Estrin AESEF Scholarship Fund. The scholarship will be handed out annually to graduate students, with preference given to those who have shown a “dedicated commitment to audio engineering,” per AESEF’s announcement.

Larry Estrin

Estrin was a pro audio industry innovator who contributed to wireless RF technology, broadcast production and live sound. Some of his career achievements included developing the first remote audio mobile unit designed for TV production; establishing standards for dual/redundant/diverse path physical backbone wired and wireless communications; initiating the use of rolling audio speaker carts during production of the Super Bowl; and coordinating the first stereo broadcasts of the Academy Awards and Grammy Awards. He also went on to found Best Audio production firm.

Estrin passed away in September of 2015.

“Larry was truly an industry giant whose contributions remain remarkably influential and helped shape the broadcast and live production industries as we know them today,” said Don Puluse, president of the AESEF in the organization’s press release. “This scholarship will encourage even further creative thinking and innovation from today’s students as they pursue their educational paths to become tomorrow’s industry leaders.”

The Larry Estrin AESEF Scholarship Fund will offer $5,000 annually. Applicants must be graduate students who are also AES members; preference will be given to those who focus on audio engineering in the broadcast industry or related field with advanced studies in RF technology or communications and broadcast production.

For more information, please visit aes.org/education/foundation/. 

NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society has announced the winners of its recent elections in the 2016 AES international elections. Among those elected was David Scheirman, who was voted president-elect. He will first serve on the AES Board of Governors and Executive Committee as president-elect before officially becoming president in Oct. 2017 for a one-year term.

David Scheirman

Elections were also held for vice presidents and governors. Anthony Schultz was elected vice president eastern region, U.S. & Canada; Leslie Gatson-Bird for vice president western region, U.S. & Canada; and Per Sjosten as vice president northern region, Europe. Jim Anderson, Masataka Nakahara and Agineszka Roginska were elected as governors. In addition, Valerie Tyler was elected to the position of secretary.

All newly elected officers will assume their roles in October, following the 141st International AES Convention in Los Angeles.

NEW YORK—Co-located with the 141st AES Convention in Los Angeles, the Audio Engineering Society is hosting its inaugural International Conference on Audio for Virtual and Augmented Reality. The Society has announced the full schedule for the conference, including technical papers, workshops and tutorials.

Program content is slated to focus on the AR/VR creative process, applications workflow and product development. This will include a total of 27 technical papers that will be offered, including “Object-based 3D Audio Production for Virtual Reality Using the Audio Definition Model” from BBC Research & Development’s Chris Pike, Richard Taylor, Tom Parnell and Frank Melchior.

A series of workshops will also be provided by Fraunhofer, Sennheiser, Dolby, Sound Practices and Technicolor. Topics will cover “Audio Production, Mixing and Delivery for VR Audio,” “Immersive Sound Capture for Cinematic Virtual Reality,” “Object-based Audio Mixing for AR/VR Applications,” “Immersive Sound Design with Particle Systems,” and “3D Audio Post-Production Workflows for VR.”

There will also be a manufacturer’s expo of research institutions, developers and vendors that are providing immersive spatial audio for virtual reality and augmented reality media.

The two-day conference will take place from Sept. 30-Oct. 1. AES members can get either a one day or two day pass for $195/$295; non-members $280/$435. Registrants will also be able to attend AES 141. For more information, click here.

NEW YORK—The 141st Audio Engineering Society International Convention, which will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center, is now open for early registration. AES offers special pricing on multiple premium All Access options, this includes the full Tech Program and Exhibit-Plus registration (for free by using promo code AES141NOW at checkout for advanced registration).

AES 141 will feature engineers, producers and researchers present Technical Program sessions, including panels, lectures, workshops and tutorials, as well as three days of the gear exhibition.

In addition to the Exhibit-Plus option, Student and AES members can receive discounts for the AVAR conference. Special housing rates are also available. Find out more about early registration at aesshow.com.

The 141st AES International Convention will take place from Sept. 29-Oct. 2.

NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society is going visual. AES has announced that its AES Live video collection is now available to view on its aes.org website.

The videos were taken from past AES conventions and conferences and will continue to be updated, per AES. Content of the library includes panels and presentations covering topics like home studios, live sound, archiving and restoration, and education. There are also AES Live: Legends videos, which contain interviews with industry leaders, including Bruce Swedien, Irv Joel, Jim Anderson, John Meyer, Phil Ramone, Ray Dolby and Les Paul.

AES President-Elect Alex Case is serving as producer of the AES Live content. “There’s nothing more fundamental to the Society’s mission than sharing knowledge, and that includes preserving our heritage,” said Case.

To see the full AES Live layout, click here.

NEW YORK—In concurrence with the upcoming Sound:Check Xpo in Mexico City, the AES Mexico Conference 2016 will take place from March 13-15. The conference will features Masterclass presentations, educational workshops, and a presentation from AES President John Krivit on student and career development.

Krivit will give his address on the opening day of the conference. His presentation, “From Student to Professional: Strategies and Best Practices for Matriculating into Your Audio Career,” will highlight ways to establish oneself in the industry, and how industry trends can help shape ways to find the right jobs.

In addition, the AES Mexico 2016 conference will feature other presentations from Fernando Guzmán, José Rivera, Marcela Zorro, and Mauricio Gargel. Workshops for the conference include “The Art of Equalizing Without the First EQ,” “Loudness From a Monitoring Perspective,” and “Saving Rock & Roll.”

The AES Mexico 2016 conference is dedicated to the Latin America professional audio community. For more information or to register for the event, click here.

NEW YORK—This column is the wrap-up to a workshop I moderated at the AES Convention last October with panelists Jeff Brugger of Turner Studios, Michael Cardillo from Creative Waves, television mixer extraordinaire Ed Greene, and Sean Richardson, principle audio engineer at Starz. The proposition of the workshop was that delivering mixes for television has become substantially more complicated with the large number of outlets content is delivered to and the deliverables required by each outlet.

Where we once simply sent a mix to the primary air chain, they can now end up in places we never dreamed, after going through file manipulation processes over which we have little information or control. In addition, wide dynamic range surround mixes designed for broadcast are impractical in just about every situation outside the living room, and preparing content for the mobile world and low bandwidth connections may require modifications to channel configuration, bit rate, codec and loudness settings.

Jay Yeary (L) moderated “The Changing Audio Deliverables for Broadcast and Media” workshop at the 2015 AES Convention, which included panelists (L to R), Jeff Brugger, Sean Richardson, Ed Greene, Michael Cardillo. With loudness specifications for streaming just beginning to be sorted out, it’s still a little like the Wild West for content once it leaves the traditional broadcast path. With ATSC 3.0 bringing immersive 3D-like soundfields to the home, including more than 100 channels to manipulate, even broadcast deliverables are becoming more complicated. The following is a distillation of my key takeaways from the workshop.

Mixes Will End Up in Places We Never Dreamed—Longform content generally has the longest lifespan so it should end up in more places than promos and short-form content, but all content will be heard in more places than we think. At minimum, content will be heard on broadcast, cable, network websites, OTT, theatrical advertising and international outlets.

Due to limited time and budgets, (and our inability to foretell the future), it is impossible for a mixer to create a different mix for each outlet, so mixers should provide the best mix possible for the known outlet(s) and not sweat the others.

If the Mix Sounds Bad, Make Some Noise About It—Taking the time to listen to a mix on the primary outlet may unearth problems that a broadcaster or content outlet is unaware of and will help ensure that what’s on the air sounds as close as possible to the way the mixer intended. It can be a bit of a hassle, and no broadcaster wants to get problem calls, but if the content is not airing properly, it will also bother viewers, not just the mix engineer.

Delivery Specifications Are Critical—Broadcasters spend a lot of time developing content delivery specifications with the intention of airing content without modification of the original. Ensuring content meets the broadcaster’s specifications will save everyone a lot of grief.

Particular attention must be paid to channel configuration to guarantee the proper audio shows up on the correct channel in the air chain. Not all broadcasters use the same 5.1 channel layout and some still require delivery of content with Dolby E. Adherence to loudness specifications will keep content from being rejected for incorrect loudness levels or for exceeding True Peak values.

OTT Deliverables Are Different— Over-the-top and streaming deliverables are different because many devices can’t handle multichannel, don’t have the headroom for wide dynamic range content, or are used in noisy environments where the only possible way the content can translate is when the gain is raised and headroom is reduced.

In October 2015, the AES released technical document TD1004.1.15-10, “Recommendation for Loudness of Audio Streaming and Network File Playback,” which recommends that streaming loudness not exceed –16 LUFS nor be lower than –20 LUFS, with peaks not to exceed –1.0 dBTP. In essence, the AES appears to be advocating –18 LUFS as the overall target for streaming loudness, 6 dB higher than the target for broadcast loudness, yet the True Peak value gives back only one of those decibels for headroom. Sessions requiring additional deliverables for OTT may not have additional time booked so it may require the mix engineer to output multiple mixes at the same time.

The Lt/Rt DownmixMost People Only Hear Two Channels So Always Check the Downmix—Despite 5.1 systems being in homes and immersive audio on the way, most people still listen to television through two speakers, either because they don’t have multichannel setups or because their location dictates a minimal listening environment.

This means that the two-channel version of a mix is significantly more likely to be heard than the 5.1 version. If 5.1 is the only specified deliverable, mixers should pay careful attention to how it will sound when downmixed.

It is always best to deliver a separate two-channel mix for air everywhere that isn’t 5.1, but some broadcast air chains can’t deliver separate mixes to the home so it has become critical to listen to the downmix of all multichannel mixes and make adjustments to the original if the downmix suffers.

Lt/Rt and Lo/Ro, There Is a Difference—Lt/Rt stands for left total/right total and is a method of matrixing 5.1 mixes into a two-channel version. Lo/ro means left only/right only, in other words, a straight two-channel (stereo or mono) mix.

In order to provide a full-time surround image to viewers, some broadcasters have specified Lt/Rt as their two-channel deliverable in the belief that it will upmix better to 5.1 than pure stereo mixes, which is generally true as Lt/Rt starts with 5.1 and tries to provide an approximate reproduction of that mix when decoded.

Accomplishing this first means throwing away audio from the LFE channel, so any important sound in that channel should be mixed into the Left and Right channels. Left and Right are each separately summed with Center, which has been lowered by –3dB. The Left and Right surround channels are summed together; then added to the Left/Center sum at 180 degrees out of phase, and to the Right/Center sum at zero phase. Needless to say, all of this channel combining, gain adjusting and phase shifting is not what mixers generally want for their mixes.

Unfortunately, this process is typically done automatically in the broadcast air chain rather than being part of the mixing process, so many mixers would prefer it go away and have outlets broadcast Lo/Ro instead, forgoing upmixing entirely.

Jay Yeary would like to thank Jeff Brugger, Michael Cardillo, Ed Greene, and Sean Richardson for their willingness to share their experience and insight at the workshop that was the basis for this column. Jay can be contacted through TV Technology magazine or attransientaudiolabs.com.

NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society is setting up in sunny California for the NAMM Show 2016 as it will host a membership drive during the three day conference. AES’ booth—#159—will allow for current AES members to get the latest news about the organization or for non-members to sign-up. AES Los Angeles is supporting the membership drive.

AES will also have a number of speakers participating in the TEC Track Presentations. Among the presentations that AES will be taking part in include “How to See Through the Hype: What Audio Product Specs Don’t Tell You, and Why” by Jonathan Novick, AES Board of Governors and Audio Precision; “Audio Formats for Film and Video Releases” by Brian Seagrave, AES Los Angeles Section Committee and Modern VideoFilm, Inc.; and “Thinking Outside the Box in Manufacturer/Artist Relations” by Tim Shuttleworth, AES Board of Governors. AES President John Krivit will also be co-presenting an award with producer Jimmy Douglass during the TEC Awards ceremony.

NAMM Show 2016 takes place from Jan. 21-24 in Anaheim, Calif., at the Anaheim Convention Center. For more information, visit www.namm.org.

NEW YORK—After being voted President-Elect in 2014, John Krivit has officially been named the new president of the Audio Engineering Society. Krivit takes over the position from Andres Mayo.

John Krivit

Since the election in 2014, Krivit has served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors. He has also previously served as chair of the AES Education Committee. He currently is an associate professor at Emerson College and Bay State College in Boston.

Mayo will remain on the AES Executive Committee as past president for 2016.

“In my role as AES president, I am dedicated to our mission of strengthening and expanding our role as a driving force in shaping the future of audio technology,” said Krivit.

NEW YORK—As 2015 draws to a close, the Audio Engineering Society is preparing for the 140th International AES Convention, announcing on Wednesday, Dec. 9, the official convention committee.

Michael Williams and Umberto Zanghieri are set to serve as the co-chairs of the convention. The paper sessions for the 2016 convention will be co-chaired Thomas Gorne, Wolfgang Klippel, Bergane Periaux, Robin Reumers and Dejan Todovoric. Co-chairs for the workshop presentations will be Natanya Ford and Rob Toulson. Technical tours will be led by Phillippe Labroue, with support from facilities co-chairs Layan Thornton and Nadjia Wallaszkovits.

The 140th AES Convention is a four day event with in-depth programs and presentations, facility tours and a three-day manufacturer exhibit. It will take place from June 4-7 in Paris.

NEW YORK—As the 139th AES Convention gets underway in New York, Solid State Logic has announced that it will introduce its new Beta 500 format module hardware development kit. Featuring SSL components, the Beta module allows audio electronic users to build their own creation.

Beta

The Beta offers a self-illuminating Perspex front panel that is supplied with a collection of components identical to those used in SSL’s large format consoles. The kit includes five log, antilog and linear pots with SSL’s signature knob caps, a selection of two and four pole switches and dual color status LEDs. The components mount within the front panel in a fixed configuration but are also freely assignable to any function. The panel and controls come with a standard 500 format edge connector and is supplied with resettable fuses. The kit does not come pre-assembled and additional components, like potentiometers and tapers, can be purchased through the online store.

Solid State Logic will make the Beta available exclusively through its online store starting in November.

NEW YORK—Television broadcasting has gone through numerous significant changes since the first station went on-air more than 80 years ago, but nothing may prove to have such an impact on the medium as IP technology.

At the upcoming 139th AES International Convention, Oct. 29-Nov. 1 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, a variety of panel discussions, tutorials and workshops will address the future of broadcast at this crucial point in its progress. The Broadcast and Streaming Media Track, once again chaired by David Bialik, will address a variety of IP-related issues, going to the heart of the matter and asking: “What is a broadcaster?” “Do you have to have a transmitter to be a broadcaster?” and perhaps the most provocative question, “Consider that next year, one company claims they will be the largest broadcaster in the world, and that company is Netflix.”

AUDIO OVER IP
“Streaming Audio from the Cloud,” a panel moderated by consultant John Kean on Thursday afternoon Oct. 29, will reveal some of the ways that streaming, podcasts and progressive file transfer are being used to deliver content, and the system architectures behind them. The program notes also promise discussion of loudness issues in the “Wild West” of streaming.

Several of the members of the Technical Committee on Loudness in Streaming and Network Playback, recently established by the AES, will also discuss regulations during the “Loudness for Streaming” panel later in the afternoon. The CALM Act in this country and PLOUD on the opposite side of the Atlantic have legally codified loudness controls for broadcast TV, but no such restrictions exist for the Internet yet. With the loudness war now moving to the web, AES has produced a new set of recommendations for streaming entities.

In early 2010, Reed Hundt, Federal Communications Committee chairman during the 1990s, publicly revealed that he led efforts to make the Internet the dominant communications medium during his tenure. “We decided in 1994 that the internet should be the common medium in the United States and broadcast should not be,” said Hundt. The reasoning, he said, was that “the United States had 100 percent, essentially, penetration of the telephone networks, and the world’s largest installed base of personal computers—I think it was about 50 percent in that time period.” Allowing that some of the regulations pushed through were “a little naughty,” he added, “We delayed the transition to HDTV, and fought a big battle against the whole idea but we lost.”

Twenty-one years after Hundt’s speech, Bialik has scheduled a panel that asks, “Audio and IP: Are We There Yet?” A panel of experts will discuss the many and various protocols available for audio networking and Internet delivery while also pondering the definition of broadcasting in the IP age. Attempts to invite Hundt to participate came to naught, according to the program notes.

Additional sessions covering audio over IP, with a particular focus on the AES67 standard, Andreas Hildebrand of ALC NetworX will lead a group of manufacturing reps on the possibilities of the standard in “Benefits of AES67 to the End User on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 31. The day will end with the panel, “How Will AES67 Affect the Industry,” and on Sunday, Kevin Gross of AVA Networks will chair a panel featuring Hildebrand and Greg Shay of the Telos Alliance on the equipment-oriented session, “AES67 Interoperability Testing.”

For those interested in how the coming 4K/UHD television standard (and beyond) will affect audio, Fred Willard from Univision will lead a panel on Oct. 31, to discuss “Audio for Broadcast—Immersive, Personalized, 4K and 8K.”

Ed Greene, mixing engineer for “The Price is Right” and “Whose Line is it Anyway?” will deliver the luncheon keynote on Friday, Oct. 30.

IMPACT OF MOBILE AND STREAMING
The theme of this year’s DTV Audio Group forum is “The Accelerating Pace of Change in Television Audio.” Tom Sahara, vice president, Operations and Technology for Turner Sports and chairman of the Sports Video Group, will get the four-hour forum started with a keynote considering the impact of mobile and fixed streaming services, which has been greater and more far-reaching than previously predicted. Among the topics on the agenda is an update on the audio standard for next-generation television and a debate on whether or not the proposed ATSC 3.0 standard currently in development will provide a template for other future audio services.

With viewers of wireless devices now reportedly outpacing traditional cable TVwatchers, “Streaming Facilities—Broadcast Scaled to Internet Feeds” will ponder the particular audio post production demands of streamed versus traditional broadcast content. Chaired by architect John Storyk, principal of WSDG, the panel will compare and contrast audio post requirements for the two delivery formats, including facility designs, acoustic requirements and other issues.

“Audio for Over the Top Television (OTT)” will dig deeper into the topic with a panel of technology providers, content producers and service operators chaired by the Skip Pizzi, director of digital strategies for NAB.

On Friday, Oct. 30, Ed Greene, mixing engineer for “The Price is Right” and “Whose Line is it Anyway?” will deliver the luncheon keynote.

For more information on the 139th AES, visit www.aes.org/events/139.

NEW YORK—The Audio Engineering Society announces its return to Paris for the upcoming AES 140th International Convention, taking place June 4–7, 2016. The AES140 Call for Papers and other deadlines are to be announced in the coming months as the AES prepares for its next European Convention.

The 140th AES Convention will bring together leading audio engineers, producers, educators and more from around the world to present the latest in audio research, developments and technologies. Additionally, the convention’s four days of Tech Program events and three days of Manufacturer Exhibits and Project Studio Expo presentations are set to provide a diverse range of opportunities for attendees to learn from, and network with, the top names in the industry.

In further convention news, it has been announced that the AES142 Convention will take place in Berlin, Germany, Spring 2017.
For further information on the 140th AES Convention in Paris, visit http://www.aes.org/events/140/.

Ever since audio technology made the shift from mono to stereo imaging it seems that some listeners have been on a quest for the most immersive audio image possible. Quadrophonic, Ambisonics, Dolby Surround, DTS and Dolby Digital were all born from the desire to provide a truly encompassing audible experience for listeners.

Although early developments were audio- only, it wasn’t long before multichannel audio was married to motion pictures using systems like Fantasound and Cinerama, while television broadcasts remained mono until the 1980s.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Take a stroll through consumer electronics stores now and you’ll see a proliferation of surround systems to accompany large-screen televisions, but just as many personal Bluetooth speaker systems and plenty of high-end headphones. In fact, the trend for surround and immersion seems to be moving toward personal versus shared experiences, driven by smartphones and handheld gaming systems. However, much of the content being consumed on these devices still originates with media and broadcast production companies.

Juan Punyed, Telos Alliance director of sales for Latin America and Canada, previews a Dolby Atmos immersive audio demo in the Telos Alliance NAB booth. A number of manufacturers jumped into the immersive audio field early in the game, but now, with ATSC 3.0 seeking to bring immersion into the broadcast space, the Audio Engineering Society has stepped forward with a standard aimed at ensuring immersive audio delivery systems use the same file format for exchange of spatial audio information.

Before we take a look at the standard it is important to note that this standard promotes binaural listening as the key to immersion, which means this standard is all about the head and the space, real or simulated, that it resides in.

Binaural recording is nothing new and the typical method for making binaural recordings is to use a dummy head with microphones placed at the ears, the thought being to capture audio as a human would hear it. Unfortunately, the human head itself is another object in the acoustic space and will itself modify the audio we hear.

Depending on many variables—including where our head is in the soundfield in relation to the source—sound is likely to arrive at each ear at a slightly different time, at a different intensity and with a somewhat different frequency response depending on the shape of our head and ears, and reflections/cancelations from our body.

IT’S ALL IN THE HEAD
Fortunately our brains learn and adapt our hearing to compensate in a response called head-related transfer function (HRTF). HRTF is a key parameter of AES69 along with the help of two impulse responses: head-related impulse response (HRIR), which helps us localize the source, and directional-room impulse response (DRIR), which allows us to place the source in the room.

As with other AES standards, this one builds upon work done by other industry groups rather than establish conflicting standards and unnecessarily reinventing the wheel. In this case the work is based on ISO, ITU and IETF standards and utilizes netCDF-4 as the format for data storage.

The standard relies heavily on audio objects, a staple of the gaming audio world, which is relatively new to broadcast, and something we’ll see a lot more of as we inch closer to ATSC 3.0. The primary objects in AES69 are “Listeners,” which can consist of an unlimited number of receivers; “Sources,” which can consist of an unlimited number of emitters; and “Rooms.”

In any given AES69 file there can only be one Listener, one Source and one Room. These objects are placed within two coordinate systems that determine where they exist in space. The Global Coordinate System allows placement of sources and listeners inside the space, while each source and listener have their own local coordinates within the global system, which allow placement of emitters within the source and receivers within the listener.

Directivity patterns of emitters and receivers are defined within the local coordinate system. To assist with orientation, orthogonal “View” and “Up” vectors are defined, with View on the positive x-axis while Up is on the positive z-axis. A long list of metadata parameters are included and provide an additional method of defining variables and their characteristics, as well as important information about the data inside the file.

As one would expect, listener, receiver, room and room types are described in the metadata parameters, and provision is made for external applications to include metadata specific to their needs and requirements. Available room types are free field, reverberant, shoebox and .dae, a data interchange file providing links to 3D applications. All information gets stored in a single netCDF-4 binary data file with a .sofa (Spatially Oriented Format for Acoustics) extension. AES69-2015 goes into far more detail and depth than there is room to cover here so, as always, I encourage you to pick up a copy and dig in if you want to know more.

Binaural audio is not without its issues and detractors. Location of sources in some binaural recordings can be hard to pinpoint, with sounds to the sides being easiest to determine while sounds to the front and rear sometimes seeming as if they are located at the listening position itself.

Fortunately, the sizable list of parameters included in AES69-2015, along with built-in extensibility, likely means the standard has enough breadth to compensate for any shortcomings of binaural listening.

My one experience listening to an immersive format so far was a demonstration of Headphone:X from DTS and it was a phenomenal experience. Audio sources were played over speakers in the demonstration room; then we were instructed to put on supplied headphones and the audio was repeated.

The headphone audio sounded virtually the same as the audio from the speakers, (to the extent that most of us took the headphones off to be sure). Of course, the DTS guys had plenty of time beforehand to run room impulses and tailor the setup before we arrived, but the result was very impressive nonetheless.

If the immersive systems from other manufacturers are as impressive, and I expect they are, and AES69-2015 is used for interchange among systems, then the world of immersive audio is about to become a very exciting place to listen.

Jay Yeary is a broadcast engineer specializing in audio. He is an AES Fellow and is a member of both SBE and SMPTE. He can be contacted via TV Technology.

Sound Devices presented expanded recording capabilities, along with greater flexibility and ease-of-use outdoors for the company’s flagship 664 Production Mixer. Sound Devices showcased the benefits of the 664’s latest firmware update, Version 1.05, at the 135th International AES Convention (Gotham Sound and Communications, Booth 2738).

Sound Devices 664 features six ultra-low-noise, high-dynamic-range preamps that accept mic- or line-level signals and include analog peak limiters, high-pass filters, input trim control and direct outputs per channel. Featuring full analog audio paths for high-performance audio and superb power efficiency, the 664 also has numerous digital capabilities. Inputs 1 and 6 can be selected as AES3 or AES42 inputs for digital microphones, each with its own SRC for simplicity in system clocking. The 664’s analog output compliment includes four output buses. The L and R buses are on balanced XLR, 10-Pin and TA-3M connectors and on unbalanced TA-3M or 3.5mm connectors. Secondary output buses X1 and X2 are available on balanced TA-3M connectors. Users can route inputs and buses to four AES3 connections for eight digital outputs on the XLR and 10-pin connectors.

Firmware version 1.05 brings additional features to the mixer, including greater flexibility and ease-of-use outdoors. The “LCD Daylight Display” mode incorporates a daylight-specific color scheme and solid bar metering option for improved readability in direct sunlight. Sound Devices has also incorporated additional front-panel button shortcuts, including “LCD Daylight Display” mode (HP + SELECT encoders) and Phrase list (HP + RTN B/C) for fast entry of metadata notes. Version 1.05 also incorporates the shortcut for activating different setup tone modes. Users also have new “Track Names in Meters” options (without color gradient/ramp) that are selectable for either right- or left-side display.

With version 1.05, 664 now offers users Monophonic Broadcast WAV file support, with the ability to record up to 10 tracks to two cards, with up to three seconds of record pre-roll. If a card not optimized for multichannel monophonic file recording is used, or if the monophonic 10-track limit is exceeded, a warning message is displayed on the LCD when starting a recording. Polyphonic mode or reducing track count is recommended. In addition, when formatted in the 664, SD cards 64GB and larger are now automatically formatted as ExFAT (in accordance with the SD Association’s recommendation). All CF cards and lower-capacity SD cards remain FAT32. Version 1.05 also enables a Headphone Volume or Headphone Preset default option, which sets the HP encoder to operate as headphone level or to select HP presets when rotated. Pressing the headphone encoder momentarily activates the alternative function.

Existing 664 users can download version 1.05 for free by visiting http://www.sounddevices.com/download/664-firmware/.

Like it or not, reality television has wormed its way into the American psyche, and this kind of programming will not be leaving us any time soon. Audio is not always considered a critically difficult part of the production process, but it can be, particularly if the show you’re working on involves the risk of injury or death. Such is the case with “Deadliest Catch.”

Since it premiered in 2005, this Discovery Channel programmed has reeled in millions of viewers and a pair of Emmy Awards for outstanding sound mixing for nonfiction programming. Two pros from the show, Bob Bronow (re-recording mixer/sound designer) and Josh Earl (picture editor) will be at the 135th AES Convention as part of the “Sound For Picture” seminars (http://www.aes.org/events/135/soundforpicture/?ID=3718).

One day, soon perhaps, the miles of cabling required to shuttle audio and video from point to point will be relegated to the dustbin. The AES67-2013 standard for streaming audio has now been published, and the upcoming AES Convention (Thursday, Oct.17, through Sunday, Oct. 20, at the Javits Center in New York City) will have a number of seminars dealing with networked audio.

If you’re interested, check out the Networked Audio Track seminar (http://www.aes.org/events/135/networkaudio/) that Tim Shuttleworh, Engineering Manager at Renkus-Heinz, will be chairing. “Networking will influence every aspect of professional audio within the next several years, and it’s already well-entrenched in areas such as installed sound and live sound,” Shuttleworth says. “Networked audio is very rapidly integrating itself into the very fabric of pro audio, in a wide range of applications. As a result, learning as much as you can about networked audio is critical to furthering a career in any corner of the industry. This track was developed with that in mind, to offer a wide range of information to the widest audience possible.”