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Managing Loudness for Broadcast TV

Often viewed as the “ugly sister” when compared to its more glamorous rival video, audio is finally receiving some much deserved attention in broadcast circles. The trigger for this realisation is an increasing shift in awareness that viewers are interested in not just the pictures they are seeing, but equally the sound they are hearing. In particu...

Submitted by Anothony Wilkins

Published 01 June 2013

Learning to love IT with Dick Hobbs

There are three clearly defined levels of activity at NAB. There is the buzz which someone is trying to get going, there is the stuff which people are actually trying to buy, and there is the latest collection of buzzwords and catchphrases which provide endless entertainment for those with a love of language. This year, for instance, we were all to...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2013

Loudness: What happens now if my work is not compliant?

Now that loudness is a mandatory requirement in the United States, Europe, and much of the rest of the world, it’s not so much a question of when organizations will begin to comply, but how?1. Now the standards are in place, what happens now if my work is not compliant?There are varying repercussions for noncompliance, depending where you work and...

Submitted by Jon Schorah

Published 01 June 2013

Exceptional loudness control does not have to break the b...

by Oliver Masciarotte, Director of Customer Experience, Minnetonka Audio SoftwareThe industry is buzzing about loudness control. It is perhaps the most important audio issue facing broadcasters today because governments have mandated change. EBU R128 and other such legislation around the world attempts to provide some level of consistency in percei...

Submitted by Oliver Masciarotte

Published 01 June 2013

Evolving the industry audio monitoring systems

With respect to monitoring, particularly for multiplatform content delivery, how can our facility straddle the divide between baseband and file-based signals?The media industry as a whole is moving toward multiplatform content delivery. This shift includes and affects not only traditional broadcasters and new media outlets, but the content creators...

Submitted by Don Bird

Published 01 June 2013

Loudness measurement: One year on

By Jon Schorah, creative director, NUGEN Audio. With, much of Europe and the U.S. now producing broadcast audio to meet loudness standards, Jon Schorah, creative director of NUGEN Audio, reflects upon the current state of play, the lessons learned along the way, and what’s to come. Playout or Production Normalisation?Commonly there are two ways to...

Submitted by Jonathan Schorah

Published 01 February 2013

Metering in the age of loudness: Keeping things on the le...

By Martin DysterThe new age of production and post production for HD broadcast has gotten more complicated with the advent of legislation and guidelines concerning the relative loudness between different programs, channels and, especially, commercials. With ATSC A85 in place in the U.S., EBU R128 covering the members of the European Broadcasting Un...

Submitted by Martin Dyster

Published 01 February 2013

3D for Cinema, ProAV and Events

Over more than a century of motion picture presentations there have been periods when 3D has emerged, and each time interest has faded away. The latest 3D wave goes back to the advent of digital technology for cinemas. Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI) was formed in 2002 and delivered its first DCI Specification in 2005, when Doremi was well ahead w...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 January 2013

Loudness Monitoring: Complacent Wont Get You Compliant

Stricter regulations across the globe, the worldwide need for standardized audio level loudness processing, the need for logging and graphing mixed with long-term records maintenance for compliance verification, and the convergence of SDI/IP and ASI technologies all make for a challenging time in the broadcast industry. Identical and obligatory com...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 December 2012

OMNEO Networking Technology

Why are digital media networks becoming more and more important? For two main reasons. First, if designed properly, they allow plant communications infrastructure to be used for multiple purposes: the same “pipe” can carry audio, video, control, and other needed signals. This reduces costs of materials and installation. Second, if designed to pub...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 December 2012

Ask the Experts - IT and Broadcast converge

Q. ‘Convergence’, specifically the convergence of IT and broadcast technology, appears to be one of those themes that endures. Why does the subject still garner so much attention in 2012? It must be 15-years since the term was first used in this context, are we not a fully converged industry?No, I don’t think we are fully ‘converged’, far from it;...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2012

Tally systems and Confidence Audio Monitoring for Sports...

Q: Because sports broadcast tends to originate from OB vehicles, having the capability to connect a tally system between trucks is vital. How do you connect your TallyMan controllers together to create an integrated, seamless tally system?A: When two OB trucks are engaged in the live broadcast of a major sports event, one truck will act as the main...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 September 2012

Sport Pushes the Limits of Wireless Transmission

Sport Pushes the Limits of Wireless TransmissionBy Mark Anderson, Marketing Operations Manager, VislinkWith the London 2012 Games and the UEFA EURO 2012 European Football championships just around the corner, physical and mental endurance will be pushed to the limits. Those pressures also apply to the technology used to cover these events for the w...

Submitted by Kieron Seth#

Published 01 July 2012

Goes One Step Beyond In The Competitive Loudness Metering...

Over the last few years audio loudness has been a hot topic for the broadcast industry and one of the key issues faced by engineers in control of audio output. Significant differences in volume have led to many complaints from viewers who don’t like having to reach for the remote every time they change channel or are faced with a deafening commerci...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 June 2012

Ask the experts - Fibre optic distribution and content de...

1- With the increase in bandwidth requirements for signal distribution systems, which infrastructure provides greater benefits — copper or fibre? Can you explain why?Both copper and fibre each have their place in today’s broadcast infrastructure. As we know, the useable bandwidth of coax cable is a function of both its physical construction and the...

Submitted by Bob Pank#

Published 01 May 2012