LAS VEGAS — With NAB now just a month away, it’s time to “fish or cut bait” and decide if you are going or not. To help you along, I’m going to look at some of the presentations scheduled for the Broadcast Engineering & IT conference, which happens the weekend prior to the show floor being open.
On Saturday, April 7, in N260, Kirk Harnack will present “Where’s my console?—New tools lead to new workflow for on-air radio talent,” which is all about virtual radio.
[Exhibiting at NAB Show? Nominate a product here for Best of Show Award consideration.]
“’Virtual Radio’ is the buzz-phrase among forward-thinking radio broadcasters. The term implies new tools, new methods and new workflows for producing compelling audio content. Workflow virtualization is now taking several directions. A common theme within these manifestations is the abstraction of traditional hardware into graphical user interfaces. A hardware audio console with faders, buttons, knobs, switches and meters is no longer a requirement for creating a radio show. Even a full-service live show, with studio guests, remote contribution, bumper audio, sound effects, jingles and more is easily produced using a virtual audio console. And, whether or not a console is fully virtualized, some functions can be performed algorithmically, such as gain-riding a talk show or panel discussion. Further, a virtual console can bring together equipment and functions that used to be separate and required separate hardware interfaces and controllers. With any paradigm shift in technology or workflows there will be multiple approaches to achieving similar ends. This presentation explores workflow improvements through equipment virtualization. It also examines several approaches in achieving similar outcomes aimed at producing more meaningful content with accuracy and convenience.”
Later in the afternoon, also in N260, Mike Erickson and Brad Harrison of Wheatstone will present “Processing the many forms of audio delivery.”
“Audio coming out of radio, TV and production houses takes many forms today. Audio can now take the shape of on-air or streamed or it can be put into a podcast, MP3, WAV or other audio file for later download. It can be run through a codec, over several links and played back on iPhones, laptops or the car radio, each with different bandwidths, reception quality and listener expectations. Brad and Mike take attendees through the five main considerations of managing audio. Mike discusses the issues associated with low bandwidth transport and how processing can compensate. Also covered will be poor radio reception, the quality of radios today and how to adjust processing to optimize your audio, including audio for handhelds. Brad touches on new AES audio guidelines for OTT and video streaming and how new television standards could affect audio deliverables in the future. Finally, they wrap up the discussion on infrastructure tips and the dos and don’ts for producing the best possible sound regardless of what form it takes.”
Take a look at the detailed schedule here.
