The Broadcast & Streaming track is the main drag for radio engineers attending an AES show. Track Chairman David Bialik put together a wide-ranging series of sessions and panels.
Aphex founder Marvin Caesar will lead a panel, including legendary record producer Bruce Botnick and Genelec’s Thomas Lund, examining the age-old problem of listener fatigue. Modern ear buds and smartphone cocooning may be exacerbating the problem. “Listener Fatigue and Retention” is Sept. 29, 10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Possibly the highlight for many will be “Interview With Bob Orban,” Sept. 30, 1:30-3 p.m. The developer of the Optimod (among many things) will be interviewed by Orban’s long-time colleague Greg Ogonowski. Much of the substance will be looking back at his amazing legacy but no doubt there will be some looking forward at what could be next in audio processing.
An area of radio station promotion and community engagement that some radio stations have created is the “live” or “performance” space. Tracy Teagarden of CBS Radio will take on that subject in “Designing, Building and Maintaining a Radio Station Performance Space,” Oct. 1, 9–10:30 a.m.
One session that will concentrate on a growing content source will be “Considerations for Podcast Audio,” Oct. 1, 5–-6:30 p.m. It will feature participants from NPR, “Serial,” WNYC Radiolab and American Public Media. Stations looking for new ways of attracting and retaining listeners are increasingly looking at podcasting.
On the technical side, “Implementing IP Wiring for Audio Applications,” Oct. 1, 10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m., gets back to traditional AES fare but with a modern twist. Belden’s Steve Lampen will lead a group examining the very foundations of modern digital media networking. Do you know what Cat-8 will be? Check it out.
And speaking of cutting edges, the cutting edge in surround sound will be addressed in “Immersive and Object Oriented Audio Playback in the Home,” Sept. 29, 2:15–3:45 p.m. Thinking 5.1? No, it’s up to 22.2 with a lot more listener control of the individual playback channels. Could radio have a place in that future?
When (and if) the surround sound future is upon us all, what will the studio of the future look like? A panel led by famed studio designer John Storyk will address that question in “Immersive Audio, Absorbing Radio and TV Audiences in 2016 and Beyond,” Sept. 29, 9–10:30 a.m.
Also in the track is several TV audio-oriented sessions including focuses on IPTV, 4k and 8k TV sound along with object-oriented sound reproduction. They might be a little off-topic but they could be a lot of fun.
