The traditional fall audio gathering, the AES Show, approaches. This year’s event once again is at New York’s Jacob Javits Center.
The show floor will be a two-day affair, Oct. 16–18, while the sessions run for three days, Oct. 16–19.
As usual there will be plenty of equipment exhibitors on the show floor. Attendees will find more than enough to put gray hairs on the GM.
Many of the sessions that would of most interest to the Radio World audience can be found in the Broadcast and Online Delivery track (see www.aes.org/events/147).
Track chairman Dave Bialik says, “We’re very open. A lot of people have gotten the opinion, ‘AES, that’s above the broadcaster level,’ but people don’t realize that broadcasters have to care about audio quality.”
For sheer star power you can’t beat the “Innovations in Audio Processing” featuring an all-star lineup, no, make that a Murderers’ Row lineup of processor gurus: Bob Orban, Orban Labs; Frank Foti, The Telos Alliance; Steve Dove, Wheatstone; George Massenburg, GML; and Tim Carroll, Dolby Labs. The session will be directed by Bialik.
Radio World Editor in Chief Paul McLane will be overseeing “Performance Spaces for Broadcast,” a look at the proliferation of live stages at broadcast facilities. Joining him will be Sam Berkow, SIA Acoustics; John Carraciola, JVC Communications; Gary Kline of Kline Consulting; and Jason Ornellas, Bonneville International–Sacramento. The session will help provide tech ideas, design tips and guidelines to navigate the concept to completion of building a performance space in a facility.
If there’s a theme being explored, perhaps it is “streaming.” There are several sessions taking on that multifaceted topic.
We can start with “Anatomy of a Stream.” Triton Digital’s Sam Sousa will be joined by Bob Orban, John Kean of Cavell and Mertz, Iaon Rus of The Telos Alliance and Mike Smith of Mainstreaming. This is a dig into where streaming is today, including its construction, and where it might be going tomorrow.
Several from the panel will also be involved with “Metadata: What Works, What Does Not and Why?” Joined by Kent Terry of Dolby Labs, they’ll turn their attention to metadata.
“Convergence of Broadcast Over-the Air and Streaming Delivery” is headed by the NAB’s David Layer. Broadcasters still reach the majority of their listeners via over-the-air transmission but few deny that digital streaming will play an increasingly larger part of their program distribution effort. He’ll be joined by Sayon Deb of the Consumer Technology Association, Jeff Detweiler of Xperi and Todd Baker of Vizio.
As part of streaming, the subcategory of podcasting is also starring. “Podcast Production Story” is led by Walters-Storyk Design Group’s Romina Larregina and John Storyk. Joined by Austin Thompson of Gimlet Media and John DeLore of Stitcher, they will examine podcast-oriented production facilities at the two podcast production houses.
There will be a related tour of the new WSDG-designed Stitcher production studios in Manhattan.
American Public Media’s Rob Byers will also helm a podcast roundtable taking a look at crafting a quality podcast.
For the really ambitious the session “Facility Design for IP,” with Andy Butler of PBS, Kent Terry of Dolby and Emeric Feldmar of WGBH, promises to be barn burner. “If you think you know IP, think again” is the tease for this session, a co-production between AES and the SBE.
In addition, there’ll also be a whole track on Networked Audio. Many of the sessions will provide updates on current technologies, some look at the next big thing while others are trying to get an idea where IP audio is going in a longer run scenario. Radio broadcast engineers, listen up.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Be sure not to miss “Emergency Preparedness and Safety for Broadcasters.” Scott Fybush, Tom Ray, Jim Leifer and Howard Price will discuss the multiple approaches that encompass a station’s emergency plans. These can include everything from personnel to facility design plus dealing with emergency officials and how to recover from an emergency. This session is a co-production with the SBE.
After all of that serious stuff, perhaps it might be time to take a break.
The “Technical History of WNYC,” featuring New York Public Radio’s Chief Technology Officer Steve Shultis, Director of Engineering Jim Stagnitto and Andy Lanset, director of archives, is a look back at the evolution and development of the influential noncommercial station, especially from a broadcast engineering viewpoint.
There’s also a pair of sessions that look at very “edgy” audio — things like 3D audio. Maybe not relevant at the moment for radio broadcast engineers but we’ve seen how fast technology can change the dynamic. “Live Broadcasting With Object-Based Audio” features presenters from Television France, Radio France and Fraunhofer discussing recent demonstrations in Europe highlighting “immersive and interactive content” in actual TV and radio productions. These include 3D audio, multiple language broadcasting and real-time alternative version mixes of programming.
In a similar vein there is a session called “Immersive Audio Mixing and Workflow for Broadcast.” A bit heavy on TV but possibly a hint of things to come in the next decade.
Other fun stuff and items that might be of interest include a number of Audio Builders Workshops. These are DIY sessions on how to build and repair equipment.
For history buffs, the HEAR Now Festival and SueMedia Radio Waves Studios will present “An Intimate Evening With Tesla and Twain,” Oct. 16. The two men, with their oversized personalities, who need no introduction, really met in the 1890s. The event features professional Mark Twain re-enactor Rob Alvey.
And, finally, as is now tradition, the attendance of sessions can count towards SBE recertification, and there will be a certification exam conducted at the show on Oct. 18.
IF YOU GO
What: AES New York 2019
Where: Jacob K. Javits
Convention Center
When: Oct. 16–19, 2019
Info: www.aes.org/events/147
How Much:
Three-Day All-Access
AES Member: $520–620
AES Student: $145–165
Nonmember: $655–755
Two-Day All-Access
AES Member: $350–420
AES Student: $100–120
Nonmember: $430–530
Single-Day All-Access
AES Member: $195–230
AES Student: $65–75
Nonmember: $235–285
Exhibits-Plus Onsite: $75
NAB Show New York
The NAB Show New York, Oct. 16–17, is collocated with the AES Show in the Jacob Javits Center. Attendees of the AES will also have access to the NAB Show New York.
It describes itself to be the “largest gathering of the media, entertainment and technology community on the East Coast.”
The show offers a floor with equipment dealers along with sessions on a range of topics, from video production to monetizing opportunities provided by cutting edge technology to a Streaming Summit.
More info can be found at www.nabshowny.com.
