127th AES Convention Broadcast Chair David Bialik
Returning for his 21st consecutive year as AES Convention Broadcast & Streaming Sessions Chair David Bialik (pictured) continues his quest for groundbreaking programming concepts. Sessions on “Audio Processing for Internet Streaming Innovations in Digital Broadcasting” and “Signal Management for Digital TV” will be augmented by events covering issues such as listener fatigue, lip sync and loudness.
In another departure from tradition, the popular panel “Considerations for Facility Design” will convene as a two-hour “Facility Design: A Case Study.” In keeping with the increased attention to the broadcast community, the AES has named Peabody Award-winning radio host William “Bill” McGlaughlin as the keynote speaker for the 127th Convention.
Broadcast event highlights include “Stream Playback and Distribution.” Encoding and stream delivery are key factors affecting a broadcaster’s distribution strategy. Today, all “connected” devices from Internet radios to mobile phones to IP-enabled televisions/set-top boxes to MOBLIN-powered Mobile Internet Devices are potential “radios.” Raymond Archie, CBS Radio’s director of Streaming Operation will chair an expert panel including Intel Ecosystem Digital Home Group Manager Majd Naciri; Reciva Internet Radio CEO Ben Terrell; vTuner CEO Harry Johnson; Stream the World CTO Jean-Francois Gadoury; and others to be announced. The discussion will encompass the strategies and complexities related to this fast-changing landscape.
Panelists for “The Lip Sync Issue” will discuss key issues affecting the industry. Panelists include Aldo Cugnini of AGC Systems; Graham Jones, NAB director of Communications Engineering, Science & Technology; Steve Lyman of Dolby Laboratories; and moderator Jonathan Abrams of Nutmeg Post. Topics include clarifying the lip sync perspectives of the NAB and SMPTE; determining where latency issues exist; considering recommendations from the ITU and ATSC; exploring existing correction techniques; addressing the video display design affect on lip sync; and examining mechanisms for ensuring lip sync is maintained when the signal reaches the home TV.
In “Audio for News Gathering,” chaired by respected industry journalist Skip Pizzi, working representatives from this branch of the audio world will discuss encountering a constantly expanding universe of options for gathering and broadcasting news. From EV-DO to BGAN, AMR-WB to HE-AAC, CF to SDHC, this session will move beyond the acronyms to investigate current and emerging options for audio field recording and “backhaul.” Panelists will be announced.
For “Facility Design: A Case Study,” a team of creative design and system integration specialists will scope out a hypothetical media environment, and consider variables in site selection, planning, construction, systems integration, acoustics, HVAC, furniture, equipment selection and aesthetics. While the options may seem limitless, the panel’s collaborative process in addressing this open-ended fantasy is guaranteed to produce an abundance of surprising recommendations and conclusions. Among the participants in this two-hour panel (to be confirmed) are John Storyk, co-principal, Walters-Storyk Design Group; independent New York City–based HVAC expert Marcy Ramos; Judy Elliott-Brown, systems integration specialist with Connectivity Inc. in New York City; leading contractor Chris Harmaty of New York’s Technical Structures; Dirk Noy, WSDG partner/GM Europe office; and David Atkins, chairman of Argosy Studio & Technical Furniture.
Additional Broadcast panels Include “Significant Technical Contributions of RCA Corporation” (joint Historical event); “Loudness and Audio Processing for Broadcast;” “Listener Fatigue and Longevity;” “Signal Management for Digital Television;” “Digital IP Audio Networking—Part 1: In the Studio; Part 2: Out of the Studio.”
“David Bialik has distinguished AES Conventions with a constantly evolving progression of panels that has drawn industry-wide recognition,” says AES Executive Director Roger Furness. “His encyclopedic knowledge of his field coupled with his close working relationships with key players in virtually every aspect of this radically shifting field are considered a mainstay of our convention.”
AES states that a comprehensive calendar of events will be posted at www.aes.org/events/127. The 127th AES Convention will be held in New York City’s Javits Convention Center, October 9-12, 2009.
