Last weekend, more than 20,000 audio professionals, including engineers, producers, mixers, broadcasters, manufacturers, educators and studio owners from over 100 countries, converged on the Jacob Javits Center in New York for the 123rd Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention.
In addition to roughly 440 manufacturer exhibits and the presentation of a wide range of technical papers, the AES staged a number of memorable events.
Legendary engineer Geoff Emerick was on hand for a 40th anniversary celebration of the release of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,” featuring Geoff Emerick, while Avatar Studios hosted the 30th anniversary of its founding as the Power Station, production home to more than 400 gold and platinum albums.
AES also presented its first-ever broadcast audio conference, with remarkable success and excellent attendance. Events included a panel discussion on innovations in digital audio, a workshop on surround contribution for radio and television and another examining loudness issues.
The loudness workshop leaders included Frank Foti of Omnia, Thomas Lund of TC Electronic, Jeffrey Reidmiller of Dolby Laboratories and Gilbert Soulodre of the Communications Research Centre Canada. Discussion centered on promoting the use of ITU-R BS.1770 standards for loudness metering. TC Electronic’s Thomas Lund pointed out that, while Dolby’s dialnorm standard uses dialog levels as a reference, “Dialog is rarely the only or dominant source.” Dolby’s Reidmiller reported that the company has adopted the use of BS.1770, and noted that dialnorm is mandated for use in loudness control for DTV in the United States, Italy and Israel, especially for commercial insertions.
Formed in 1948 by a group of concerned audio engineers, AES has more than 14,000 members worldwide, acting as a pivotal force in the exchange and dissemination of technical information for the pro audio industry.
For more information, visit www.aes.org.
