The first pro audio conference and expo of the German Tonmeister Association (VDT) took place Oct. 31 - Nov. 2. It focused on the practical aspects of multichannel audio.
Audio professionals, sound engineers, producers, performing artists and more than 25 sponsoring manufacturing companies participated. Five major subject areas were explored:
- Aesthetics, recording and audio mixing
- TV, cinema and DVDs
- Multichannel media
- Audio production and mastering
- Broadcasting, reproduction and distribution
More than 50 international authors contributed to the program, delivering lectures and conducting workshops on audio and surround sound technologies. The 5.1 Surround Symposium explored aesthetics and audio giving an overview of current multichannel sound developments, aesthetical aspects and appropriate applications of today’s practical audio tools, storage media and sound distribution technologies.
Dolby Labs presented two main papers at the new conference one on "Enhanced Audio Features for High-Definition Broadcast and Discs" and "Live Broadcast Surround Sound Production for Sporting Events." The company also introduced the new Dolby Digital Plus audio standard, which was incorporated into the DVB digital television specification in February 2005 and has also been selected for the HD-DVD and Blu-ray disc formats. Dolby Digital Plus enables surround audio to be delivered alongside video coded with next generation schemes such as H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10).
Apart from lectures and workshops, 20 companies presented their technologies and demonstrated their products.
For more information, visit www.tonmeister.de/symposium/2005.
