News

AES Historical Events Trace Audio Evolution
San Francisco - Se 2, 2008 - The 125th AES Convention has slated several historical events as part of the convention program. Here's a preview.

Evolution of Video Game Sound
Oct. 2, 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
From the discrete-logic build of Pong to the multi-core processors of modern consoles, video game audio has made giant strides in complexity to a heightened level of immersion and user interactivity. Since its modest beginnings of monophonic bleeps to the high-resolution multi-channel orchestrations and point-of-view audio panning, audio professionals have stretched the envelopes of audio production techniques, as well as the game engine capabilities.

The World's First Audio Recordings: Their Recovery And Restoration
Oct. 3, 1 p.m. -2 p.m.
Lunch Keynote: Dave Giovannoni, First Sounds
First Sounds, an informal collaborative of audio engineers and historians, recently corrected the historical record and made international headlines by playing back a phonautogram made in Paris in April 1860: a ghostly, ten-second evocation of a French folk song. This and other phonautograms establish a forgotten French typesetter as the first person to record reproducible airborne sound 17 years before Edison invented the phonograph. Primitive and nearly accidental, the world's first audio recordings pose a unique set of technical challenges.

Perceptual Audio Coding - The First 20 Years
Oct. 3, 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Who could have imagined in 1988, that everyone would be clamoring for pocket-sized devices with perceptual audio decoders? What made this possible and where is this going?

The History of Audio Processing
Oct. 3, 4 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Emil Torick of CBS Laboratories leads Marvin Caesar(Aphex), Frank Foti (Omnia), Bob Orban (Orban/CRL), Glen Clark (Glen Clark and Associates), Eric Small (Modulation Sciences), Mike Dorrough (Dorrough Electronics) and Dick Burden (Burden Associates) in a discussion about the audio processing tools developed by these innovators.

Mix Foundation 2008 Tecnology Hall of Fame
Oct. 4, 6 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Hosted by Mix magazine Executive Editor/Tecnology Hall of Fame director George Petersen, 15 audio innovations will be recognized.

Innovations in Live Sound - A Historical Perspective
Oct. 5, 2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.
New techniques and products are often driven by changes in need and available technology. A panel of industry veterans will take a look back at past live sound innovations with an emphasis on the needs and constraints that drove their development and adoption.

The 125th AES Convention will be held in San Francisco at the Moscone Center Oct. 2-5, 2008.

Business

Full Compass Breaks Ground on New Facility
Madison, WI - Sep 4, 2008 - On Aug. 4, 2008, Jonathan and Susan Lipp of Full Compass Systems officiated a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction on the equipment dealer's new 140,000 square-foot building at 9801 Mineral Point Road in Madison, WI. The new facility will allow the company to accommodate growth.

The building will include 80,000 square feet of warehouse space, a large showroom, expanded space for sales and administrative offices, a recorded sound museum (that will be open to the public), two fully equipped production studios and an employee cafeteria. The facility, which will be built on 15 acres, is being designed to accommodate future growth as well.

The new warehouse will be twice the size of the current warehouse. Construction is due for completion in the spring of 2009.

Dixon Systems Takes on Manufacturing of Torpey
Toronto, ON - Sep 2, 2008 - Dixon Systems has signed a license agreement with Torpey Controls and Engineering for the exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute Torpey Time products. Dixon Systems will retain the current Torpey dealer network, will focus on expanding sales of these products worldwide, and will honor all previous product warranties. Robert Torpey, P.E., remains involved in the development of products bearing his name as a consulting engineer to Dixon Systems.

Torpey Controls, founded in 1975, specializes in clock and timer products for broadcasting, entertainment and related industries.

Sales Call Barix has applied its knowledge of IP transport to help the Fountain of Life Center of Florence, NJ, with control, automation, security and audio transport applications. Barix products are now live in the campus' Life Center, a sports, recreational and fitness center that opened this spring; Life Center Academy, a private, non-denominational K-12 school; WIFI-AM, a 500-watt Christian radio station; and the worship sanctuary, chapel and 2200-seat auditorium in the main Fountain of Life Center building. Barix Barionet control and automation products provide lighting control through motion detection and scheduling, and heating control by connecting specialized temperature sensors to the Barix devices. The devices also interface with the geothermal HVAC system to control temperatures for 41 heat pump units in various buildings, and their associated chillers, valves and dampers. The Life Center Academy also uses the Barix range of Annuncicom IP intercom devices, and WIFI-AM uses Instreamer audio encoders to stream live programming. Santa Monica, CA-based public radio station KCRW has released its latest compilation CD, Sounds Eclectic: The Next One. The compilation features a collection of 12 live tracks that were performed on KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic - a radio show that spotlights indie artists. The CD will be manufactured via the Createspace CD-on-Demand service and will be sold exclusively on Amazon.com starting Sept. 2. With the CD-on-Demand service, no pre-built inventory is needed because Createspace manufactures the CDs only after a customer places orders. Dial Global (DG) has installed Stantron Pioneer racks in its radio network facility in Valencia, CA. The racks and accessories were sold through Stantron distributor Pacific Radio in Burbank, CA. Dial Global also installed Stanton rotating Power Options vertical power strips, repositionable magnetic lighting products and rack cooling features. The new racks were integrated into the master control room to accommodate the expansion of the Dial Global network, which will include a new receiver system due to be on-the-air by Jan. 1, 2009.

People

Ferrara to Step Down as Head of HD Digital Radio Alliance
Orlando, FL - Sep 3, 2008 - As the HD Radio rollout continues, the HD Digital Radio Alliance notes it successes and prepares for a change in leadership. On Jan. 1, 2009, Peter Ferrara, currently president and CEO of the alliance, will assume a new role as strategic advisor. Diane Warren will become president of the Alliance.

Warren has been the executive vice president of the alliance since January 2008. Previously she was senior vice president of marketing and communications for the Alliance. Before joining the alliance, Warren was senior vice president of public affairs for Clear Channel Communications and the founder and president of RadioAE.com.

The alliance announced the news of its personnel change in a press release touting the accomplishments of the organization over the last three years. The groups that in the fall of 2005 there were about 300 HD Radio stations on the air with about 40 multicast channels available, no automakers offered an HD Radio and no national retailers carried receivers.

The organization says that today there are more than 1,750 HD Radio stations on the air, with more than 800 offering multicasts. There are more than 60 HD Radio receivers available at more than 12,000 retail outlets. Automakers offering HD Radio features as factory or dealer options span 14 brands across 82 models.

"As we look forward, we'll remember 2008 as a breakout year for HD Radio," predicts Warren. "In the meantime, there remains much to do and the Alliance looks forward to working closely with industry organizations, Ibiquity Digital, radio broadcasters, auto makers, dealers and retailers to bring this important new technology fully to market."

Internet Watch

College Radio Network Launches Internet Music Fest
Worcester, MA - Sep 4, 2008 - The Intercollegiate Broadcasting System's IBS Student Radio Network (IBS-SRN) will launch what it calls the Web's first live music festival. IBS-Palooza will allow multiple stations to share and play each other's live content. This is expected to become an annual event on the IBS-SRN. IBS-Palooza will be available online from each participating school's website as well at WIBS and Apple's Itunes Radio, College Radio category; Sept. 19-21, 2008.

Backbone Networks provides the steaming capability to IBS-SRN. Most bands will be performing live at their host school's campus while live on the air, and some schools will combine their efforts to create a larger live concert event. During non-concert hours, stations will be able to air live music from other time zones or from their station or syndicated from any participating school.

The following stations are scheduled to participate.