In our frenetic and challenging working lives, more and more jobs are multi-skilled and adaptive, and we’re often expected to cover more functions than we are comfortable with. We can’t all be experts. Sometimes you don’t need to know everything about something. Sometimes we just need enough knowledge to get the job done.

Audio For Broadcast introduces some basic concepts for people who aren’t audio people. While the audio signal chain is very different to what it was a generation ago, some fundamentals remain. Things like signal processing haven’t changed and still need to be done well, but the series will also look at how we got to where we are.

It looks at how consumer technology and broadcast intent has influenced the production of content, and what that means for the people who work to put everything together. Because you never know when you might be asked to lend a hand.

Audio For Broadcast is a collection of sixteen articles presented in five parts. Each part tackles a different theme and there are three or more articles per part:

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Part 1. The Theory, The Console, Monitoring & Metering

AVAILABLE NOW - Download Part 1 HERE

Article 1 : Analogue Vs Digital
The basic principles of the science of how sound works, tackled from a contextual perspective, through a discussion of the evolution from analogue to digital audio technology.

Article 2 : The Role Of The Mixing Console
A guided tour through the basics of broadcast audio production workflow using the role of the mixing console and the core areas of its functionality, as a way to explain how it all goes together.

Article 3 : Monitoring, Mix Minus & Communications
In parallel to its role entertaining the audience via the programme output, audio is the central nervous system of all broadcast infrastructure, ensuring everybody can hear what is happening and communicate with each other - without it everything rapidly breaks down.

Article 4 : Metering
The capacity to accurately measure what is happening within an audio signal in terms of level, frequency, phase and loudness brings the solidity of science to knowing all is as it should be. Metering occurs at every stage of the production chain from capture through to playout and learning how to measure accurately dramatically improves results.

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Part 2. Broadcast Audio Capture

AVAILABLE NOW - Download Part 2 HERE

Article 1 : Microphones: Part 1 - Principles & Polar Patterns
An explanation of what microphones do, and how they do it, presented within a practical discussion of how we use different polar patterns for different applications.

Article 2 : Microphones: Part 2 - Types & Applications
An explanation of how dynamic and condenser microphones work, and the different results to expect from each, presented within a practical discussion of how we use different types of microphone for different applications.

Article 3 : I/O & Recording Devices
We explore the basics of physical connectivity & signal management encountered in broadcast audio systems alongside the destination recording devices.

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Part 3. Audio Processing Tools

AVAILABLE NOW - Download Part 2 HERE

Article 1 : Dynamics Processors
Keeping audio levels under control is the foundation of audio mixing, and Dynamics Processors give us tools to automate level control in various ways.

Article 2 : Equalizers (EQ)
EQ is one of the central tools of the audio production process and with a modest amount of knowledge and practice, a little can go a very long way to improving the subjective quality of a broadcast.

Article 3 : Noise Control & Audio Repair
Understanding where noise creeps in and how to minimize it are key audio skills but sometimes, inevitably, modern noise reduction tools are a lifesaver.

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Part 4. Routing, Sync & Latency

AVAILABLE NOW - Download Part 2 HERE

Article 1 : Routing & Asset Sharing
Getting audio sources to the right destinations is fundamental to broadcast production. From the days of analogue patch bays, to SDI embedding/de-embedding, and onwards to the luxury of IP infrastructure, device identification & discovery, and routing interfaces have been a central part of daily life in broadcast.

Article 2 : Synchronization
There is nothing worse than out of sync audio. We examine timing and synchronization in IP, baseband and hybrid systems from the perspective of audio... with a little history lesson in synchronization formats along the way.

Article 3 : Latency & Delay Compensation
Latency is a fact of life in everyday broadcast production. Understanding why it happens, and how most of our audio sources will have a slightly different latency is fundamental to establishing the right processes to bringing everything into glorious harmony.

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Part 5. Broadcast Audio Workflows

COMING SOON

Article 1 : Traditional Studio Signal Flow
A task oriented exploration of the typical signal flow from source to playout within common broadcast studio workflows. How does the audio get from here to there and what needs to happen to it along the way?

Article 2 : Outside Broadcast & Distributed Teams
Outside broadcast adds layers of complexity to broadcast audio workflows. We chart the historical evolution of the OB vehicle, discuss the many approaches to hybrid remote production and discuss the challenges of integrating temporary or permanently distributed production teams.

Article 3 : Cloud Based Audio
As broadcast production begins to find ways of leveraging the enormous potential of cloud-native production systems, and potentially re-examines how it approaches timing to achieve that potential, audio and its requirement for very low latency remains one of the key challenges. 

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