John Watkinson Remembers Ilpo Martikainen (1947-2017) February 9^th 2017 - 08:30 AM

My recollections of Ilpo Martikainen go back to 1983, which turned out to be an interesting year. Finding myself once more in Eindhoven, this time for an AES Convention, I mused that the newly announced Compact Disc had shifted the audio quality bottleneck firmly onto the loudspeaker and that something would h…

Why Microphone Self-Noise is Important to Recording February 6^th 2017 - 11:00 AM

Self-noise in a microphone is important if the recordist is seeking to come as close as possible to making a clean, noise-free recording. But how does one read self-noise specs and what numbers are good and bad when making a decision on which microphone to use?

Cloud Broadcasting - Agile Development February 2^nd 2017 - 12:05 PM

In the previous Cloud Broadcasting article, we took a very brief look at cloud security and its advantages over traditional datacentre systems. In this article, we delve further into Cloud Born systems and investigate the new requirements for software development and upgrades in broadcast software services.

Loudspeaker Technology Part 5: The Aperture Effect February 2^nd 2017 - 10:00 AM

John Watkinson continues his multi-part tutorial series on loudspeaker design. In this article, he looks at the aperture effect and why it represents a challenge to loudspeaker designers.

51st Super Bowl Coverage Starts with Remote Production Expertise January 27^th 2017 - 01:00 PM

This year’s NFL Super Bowl telecast, to be broadcast live on the Fox Sports Network, will once again provide a proving ground for the latest remote audio and video technology, with a few new twists thrown in for an added “wow” factor. Interestingly, much of the big game will be sh…

Cloud Broadcasting - Introduction to Security January 26^th 2017 - 03:00 PM

In the last article on Cloud Broadcasting we looked at reliability and the client-server model in Amazon Web Services high availability zones. In this article, we look more at cloud security, a very emotive word in the IT community.

Master Sound Craftsman Jim Anderson On Telling Stories With Sound January 23^rd 2017 - 10:00 AM

One of the great creative art forms in audio is constructing narrative stories using only natural sounds. A master of the craft is Jim Anderson, who for seven years created soundscapes to tell compelling stories for National Public Radio. Now, Anderson is sharing his skills with a new generation eager…

Cloud Broadcasting - Resilience January 19^th 2017 - 12:05 PM

In the last article on Cloud Broadcasting we looked at the concept of “Cloud Washed” and “Cloud Born” and the considerations vendors must look at when delivering true cloud systems. In this article, we look more at resilience and cloud system up time.

The Difference Between Line and Mic Level Audio January 16^th 2017 - 01:50 PM

What’s the difference between mic and line level audio? If you think this basic question is overly simple, you might be surprised to learn that many people working in pro audio today don’t know the difference. An explanation is in order.

Why Microphone Sensitivity Matters? January 13^th 2017 - 10:00 AM

When using different microphones, some models require less gain than others. In layman’s terms, that means some mics are “hot” or especially “loud” while others are not. In technical terms, this is “sensitivity.” But what does it mean and why does it matter to the sound recordist?