The Audio Engineering Society's AES Show 2016 ended Sunday with what most attendees agreed was an engaged crowd filling its dozen expo aisles and extensive conference program.
Given the turmoil surrounding the changing RF landscape, which is in the middle of seeing its desirable 600 MHz territory auctioned off to mobile-technology users, it's not surprising that the topic garnered considerable mindshare at the show.
One panel on the schedule was dedicated solely to the subject. However, the message from the Wireless Spectrum Update session was unexpectedly more anodyne than alarming. While acknowledging that the loss of the 600 MHz range via a series of FCC-mandated auctions would be disruptive, panelists suggested that recent events might be mitigating that disruption to a degree. Sennheiser's spectrum guru, Joe Ciaudelli, noted, The longer the auction stays open, the better it is for us. We're in better shape than expected.
That's because, he explained, each successive round of the auction has decreased the amount of spectrum to be sold off. The initial numbers have not met expectations: asking price for 126 MHz of television airwaves to be sold for wireless use has come in at just over $23 billion thus far, well below the hoped-for clearing target of $88.4 billion. As a result, under the auction's rules, the range of available spectrum for sale now decreases to 114 MHz, and as much as half the professional wireless microphone systems in use today could remain legally operational, with many still within the broadcast-friendly UHF range.
Shure VP, Corporate and Government Relations, Mark Brunner summed up the emerging sense of optimism: We're still losing a big chunk of the spectrum, but the range of alternative options is growing and will be able to some extent offset the losses.
Audio-Technica VP, R&D/engineering, Jackie Green expanded on that, adding, There won't be one wireless solution anymore. There will need to be multiple tools in our toolbox.
Audio-Technica U.S. President/CEO of Philip Cajka (left) and VP, Engineering, Jackie Green
A-T's New Venture
Audio-Technica showcased one of those tools at a press conference at its booth, and it's more than a product: the company announced formation of an entirely new subsidiary. Alteros, which will occupy a separate building across the street from A-T's U.S. headquarters in Chillicothe, OH, is tasked with developing wireless systems in response to ongoing spectrum loss. The new company's first product, the GTX wireless series, will operate in the 6.5 GHz range and provide up to 24 channels of wireless audio without the need for frequency coordination, once it becomes available early next year.
Alteros, which will be headed by Green as president/CTO, initially employs eight A-T engineers, with at least two more expected to be hired soon. We're deliberately looking outside of pro audio [for new hires], she explains. Our base is still pro audio, but, as we move up into the 6 GHz to 10 GHz ranges, we're entering new territory, and we need new thinking to go with that.
Higher frequency ranges bring different ways of design and workflow. For instance, the 6.5 GHz band will have limited range compared with the UHF spectrum, and, at 2 nW, the GTX series will have a range of barely 100 ft. but will achieve necessary area coverage by creating a grid of cells from multiple systems; up to GTX transceivers can be used in a single array. One advantage of the low-power approach is that it won't require frequency coordination.
Broadcast sports will be a major market for Alteros, Green notes, particularly as the breadth of sports genres continues to expand: We're all going to the next level now.
MPEG-H To Be a Core Codec of the Next Olympics
Fraunhofer, developer of the MPEG-H immersive-audio format, also had some news to share at the show. The format is moving toward inclusion in the immersive-audio component of the DVB Europe-based consortium's standard for broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television. Robert Bleidt, GM, audio and video codecs, Fraunhofer USA Digital Media Technologies, says that development and testing is under way for the MPEG-H commercial module specification. DVB will sanction a number of audio codecs as part of its immersive specification, with individual countries choosing which ones their national broadcasters will adopt.
In addition, MPEG-H, which in April was announced as South Korea's next TV standard, will be the core multichannel-audio codec for the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. MPEG-H is the codec for the world's first 4K TV system, which will launch in that country in February. Bleidt says the nation's major networks will use the intervening time to gain operational experience with object-based audio ahead of the games: They will be in the process of setting expectations for an entirely new audio system. Four domestic manufacturers - DS Broadcast, Kai Media, Pixtree and Media Excel - have new codec engines ready for deployment.
Over the Top
Also during the show, the AES's Audio Guidelines for Over the Top Television and Video Streaming (AGOTTVS) technical group, formed earlier this year to study the issues related to audio loudness variations in streamed video content, announced publication of preliminary guidelines, with a goal to develop comprehensive, effective guidelines for managing audio loudness of soundtracks of television and video content delivered to consumers via OTT and by online video distributors (OVDs).
The guidelines, delivered in a paper at the show titled Preliminary Loudness Guidelines, have a three-fold mission, according to Jim Starzynski, chair of AGOTTVS: First, to create awareness in the industry of a developing loudness problem; also, to invite a
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
The Audio Engineering Society's AES Show 2016 ended Sunday with what most attendees agreed was an engaged crowd filling its dozen expo aisles and extensive conference program.
