AES/NAB: Audio/Broadcast Combo Show Promises a Wealth of Gear, Technology

AES/NAB: Audio/Broadcast Combo Show Promises a Wealth of Gear, Technology AES has been experiencing some management changes By Dan Daley, Audio Editor

Monday, October 23, 2023 - 2:45 am

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The co-located AES/NAB expo (Oct. 24-27) at the Javits Center in New York City reflects the latest trends in pro audio and broadcast. The show, combining the efforts of the Audio Engineering Society and the National Association of Broadcasters, is in its seventh iteration.

On one hand, it's a reflection of NAB's - and broadcasting's - growth: the New York event, much smaller than its annual April expo in Las Vegas, came about after NAB's acquisition of the CCW SATCON events in 2015 and offers a six-month booster shot of broadcast tech between annual shows.

On the less crowded AES side, the program of panels, papers, and presentations is dense. Trends are clear: Immersive and Spatial Audio leads the pack with more than three dozen offerings; Education, long one of AES's strong suits, is also well-represented. (On the other hand, the broadcast rubric has just a single entry, an overview of NPR's venerable Fresh Air.) Artificial Intelligence is a new entry, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion has moments on all three program days.

AES, whose last standalone convention in the U.S. was in Los Angeles in 2016, has also experienced some management turmoil. In March 2022, AES Executive Director Colleen Harper resigned, and the organization began a search for her replacement. This year, global engagement and marketing agency MCI USA Association Solutions was tapped to provide the organization with leadership (MCI Associate VP Monica Evans-Lombe was named to the ED post in May), as well as sales, education, events, marketing, IT, accounting, and support services.

Conjoining the AES and NAB events in New York has offered significant and synergistic benefits for pro audio, underscoring the ongoing development of important new audio products and platforms for the broadcast and streaming-media industries while giving the organization a conduit to its core music-production constituency as well as a forum for scientific papers. This year's event promises attendees nearly as much high-end audio technology as the Las Vegas NAB Show does.

On the Show Floors Here's a look at some of the gear that will be on display. AES exhibits are open Oct. 25-27; NAB exhibits are open Oct. 25-26. All booth numbers are AES unless otherwise noted.

The AIMS Alliance will again partner with AES to host the Media-Over-IP Pavilion (Hall 3E). The pavilion will address professional-media-networking topics with particular emphasis on the IPMX standard, specifications in the AIMS Roadmap, and case-study presentations. Its focal point will be the Media-Over-IP Pavilion Theater, which will host a continuous program of 30-minute presentations covering the latest developments in this constantly evolving field.

Audinate is celebrating Dante's best year yet.

Audinate (Booth 310), progenitor of the Dante protocol, will be celebrating 1 million Dante units shipped during its 2023 fiscal year, which ended in June. It's the largest number of Dante units ever shipped in a 12-month period.

Calrec ImPulse1

Calrec (Booth 823) ImPulse1 IP audio-processing and -routing engine, a powerful and cost-effective ST 2110 solution, will be on display, along with the new Argo S audio-mixing control platform, which won NAB Product of the Year in 2023. Argo is fully modular, with interchangeable hardware panels, and uses Calrec's Assist UI at its core. Also at the booth will be Calrec's Type R modular, expandable IP mixing system available in two forms: Type R for TV, Type R for Radio.

Clear-Com Arcadia

Clear-Com (Booth 931) will offer the U.S. debut of the latest update to its Arcadia Central Station, which provides IP interface connectivity and a capacity increase of up to 285 connections, including up to 64 FreeSpeak beltpacks. Also highlighted will be features of its flagship Eclipse HX Digital Matrix Intercom System, including Dyanam-EC real-time production software, role-based workflows, and the new 2X10 Touch desktop touchscreen panel.

Dale Pro Audio (Booth 830) will feature its usual cornucopia of audio products, including Millennia Media's new circuit topology under the imersiv banner, a stereo D/A converter delivering a more than 160 dB dynamic range using current-generation D/A chips. The multipath circuit's engineering can produce analog output with a noise floor more than 20 dB below the self-noise of typical DAC chips.

Evertz Vista BRAVO digital mixing system

Evertz (Booth 1119) will be highlighting Studer Audio, which celebrates its 75th-anniversary this year. Since acquiring Studer in 2021, Evertz has integrated the brand's Vista digital mixing consoles into its Software Defined Video Networking (SDVN) platform. The Vista consoles now support SMPTE ST 2110, making them an important addition to Evertz's live-production workflows, part of the industry's transition to IP. Evertz will also introduce Vista BRAVO and Vista in VUE as part of the integration with its DreamCatcher BRAVO Studio virtual production-control suite, which allows users to quickly and easily produce high-quality live content at a lower cost by providing virtual access to a full mixing console.

Genelec 9320A Reference Controller

Genelec (Room 3D01) will demo its 9320A Reference Controller as a bridge to its even newer UNIO Audio Monitoring Service Platform, which combines the benefits of Genelec Smart Active Monitors, GLM 5.0 calibration software, and Aural ID 2.0 technology to create seamless integration between in-room loudspeaker and headphone monitoring services. The 9320A can control up to three separate monitoring systems plus headphones, and each sy

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