(25/09/2014) After the huge success of Tonmeistertagung 2012, all pro-audio experts are once again invited to join the German association Verband Deutscher Tonmeister (VDT) in Cologne, Germany. The media city's Congress Centrum Nord is hosting the 28th Tonmeistertagung from November 20th to 23rd, 2014.Carlos Albrecht, president of VDT, knows precisely why everybody in the industry should be at this event: If you have ears to hear and eyes to see, the Tonmeistertagung is for you. There isn't another congress with associated exhibition quite like it. It has such a professional and friendly atmosphere and is a great place to be!
Exciting program
When preparing the convention and its associated exhibition of pro-audio equipment, VDT gave special attention to creating the program. The program team explicitly organised sessions to discuss current trends such as networked audio, object-based recording and live event recording. These play a key part in the event. By way of lectures, workshops and tutorials, the sessions examine all aspects of the specific subject.
This time our program is particularly comprehensive, and we have gained an extraordinary number of international speakers, says G nther Theile, who has headed program planning for the Tonmeistertagung for many years. Another area of focus is 3D audio, for which we have arranged plenty of demonstrations in rooms equipped with excellent technology. Loudness normalisation is another core topic; this year we are looking at its introduction to radio, and matters of practical implementation, Theile adds.
The convention program has a high practical relevance condensed in a broad number of workshops, Talk Back sessions and other program elements with audio and other demonstrations. Nearly 50 contributions are in this category, making up almost a third of the entire program.
The program starts on Thursday morning with a themed day titled Der gute Ton in der Trimedialit t (Good Sound in Trimedia), organised by Institut f r Rundfunktechnik, IRT. It highlights the requirements in training, room and architectural acoustics, as well as recording and playback technology in a time of cross-media production methods.
From Thursday afternoon on, there is a live mixing workshop organised by VDT sustaining members d&b, Sennheiser and Yamaha. The new layout in the Congress Center Nord allows its integration into the convention area of Tonmeistertagung once more. The large Konrad-Adenauer hall on the congress buildings ground floor is equipped with a PA for this very purpose, and is also available for get-together parties in the evening.
Bigger lecture halls, greater internationality
All in all, the congress program fills four lecture halls of various sizes, three of which are fitted with 5.1, 7.1 or 11.1 playback systems. Additionally, the large hall is being fully utilised for lectures and workshops. This new layout concept permits up to 1 000 visitors to take part in the lectures at any time, thereby accommodating their increased popularity. Moving the Tonmeistertagung from Leipzig to Cologne in 2012 resulted in a nearly 80% increase in participants to 5 735 visitors (all days summed up).
G nther Theile remarked: Besides the local bonus, which attracts many experts from the media region Rhineland to the Tonmeistertagung, Colognes easy accessibility plays a key role. Last time we welcomed many new visitors from all over Europe. We are very pleased that the event is becoming increasingly bilingual. This time we are offering substantially more contributions in English than in German, more than ever before! Each contributions language is therefore indicated in the program.
The program of the convention, consisting of nearly 100 lectures, about 30 poster presentations, 35 workshops, roughly 10 round tables, one lecture-back series to discuss extraordinary recordings, a TMT Academy aimed at young talent, and several tutorials, has been online since 19 September, and can be viewed at http://www.tonmeister.de.
Fast booking
In response to the increase in visitors, VDT has also enlarged the lecture halls and redesigned the entrance area. There is now room for more counters in order to speed up check in. The quickest way to enter is to register online, which can be done both in advance and also throughout the Tonmeistertagung.
Student members of VDT are once again able to take part in the entire Tonmeistertagung, including the lectures, for free. If you are a student but not yet a member of VDT, and wish to use the occasion of the Tonmeistertagung in Cologne to become one, you can become a member at the convention and enjoy the benefits of this rule immediately.
Large exhibition
The exhibition at which manufacturers of professional audio equipment showcase their latest developments represents a vital part of the Tonmeistertagung. The Tonmeistertagung is often used as a platform to introduce new technologies and products, and this year is no exception!
Exhibition booths are set up according to our proven concept of grouping the open areas around the congress program, instead of isolating them in a separate exhibition hall. This keeps the distances between lectures and the exhibition pleasantly short. A new addition is the so-called boulevard, which is a bright, long exhibition area in which the congress centres restaurant area is integrated. This new layout creates a space for communication and also facilitates personal networking.
Except for a few square metres, exhibition areas and demo rooms have been fully booked months before event launch. Around 120 main and 80 sub-exhibitors are presented this time a significant increase over 2012.
Once again all relevant companies registered to be exhibitors at the Tonmeistertagung, Gisela Jungen explained, organiser and manager of the Tonmeistertagung. One aspect that makes our exhibition uniqu
