Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 1 - Equipment Manufacturers Step Up Rapid technology changes spur vendors to fill the education gap By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Thursday, September 13, 2018 - 8:02 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
At a time when technology platforms and applications are changing rapidly and the broadcast industry approaches the immersive era, new and regularly updated training regimens are essential. Broadcast arts tend to be limited at the for-profit media academies, and state-school audio-production programs are rarely equipped at cutting-edge levels. Therefore, it has fallen to pro-audio manufacturers to create an adaptable training infrastructure, one that gets industry professionals up to speed quickly on new platforms while also serving as an extension of the companies' marketing efforts in an increasingly competitive environment.
Clear-Com's Frank Linton on the benefit of providing training programs: The more comfortable people are with your product, the more they'll want to use it.
The process has always been part of the industry but is happening more intensively and faster than ever, say broadcast-audio-system developers. I've only been in the business seven or eight years, and it's amazing how far and fast it's come in just that time, observes Frank Linton, who, as Clear-Com's first-ever training-program manager, is tasked with standardizing the company's training regimen globally and is himself a reflection of that rapid evolution.
Clear-Com last month opened the third of its physical training locations, its so-called THINK Academy in its Carlsbad, CA, office; two others are in the company's Alameda, CA, and Cambridge, UK, offices. Scheduled seminars on particular products and systems - such as the Eclipse HX Matrix, FreeSpeak II wireless intercom, LQ IP transport, and HelixNet digital partyline systems - will continue to take place at these locations, but Linton says efforts are also under way to have a webinar-based program in place by the end of the year, with videos edited and placed online as tutorials in the future.
Linton attributes the acceleration of manufacturer-based training in the broadcast industry to the rapid onset of major new technologies and protocols, particularly IP transport.
Five years ago, he says, everything was moving on MADI. Then Dante and AS67 came along, and that changed everything, compelling manufacturers to create and provide training programs around new IP-based platforms and products. However, the situation revealed a lack of basic knowledge about many types of audio systems in general.
People who were using intercom system knew they needed this wire to go to this place, but they may not have had a deeper understanding of the underlying technology, Linton explains. So training programs have had to include that sort of basic information along with information about the newest technologies and products. Training is becoming more complicated, but the good news is that it's raising the broader knowledge level in the industry.
Classes Abound
Manufacturers throughout the sector have established and stepped up training efforts. For instance, Shure offers tutorials for wireless microphones through its Shure Audio Institute online, with a specific section for broadcast applications.
Lawo provides many instructional and product- and application-overview videos on its YouTube training site. Also, its regional product specialists in audio, video, and networking/control systems are available to professional and technical schools. Attendance at the company's periodically scheduled regional training sessions as well as custom training sessions are arranged through the Lawo Academy, and Lawo's YouTube channel provides instructional videos on practical applications. The company also makes extensive use of social media for training, with updates on the newest training videos posted on its Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Clear-Com offers training sessions on its products and system at offices in California and the UK.
As immersive audio formats proliferate, their developers are creating format-specific training programs. This year, Dolby launched an online training program focused on its Atmos object-based audio format. The Fraunhofer Institute, which developed the MPEG-H format, offers factory training courses at its headquarters in Erlangen, Germany, as well as one-on-one instruction by experienced engineers or A1s at listening rooms it has established in Erlangen, Seoul, Beijing, and San Jose, CA.
Typically, for the first use by a broadcaster or for a premiere event, we send a team to the truck compound or control room to ensure that everything is working and help to use the new concepts and features, explains Robert Bleidt, division GM, Fraunhofer USA Digital Media Technologies. We also have worked with sound designers on plans for major events and series to select tools, understand interactivity, and optimize playback over the full range of listening scenarios.
Calrec offers online video tutorials on its Summa and Brio consoles. In addition, it has produced two documents, available in print and as a PDF file. The Audio Primer and Networking Primer are designed to provide an introduction to audio consoles in a broadcast application and to various types of audio-networking protocols and platforms, a topic that features regularly in the industry today.
Following the popularity of the Summa training videos, we decided to create a series of overview tutorials for the Brio, Calrec Marketing Manager Kevin Emmott says, adding that the company also maintains an open-door policy for freelancer training at its UK and California offices.
As long as an operator can get to the office, we will provide free training and access to our demo room for them to play with a
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/07/2026
New appointments to Screen Australia board 7 July 2026
The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the Screen Australia board.
Dr Tania Chamber...
07/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
07/07/2026
Berklee College of Music Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's...
07/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists train the immune system to make antibodies against numerous HIV strains Preclinical findings mark progress toward a long-sought vacc...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Open source AI has shown how quickly developers can innovate when models, data a...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Tech Focus: Audio Training, Part 1 - Equipment Manufacturers Step Up Rapid technology changes spur vendors to fill the education gap By Dan Daley, Audio Editor 
