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
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
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
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...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
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 
