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 ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
29/05/2026
At just 20 years old, Sean Melia from Summerhill Co. Meath has been revealed as the winner of Super Garden 2026. Sean is the youngest ever contestant and winner...
29/05/2026
Experimental HIV vaccine achieves a long-sought goal In a first for the field, all non-human primates given a new series of vaccines generated antibodies capabl...
28/05/2026
Thomsons Climate Crisis Toolkit is already being put to work, helping journalist...
28/05/2026
FOX Sports' MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy ...
28/05/2026
One of the most memorable postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
28/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most-decorated and most-watched pro...
28/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
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 
