10
NEWS & VIEWS
Back to basics:
Practical
audio
processing
and
routing
Traditionally, this column focuses on
“trending” topics —but this month
we’re going to revisit some basic television audio workflow issues. Technology inevitably brings change, so if you
haven’t grasped the fundamental issues
facing today’s infrastructure and workflows, how can you begin to address
the new set of technical challenges?
Let’s break it down: workflows in
broadcast facilities typically take one
of two forms — live, or file-based. In
most cases, a combination of the two
is used throughout various stages of
content production and transmission.
Live workflow challenges
In a live environment, most signals will
be handled by discrete interconnects
between equipment, such as MADI,
HD-SDI with embedded audio, or
AES.
As has always been the case with
video, the importance of synchronisation and a stable reference clock cannot be emphasised nearly enough! An
unstable reference clock may not cause
immediate signal failure, but at some
point, it will cause a timing error. Timing errors can become cumulative as
they pass through downstream equipment. Although some equipment will
attempt to correct for this, the phrase
“garbage in, (reclocked) garbage out”
applies here.
SDI can carry its own clocking
information, but it is still possible to
encounter a very unstable SDI signal
for any number of reasons. Poor SDI
signals may work just fine ... until they
don’t.
Now that we’ve reinforced the importance of signal timing, let’s discuss
what we actually do with those signals. I touched briefly on converting
to/from AES, as well as embedding/
de-embedding in SDI, but it may also
be necessary to shuffle pairs within
an SDI signal, perform surround
upmixing and downmixing, loudness
management and metering, secondary
audio programmes, including audio
description, local emergency audio
(“text to speech”), and EAS alerts.
Shane Toven,
Applications
Engineer,
Linear
Acoustic
Live scenarios require realtime handling of audio, but in
other cases it makes far more
sense to correct issues before
they reach playout.
You may even be dealing with
Dolby-encoded signals or Nielsen
waterm ark encoding. If you don’t
already have solutions in place, the
AERO line of hardware from Linear
Acoustic can address many of these
challenges, while allowing full control
of all parameters via GPI or IP.
File-based workflows
Live scenarios require real-time handling of audio, but in other cases, it
makes far more sense to correct issues
before they reach playout. This allows
content to be adjusted for consistent
standards, formats and audio channel
configurations before transmission.
Many of the considerations for filebased workflows are similar to those
of live production and transmission,
including pair shuffling, loudness
management, QC/loudness metering,
and Dolby encoding/decoding. These
workflows can be operator-assisted,
or fully automated. Minnetonka
Audio has solutions for any or all of
these functions through standalone
applications, editing workstation plugins, software on dedicated servers, or
cloud-based platforms.
The right tools for the job
It’s extremely important to use the right
tools for the job. If you face an audio
management or technical challenge,
using the wrong tools or using them at
the wrong stage in the chain can cause
major issues downstream. You may already have some of these tools in your
plant, but now would be a good time
to ensure you are making appropriate
use of them. q
August 2016
What’s New on TV
n Rise
and shine with Daybreak Asia
HONG KONG – Bloomberg TV has launched
Daybreak Asia, a new morning TV programme delivering viewers the most pressing
global business and financial information
they need as US markets close and Asian
markets open.
In addition to having top business and
financial guests on the show, Daybreak Asia,
which replaces the First Up programme,
provides viewers the data, breaking news,
analyses and insights they need to start or
close their day regardless of where they are
in the world.
Betty Liu, Ramy Inocencio, Su Keenan and
Kathleen Hays will anchor the show in New
York, with Angie Lau, Yvonne Man, Rosalind
Chin, Haidi Lun and Shery Ahn in Hong Kong.
Al Mayers, head of Bloomberg TV and
Daybreak Asia anchors report from New York
and Hong Kong to provide viewers with global
business and financial information.
radio, said: “The combination of anchors in
New York and Hong Kong will tremendously
enhance our coverage of global markets, and
deliver to our viewers the essential news and
information they need to start or close their
business day.”
n SLR
Productions to
bring Alice-Miranda to
live on the screen
SYDNEY – Along with partner ZDF Enterprises, Australian children’s and family
entertainment company SLR Productions is
developing Alice-Miranda, a best-selling and
multi-award-winning Australian children’s
book, into a 26 x half-hour animated dramacomedy TV series.
Aimed at children aged 6-9 years, the
TV series will be available on Australia’s Nine
Network. Combining comedy, drama, friendship and mystery, the stories pivot around
Alice-Miranda Highton-Smith-KenningtonJones, an extraordinary young girl who at
the age of 10 has organised her own early
entry into boarding school, along with her
cheeky pony, Bonaparte.
Alice-Miranda’s two best friends are Millie and Jacinta, and the boarding school they
attend is a dream come true for these young
girls. A home away from home, where they
never have to leave their friends and can have
all the exciting adventures they can dream of.
Suzanne Ryan, CEO and executive pro-
n New
Alice-Miranda, a best-selling and multi-awardwinning Australian children’s book, is being
developed into a 26 x half-hour animated
drama-comedy TV series.
ducer of SLR Productions, said: “We are
absolutely thrilled to be developing this
extraordinary book property into a 26 x halfhour animation series with our partner, ZDF
Enterprises, and for the local broadcaster to
be the Nine Network. The Alice-Miranda TV
series will focus on friendship, fun, mystery
and intrigue — all the elements 6-9-yearolds love.”
Ben 10 to begin global debut this year
ATLANTA – The latest franchise of Ben 10 will
begin its global premiere later this year on
Cartoon Network. To be available in Europe,
the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the
Asia-Pacific this year, Ben 10 will also reach
viewers in North America and Latin America
(LATAM) next year.
Built on the animated franchise about kid
hero Ben Tennyson, Ben 10 will introduce a
re-imagined Ben, cousin Gwen and Grandpa
Max, as they travel the country during summer vacation. When Ben finds the Omnitrix,
a mysterious watch, which transforms him
into 10 different friendly aliens, a world of
extraterrestrial superpowers opens up to him.
The animated series is produced by
Cartoon Network Studios and created and
executive produced by Man of Action Entertainment (Big Hero 6, Generator Rex),
with supervising producer John Fang (Mixels,
Generator Rex).
The popularity of the show has also seen
the launch of three additional animated
series (Ben 10: Alien Force, Ben 10: Ultimate
Alien, Ben 10: Omniverse); two animated
movies (Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix, Ben
10: Destroy All Aliens); and two live-action
Cartoon Network’s newest Ben 10 franchise
begins its worldwide roll-out in Q4 2016.
movies (Ben 10: Race Against Time, Ben 10:
Alien Swarm).