Asia-Pacific Broadcasting (APB) BroadcastAsia2016 Show Daily - Day 2 | Page 12

12 BROADCASTASIA2016 SHOWDAILY
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1 June 2016

Linear Acoustic supports AoIP transition
Chris Shaw (left), vice-president of sales, Linear Acoustic,
explains why AoIP is the future, as the company brings its
most advanced audio solutions to the GBS Alliance booth,
5C4-01. Linear Acoustic is also exhibiting with Minnetonka
Audio at the German Pavilion, booth 5C7-06.

❝While there is
still a great deal of
work to do before
manufacturers and
end-users settle
on a unified set of
standards-based
protocols for videoover-IP, audio-overIP is in much better
shape.❞

Linear Acoustic has identified AoIP
using the AES67 standard as the
way of the future. Can you elaborate on this statement, and how
would you assess how broadcasters
in Asia are embracing IP?
Chris Shaw: The move by TV broadcasters towards an IP future is rapidly
gathering pace. While there is still
a great deal of work to do before
manufacturers and end-users settle
on a unified set of standards-based
protocols for video-over-IP, audioover-IP (AoIP) is in much better shape.
AES67 has reached critical mass
as an interoperability standard, embraced by all of the main AoIP protagonists including Telos’ Livewire+,
ALC Networks’ Ravenna and Dante
from Audinate.
Interoperability is of enormous
importance to broadcasters because
without it the customers will inevitably find themselves driven towards
single-brand solutions, without the
autonomy of being able to choose

‘best-of-breed’ technology and enjoying the advantages of being able to
make a free choice.
Instead, they will become restricted by the brand or brands that
have adopted or licensed a given IP
and, ultimately, will be steered by that
manufacturer’s product development
decisions, rather than having the freedom to dictate their own workflow
direction.
In a rapidly evolving market such
as Asia, the ability to choose with
impunity is of paramount importance
and AES67 gives end-users that freedom without compromise.
Besides AoIP solutions such as
AERO.soft, what other highlights
can visitors expect from Linear
Acoustic?
Shaw: Linear Acoustic is announcing
updates for its AERO.10 DTV audio
processor. This unit provides the
same high-quality processing found
in the entire AERO product range,

but at a significantly lower price
point. New, since the product was
first introduced, is the option for
a 2+2+2+2+2 configuration to
support up to five simultaneous
stereo programmes. We believe
the AERO.10 is an ideal unit for
news outlets and multilingual requirements.
Both the AERO.100 DRV audio
processor and the AERO.2000
audio/loudness manager have
newly introduced the option of
the AMX5x2 processing instance,
which provides five stereo loudness managers (2+2+2+2+2) per
instance in a single AERO.100 and
AERO.2000 unit.
We are also introducing the
latest updates for the MT2000
multi-channel bitstream analyser,
which features a full suite of test capabilities in a handheld form factor,
enabling engineers to analyse and
troubleshoot digital audio paths
quickly and portably. The new
software update offers a streamlined menu structure, automatic
detection of input signal type, and
now viewing all of the 16 audio
channels at once.
Linear Acoustic is also exhibiting with Minnetonka, a Telos
Alliance company like Linear

Acoustic. How has the merger
of the companies allowed you
to address the various audio
requirements of your customers, particularly those in AsiaPacific?
Shaw: Linear Acoustic has long
been recognised for its real-time,
hardware-based, audio processing,
loudness control, and monitoring
and metering solutions. Broadcasters continue to select Linear Acoustic for our ability to make broadcast
content sound great when received
in viewers’ homes.
More recently, the production community and programme
creators have also recognised the
need to control loudness from the
very outset of a production. With
this recognition, content creators
are aware of broadcast audio level
requirements.
Linear Acoustic needed to
provide the best tools for PCbased workflows, and Minnetonka
offers the best tools to meet these
requirements. The addition of Minnetonka to the Linear Acoustic/TLS
companies provides broadcasters and content creators a single
place to find the highest quality
audio tools for loudness measurement, processing and control in
the world.