mixers for live streaming , reaching new and diverse audiences . And as a result , our mixers have supported a huge variety of live streaming content these past two years , from rocket launches to musicals .
LIFE ON TEAMS - AND THE NEED FOR AEC If you asked me two years ago , I ' d never have guessed the amount of hours I now spend on Teams calls or Zoom meetings . With new habits comes new tech , in the form of HD webcams and Bluetooth headsets . And although Teams , Zoom and similar normally do a pretty good job at cloud-processing our speech ( for example , removing background noise or annoying echo ), there are situations where hardware AEC ( Acoustic Echo Cancelling ) is the best option . For example :
• When local voice reinforcement is also required - in this case , the dedicated SR output of a hardware AEC , and its inherent low latency are beneficial .
• In larger halls , where the reflection pattern might exceed the filter length of typical cloud processing tools .
• In multi-microphone setups , e . g . around a conference room , in which case a hardware AEC solution can analyze and react to individual inputs in the room , and optimize the response for each , as opposed to a combined feed .
For our AHM-32 and AHM-64 processors we have developed a module which provides 12 channels of AEC with 150ms adaptive filters , far-end AGC ( Automatic Gain Control ), residual echo NLP ( non-linear processing ), background noise reduction , near-end gating and speechshaped comfort noise . The Christian non-profit organization KISI was the first one to install an AEC-enabled AHM-64 at their Altmunster house to handle their regular Zoom meetings and remote vocal coaching .
BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE PLEASE , IT ' S SAFER As shared touch surfaces quickly became a concern , the BYOD trend grew ever stronger . The ability to control an AV system from the user ' s personal device , be it a tablet , laptop or mobile phone , can mitigate COVID risk and add convenience at the same time .
To facilitate this however , the control app cannot rely on manual uploading of files or user interfaces on each and every device . Instead , our Custom Control app was designed so that the interface lives in the audio engine ( dLive , Avantis or AHM ) and is instantly deployed , ondemand , to a user device , based on the login credentials . Multiple user interfaces can be created for different user profiles and device types , and uploaded to the system from the editor application . So for example , a bartender logging into the system with a phone would get simple background music source selection and level , whereas an AV operator would get multiple mic levels on a tablet and more comprehensive control on a laptop interface .
REMOTE CONTROL … REALLY ! Travel restrictions are another element of the pandemic that dramatically changed our business habits . Red lists , pre-departure tests , passenger locator forms and screenings on arrival all had an impact on the event , live music and AV sectors which rely heavily on international travel .
In some cases , the ability to log into a system over an Internet or VPN connection can be , if not life-saving , certainly gig-saving . Whether it ' s