Business
Coping with coronavirus: How pro audio manufacturers are facing up to Covid-19
With coronavirus hitting all areas of everyday life, companies are looking at how to stay in business and keep people safe. Kevin Hilton reports...
Kevin Hilton
Studio
‘Sound was my first love’: Chatting to award-winning 1917 sound mixer Stuart Wilson
The Oscar and BAFTA winning sound mixer for 1917 talks his early love of sound and working on the world's best known films
Studio
A deep dive into award-winning VR production Cosmos Within Us
Award-winning virtual reality production Cosmos Within Us is pushing the boundaries of what can be done with sound by combining headphones and speakers. Kevin Hilton spoke to its director, Tupac Martir, and sound designers Gareth Llewellen and Jon Olive
Live
‘Mixing desks stopped developing in the 1970s’: KV2 Audio co-founder George Krampera’s quest for better sound
Czech loudspeaker developer and manufacturer KV2 is noted for taking a different approach from the majority of companies in this competitive market. Kevin Hilton journeyed to the Czech Republic to see its factory and talk to co-founder and chief...
Business
Prism Sound co-founders discuss the decision to split the venture in two
Long-standing digital developer Prism Sound has passed on its audio and post-production products division to Audio Squadron and formed Spectral Measurement to handle its test and measurement activities. Kevin Hilton talks to co-founder Graham Boswell about the reasons for...
Broadcast
The rise of 5G in broadcasting
5G looks set to shake up how we use our smart phones and mobile devices. It also has possibilities for broadcasting, as Kevin Hilton discovers
Live
Extreme gigs: Out back, top of the world and under water
Unusual concerts are not all about the highest, deepest or coldest. As Kevin Hilton discovers in his fourth annual extreme gigs report, they can also involve remote locations, while at the same time drawing in appreciative audiences
Studio
BBC and Arts Council launch New Creatives scheme
This new collaborative project aims to provide a platform for young, emerging talent in audio, film, and immersive tech to develop their work and be heard
Broadcast
‘My preferred type of drama sounds like a documentary’: Producer Eloise Whitmore talks recording on location
Kevin Hilton investigates Whitmore's radio portfolio, how technological advances benefit her work and why she records on location
Broadcast
‘The idea is to bring people in and allow them to play with radio technology’: Radio gets hacked at the EBU
Innovation does not always flourish in isolation. As a result of this, the EBU provides and promotes a collaborative environment to develop new ideas through its annual Radiohack workshop. Kevin Hilton finds out about this year's event
Broadcast
Immersive and AoIP grow at IBC 2018
The IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) provides an annual platform for TV and radio technology. Video has long been dominant but, as Kevin Hilton reports, the balance is swinging in favour of audio...
Broadcast
DPA goes small with new sub-miniature
The design of any audio product has always been a compromise between user demands and physics. Microphones are the prime example of this but Danish miniatures specialist DPA has taken on the challenge to go smaller, as PSNEurope’s Kevin...
Broadcast
Ofcom funding scheme for UK PMSE sector
Wireless microphone users are waiting to find out what moving from the 700MHz spectrum means in terms of the equipment and frequency availability, but in Britain, some certainty has been given regarding funding for replacement equipment, writes Kevin Hilton...
Broadcast
Dr Who: Adventures in time, space and audio
Through the years, galaxies and countless adventures, Doctor Who has changed and been reinvented. In all this, audio has played a key role. Kevin Hilton finds out more...
Business
Proposed EU Comms Code to give digital radio boost
A provisional EU directive looks set to increase the DAB+ reach across Europe...
Business
DPA on ‘pushing the boundaries of what’s possible’ in pro audio
Recognised for its appliance of science and miniature microphones, DPA has become an international brand while maintaining the image of a small Danish developer. Kevin Hilton went to see its production and R&D facilities and reports on the company’s...
Installation
National Theatre incorporates Riedel’s Bolero DECT wireless technology
New technologies are allowing intercom systems to become more integrated, not only for audio but video as well. The National Theatre is among the first to do this with Riedel’s Bolero DECT wireless technology. Kevin Hilton reports…
Broadcast
Report: Spectrum auction winners announced, wait for PMSE compensation continues
As expected, major mobile phone companies were the big winners in the latest round of spectrum auctions. Here, PSNEurope’s Kevin Hilton reports on the current situation and how it might affect wireless microphone users...
Broadcast
Report: IP set to have a ‘long-lasting impact on broadcast technology’
Of all current trends in broadcast technology, IP - and its audio version in particular - is the one that is, above all others, really starting to establish itself. But it’s not yet as complete a take-over as was...
Broadcast
AoIP among hot topics discussed at BVE 2018
Broadcast Video Expo (BVE) returned to its now established home at the Excel exhibition centre in London’s Docklands at the end of February. This point in the calendar has not been much of a problem before at this venue,...
Broadcast
More local radio stations to go digital as government consults on small-scale DAB services
After a successful trial period, local digital radio stations could soon be rolled out across the country, thanks to government plans to update analogue radio broadcasts to DAB and DAB+ technology...
Broadcast
‘It’s quite a challenge for a screenless system’: more voice activation features coming to Radioplayer in 2018
The smart speaker was one of the big retail successes over the Christmas period. Kevin Hilton predicts where this fast-growing technology will take the sector next...
Studio
‘Out came this ginormous sound’: Hugh Padgham on ‘accidentally discovering’ the gated reverb drum sound
'As is not unusual with innovations, it was not something those involved were looking for'
Business
Les Paul and the invention of multitrack recording
Looking back on the genius of Les Paul, as featured in this month's Genius!4 magazine
Broadcast
Update: Ofcom allocates 700MHz guard band for PMSE, but still no word on compensation
The ongoing saga of spectrum allocation took a new turn at the end of last year, when regulator Ofcom secured part of the 700MHz band for wireless microphone use in the UK.
Broadcast
The rise of smart speakers, 5G and AoIP: what we learned at Radio Tech Con 2017
Our round-up of the second independent Radio TechCon, the technology forum for the UK radio industry
Uncategorized
How David Lynch collaborator and creative technician Alan Splet turned the sound effect into an art form
Alan Splet helped create what we now call 'sound design' in film
Broadcast
‘This is big!’: BBC crew records single-shot Casualty ep to mark 30 years of the show
Car crashes, impalements, DIY mishaps. All these – and more – have featured in BBC One’s medical emergency drama Casualty since it began in 1986. To cap its 30th series, the show has been filmed in a single shot,...
Broadcast
AES67 uptake boosted by Plug Fests
AES67 is regarded as a key element in audio networks, working with Dante, RAVENNA and other formats. As Kevin Hilton reports, the push is on to raise awareness of its capabilities, particularly in broadcasting
Broadcast
Canford’s new fibre termination business sees growth already
The UK distributor and specialist manufacturer has targeted broadcasting with a dedicated connector-fitting operation for fibre optic cable
Broadcast
The changing face of broadcast consoles
The broadcast audio console has been going through a period of evolution over the last ten years. While it is unlikely to change out of all recognition, it is undergoing some fundamental rethinking and development
Broadcast
Next gen audio standardised for Ultra HD TV systems
ETSI has ratified DVB's choice of MPEG-H 3D and Dolby AC-4 as the audio options for Ultra High Delimitation TV services and products
Broadcast
On location for Woody Harrelson’s film Lost in London
Technical crews are often asked to perform the impossible. Woody Harrelson's semi-autobiographical film Lost in London called for plenty of RF and other connections
Business
Television Centre prepares for September return
The old BBC TV studios in west London are part of the UK's cultural heritage and, after some doubt about their future, are being redeveloped for the 20th Century
Broadcast
Norwegian FM switch-off signals DAB future
The big radio moves in pioneering Norway and what it could mean for other European countries
Broadcast
Sound tradition and experimentation in Brighton
A round up from the Sound of Story sessions on innovative radio drama, putting visuals to emotional voice recordings and work of sound designer Paul Davies
Uncategorized
Genius2!: David Hafler and the DH-200 #27
He became a pioneer of MOSFET amplification in the pro sector and proposed a system for surround-sound based on only three loudspeakers
Broadcast
Ann Kroeber’s sound effects library
Ann Kroeber, sound effects wizard and pioneering woman in audio, made a big impression at last year's The Sound of Story symposium
Uncategorized
Genius!2: Peter Lawo and the PTR console #25
The desk was designed for Stockhausen's 1991 work Oktophonie, it provided fast fader position recall
Uncategorized
Genius!2: Brüel & Kjær and the Constant Percentage Bandwidth analyser #21
The technology is still used in the B&K PULSE analyser platform and 2250/70 handheld units
Broadcast
PMSE upheaval flies forward as Ofcom accelerates 700MHz clearance
UK broadcasters and wireless equipment users have been prepared for changes to spectrum allocation but the situation is now moving faster than expected
Uncategorized
Genius!2: Penny & Giles and the fader #5
Did you know the brand is also famous for groundbreaking development in aeronautics?