ProSound News - December 2008 - (Page Cover1)

prosoundI SPECIAL REPORT: HD AUDIO POST—page 39 [ prosoundnews.com ] Studer Turns 60 Bruno Hochstrasser (pictured), sales EVP for Studer and Soundcraft, highlights the past, present and future for the Swiss audio mainstay. —page 16 Beyond 5.1 Infrastructure A by Steve Harvey s noted in this month’s Special Report (see page 39), post houses working in 5.1 face a variety of challenges as they mix for HD television, optical disc or theatrical presentation, especially the need to constantly monitor in stereo and mono to ensure compatibility with the vast majority of consumers. Spare a thought, then, for those facilities that are truly on the bleeding edge, creating 7.1 soundtracks for Bluray Disc (BD). Thus far, barely a handful of post houses have plunged wholeheartedly into the 8-channel format for BD. Hollywood’s Mi Casa Multimedia and Chace Audio in Burbank have discussed their 7.1 solutions in these pages previously. Post Haste Sound in Santa Monica, too, has been working on BD releases for some time, and, as it worked on creat- Plugging Away As audio software supplants hardware, Steven Massey is proving there’s room for an independent innovator. —page 24 ing its first 7.1 mix for a television series, recently took time out to detail some of the technical hurdles it faces with the format. Senior mixer Randall Smith notes that audio work for HD is typically no different to mixing for 5.1. “Where things start to get interesting,” he says, “and where there’s a lag in terms of software development, is when you step up to 7.1. At the moment, Pro Tools supports one 7.1 format, but it’s basically SDDS. That’s great if you’re working in a format that basically doesn’t exist anymore!” He elaborates, “There’s no speaker remapping in [Pro Tools] so if you’re using the 7.1 panning bus, you have to keep track of what all these speakers actually are. We spoke to Digidesign at the AES about that, because we were (continued on page 40) FRANK MICELOTTA/GETTY IMAGES volume 30 no. 12 ELITE ARTIST: Audio-Technica endorser Jason Aldean performed using the company’s Artist Elite 5000 Series Wireless System with the AEWT5400 microphone/transmitter at the 42nd Annual CMA Awards that took place in November at Nashville’s Sommet Center. A Very Roadie Holiday by Clive Young audio pros work hard and play even harder. They’ve been there, done that and secretly sold the crew shirt on eBay. So what can you get your fellow road dog for the holidays that he/she/it will appreciate and actually use throughout the coming year? We asked this rhetorical question last year, and the resulting list was so popular that we’re doing it again. Our guidelines are still the same: The items have to be equally appropriate for sound guys who work locally as well as those who hit the road numerous times a year. The items must also be relatively small, so they can fit in a road case or bus bunk unobtrusively. And fiNEW YORK, NY—Concert nally, they have to be at least moderately useful—except for the things that, much like the drummer on your last tour, are useless but funny. Etre Touchy gloves ($22, etretouchy.com). Between tablet computers, digital consoles and iPhones, some engineers deal with touchscreens all day—which stinks if it’s a freezing cold gig. Maybe they need these gloves, which are missing the thumb and index fingertips, allowing wearers to use capacitive touchscreens while keeping their hands warm. Warm Mouse ($30, warmmouse. com). It’s two weeks later, your road buddy has lost his cool gloves, and is still complaining about frozen hands. (continued on page 68) news December 2008 http://www.prosoundnews.com http://www.mypsnmag.com/Register.aspx?fid=PSNFDS&key=K8MLOW http://www.renkus-heinz.com http://www.renkus-heinz.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProSound News - December 2008

ProSound News - December 2008 Sound Business Contents Hank’s Best Yet Sound Recording Studio Showcase: Great City Productions Software Tech Tracks Sessions Anticipating Post’s Future Post Showcase: Eargasm HD Audio Post The Business of Being Creative Sound Innovations: VRsonics VibeStudio Spatial Design Suites Field Reports: Product Profiles Yes We Can Hear Obama Live Sound Showcase: Stone Temple Pilots Centerstage Soundcheck Sound People View From the Top Product Spotlight Classifieds Advertiser Index Company Index Music, etc

ProSound News - December 2008

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