700MHz Allocation Stirs Industry Concerns
FCC actions leave wireless mics in limbo.
    The future use of wireless microphones has again raised its ugly hackles. With the impending transition of television transmission from analog to digital by February 2009, the frequency spectrum previously allocated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to certain analog UHF-TV channels will cease to exist. Most of this spectrum has already been auctioned off for sizable sums to bidders who seek to expand their interests in the 700MHz wireless spectrum.
Published in October 2008
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Return To Cultural Buoyancy
Art and musicality intersect at (Le) Poisson Rouge.
    Paul Klimson of Masque Sound, the East Rutherford NJ-based systems integrator that installed the audiovisual systems in (Le) Poisson Rouge, called the Greenwich Village NY venue “the Lamborghini of clubs.”
Published in September 2008
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Assisting the Hearing Impaired, Part 4
MoPix for you and me?
    “A hearing loss is not visible and often it is overlooked and misunderstood.” This sentence summarizes the challenges associated with assisting the hearing impaired. As systems integrators, we primarily focus on developing and providing technologies that help people who can hear to hear better sound. Few of us focus on helping people with hearing loss to hear better sound.
Published in September 2007
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The Sound of Silence
Exploring advanced functions in sound masking.
    Early sound masking systems consisted of small boxes powered by a low-voltage source. As commercial use expanded, centralized systems evolved, giving rise to more control opportunities. As manufacturers learned more about listener responses to masking, these opportunities developed into expanded functions for the equipment. Some functions improve listener acceptance, while others improve system performance.
Published in August 2007
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Assisting the Hearing Impaired, Part 3
A discussion of audio loop systems.
    More than 28 million people in the United States are hearing impaired. Many of these people attend worship services regularly. I am convinced that, in the near future, even more will attend worship services once they are offered technologies that enable them to have a positive worship experience. I say this based on personal research and from wonderful feedback I have received from readers of Sound & Communications.
Published in August 2007
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Assisting the Hearing Impaired, Part 2
'A little thought, some basic equipment and, voila!, communication happens!'
    Critical Distance (Dc) is a concept used in sound system design as it relates to music clarity, speech intelligibility and even avoidance of feedback. Its applicability or relevance increases with increasingly more reverberant spaces. Let’s start with a definition of Dc and a subjective example of how to experience it.
Published in July 2007
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Assisting the Hearing Impaired, Part 1
Awareness is a key element.
    All people are created equal. This is a core belief of most religions that believe in one God.
    Yet, we all know of individuals who were born with mental or physical handicaps. We also know of people who suffer with degenerative diseases that lead to impairment of some kind. In fact, more than 25 million people have hearing impairments. So, are all people created equal? I have studied this philosophical puzzle in-depth. My understanding contains physical and metaphysical properties. For me, stated in very general terms, this statement means that we all are created equal to experience and worship God.
Published in June 2007
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New Challenges In The Wireless Age
The RFI 'gremlin' has crept into AV's backyard.
     Back in the dim, dark age (about 25 years ago), audio, video, telecommunications, control circuits and computer science were distinct and rigidly segregated subjects, all operating on their distinct copper networks. In those days, radio frequency matters were of scant concern to the majority of practitioners in the AV world. In today’s busy, some would say more complicated, world, these previously unrelated disciplines have, by virtue of rampant convergence, become commonplace concerns for AV system designers and integrators.
Published in November 2006
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» Digital Dominance In Consoles (Aug'06)

» Acoustic Compromises (Jun'06)

» Unraveling The Mystery (Jun'06)

» DSP: The Common Denominator (Apr'06)

» Disney's Imagination: A History, Part 2 (Apr'06)

» Disney's Imagination: A History, Part 1 (Mar'06)

» Paging Technology for Hospitals (Dec'05)

» Indoor Stadium Design (Nov'05)

» Loudspeaker Directivity - What it’s good for, how you get it. (Sep'05)

» Acoustic ‘Enhancement’ Systems… -…as electronic architecture? (Jul'05)

» Audio in the Courtroom - With the correct use of technology, everyone involved will be able to hear and participate.. (Mar'05)

» 25 Years of DSP in Sound Reinforcement - Digital signal processing revolutionized the market. (Aug'04)

» Class D Is In Session! - There's now a new choice in amp design. (Feb'04)

» Privacy In The Office Environment - Understanding the sound and the silence: applications of sound masking in open- and closed-plan environments, with possible HIPAA requirements. (Dec'03)

» Secure Wireless Microphone Systems - Basic concepts for preventing eavesdropping. (Apr'03)

» Digital Live Performance Audio - Applications of IT/AV from a live-entertainment and performing-arts perspective. (Sep'03)