Insider’s Guide to Audio: How audio is shaping the future of av

Audio is the junior partner in the av alliance. Certainly among av traditionalists, this is the general perception, yet it is ultimately unfair. True, the manufacturing base and market value of audio specialists tend to be considerably less than those of their video counterparts, but audio is just as technologically advanced as its visual partner, which, let’s face it, would have far less impact without sound.

So, in terms of the big picture, what’s it worth? Market stats are tough to track down, but a PLASA Market Trends survey in 2005 valued the UK av industry at £1.1bn in terms of sales. Pro-audio for presentations/performance made up £334m of this; pro-audio for architectural or commercial use £57m; staging £57m; and pro-av £441m.

But although small in scale compared to the video industry, the sound business invests a considerable amount of money in research and development. Software and digital signal processing (DSP) have speeded up the development process, with a core platform spawning a family of products, rather than research focusing on a single product at one time. The pro-av sector encompasses presentations, conferences, theatre, pro-audio installation and public address and voice alarm systems, all of which are covered in the following pages.

Suffice to say then, that audio plays a major role in all these, both creatively and technologically. This overview of audio takes four big issues for the discipline and explores the impact they are likely to have over the coming years. Among those that imparted information and opinions were: Brett Downing, sales and marketing director of TOA Europe; BEIRG (British Entertainment Industry Radio Group) spokesman Alan March; Dr Steve Harrison, engineering manager at Application Solutions; Neil Voce, sales director at Ateis UK; Tom Williams of Sound Technology’s project team; and Adam Holliday, market manager of the system development and integration group at Harman Pro.

Radio frequency spectrum reallocation

What is it?

The equivalent of a land-grab on a critically important resource for broadcasting and telecommunications, this is the issue of the analogue frequency spectrum made available after the move to digital-only television transmission in the UK.

It will be divided among the highest bidders and a range of uses, including mobile communications, new national and regional HDTV services and a variety of multimedia equipment that will sit in the ‘white spaces’ between other channels. Telecom providers and broadcasters are expected to take the majority of freed-up spectrum, but there are other users that do not have the same financial and lobbying weight and need access to this commodity just as much, if not more.

In this group are schools, churches, community organisations and, most relevant to the av industry, the programme makers and special events (PMSE) sector.

This covers wireless microphones and cameras, in-ear monitoring and general communications for presentations, conferences, concerts, theatre shows as well as television coverage of live events.

What is the timeframe?

Ofcom published its Digital Dividend Review (DDR) at the end of 2006, setting in motion a series of consultations on how the frequencies should be allocated. The digital switch-over is under way and scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012. Parliamentary approval for Ofcom’s final proposals was expected in March, with the first combined auctions provisionally set for the first half of 2011.

Why does it matter?

The av industry relies on PMSE technology as much as broadcasting, so in the wake of DDR there needs to be as much, if not more, frequency capacity for radio mics and other wireless production equipment. If this doesn’t happen, staging a theatre show or big corporate event could be very difficult.

Industry bodies, including BEIRG, have lobbied Ofcom and Parliament to guarantee special status for PMSE; the biggest cause of contention is how much of the prime 800MHz band will be available for wireless mics and similar devices. Channel 69, which is currently available across the country for wireless operations, will be reassigned to other users after 2012, and although channel 38 has been offered as a replacement, the fear is that there will not be enough capacity for PMSE. There is also the possible threat of interference from new ‘cognitive’ consumer devices that will work in the white spaces.

What do I need to do and where do I get help?

If you’re a user of wireless mics, cameras or IEM equipment, you need to know what frequencies will be available and the products that will work on them. You also need to make your voice heard to ensure the PMSE sector is not sidelined. Ofcom’s website (www.ofcom.org.uk) has details of the latest consultations, and the Save Our Sound (www.saveoursounduk.com) campaign will offer further advice.

EN54

What is it?

In a very basic nutshell, EN54 is a series of European mandatory regulations specifying the construction and operation of equipment used in fire alarm, and more recently, voice alarm (VA) systems.

The latest parts that apply to audio are EN54-16, covering control and indicating equipment, and EN54-24 for passive (non-internally powered) loudspeakers.

These guidelines are an extension of the electro-magnetic rules (EMC) which were brought in during the late 1980s to deal with interference between electrical equipment. EMC is included in EN54, which also covers components and the materials used to house them.

Products have to undergo rigorous tests, including checking resistance to heat and dust, to win EN54 approval, as signified by a CE mark.

What is the timeframe?

EN54-16 and 24 became British Standards in 2008 and come into force in March 2011, after which non-compliant products will not be allowed to be sold. A further EN54 regulation for powered loudspeakers is due later.

Why does it matter?

EN54 will effectively create a consistent quality of equipment in the critical VA field.

Companies have to pay accredited test houses large amounts of money – sometimes tens of thousands of pounds – to assess products, so manufacturers that cannot, or do not want to, shell out these sums might have to withdraw from the VA market.

The idea is that while choice may be reduced, available products will be to an approved standard.

Special or custom products could be affected because they will have to undergo new tests to gain approval.

Leading PA/VA manufacturers have already been addressing EN54-16 and 24: Ateis International is aiming to have certificates for its control products by the end of the year; ASL has given presentations on the subject to major users of VA systems and is aiming for compliance early in 2011; and TOA launched three compliant ranges at the Prolight+ Sound show – the VM-3000 series PA/VA system and two loudspeaker series; the PC-1867 FC 12cm flush ceiling mounted units; and BS-680FC PA speakers.

What do I need to do and where can I get help?

Manufacturers that have not had products tested need to get moving now, although as there are only 26 test labs doing EN54 work in Europe, getting a slot at this stage might be tricky.

Buyers should look for the CE mark, which endorses that products are EN54 compliant. The British Standards Institute (www.bsigroup.com) has more information.

AVB

What is it?

Audio/video bridging (or bridge) comes under the auspices of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 Working Group, which is developing standards and recommended practices for interconnection, networking and data centre bridging.

AVB carries, routes and switches audio and video signals over standardised Ethernet connections.

What is the timescale?

The IEEE published the ratified 802.1Qav standard in January. It is the first of the core AVB standards and sets out how ‘time-sensitive streams’ will be forwarded and queued. Work has been going on behind the scenes to produce AVB-compatible technologies and products.

In 2009, an agreement was struck between Harman International subsidiary BSS, which specialises in digital signal processing routing technology, and consumer electronics networking specialist Netgear to develop the first AVB switches to allow audio and video to run together over Ethernet.

Products capable of handling AVB, working with the BSS-branded switches, will appear later this year.

Why does it matter?

Ethernet is already established as a carrier for audio and video in the professional sector, but these signals have been carried using proprietary protocols. AVB is an open format, with manufacturers working to IEEE standards, so there are no licence fees involved.

Although originally seen as a consumer system for home entertainment, AVB’s potential for providing lower-cost networked connections that unify audio and video is recognised by the pro-audio sector.

Another advantage is that the audio and video feeds are triggered by a ‘time of day’ clock, not their own internal clocks, working on sampling rates and frame rates respectively.

This means a corporate presentation could run sound and vision via an Ethernet network, with no need for synchronisation devices. All that would be needed is AVB-compatible equipment.

What do I need to do?

Look out for new products bearing the AVnu Alliance stamp. The alliance is an industry forum founded by Broadcom, Cisco Systems, Harman, Intel, Samsung, and Xilinx to promote professional audio and video using AVB. Other members include Avid, Shure and Meyer Sound.

Where can I get help?

The AVnu Alliance has information at www.avnu.org, and details of the standards are at www.ieee802.org/1/pages/avbridges.html.

Mergers and acquisitions

Who’s doing it?

The audio market has seen a flurry of this activity over the past year or so.

Live-sound console manufacturer Midas and processing equipment specialist Klark-Teknik are now part of the Music Group, the holding company of Behringer, after being sold in December last year by owner Bosch Communications Systems.

Meanwhile, in August 2008, Yamaha took a majority stake in French loudspeaker designer Nexo, while January 2009 saw theatre-mixing console maker Cadac saved from financial troubles by the Chinese Soundking Group.

The trend continued in March when out-of-home display maker United Screens Media bought fellow German company Klotz Digital, which produces mixing consoles and routing products for live sound, commercial audio and broadcasting.

Why does this matter?

Consolidation means fewer suppliers, which are often able to reduce production costs and overheads by centralising research and development and manufacturing operations. This can be passed on to the customer in the form of lower prices, although obviously, that does not always happen.

There are also concerns about quality and the fact that popular brands can be swallowed up and lost within large conglomerates.

This has been true with products such as mixing consoles, but in these days of software-based devices, a homogeneity is definitely not so much of a problem.