WORKSHOP SESSIONS
Monday, September 27, 1999
Sessions W15-W18

W15: IMPROVING ACOUSTICS
FOR AUDIO & VIDEO
TELECONFERENCING

Monday, September 27, 9:00 AM
Chair: John Cardone, Cardone, Solomon and Associates, Northport, NY, USA

Participants: Craig Richardson, Aspi Digital, Atlanta, GA, USA; John Storyk, The Walter-Storyk Design Group, New York, NY, USA; Rod Brown, Integrated Media Systems, Northcote, West Australia

This workshop detailed the challenges of overcoming both acoustic and line-related echo problems in the world of conferencing and distance-learning applications. Audio demonstrations of problems and solutions were presented by leading experts from the world of architectural acoustics and dsp-based echo cancellation technologies.

W16: THE FUTURE OF
LOUDSPEAKER ARRAYS

Monday, September 27, 9:00 AM
Chair: Kurt Graffy, Arup Acoustics, San Francisco, CA, USA

Participants: Vance Breshears, Sound Technology Consultants, Alpine, CA, USA; David Gunness, EAW, Whitinsville, MA, USA; Mark Gander, Harman-JBL, Northridge, CA, USA; Wolfgang Ahnert, ADA Acoustic Design Ahnert, Berlin, Germany

The current state of the art of loudspeaker arrays were presented in this workshop, which also included audio demonstrations of alternative approaches to array design and application for both touring and fixed-installation live sound reinforcement.

W17:THE SCIENCE OF
SURROUND SOUND

Monday, September 27, 2:00 PM
Chair: David Griesinger, Lexicon, Bedford, MA, USA

Participant: Wieslaw Woszczyk, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

This workshop contained several demonstrations with audience participation focusing on the mysterious world of psychoacoustics and human perception of sound in conjunction with the science of acoustics. Among the topics examined were the properties of human hearing that are relevant to our perception of sonic localization, distance, and envelopment; the acoustics of listening rooms and how they modify sound from the loudspeaker to the listener; room acoustics; microphone techniques; and producing surround sound recordings.

W18: WORKING WITH FIBER
OPTICS FOR
PROFESSIONAL AUDIO

Monday, September 27, 2:00 PM
Chair: Ron Ajemian, Bell Atlantic, New York, NY, USA

Participants: Greg Toback, GN Nettest; Hamilton Johnson, Lightwave Systems, Inc; Ed O'Brien, Siecor;
Rich Cerny, Telecast Fiber Systems, Inc.; Stephen Weber, Optical Cable Corp.

This workshop had a show-and-tell philosophy about the most current uses of fiber optics in the fields of professional audio and broadcast. It began with a brief tutorial on fiber optics with its uses and advantages for professional audio. It also showed how to use the latest fiber-optic test equipment, along with a live audio fiber-optic link. A special demonstration was given on how user friendly it is to put a fiber-optic connector together in much less time than it takes to put an XLR connector together. Types of optical cables were also discussed.