WORKSHOP SESSIONS
Monday, February 21, 1999
Sessions W8-W11

W8:AUDIO ON-LINE

Monday, 21 February, 09:00 h � 11:30 h
Workshop Chair: Bob Moses, Digital Harmony Technologies, USA

On-line distribution of audio content has spawned a variety of new technologies and processes that affect every aspect of how audio is produced, distributed, and experienced. This workshop explores advances such as audio compression, digital rights management, e-Commerce, and digital home entertainment systems. Panelists represent major players in the music, Internet, and consumer electronics industries.

W9:COMPARATIVE STUDY OF 8 MULTICHANNEL SOUND RECORDING ARRAYS OF THE 40 VOICES "MOTET" BY TALLIS AT THE PARIS NATIONAL CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC

Monday, 21 February, 09:00 h � 11:30 h
Workshop Chair: Christian Hugonnet, France

The panel will consist of a representative from each of the authors or the groups participating in this recording. The aim of this workshop is to compare 8 different microphone arrays according to 5.1 reproduction format as recommended by ITU-R BS 775-1. This comparative study is based upon the simultaneous recording in the same acoustical conditions of the same musical work: the 40 voices motet "Spem in alium" by Thomas Tallis, interpreted by "Le Madrigal de Paris" in the Paris National Conservatory of Music on 11th November 1999. The circular placement of the vocal sound source around the audience will be of special interest in establishing the coherence of the reproduced sound field. The different systems will be discussed by their authors and the debate will include some results from the surround demonstration of the "motet".

W10:EVALUATION OF INTERMEDIATE AUDIO QUALITY

Monday, 21 February, 14:00 h � 16:30 h
Workshop Chair: Thomas Sporer, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (FhG-IIS), Germany

Subjective and objective methods for the evaluation of the perceived audio quality are well established both for high-quality audio signals and speech quality levels. Low bit-rate coding enables the transport of audio signals on the Internet. The obtained quality is much better than the usual "telephone quality" but far from transparent. In this range, the classical measures of quality evaluations are no longer applicable. In this workshop the special problems of the evaluation of this so-called intermediate audio quality are discussed. Experts from EBU and ITU-R working groups will also give a preview on an up-coming recommendation for listening tests and insights to the activities concerning objective evaluation.

MEETING OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE on Signal Processing 16:30 - 18:00. following Workshop W10

W11: LOUDSPEAKER ARRAY RADIATED FIELD

Monday, 21 February, 14:00 h � 16:30 h
Workshop Chair: Fran�ois Deffarges, ORPHEO, France

This workshop intends to draw a panorama of today's situation and tomorrow's expectations in the control of the radiated field of loudspeaker arrays. Control of the radiated field of a loudspeaker system is clearly a determinant factor in the success of a sound system design. Arrays assembled with the traditional sound reinforcement systems do not give satisfactory results as there is so much acoustical interference that the response is totally dependant on the listening position, and the resulting homogeneity is poor. Furthermore the concept of directivity is irrelevant because one is unable to characterise the radiated field. Over the last few years, new concepts in arrays have emerged: line sources, plane sources, parabolic sources,... and day-to-day progress in DSP technology is introducing new methods that can be used to control the radiated field of an array.

MEETING OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE on Archiving, Restoration and Digital Libraries (formative meeting)16:30 - 18:00, following Workshop W11