Upcoming and Past Meetings


Two Joint Meetings with SMPTE in October:

(1) National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) Tour

Date: Saturday, October 18, 2008
Time: 11am - 5pm
Location:
Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center:
19053 Mount Pony Road
Culpeper, VA 22701-7551

Program: NAVCC Tour and Presentation

Our October meeting is a rare opportunity to tour the Library of Congress' new National Audio-Visual Conservation Center (NAVCC) in Culpeper, VA. Thanks to the efforts of James Snyder and CEI (Communications Engineering Inc., the NAVCC integrator) we will have access to the facility for tours and technical presentations. Participants may also attend the NAVCC's regular 2pm film, "Lassie Come Home" (MGM, 1943) in the fabulous 1920s movie-palace-inspired theater (separate reservations required). Since this is a full-day meeting, lunch will be provided from 11am to 1pm in the NAVCC's dining area.

The state-of-the-art NAVCC facility houses the entire non-print media collection from the Library's Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound (MBRS) division. The collection includes items from the beginning of film, recorded sound, and video up to the present. The campus includes underground climate-controlled storage facilities for the nearly 6.2 million items in the collection, including blast-proof vaults for nitrate film and cold storage for film, video and audio recordings of virtually every format. You will also see the facilities used to convert the recordings to digital files, including the SAMMA media conversion systems, Pyramix audio conversion systems, and Datacine film telecine. Experts in the design, construction, and operation of this amazing facility will be talking to us and leading the tours

Speakers will include Gregory Lukow, the Chief of MBRS; Steve Nease, the CTO of the NAVCC; and James Snyder, one of the design engineers for the technical plant. For more information on what you will see, click on these links:
http://www.loc.gov/avconservation/packard/mission.html
http://mic.loc.gov/navcc_1.htm
http://broadcastengineering.com/be-excellence-awards/library_congress_national_audio -visual/

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
1) RSVP is requested for this event! Please email eric@lab-tech-systems.com by 11 October if you are planning to attend. We hope to accommodate last-minute attendees but this is not guaranteed.
2) Due to the distance involved we are hoping to arrange some ride-sharing for attendees. Please contact eric@lab-tech-systems.com if you may need a ride or are willing to provide transportation for others in your area.
3) Those interested in the 2pm film screening of "Lassie Come Home" must register directly with the theater and may rejoin the SMPTE group afterward. Please go to the following link to check the schedule and reserve:
http://www.loc.gov/avconservation/mtponytheater/schedule.html

DIRECTIONS & TRAVEL INFO:
Washington to Fredricksburg to Culpeper (I-95)
* Take I-395 South towards Virginia
* I-395 South becomes I-95 South; stay on I-95 South
* Take the VA-3 West exit in Fredricksburg (Exit is just past the I-95 rest stop)
* Take VA-3 West towards Culpeper
* Turn left onto US 522 at traffic light.
* Go 1/8 of a mile to the first left, Mount Pony Road
* Turn left and the facility will be in front of you.
Washington to Gainesville to Culpeper (I-66)
* Take I-66 West to US-29 in Gainesville, Virginia
* Take US-29 South to Culpeper, Virginia
* Take the US-522/VA-3 Exit in Culpeper
* Turn left onto US-522/VA-3
* Turn right on 522 at the traffic light.
* Go 1/8 of a mile to the first left, Mount Pony Road
* Turn left and the facility will be in front of you.
Charlottesville to Culpeper
* Take US-29 North to Culpeper, Virginia
* Take the US-522/VA-3 Exit in Culpeper
* Turn right onto US-522/VA-3
* Turn right on 522 at the traffic light.
* Go 1/8 of a mile to the first left, Mount Pony Road
* Turn left and the facility will be in front of you.

(2) Understanding, Finding and Eliminating Ground Loops and Line-Level Signal Transformer Design


Presented by:

Bill Whitlock, President - Jensen Transformers

Date: Monday, October 20, 2008
Time: 7 PM
Location:
National Public Radio Headquarters
635 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC (not far from the DC convention center)

Bill Whitlock, president of Jensen Transformers (www.jensen- Transformers.com) and an active member in IEEE and AES, is an engineer who has written many papers (see their website) and given excellent presentations on equipment grounding problem diagnosis and solving. He has taught a three-day Syn-Aud-Con workshop and given AES seminars, and is returning to DC to address:
• How hum, noise, and interference couple into the signal path;
• Troubleshooting to precisely locate the problem interface;
• Fixes that do not compromise safety or performance; and
• Why many so-called "cures" don’t deliver what they promise.

I suspect all of us have encountered grounding problems in our professional or personal experience. I have attended two of his CEDIA presentations and reviewed some of his papers; I find his information credible, edifying, and quite useful.

In addition, he will discuss line-level signal transformer-core design and materials tradeoffs, line-input vs line-output transformer design, etc.

Hearing him speak is well worthwhile. See you there.

Limited parking is available in NPR’s garage. To take advantage of this, please RSVP to DC_Section @ AES.org.


MICROPHONES: THE PHYSICS, METAPHYSICS, AND PHILOSOPHY

PRESENTED BY

RON STREICHER, AES PAST PRESIDENT

September 22, 2008 at NPR Headquarters at 7:30 PM (635 Massachusetts Ave, NW)

Before you can place the first microphone in the studio, you need to develop a clear understanding of the sound that you want from the loudspeakers when the project is finished. To do this, you need to determine the elements that are essential to creating the “sonic illusion,” and then decide how to balance the often-conflicting elements and competing demands of technology vs art. Microphone techniques - although critical - are only a part of this process. Equally important are the criteria for monitoring and evaluating the results. Using recorded examples and practical demonstrations, the various aspects of this creative process are developed and brought into focus.

Who is Ron Streicher:

With “The Music Always Comes First!” as his lifelong motto, Ron Streicher began his music career as a pianist, percussionist, and choral conductor. He is an independent audio consultant and recording engineer specializing in live performances. His work is frequently heard over National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System networks. Ron joined the engineering staff and faculty of the Audio Recording Institute of the Aspen Music Festival and School in 1988, and from 1995-2005 served as Audio Production Manager for the Music Festival. His book, The New Stereo Soundbook (initially coauthored with F. Alton Everest in 1992) is now in its third edition. It has gained worldwide recognition as a standard reference on the subject of stereophonic perception, recording, and reproduction techniques. A Fellow and Life Member of the Audio Engineering Society, Ron served as AES President in 2003/4. He continues to be actively involved with its educational activities and has given numerous presentations at AES meetings throughout the world. In recognition of his long-term service to the Society, Ron was awarded the AES’s Bronze Medal in 1995.

Preview of New NPR HQ and Tour of Present Facilities

August 7, 2008 at NPR Headquarters (635 Massachusetts Ave, NW)

Joint meeting with Acoustical Society of America DC Section

The Washington DC chapter of the Acoustical Society of America and the Washington DC section of the Audio Engineering Society are pleased to announce your next local joint event at the NPR Headquarters in Washington, DC. This event will focus on the preview of the new NPR building, presented by Bud Aiello and Maury Schlesinger, followed by a facility tour led by Jan Andrews and colleague. There is no charge to attend and no reservation required. Please forward this announcement and invite others. Students are welcome. Membership in the ASA or AES is not required to attend.


Past Meetings:

Considerations for the Forensic Authentication of Digital Audio Recordings


Presented by

Douglas S. Lacey, BEK TEK llc.

Tuesday, 21 August 2007 at 7:30 PM

The methodology for forensic authentication of analog audio recordings is well-established, most notably with the published report regarding the examination of the 18-1/2 minute gap on the Nixon tapes and with Bruce Koenig’s AES article from 1990 which set forth the FBI’s methodology. However, very little has been published regarding the authentication of digital audio recordings (tape-based, disc-based, standard file format, proprietary file format, etc.).

While most of the techniques employed in the analog world are also applicable to digital recordings, several analyses are either potentially destructive to digital recordings or provide no meaningful data. Conversely, digital recordings offer new forms of analyses which have no corollary in the analog world. Furthermore, the proliferation of proprietary digital file formats in small audio recorders further compounds the matter, as it is often impossible to gain access to information regarding the structure of the data within the file.

Douglas S. Lacey served as an Electronics Engineer/Forensic Examiner for the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1996 through 2003. In this capacity, he specialized in audio enhancement, authenticity, and signal analysis, as well as the analysis of digital recordings produced by proprietary law enforcement recorders and consumer devices. Mr. Lacey earned a B.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Audio Engineering program at the University of Miami, has attended numerous specialized short courses and seminars, has published six peer-reviewed papers in audio/video forensics, and has provided expert testimony in state and federal courts.


PAUL WOLFF’S “NEW STUDIO MODEL”


Presented by

PAUL WOLFF - TONELUX

Monday, 21 August 2006 at 7:30 PM

For some time now, installing a traditional mixing console, and accepting its size and cost, was a foregone conclusion for any serious recording studio despite that console’s often wasteful redundancies and the necessity of adopting its designers’ concept of workflow. But with so much of the Audio Engineer’s work moving to the Digital Audio Workstation’s desktop, it is becoming more difficult to rationalize dedicating either the budget or the sheer acreage to the mixing console that it demands. Dedicated components, however, remain as valuable a tool for the serious engineer as ever.

Paul Wolff, formerly of API, sees this not only as a problem for his new company, Tonelux, to solve, but in some ways a paradigm shift as the industry comes full circle. From his website:
"With a new wave of engineers and producers taking the helm, the standard studio layout doesn't seem applicable any more. To me, it's like 1965 all over again, where engineers and studio owners had many different ideas about how the "console" should be designed."

He'll discuss his ideas further at our August meeting. Some background notes: Mr. Wolff began his career on the road doing sound for several bands, ultimately landing in the DC area. He ran sound at the Bayou nightclub for many years and then moved into a full-time studio engineer position at No Evil Multimedia studios in DC. This led to a job at Datatronix in Reston, VA which had just acquired API. He worked as a tech there and they started building consoles; however, API decided to sell the audio portion, their primary focus being the telephone market. Paul purchased the leftovers of API, reviving the company in 1985. After figuring out a way to make a 4-band version of the 550A equalizer and designing modules like the 3124, 550B and 512B, along with the world’s first all-resettable, discrete console, API began making consoles again. He designed the Legacy and Legacy Plus and then moved into a position to sell the company. The sale was completed in 1999 and Wolff, having stayed on with the new company, designed products like the 2500 stereo bus compressor and the first resettable, discrete, surround console; the Vision. He left API in 2003 and started Tonelux. Noticing a shift in the industry, he designed a new concept in modular consoles.

This meeting will be held at National Public Radio headquarters at 635 Massachusetts Ave NW in downtown DC. Parking, always at a premium in that neighborhood, is available in NPR’s garage. In order to take advantage of this, please RSVP to dc_section@aes.org.



SYNCHRONIZATION


Presented by

Fred Katz, Professor, American University

Tuesday, 23 May 2006 at 7:30 PM

Perhaps no subject in audio engineering is more misunderstood by students and working professionals alike than synchronization. Its principles are derived from seemingly unrelated fields like television and video production, the math involved is unwieldy and often counterintuitive, and when it is applied successfully its results are transparent and easily overlooked. Yet the topic of synchronization is relevant to almost every type of recording project, especially those involving digital audio, video or multimedia, and MIDI and sampling. This presentation will attempt to clarify the fundamental principles of synchronization and will show how they can be applied by examining several common synchronization scenarios involving analog, digital, and video tape, MIDI, Pro Tools, and digital audio networks. It is based on a successful teaching and troubleshooting manual created by the author and used at Omega Studios' School of Applied Recording Arts and Sciences.




GROUND LOOPS: UNDERSTANDING, FINDING, AND ELIMINATING

Presented by

Bill Whitlock, President, Jensen Transformers

Saturday, 3 June 2006, 9:30 AM-12:30 PM

Bill Whitlock, president of Jensen Transformers and an active member in IEEE and AES, is an engineer who has written many papers and given excellent presentations on equipment grounding problem diagnosis and solving. He recently has taught a 3-day Syn-Aud-Con workshop and an AES seminar, and is coming to DC to give us his presentation, which addresses:


EARLY SOUND-AND-FILM TECHNOLOGY

Presented by Mike Mashon

Monday, January 23, 2006 7:00 PM
at the Library of Congress Pickford Theater

Mike Mashon, Head of the Moving Image Section of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, will be our host at the Library of Congress' Pickford Theater for a non-technical look at some of the earliest examples of sound-for-film. Mike promises the Edison Experimental Sound Film from 1894 along with selections from DeForest Phonofilms (ca. 1922-23) and some Vitaphone shorts from 1926-27. Numerous other examples from the Library's collection will also be featured.