AES Section Meeting Reports

Meeting Topic: 50th Anniversary of FM Stereo in USA

Moderator Name: David K. Bialik, Systems Engineering Consultant and Scott Fybush — Fybush.com/Inside Radio

Speaker Name: Richard Burden; Frank Foti, Omnia Audio; Richard Mertz, Cavell and Mertz; Arno Meyer, Belar; Robert Orban, Orban; Skip Pizzi, NAB; Bill Sacks, Orban; Eric Small, Modulation Sciences; Jeff Smith, Clear Channel

Other business or activities at the meeting: AES Convention

Meeting Location: PC Richard & Sons Theater at the Clear Channel Studios, NYC

AES Member Bonus Material

Audio Recording of Entire "50th Anniversary of FM Stereo in USA" Presentation (MP3 Audio - Length: 1:29:31)

Summary

Radio's first four decades were strictly monophonic. Despite some early experimentation by FM inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong, even "high-fidelity" FM remained mono until 1961, when the FCC chose among competing systems to declare a standard for FM stereo broadcasting.

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the first commercial FM stereo broadcasts in the United States, this panel discussion will bring together some of the industry's top broadcast engineers and equipment designers. Topics will include FM stereo's birth, the merits of the competing systems that sought FCC approval, the initial technical challenges faced by the new medium, the development of high-density FM audio processing and the future of analog FM stereo in an increasingly digital world.

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