SAN FRANCISCO: AES Convention Workshops are perennial must attend events. 121^st Convention Workshop Co-Chairs, Bob Lee of QSC Audio Products and engineer David Harris have developed a program to meet the technical, theoretical and philosophical requirements of the most sophisticated attendee. “Workshops generally focus on cutting-edge applications, and they place a particular emphasis on interaction between the audience and the panel,” Committee Chair John Strawn explains. “Visitors to the Moscone Center Oct. 5 – 8 will encounter one of the most timely and diverse series we have ever presented.”

“This year’s workshops cover a particularly broad issue platform,” Co-Chair Bob Lee remarked. “Of these, David Harris and I are particularly enthusiastic about CONTENT PROTECTION AND AUDIO DISTRIBUTION: CAN THIS MARRIAGE BE SAVED? Skip Pizzi, journalist and Microsoft exec. has formed a stellar group of representatives from Apple, Intel, Real Networks, RIAA, EFF, Microsoft and the Stanford Center for Internet & Society. Their discussion will explore Digital Rights Management (DRM) one of the most critical issues facing our industry today. We look forward to an extremely spirited and newsworthy dialogue.”

Co-Chair David Harris highlights a series of Surround Sound events designed to expand the understanding and applications of 5.1. “We anticipate an especially high level of interest in George Massenburg’s SURROUND MIXING TECHNIQUES - A HANDS ON WORKSHOP. A legendary engineer and technology design pioneer Massenburg will provide theoretical insights and specific examples for maximizing 5.1’s creative and acoustic potential. Joining him will be: Elliot Scheiner, Al Schmitt, Chuck Ainlay and Frank Fillipetti. This is clearly an all-star event. We’ve also developed three additional Workshops to complete our Surround Sound quartet,” Harris adds.

MPEG SURROUND – THE MPEG STANDARD FOR PARAMETRIC MULTI-CHANNEL AUDIO CODING: Jürgen Herre, Fraunhofer IIS, Germany, will chair a panel which includes: Jeroen Breebart, Philips Research; Werner Oomen, Philips; Steve Church, Telos/Omnia/Axia; and Kristofer Kjörling; Coding Technologies.

SURROUND SOUND NOW AND IN THE FUTURE: Gregor Zielinsky, Sennheiser Electronic KG (Germany) will explore the continued growth of 5.1, its expanding relevance, growing popularity and, potential applications. His panel includes: Ronald Prent, Galaxy; Richard King, Sony/BMG; and Mike Pappas, KUVO, Public Radio.

SURROUND SOUND RECORDING AND REPRODUCTION WITH HEIGHT: Kimio Hamasaki, NHK, Tokyo will chair a distinguished panel which includes: incoming AES President Wieslaw Woszczyk, McGill University, Montreal; Wolfram M. Burgert, 2+2+2, Switzerland; Arnaud Laborie, Trinnov Audio, France; Jeff Levison, DTS, USA; Wilfried van Baelen, Galaxy Studios, Belgium; and Tomlinson Holman, TMH, USA.

AES WORKSHOPS INCLUDE:

WHY THE ROOM IMPULSE RESPONSE AFFECTS EVERYTHING WE HEAR: Leading acoustician Peter Mapp of Peter Mapp Associates (UK) will lead attendees on an exploration of RIR, what it is, why it matters and how it is measured. Panelists include: Durand Begault, NASA-AMES; Bob Coffeen, University of Kansas; Angelo Farina, University of Parma, Italy; Stefan Feistal, SDA Germany; and Brad Gover, NRC Canada.

PRE-FAB ACCOUSTICS: Tony Grimani, Performance Media Industries, CA, will moderate a panel featuring Russ Berger. RBDG; Dirk Noy, Walters-Storyk Design Group; Chris Pelonis, Pelonis Sound and Acoustics; and representatives of RPG and Auralex in a discussion of the advantages, optimum applications and the cost factor of a variety of new and established acoustic treatments.

BINAURAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR MOBILE APPLICATIONS: Jyri Huopaniemi of Noikia (Finland) has assembled a blue-ribbon panel of international experts including:
David Gallagher, QSound, USA; William Martens, McGill University, Montreal; Jan Plogsties, Fraunhofer, IIS, Germany; and Andrew Reilly, Lake, USA.

LATENCY ISSUES IN NETWORKED AUDIO SYSTEMS: Acoustician, studio designer and former AES President Elizabeth Cohen will lead a panel consisting of Elaine Chew, USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Chris Chafe, Stanford University; and Kevin Gross, Cirrus Logic.

HIGH DEFINITION RECORDING FOR THE NEW HIGH DATA CAPACITY MEDIA: Joe Bean, ProTech, USA has assembled a panel of industry pros including
Kevin Brown, Genex Audio, CA; Peter Eastty, Oxford Digital, UK; Graemme Brown, Zen Mastering, Vancouver; Ronald Prent, Galaxy Studios, Belgium; and Herbert Waltl, Media Hyperium, CA

HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO Discs vs. Downloads: Malcolm Hawksford, University of Essex, UK, will explore the next generation of audio and video distribution formats poised to make their appearance and vie to replace the DVD.

LISTENING TEST SOFTWARE: Jan Berg, Luleå University of Technology (Sweden) and panelists Francis Rumsey, University of Surrey, UK; Gilbert Soulodre, Communications Research Centre, Canada; Sean Olive, Harman International, U.S.; and Nick Zacharov, Nokia – Finland will explore a variety of new and established options currently on the market, and consider a wish list for future platforms.

LOSSLESS AUDIO COMPRESSION – TECHNOLOGY & FORMATS: Tilman Liebchen of LE Electronics, Germany will chair a panel featuring Ralf Geiger, Fraunhofer IIS, Germany; Noboru Harada - NTT, Japan and Zoran Fejzo - DTS, USA and a Dolby Laboratories representative.

REFERENCE OR PREFERENCE, METHODOLOGIES IN THE SUBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF AUTOMOTIVE SOUND SYSTEMS: Tim Nind, Harman Becker Automotive Systems will chair a panel comprised of David Clark, DLC Design, U.S.; Francis Rumsey, University of Surrey, UK; ,Kristina Busenitz Harman Becker Automotive Systems, UK; Sean Olive, Harman International, U.S.; and Richard Stroud, Delphi Delco Electronics, U.S.; in an exploration of the listening options driving today’s automobile/audio enthusiasts.

HUMAN FACTORS IN THE DESIGN OF AUDIO PRODUCTS AND SYSTEMS: Chair Jeremy Cooperstock, professor McGill University, Montreal;William Martens of McGill; Durand Begault, NASA-AMES; and George Massenburg, GML; will present a series of case studies of the designer’s perspective as to what and why certain interfaces are successful.

CHALLENGES OF INTERACTIVE MIXING: John Griffin, director, Game Market Segment, Dolby Laboratories, will moderate a panel featuring Scott Gershin, Director & Founder of Soundelux Design Music Group; Adam Levenson, Audio Director, Activision and Gene Semel, Audio Manager, High Moon Studios in an exploration of the differences between mixing traditional film/video projects and the considerably more complex and rapidly expanding medium of nonlinear games.

“A Preliminary Calendar of Dates, times and locations of the AES Workshop program has been posted at www.aes.org,” John Strawn concludes. “This will give attendees plenty of time to program personal schedules that will optimize their Convention experience. Workshop Co-Chairs David Harris and Bob Lee have created an extraordinary series of presentations. We couldn’t be more delighted with this program.”