Hosts: Philip Grossman, host and co-producer at Visionaries; Mary Ann Seidler, owner of First Light Media and consultant for multiCAM Systems and Telos Alliance; and Maria Kholodova.

Production – TKT1957 LLC
Aired January 29, 2024

Maria: Clear-Com introduces the Gen-IC Cloud Intercom, blending traditional hardware with virtual clients for enhanced communication. This scalable solution minimizes latency and is praised for its user-friendly design and seamless integration in professional settings.

Mary, can you walk us through this?

Mary: Definitely. You know, intercoms aren’t usually the hot topic in tech discussions. They’re not as glamorous as, say, video tech or high-end audio, but they’re incredibly important. What’s always been a thing with intercoms is they’ve been all about hardware. Seeing Clear-Com move towards integrating virtual elements and focusing on reducing latency is really cool. The way they’re doing it is fascinating – they’ve set up the virtual points close to where the action is, which means communication happens with really low latency. It’s a big step up.

So, Phillip, how significant do you think this intercom solution is for the future?

Philip: It’s quite interesting, actually. In the last three or four years, we’ve seen this shift to what’s been called ‘dematerialized infrastructure’. Your technical director might not be in the same room or even the same building as your director. They could be in a totally different location – another part of the state, or even a different country. So, the role of intercoms is becoming increasingly crucial. They’ve always been heavily reliant on hardware, which made expanding them kind of a hassle. You had to decide the scale of your intercom system upfront, and once you bought it, you were stuck with that decision. What Clear-Com is doing seems to really open things up. It allows the intercom system to be virtually anywhere in the world, with low latency. This could really be a game-changer for how we set up control rooms and production environments in the future, especially with teams spread out globally.

Maria: All right, thank you. Now, moving to Barix. Barix unveils the IP Former TPA400 Native Dante, a breakthrough in audio networking with ultra-low-latency and synchronized playback capabilities. Designed for extensive installations, this product transforms speakers into IP devices, enhancing audio delivery in various settings.

Back to you, Mary, for this one.

Mary: Let’s think about a large city’s subway system, for instance. It has thousands of speakers, many of which might need replacing. With the move towards IP infrastructure, instead of completely replacing all these speakers, this product from Barix presents an opportunity to upgrade them, making them more future-proof. Philip made a great point earlier: not everything will be native Dante or native IP, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to connect them. This is particularly helpful for large installations.

Philip, what are your thoughts on building all of this out?

Philip: Yeah, so in the video world, we’ve had similar solutions for a long time. For example, monitors have never been SDI; they’ve always been HDMI. We’ve always needed a box to convert SDI to HDMI. Now, we have a box that goes from IP to HDMI. This has been standard in video, but I hadn’t really considered it for audio. It makes perfect sense, especially in large stadiums, where you have these massive speakers and you want the capabilities and flexibility of IP without the need to completely overhaul the system. The units themselves, from what I’ve seen, are really compact. I think this offers a lot of flexibility and enables organizations to transition to IP with less capital expenditure.

Maria: NUGEN Audio announces VisLM 3, an advanced loudness plug-in, at NAMM Show 2024. Offering compatibility with international standards and innovative features, it’s poised to revolutionize loudness management for music streaming, appealing to a wide range of audio professionals. Mary, can you talk us through this?

Mary: Loudness control has always been a major issue for me. This development is so necessary. Sure, FM radio has some loudness control, and it’s a common practice in many European countries. NPR and others are discussing it as well because making something loud doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t distort – often, it does. The challenge is with podcasting and streaming, where the levels have only recently been set, and they vary. The levels for streaming are different from those for podcasting, and they differ across platforms. This tool from NUGEN Audio is crucial. It helps ensure that the audio content we produce is at the correct level, legal, and not frustrating for listeners who have to keep adjusting the volume.

Philip: Yeah, I’ve noticed that in television, we just have a black box at the end of the chain that normalizes everything. Maybe this type of software from NUGEN Audio will help organizations normalize audio earlier in the production process, which would make my job a bit easier.

Mary: Absolutely, Philip. That’s exactly the goal. It’s about normalizing audio effectively and efficiently. I’m really excited about what VisLM 3 can do.

Maria: That’s all the time we have today. Thanks to our experts – Philip and Mary! And don’t forget to comment on the news we’ve discussed. See you next Monday at the same time!

Production – TKT1957 LLC.
Broadcast on January 29, 2024.

Media Partner – Cine Gear Expo.

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