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Thursday, April 1, 2021
11:00 AM - 11:15 AM (EDT)

Welcoming Remarks: Editors' Roundtable

Join the editors of Mix, Pro Sound News and Radio World as they welcome you to the day's program and share insights, with you as well as with one another, about recent trends and emerging technologies in pro audio and radio, including  virtualization, remote workflows, podcasting, digital technologies and more. If there's one thing we've learned over the past year, it's that the exchange of ideas and new ways of working is key to building a successful career, and that's proven especially true in the overlapping worlds of broadcasting and professional audio.

Tom Kenny Paul McLane Clive Young
11:15 AM - 11:45 AM (EDT)

Podcasting: ‘Good Enough’ Audio Is Not Good Enough

Podcasts have exploded in popularity over the last five years, inspiring millions of people to start their own shows, in part due to the low cost of entry-level audio gear. In reality, however, the DIY days of podcasting are long gone; today, audio quality is a crucial factor in building and keeping your audience. That means finding and using superior audio tools, production software and hosting services; exploring the use of dedicated podcast studios or building one yourself; and both developing and applying best practices at every step of the audio production process.

Chris Crump Fela Davis Dallas Taylor Frank Verderosa
11:45 AM - 12:00 PM (EDT)

Keynote: What’s Next? New Tech for Audio Creation, Collaboration, Distribution

Crises often lead to accelerated advancements in technology, and over the past year, the professional audio industry has been actively developing new tools and new models to support evolving demands in sound production and distribution. Noted author, composer, artist and technologist Craig Anderton looks into those changes and finds that many of the foundations of the future—from networked systems and machine learning, to remote collaboration and blockchain payments/audience outreach—are here right now. And they’re about to become a lot bigger.

Craig Anderton
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM (EDT)

Networking in Exhibit Hall & Lunch Break

 
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM (EDT)

Building Your House-of-Worship Multipurpose Studio

Megachurches have produced extensive content for years to reach their followers, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, houses of worship of all sizes are faced with having to expand their outreach through digital media. Creating a central production space—one that can handle your worship facility’s live sound, recording needs and livestreaming—is the most practical answer, but it can also be a little overwhelming. Our expert panelists share how to assess what you want to accomplish, what you need to get there, tools and processes you might already have in place, and more.

Tim Corder Gavin Haverstick
1:00 PM - 1:30 PM (EDT)

Networking in Exhibit Hall

 
1:30 PM - 2:10 PM (EDT)

How Did They Do That? Grammy Awards 2021 Telecast

The production team behind the Grammy Awards is one of the smoothest running operations in live event television, regularly winning awards while at the same time introducing cutting-edge technologies. This year of the pandemic proved totally different, with four socially distanced stages set up inside the L.A. Convention Center, and 125 mixes completed on the final day before air. Audio Director Michael Abbott says it was one of the Top 5 challenging productions in his career, and he is proud of what the team accomplished.

Presented by Focusrite Pro

Michael Abbott Glenn Lorbecki Jeffrey Peterson Eric Schilling
2:10 PM - 2:45 PM (EDT)

Networking in Exhibit Hall

 
2:45 PM - 3:15 PM (EDT)

Immersive Music: Record, Edit, Mix, Distribute

Last year, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group made a significant push into providing immersive audio content for music-only projects, with distribution deals through TIDAL, Amazon Music, Avid Play and other partners. In this presentation, a panel of engineers, technologists and streaming services provide a look at the tools, technologies and creative application of immersive audio, from tracking to mixing to distribution.

Steve Genewick Colin Heldt Ed McEntee Maurice Patist
3:15 PM - 4:00 PM (EDT)

Networking in Exhibit Hall

 
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM (EDT)

New Technologies for Music and Recording Education

While education at all levels has been disrupted globally by the Covid-19 pandemic, the effects have been especially acute in recording and music education, where hands-on instruction and interaction are critical to a student’s growth. But educators haven’t been sitting still, and they’ve made use of existing technologies in new ways, along with discovering and incorporating new methods of instruction while modifying curriculum. What has worked? And what has worked well? Our panel of educators and technologists discuss the present and look ahead to potential hybrid models.

John Krivit Brian Smithers Scott Wynne
4:30 PM - 4:45 PM (EDT)

Networking in Exhibit Hall

 
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM (EDT)

Closing Remarks

Tom Kenny Paul McLane Clive Young
Time Zone: (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) [Change Time Zone]
Thursday, April 1, 2021
11:00 AM - 11:15 AM (EDT)

Welcoming Remarks: Editors' Roundtable

Join the editors of Mix, Pro Sound News and Radio World as they welcome you to the day's program and share insights, with you as well as with one another, about recent trends and emerging technologies in pro audio and radio, including  virtualization, remote workflows, podcasting, digital technologies and more. If there's one thing we've learned over the past year, it's that the exchange of ideas and new ways of working is key to building a successful career, and that's proven especially true in the overlapping worlds of broadcasting and professional audio.

Tom Kenny Paul McLane Clive Young
11:15 AM - 11:45 AM (EDT)

Networking in Exhibit Hall

 
11:45 AM - 12:15 PM (EDT)

Trends in AoIP

A discussion of the state of audio over IP, and what infrastructure planners need to know, including implications for the work-from-home environment. AoIP itself is now well established in radio as a default integration model. How are forward-looking broadcasters deploying AoIP in new ways? What does A​ES67 compatibility do (or not do) for budgets and broadcasters; what layers of complexity does it bring? What resources are available to help AV and broadcast work on the same networks?

Paul McLane Ed Bukont Chris Crump Michael LeClair
12:15 PM - 12:45 PM (EDT)

Networking in Exhibit Hall & Lunch Break

 
12:45 PM - 1:15 PM (EDT)

Radio Keynote: Hybrid Radio & Android Automotive

A look at two technology topics that affect how your radio station is heard in the car. Hybrid radio combines one-way OTA radio reception with two-way online connectivity and streaming, to create a new kind of platform in connected cars. Meanwhile, the Android Automotive OS is expected to create more powerful, modern infotainment systems. Over the next couple of years, Android Automotive will be in vehicles from Ford, GM, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi. What do you need to know about these important developments? John Clark and David Layer will discuss how NAB and PILOT, NAB’s innovation initiative, are helping broadcasters to meet the challenges inherent in these technologies.

David Layer John Clark
1:15 PM - 1:45 PM (EDT)

Networking in Exhibit Hall

 
1:45 PM - 2:00 PM (EDT)

Nautel: Software Defined Radio Transmission and the Cloud

There are an increasing number of reasons that argue for broadcast technologies to be implemented in software rather than the traditional approach of discrete fixed-use hardware boxes. This session will explore the trend towards Software Defined Radio Transmission by way of case studies demonstrating the value of software-implemented technology and the cloud.

Philipp Schmid
2:00 PM - 2:30 PM (EDT)

Building the Virtual Air Chain

Radio is adopting new technologies and practices from the IT industry for its own success. What exactly does a “virtual airchain” mean for radio? Which functions are already available in software? How has virtualization changed disaster recovery and backup functions? What are the implications of the SaaS model on radio business operations? What are the NAB Radio Technology Committee and manufacturers working on next? And how has the pandemic experience changed or accelerated these trends?

Paul McLane Roswell Clark Philippe Generali Alan Jurison Greg Shay
2:30 PM - 2:45 PM (EDT)

A Presentation by Wheatstone

Wheatstone’s Jay Tyler and Jeff Keith discuss new directions in digital audio signal processing.

Jay Tyler Jeff Keith
2:45 PM - 3:15 PM (EDT)

Networking in Exhibit Hall

 
3:15 PM - 3:45 PM (EDT)

Critical Trends in Transmission

A conversation with four experts -- including three recipients of the NAB Engineering Achievement Award -- about key trends happening or coming in RF. The discussion will touch on all-digital for AM; single-frequency networks; uptake of MDCL; the transport of FM composite baseband digitally, over IP networks; why radio broadcasters should pay attention to the ATSC 3.0 rollout; and other topics.

Paul McLane Ashruf El-Dinary John Kean Geoffrey Mendenhall, P.E. Jeff Welton
3:45 PM - 4:15 PM (EDT)

Networking in Exhibit Hall

 
4:15 PM - 4:45 PM (EDT)

Get the Most Out of Your Station’s Streams

Let’s face it, many radio stations pay little or no attention to the quality of their online streams. But streaming has different parameters and requirements than your OTA signal. Hear from veteran engineer and streaming expert David Bialik about stream loudness and upcoming AES guidelines, as well as the use of metadata and the importance of audio processing. Then John Passmore of New York Public Radio, which recently embarked on a journey to upgrade its digital streaming architecture to create more efficient, cost-effective and better-sounding streaming audio. John will talk about some lessons learned and key considerations - beyond DSP - when building a streaming architecture for public radio.

Paul McLane David Bialik John Passmore
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM (EDT)

Closing Remarks

Tom Kenny Paul McLane Clive Young
Time Zone: (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) [Change Time Zone]