The impression that broadcast audio is in the throes of an important transition – away from dedicated hardware towards virtualised systems that can support a huge variety of workflows and deliverables – is impossible to dismiss, writes David Davies.
The suggestion that professional audio – in broadcast, but equally in live music and theatre – is gradually moving away from dedicated hardware towards virtualised and, increasingly, cloud-based solutions is not a new one. But surveying the cluster of significant product launches as 2024 has unfolded, it’s become clear that the shift has decisively kicked up a gear or two.
The change is perhaps most apparent in the sphere of audio mixing, where the emphasis among multiple manufacturers is on providing efficiencies (not least through remote production), supporting encroaching virtualisation at whichever pace the customer wishes to proceed, and facilitating the kind of flexibility that means a broadcaster or service provider can deliver a huge on-site production one day – or a relatively streamlined one with technical personnel located far and wide the next...
You are not signed in.
Only registered users can view this article.
NAB show review: Tariffs, technology and legacy business in the spotlight
Artist led, AI driven, fan-first media show the way forward at a NAB show dominated by tariff-suffering hardware vendors and advertiser weakened broadcast.
Virtual Production: Practical advice for lighting the volume
Adrian Pennington explores the many and varied lighting considerations for shoots within an LED volume where the ambition is to seamlessly marry virtual and real world environments.
Bright future: How CoSTAR will ideate the next wave in UK creative IP
If the UK’s creative industries are to continue to add hundreds of billions of pounds in value to the country’s economy then much will rely on the success of a new network of tech labs exploring the future of media.
 10 (1).jpg)
OTT evolution: Shifting business models, monetisation and personalisation
Over the past two decades, the over‐the‐top (OTT) industry has undergone a remarkable transformation from a niche experiment to a multi‐billion‐dollar ecosystem, writes John Maxwell-Hobbs.
.jpg)
AI through the looking glass: Digital natives
When it comes to AI, the M&E industry should take a more active interest in the views of its young people if it wants them to remain part of it, writes James McKeown.
