The bewildering number of video and audio compression formats available is difficult for those new to the industry to come to terms with. For broadcast engineers and IT engineers to work effectively together, IT engineers must understand the formats used, the legacy systems still in place, and the reasoning behind their existence. In this article, from the series Broadcast for IT, we investigate compression formats.
Phantom power is normally described as electrical current running over the same cable that carries the mic’s audio signal. All non-battery powered professional microphones with active circuitry need this power to operate. But as with most pro audio topics, it’s a bit more complicated. Here is a description of phantom power and how to stay out trouble when using it.
High fidelity speakers for the home environment differ from professional audio monitors due to their sonic accuracy. In the studio, we want to hear mistakes in the audio and not have the speakers cover them up. At home, we want to enjoy music. So what are the differences?
When most of us hear the term “binaural” lavalier mics, we think of amateur location music recording. However, the term also can mean a pair of interview lavs where the audio for the subject and the questioner are sent to different tracks of a stereo recorder for easier editing.
Audio is arguably the most complex aspect of broadcast television. The human auditory systems are extremely sensitive to distortion and noise. For IT engineers to progress in broadcast television they must understand the sampling rates and formats of sound, and in this article, we delve into digital audio.
Virtually every audio engineer experiences ground loop noise at some point in their working career. It can be caused by many things and happens at the least expected times. Here’s a guide to what causes ground loops and how to get rid of them.
In this series of articles, we will explain broadcasting for IT engineers. Television is an illusion, there are no moving pictures and todays broadcast formats are heavily dependent on decisions engineers made in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and in this article, we investigate microphones and how they are used in television.
The best video is not watchable by mass audiences unless the sound is equally good. That’s why monitoring sound with good quality headphones is essential. But, why do so many videographers shun headphones in the field?