SCOTT GERSHIN

With the drop in our economy, this year's AES convention -- pro audio's toy-show mecca -- was a little smaller than in previous years, with few ground-breaking products. Still, a few things struck me as being useful for the motion picture and television industry.

First on my list of things to check out were the new multi-channel location recording devices by HHB, Fostex and Deva. Designed to replace field DAT machines, they record on hard disk or DVD and support six to eight channels of 24-bit audio, with a variety of sample rates and can output BWAV, AIFF or SDII files. HHB's recorder can output a Pro Tools-compatible file of your recording session, maintaining the relationship of all your tracks. While none of the

The Stereo and Surround Techniques Workshop attracted a full house of engineers working in surround formats. Photos courtesy of AES.

devices were shipping at the time of the convention, the manufacturers hope to have them available by the end of 2002 or the beginning of 2003.

Digidesign was showing Pro Tools 6.0. While it has many new features, including enhanced MIDI and plug-in functionality, one of the most notable changes is that Pro Tools now runs on OS X. This new version of Pro Tools also has a file management system called DigiBase, which can be used to organize sound effects libraries. With DigiBase you can listen to tracks, view their waveforms, add sync points, and see file information such as duration and user comments in a spreadsheet-style format -- all before importing them into Pro Tools. When you drag-and-drop the file into Pro Tools, DigiBase automatically converts it, if necessary, guaranteeing compatibility between the file and the project. The browser feature has a lot of depth, and I recommend checking it out. Digidesign plans to release Pro Tools 6.0 by the beginning of 2003.

In the world of plug-ins, Waves presented the 360° Surround Toolkit. Designed for Pro Tools TDM v. 5.3.1 and higher, the kit includes six-channel reverb, a surround limiter and compressor, advanced panning and a mix-down tool that allows you to derive four-channel, LCR, stereo or mono versions from your 5.1 session in real time. The 360° Surround Toolkit also has a tool to control the management of your multi-channel monitoring, making it easier to calibrate your studio for surround. Impressive software plug-ins were also being shown from Serato, Wave Mechanics, TC Works, Antares, McDSP, SoundToys and Sony.

One of the most promising items on display was Nuendo 2.0, which was unveiled at AES by Steinberg. Running on both Mac and PC platforms, this program has been maturing as a serious sound editing tool and now offers OMF support, 32-bit floating point processing, multi-channel panning and monitoring, networking capabilities, plug-ins and a huge array of I/O interfaces from a multitude of manufacturers. Compared to other workstations, it is relatively inexpensive, and it is definitely worth taking for a test drive.

Yamaha showed a middle-of-the-line series of mixing consoles that cost between $8,000 and $25,000. These support 64 to 96 inputs of digital audio, complete with 5.1 support and the ability to control both Pro Tools and Nuendo. Specs are available on the Yamaha website, www.yamaha.com/proaudio.

Tascam's DM24 V2.0 is an interesting and inexpensive 24-bit/96kHz compatible console for the editing bay, with HUI emulation, transport, 5.1 panning, 32-channel/8-bus, 100mm moving faders and built-in processing. Tascam also showed their DS-M7.1, for those who need an inexpensive hardware solution for controlling multi-channel monitoring. The controller supports LCRS, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 surround formats.

 

LESLIE SHATZ

One of the most interesting trends at this year's AES was the continuing integration of workstations and mixing consoles.

Euphonix and Steinberg announced a joint project, in which the System 5 Euphonix console will be able to directly control the mixing desk of the Nuendo 2.0 workstation, thereby combining the advantages of a professional re-recording mixing surface with the editorial capabilities of a digital workstation. The protocol they have developed uses high-speed Ethernet to handle communications, so that there are none of the resolution and data throughput limitations associated with MIDI. Like MIDI, the newly developed protocol is "open," so that any manufacturer can adapt their products to be compatible with it.

The Avant Plus, by Solid State Logic (SSL), demonstrated a different sort of workstation integration, using the traditional RS-422 Sony machine control protocol and multi-pin cables. This allows the SSL to control workstation track arming, punch in/out, motion control and synchronization. It also permits the console's on-board computer monitor and keyboard to be switched so that one can view and control the workstation of choice directly from the console, without having to move over to a different location and a different set of controls.

Also of interest was the expanding use of networking demonstrated at the Merging Technologies Pyramix booth. Their Virtual Transport allows Windows-based computers to control motion, punch in/out, and arm tracks for several Pyramix workstations using Ethernet connections rather than RS-422. This can allow different computers to handle different parts of a given editorial task -- for example, one computer could play back high-resolution video while others handle audio playback or processing/recording tasks, analogous to the way a dubbing stage functions. Pyramix's strategy takes advantage of the ever-increasing price/performance of powerful, general-purpose PCs.

 

ROB NOKES

For me, the most notable editing companies on hand at this years' convention were Fairlight, Digidesign and Steinberg.

Fairlight displayed an impressive new control surface and improved network functionality, but they still don't provide low-cost interoperability with Pro Tools, Avid and Final Cut Pro systems. While the Fairlight is powerful and bullet-proof, their OMF conversion software is expensive, at $1,000 per seat. As a Pro Tools user working at a Fairlight facility, I think that interoperability should be a given, and I hope that the designers ensure that their software works in flawless harmony with all of the other major platforms in the future.

Digidesign displayed Pro Tools 6.0. Now OS X-based, with a noticeably sleeker interface, the program's big changes are in its media management and metadata functionality. For the last ten years, dialog editors cutting on Pro Tools have cursed binary Avid media file names, and Digidesign has addressed this through the utilization of metadata. This may also allow Avid 16-bit media to be cross-referenced to Pro Tools 24-bit media. While Pro Tools has pushed 24-bit 48/96/192 high-definition audio, Avid has languished in the 16-bit world. Relating 16-bit and 24-bit media is helpful, but I think the Avid is overdue for a 24-bit upgrade. If we are ever to achieve a soup-to-nuts digital audio workflow, picture editors must be able to digitize 24-bit production audio without degradation and pass the same media on to sound editors. Another Digidesign improvement is the ability to create fades and import files while a session is playing back; this is particularly helpful on the mixing stage when you're racing to make changes without halting playback. This real-time functionality is also ideal for plug-in manipulation, although I did not test that capability.

Nuendo, while similar to Pro Tools in its editing functionality, has a busy interface that can be taxing on the eyes, especially if you are in front of the software for a long time. The program makes up for this, however, with its open hardware compatibility and its price point, a welcome change from the way Pro Tools uses its dominant market position to force many of us to purchase a limited range of expensive hardware. In some respects, Nuendo's approach is similar to Final Cut Pro's, in that the cost-per-seat is low enough that it makes sense to install additional systems so more people can work effectively, or so one person can multitask on several machines. The software also works well on laptops, making it possible to edit at home or at other non-studio locations. Pro Tools, in contrast, has limited the capabilities of its software-only systems. I do not foresee many big facilities switching to Nuendo because they have too much money invested in other platforms. But I predict that young, up-and-coming companies will adopt Nuendo and enjoy greater flexibility and portability than their competitors.