Saturday, March 22
W1 LOW BIT RATE CODING OF SPATIAL AUDIO
Chair: Christof Faller - Agere Systems, USA
Mark Davis - Dolby Laboratories, USA
Michael C. Kelly - York University, UK
Gerald Schuller - Fraunhofer-IIS, Germany
Thomas Sporer - Fraunhofer-IIS, Germany
While entertainment brings high fidelity surround sound into most homes, a need arises for coding technologies for efficiently storing and transmitting stereo and multi-channel audio signals. The history of spatial audio reproduction and spatial audio coding is reviewed. An introduction to spatial perception in terms of binaural hearing and auditory scene analysis is given. Currently used techniques such as sum/difference coding and intensity stereo are described in detail. Recent techniques for significantly lowering the bitrate for stereo and multi-channel audio coding are described. An outlook is presented with respect to further developments in terms of low bitrate spatial audio coding. The workshop is complemented with a variety of demonstrations.
W2 SAMPLING RATE CONVERTERS
Chair: Bert van der Wolf - NorthStar Recording Services , The Netherlands
Tony Faulkner - Green Room Productions, UK; Emil Berliner Studios, Germany
Simon Heyworth - Super Audio Mastering , UK
Ronald Prent - Galaxy Studio, Belgium
Mike Story - Data Conversion Systems, UK
Daniël Weiss - Weiss Digital Audio, Switzerland
For many years the Compact Disc has been the main consumer end product for producers of music productions and sound engineers. It carries one standard sample rate and word length. Since the introduction of the versatile DVD Disc, many different formats can and will be used for products such as DVD-Video, DVD-Audio and SACD. All have their place in the market and the professional engineer is confronted with many new challenges to make optimal use of these new media. For each new production, a choice has to be made about which format to use to start with and the objective will be to reach an optimal level of quality in all down conversions for the different discs which will have to be produced at the end of the chain.
W3 THE FUTURE OF HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO
Chair: Malcolm Hawksford - University of Essex, UK
James Angus - University of Salford, UK
Tony Faulkner - Green Room Productions, UK
Kevin Halverson - Muse Electronics, USA
Erwin Janssen - Philips Research, The Netherlands
Bob Stuart - Meridian Audio, UK
Michael Page - Sony Broadcast and Professional Research Labs
Derk Reefman - Philips Research, The Netherlands
The technology driving DVD-audio and SACD continues to evolve in harmony with an expanding awareness within both consumer and recording industries. This Workshop will present an update of these technologies spanning both theoretical and practical issues together with the so-far neglected relationship between high-resolution audio and Blue-Ray DVD. Controversial areas of relative format performance, software tools for recordable DVD and digital interfacing in the consumer environment will be discussed with a bias towards future evolution. The Workshop will include a demonstration of streaming high-resolution multi-channel audio in DSD format.
Sunday, March 23
W4 MULTICHANNEL/SURROUND SOUND: A Chance for Enhanced Creativity
Chair: Martha de Francisco
Florian Camerer - Tonmeister, ORF Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, Vienna
Friedemann Engelbrecht - Tonmeister/producer Teldex Studio Berlin
Jean-Marie Geijsen - Recording Engineer Polyhymnia International, Baarn, NL
Simon Heyworth - Recording/mastering Engineer, Superaudio Mastering, UK
James Mallinson - Independent Producer based in London
Ronald Prent - Resident Engineer, Galaxy Studios, Mol, Belgium
With multichannel/surround sound recordings we are entering a new era in the transmission of music. This calls for an increased creativity and new ideas to be applied to music recording.
How does the impact of a multichannel recording on the listener compare to that of the same recording in stereo? When recording in surround sound, do we need to follow the spatial rules imposed by the live-concert performance of classical music and jazz? Are we facing a possible revolution in the recording of pop music? Does the level of technical recording quality have a significant influence on the way in which the listener perceives the performance?
With the help of listening excerpts of a variety of multichannel recordings, a panel of leading engineers will discuss issues on sound aesthetics and practical aspects of surround sound recording.
W5 NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MPEG-4 AUDIO
Chair: Jürgen Herre - Fraunhofer-IIS, Germany
Martin Dietz - Coding Technologies, Germany
Erik Schuijers - Philips Digital Systems Laboratories, The Netherlands
Schuyler Quackenbush - Audio Research Labs, USA
For more than one decade, MPEG Audio standards have been defining the state of the art in perceptual coding of audio signals. Several phases of standardization (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4) have been pushing borders beyond everybody's initial expectations. This workshop reports on three new extensions to the existing MPEG-4 audio standard which are currently under development. The work on compatible bandwidth extension of audio signals provides an additional performance boost for AAC coding at very low bitrates, permitting considerable signal quality at bitrates around 24kbit/s per channel. A second extension augments the existing MPEG parametric audio coder with modes for representing high-quality audio signals. Finally, methods for lossless audio coding are under consideration, extending current MPEG-4 audio coders towards perfect representation at word lengths and sampling rates typically associated with high-definition audio. The workshop will provide background and demonstrations on these technologies.
W6 LAN DELIVERY OF AUDIO AND APPLICATION TO DIGITAL LIBRARIES
Chair: Jeremy Cooperstock - McGill University, Canada
Peter Alyea - Library of Congress, USA
J. Steven Downie - University of Illinois, USA
John Grant - Ninetiles, UK
George Massenburg - George Massenburg Labs, USA
Mike Overlin - Yamaha, USA
John Strawn - S. Systems, USA
While many standards exist for the streaming of digital content over the internet at large, there are no widely adopted standards for LAN distribution or for the integration of LAN and WAN distribution systems. A better understanding of the issues and best practices relevant to LAN streaming, including fundamental capabilities, basic transport mechanisms, signal treatment, and infrastructure requirements, is needed by industry. Furthermore, consideration of networked media distribution, both through WAN and LAN, as an alternative to "hard media" (e.g. CDs) poses important questions to the digital library community. This workshop will explore these questions and present a synopsis of approaches being employed by leaders in the field.
W7 HANDSET AND HEADSET TESTING Beyond narrowband
Chair: Andrew Bright - Nokia Corporation, Finland
Paul Darlington - Apple Dynamics, UK
Hans Gierlich - Head Acoustics, Germany
Lars Bierger Nielsen - Brüel & Kjær, Denmark
Allen Woo - Plantronics, USA
Bob Zurek - Motorola, USA
Wideband speech and music playback are new features being introduced to mobile telephones. The fundamental concepts behind testing handsets and headsets over the narrow-telephone frequency band are not applicable at the higher frequencies these new features will reproduce. New test methods are needed to asses the performance of handsets and headsets over these wider frequency ranges. An open discussion between test equipment manufacturers, researchers, and telephone manufacturers is planned to explore possible ways forward. Topics that will be discussed are Artificial ear design and usage, Relation between objective and subjective measurements, Safety and Standards
Monday, March 24
W8 ELECTRONIC REVERBERATION FOR CONCERT HALLS
Chair: Durand Begault - NASA Ames Research, USA
David Griesinger Lares, USA)
Eckhard Kahle - Kahle Acoustics, Belgium
Mendel Kleiner - Chalmers University, Sweden
Ben Kok - Dorsserblesgraaf, The Netherlands
Scott Pfeiffer - Kirgegaard Assoc, USA
Marc Poletti VRAS Industrial Research, New Zealand
Wim Prinssen SIAP, The Netherlands
Jean-Paul Vian Carmen Cstb, France
Diemer de Vries - Delft University, The Netherlands
Many new developments have been made in electronic reverberation systems for variable acoustics in auditoria, since the original "assisted resonance systems" of the 1960s (e.g., Royal Festival Hall, London, Grand Kremlin Theater in Moscow) were used to selectively increase reverberation time. The evolution of new systems has been driven by both modern signal processing technology and a better understanding of the perceptual issues relevant to sound quality for both music and speech. This workshop was organized around a set of questions that were developed in advance by the participants to address many of the important perceptual issues of variable acoustics. Each panelist will have the opportunity to present a concise answer to the same questions, allowing for the audience a comparative view of similar and dissimilar approaches to the same topic. The panelists represent a good cross section of product developers, researchers, and acoustical consultants who are concerned with the perception of reverberation.
W9 CORRELATION BETWEEN SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT FOR AUTOMOTIVE SOUND SYSTEMS
Chair: Richard Stroud - Chairman-AES Automotive Audio Technical Committee
David L. Clark - DLC Design, USA
Neal House - Harman-Becker, USA
Roger Kessler BMW, Germany
Wolfgang Klippel - Harman-Becker, Germany
Tim Nind - Harman-Becker, UK
Tom Nousaine - DLC Design, USA
Vehicle manufacturers and their audio suppliers are seeking objective measurement as the audio system's evaluation method of choice. Correlation between proven subjective evaluation methodologies and objective measurements must be strong to permit the latter to be successful. This workshop will discuss current and proposed states of correlation between subjective evaluation and objective measurement for automotive sound systems.
W10 AES 47 ATM STANDARD
Chair: Mark Yonge - AES Standards Manager
David Errock - BBC Technology, UK
Paul Grant - Glensound Electronics, UK
Mike Story - Data Conversion Systems, UK
Standards are vital to ensure interoperability in systems using equipment from multiple vendors. The AES recently published a new standard for connecting professional digital audio over ATM networks, AES47-2002. AES47 allows conventional structured cabling in buildings to carry live audio signals. The network inherently provides powerful switching and routing and also supports multiple sampling frequencies in the same fabric. Unlike conventional computer networks, AES47 connections do not incur substantial time delays and can be used comfortably in 'live' broadcast operations, for example. Building a practical system using networked audio on a large scale opens up some radical new possibilities. This workshop will explore a range of key issues, such as failsafe circuit protection and flexible sync distribution, using experience gained during a current project development for BBC Radio.
Tuesday, March 25
W11 LARGE ROOM ACOUSTICS
Jan Voetman - DELTA, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
Peter Mapp - Peter Mapp Associates, Colchester, UK
Michael Barron Fleming and Barron, UK
Durand Begault - Charles M. Salter Associates Inc., San Francisco, USA
Jim Brown - Audio Systems Group, Chicago, USA
This time Large Room Acoustics will be discussed, after problems connected with the acoustics of small rooms have been successfully debated at former AES Workshops. The difference between large rooms and small rooms is not only a matter of volume (no joke!). Acoustically, large rooms are characterized by a high degree of diffuseness, a huge number of closely spaced room modes (Eigentones), and often excessive reverberation time. This workshop will open with a tutorial by Michael Barron on basic issues relating to large room acoustics, followed by presentations by specialists working in the design of acoustics and loudspeaker systems in spaces such as multi-purpose halls, sports stadiums and concert halls. They will discuss research, current thinking and good practice concerning reverberation, early reflections, and suitable loudspeaker design.
W12 THE VALUE OF INFORMATION
A special workshop hosted by the ESDA and the AES
Chair: Peter Filleul - European Sound Directors Association ESDA, UK
Paul Jessop - Technical Director, IFPI, UK
Mark Yonge - AES Standards Manager
Eric van Tijn - Soundwise Studios, The Netherlands
To celebrate its 5th anniversary as a pan European representative body, the European Sound Directors Association is hosting this workshop which will consider responses by studios and producers to the increasing calls for extended deliverables in metadata, information handling and how standard systems could provide new income streams and impact on existing studio revenues, studio personnel and practice. Moderated by Peter Filleul (Director of ESDA and Executive Director of APRS in the UK), a panel of studio owners, studio producers and metadata experts from Europe and the USA debate the issues and present some fresh opportunities.
W13 WAVE FIELD SYNTHESIS APPLICATIONS
Thomas Sporer - Fraunhofer Gesellschaft AEMT, Germany
Diemer de Vries - Delft University, The Netherlands
Rudolf Rabenstein Erlangen/Nurmberg University, Germany
Guenther Theile IRT, Germany
Riitta Väänänen IRCAM, France
Ten partners - universities, research institutes and industries - cooperate within the IST 5th framework program project "CARROUSO". The project aims at real-time recording, transmission and rendering of multi-channel sound events, where also the acoustic properties of the recording room are taken into account. The rendering is performed by Wave Field Synthesis, enabling the reproduction of sound fields with natural spatial properties over the full listening area. During the workshop several practical applications of WFS will be discussed.
Throughout the Convention some of these applications will be demonstrated in Room R