Aircraft Intercom

While it is possible to connect to Aircraft Intercom systems, the quality is at communications level rather than broadcast, though it may be adequate for short items and can give a useful “atmos”. Aside from the issues of obtaining the correct connector you MUST obtain permission from the pilot on each occasion before connecting location…

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Timecode

Timecode in audio operations refers to the SMPTE/EBU time and control code which is used for synchronising audio with video and for locating sections of programmes. Linear Time Code (LTC) is most commonly used, although Vertical Interval Timecode (VITC) may be encountered in television operations. Both versions use an 80-bit binary code to identify video…

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Edit Decision List (EDL)

An Edit Decision List (EDL) is simply an ordered list of items of recorded video and audio with Timecode references which enables a video editor to assemble a version of the final programme.

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Talkback

Talkback originated in radio studios, where staff in the control cubicle who could hear the presenters and performers on their monitor loudspeaker were able to communicate with them using a dedicated microphone/loudspeaker system, “talking back” to the studio. This system was extended by the introduction of “reverse talkback” which provided the presenter with an additional…

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Mix Minus

Mix Minus describes the arrangements used when a broadcast studio is connected to an external site such as an Outside Broadcast as a contribution or another studio which is simultaneously broadcasting the same programme in another region, two way working. In both cases the remote source needs a feed of the programme but not of…

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BLITS (Black & Lane’s Ident Tones for Surround)

Black and Lane’s Ident Tones for Surround (BLITS) developed by Sky Television Sound Supervisors Martin Black and Keith Lane in 2005/6 to provide a standardised form of channel identification and alignment for surround sound material. BLITS is a broadcast-specific line up tone system for use with 5.1 surround sound formats, and is currently being considered…

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Stereo

Stereo, short for Stereophonic, is a system of sound recording and reproduction which uses two synchronised channels, usually referred to as A (left) and B (right). There are several conventions for colour-coding analogue signals; the BBC adopted the nautical convention of Red for Port (Left) and Green for Starboard (Right), which can be confusing when…

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Pan Pot

Panpot is an abbreviation of Panoramic Potentiometer, a device used in Stereo mixers to vary the signal levels sent to the outputs from a Mono input, and thus apparently move the sound across the “sound stage” between left and right.

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Decibel (dB)

The human ear does not react to changes in sound in a simple, linear way. To double the loudness of a sound, say by turning up the volume control on an audio amplifier, most people find that they need to increase the power produced by the loudspeaker by about ten times. If we were to…

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Creative Commons Licence

A Creative Commons Licence allows authors, artists, and educators to mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry, changing the default of “All Rights Reserved” into “Some Rights Reserved”, as the creator chooses. There are three areas that the licence covers; attribution, commercial use and derivatives. These can be combined in…

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