Knowledgebase

This page lists the most common digital interface standards used to connect between digital mixers, recorders, editing systems and microphones etc. Contents ADAT AES/EBU SPDIF SDIF TDIF-1 Mitsubishi ProDigi MADI Yamaha ADAT ADAT is an acronym for Alesis Digital Audio Tape, a format for recording 8 tracks of digital audio onto Super VHS magnetic tape.…

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…

A Wild Track is an audio recording made on location with no reference to picture, intended to provide post production with useful background sound during editing. Recording wild tracks on documentary shoots it’s advisable not to switch the camera to bars, but to have the microphone in shot. With a fast turnaround in the edit,…

Most mixers, except for portable types, have an associated Jackfield, also known as a Patchbay, either integral with the mixer frame or fitted nearby in a wall-mounted rack or free-standing console. The jackfield is used to terminate incoming lines from remote studios, tape machines etc and to provide access to the mixer line inputs and…

A member asked on IBSNET for advice on hydrophones. Chris Woolf responded:- Hydrophones vary quite a bit in quality from high grade phantom powered  devices to some pretty poor plug-in power versions. The are invariably omnis and since the propagation of sound in water is very different to air you can expect a lot of LF…

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…

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…

Balanced lines are typically – and quite incorrectly – explained as follows. A signal is split into two equal but antiphase parts in a balanced line driver. These signals are connected to each leg of a pair cable and eventually arrive at a balanced receiver. This device inverts one leg of the signal. In doing…

Alternating Current or AC refers to a flow of electrons that reverses in direction in a cyclical manner

Critical Distance or Dc is the distance from a sound source where the level of direct sound equals that of any reverberant sound. Dc applies to all sound gathering but measuring it is normally only required when advance planning of microphone positions is needed. Critical Distance does not dictate where a microphone must be placed…

Running a business, owed money from another business? Then you have a statutory right to interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (as amended). There is no obligation to charge interest or claim compensation on a late payment, you just have a legal right to do so. Be aware…

Stick Pads are the soft rubber things that you fit onto the end of a walking stick to protect the end of the stick and reduce the noise of the stick hitting the ground. Sound Recordists use them on high heels or chair legs to reduce the sounds of walking or chair movements on hard…

An ATA Carnet is a multi-part document which is used to confirm an inventory of items which are taken out of the EU and returned within a pre-determined time. This is to prove that they have not been exported, or indeed imported when you return. Failure to complete all sections properly at any point when…

The Polar Pattern of a Microphone describes its directional sensitivity. The main family of patterns is a continuous spectrum between omni and bi-directional (figure-of-eight). Thus their titles are somewhat arbitrary, often overlap and, perversely, in most cases they are best defined by their ability to reject sound. Polar Patterns are generalised – they give an…

Direct Stream Digital (DSD) uses a sampling rate of 2.8224 MHz to directly record a 1-bit signal. Used for recording SACD, launched by Sony in 1999.

PFL usually stands for “Pre-Fader Listen”. PFL is a combined channel and monitoring function. On an analogue mixer with PFL, each channel has a switch which can connect the channel signal path, at a point just before the fader, to the pre-fade bus. This bus is picked up in the monitor module and made available as an…

The iXML specification is designed to provide an unambiguous communication of file and project based metadata between various stages of workflow in production, telecine, picture editorial and audio post production. iXML is primarily designed to be used as a  RIFF (embedded tagged data) chunk inside a Broadcast Wave file (although it can be optionally included…

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…

This is a selection of computer software for audio applications which is either free or inexpensive. It has been compiled from various sources, and inclusion in this listing does not in any way imply any endorsement by the IPS, or any warranty that it will be satisfactory. User (and buyer) beware! Contents 1 PC Software…

The Electromagnetic Spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. See the excellent diagram reproduced by kind permission of Louis Keiner http://www.keiner.us/. The sections of particular interest to IPS members are usually referred to as the Radio Spectrum (although they are mostly used for television!), and are: Low Frequency (LF) covers frequencies…

Background Noise are sounds that are not the main sound you want to record. Sounds from traffic outside, air conditioning, lighting and so on. Ideally sources of background noise are stopped, switched off or removed but what do you do if you had no choice but record the noise? Record an atmos/room tone Wild Track…

Amps (Amperes) measure the flow of current that a potential difference forces through a circuit. The symbol is always A. The name derives from the French physicist André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836). As with Volts, current can be unidirectional – Direct Current (DC) – or alternating in direction (AC), and the values used can be peak or…

Electrical impedance is effectively resistance in an AC circuit (see Ohms). Impedances are significantly more complicated than simple resistance because they are frequency conscious and because they can apply to the behaviour of an entire circuit rather than a single element. There are load impedances, having the effect of a virtual resistor across the input…

Contents 1 Sex 2 XLR 2.1 3 pin 2.2 4 pin 2.3 5 pin 2.4 6 pin 2.5 7 pin 3 Jack 3.1 ‘A’ gauge 3.2 ‘B’ gauge 3.3 MIL-plug 3.4 Bantam 3.5 3.5mm 3.6 2.5mm 4 Hirose 4.1 4 pin 4.2 10 pin 5 Tajimi 5.1 12 pin 6 DIN 6.1 2 pin 6.2…

Noisy Floors can be the bane of a Sound Recordists life. There are two main problems; noise from things like heels hitting a hard and hollow floor and noise from the floor itself as objects move over the surface. Heels and Legs High heels and chair legs can easily produce enough noise to drown out…

Problems are usually bus and/or buffer overload. As Macs and PCs now share the same Intel chipsets, hopefully the “rules” that you have to apply to optimise a PC for audio will be similar. Basically the machine needs to be focussed entirely on handling audio and minimising system interrupts on its data buses. While the…

“Off Tube” is when commentary for an event is provided by the commentary team just watching the televised pictures. While commentators almost always have a picture monitor (or “tube”) regardless of their location, there is great advantage to be had from also being in a position to see the proceedings with their own eyes, and…

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…

Taken from Annex B of AES11. “AES recommended practice for digital audio engineering – Synchronization of digital audio equipment in studio operations” Annex B (Informative) Word Clock It is possible to meet all the timing requirements of AES11 by means of a square wave at sampling frequency basic rate, commonly called word clock. It is…

Metadata is literally data about data. In its simplest form it could be a note attached to an item of recording medium (e.g. a tape or disc) telling the user what is on the medium, how long it is and where and when it was recorded. More practically it will be digital information embedded in…

An Interference Tube is simply a long metal tube with a series of circumferential slots cut into it, fitted onto a directional Microphone. These slots produce interference patterns in sound waves from the sides, resulting in partial cancellation of off-axis sounds and a resultant apparent increase in the gain of sounds from directly in front.

Automated Dialog Replacement (ADR) was used by the Magnatech Corp as a marketing phrase (mid 1960s). Magnatech made the system which comprised the projector, the recorder and the control box. It enabled record drop-ins and -outs across 3 tracks (3 attempts) to be programmed to the footage counter, and the whole reel of 10 minutes…

For large items where ordinary postal services may be too expensive, members have had success using the following providers. Most are reselling the services of other major courier/delivery firms and collect from your premises. Parcel 2 Go Appear to offer a choice of carrier at various price points depending mainly on how quickly you want…

Lockit is a device manufactured by Ambient Recording which enables video cameras to be synchronised with audio recorders.

A Sabin is the amount of absorption equivalent to one square metre of open window (which would allow the sound to escape from the room with no reflections). Named after American acoustician Wallace Clement Sabine (June 13, 1868 – January 10, 1919).  See also Sound Absorption Coefficients for Some Common Materials.

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…

Watts are a measure of power. The symbol is W (never w). Electrically Watts = Amps x Volts. The name derives from Scottish engineer and inventor James Watt (1736 – 1819) in honour of his work that transformed the primitive steam engine into a practical power unit. Watts are obviously useful for indicating the power…

Q: What is intermodulation? What causes intermods? A: Intermodulation generally only comes up in conversation when discussing interference. To understand about intermodulation products, or intermods, you need to know a little bit about transmitter and receiver design. Transmitters and receivers are designed to work at a particular frequency. High frequencies, such as those used in…

Ohms are a measure of the resistance to a flow of current. The name derives from the German physicist Georg Simon Ohm (1759-1854). The symbol for the ohm is the Greek capital letter omega. If the Greek letter cannot be used, the word ohm is used instead. In a simple circuit the relationship between the…

Direct Current or DC refers to the unidirectional flow of electrons from high to low potential, as opposed to Alternating Current or AC where the flow regularly reverses in direction at a specific frequency. By convention this flow is considered to be from positive to relatively negative points; note that this direction is not the…

An acronym for Root Mean Square, a mathematical means of calculating the average level of a varying audio signal for the purposes of metering or estimating the power of, for example, loudspeaker amplifiers.

Microphones work by sensing minute changes in air pressure. Pressure A pressure operated microphone is essentially a sensitive barometer and reacts only to changes in pressure irrespective of the direction of the sound source. It comprises a sealed box with air inside and a thin diaphragm that deflects for small pressure changes. Some form of…

Tonader Power, T Power, T12 or AB Power all refer to a method of powering microphones via their cable. This system uses 180 ohm feed resistors and a 12V supply but does not send the DC power as a common mode signal like Phantom Power. The powering is unbalanced and shares the same path as…

Super Audio CD (SACD) launched by Sony in 1999 and intended to supersede the original Sony/Philips CD.

Pressure Zone Microphone is a registered trade mark of Crown International, and describes a method of mounting a microphone close to a flat surface to minimise room acoustics. Other variants are described as Boundary Microphones. See http://www.uneeda-audio.com/pzm/

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.

AFL may be After-Fader Listen or After-Fader Level, depending on whether the user is more concerned with the quality and/or content of the signal or with its level. It is similar in operation to Pre-Fader Listen (PFL) except that the signal is derived after the channel fader instead of before. As AFL is also derived…

A “Cue” may be visual or aural. In television it is usual for somebody in the studio to be given a visual cue to begin by a wave from the Floor Manager, and also sometimes to conclude by “winding up” gestures (which become more frantic as time runs out!). In radio a cue light is…

Boom is defined in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary as “a movable arm carrying a microphone or film camera” and in Collins Concise as “a pole carrying an overhead microphone and projected over a film or television set“. In sound studios a boom is either an arm fixed to a floor-mounted microphone stand or a…

Electret personal microphones are all unbalanced. They all need a screen, both for the cable and for the grille and casing around the capsule. This usually gets connected to 0V. The electronics inside the capsule will have two external connections. One connection always needs to be kept more +ve than the other but it makes…