Audiophiles have been fixated on high-resolution digital audio content for several years.
Momentum for both high-resolution PCM and DSD digital audio files has been gaining steam through the efforts of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and manufacturers like Sony, Bryston, NAD, Autonomic and Meridian.
Now the professional audio community is starting to focus on these technologies. At the 137th Audio Engineering Society (AES) Convention in Los Angeles, members of the pro audio world will have access to a joint program developed by the AES and the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG).
On Friday Oct. 10, the collaborative High Resolution Audio (HRA) program at AES will feature panels and sessions that examine content creation, content distribution, content licensing, archiving, sales and marketing, device compatibility and playback methods.
“Taken as a whole, these panel sessions will provide AES attendees a much greater understanding of the key issues that are currently impacting the high resolution audio market,” says Marc Finer, senior director, DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group. “Working in cooperation with The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing, we’ve developed a comprehensive program that fully addresses virtually every aspect of the HRA workflow.”
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The pro audio event will also house an HRA Exhibition Zone that allows consumer electronics and music industry professionals to interact with the recording industry to discuss high-resolution audio.
“The DEG is please to join the Audio Engineering Society in promoting the benefits of high-res audio during this event,” adds Amy Jo Smith, president, DEG. “Working together, we can underscore HRA’s numerous benefits to the professional recording community and enlist their support in helping drive this initiative.”
Consumer Market Leading the Way
AES’ collaboration with DEG follows a September announcement from CEDIA in which the residential trade group will partner with Sony and other manufacturers to develop training for professional residential system installers.
Working with the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers (P&E) Wing, CEDIA announced the training initiative during its annual trade show, which just wrapped up in Denver.
“This partnership assists CEDIA by providing our members with the latest tools and information that are available for high-resolution audio,” notes Don Gilpin, executive director and COO of CEDIA. “The support of the Recording Academy P&E Wing will also enable CEDIA members to create new solutions which integrate high-resolution music services and devices, in the most seamless way possible.”
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The market education developed through CEDIA and the Recording Academy P&E Wing’s partnership will leverage the experience and expertise of the P&E Wing, and ensure the music industry that the consumer market has a full understanding of its technologies and practices.
“We are delighted to help CEDIA members to better understand the key issues related to recording, mixing and mastering in high resolution,” explains Maureen Droney, managing director of The Academy’s Producer’s & Engineers Wing. “Given the expertise of our music professionals located in 12 chapters across the country, I’m pleased that this new HRA training program gives those in the field the best guidelines to follow and helps set the right expectations for consumers concerning high-res music.”
