AWR Studio Training Presented by: Ray Allen Daryl Gungadoo & Yves Senty Bracknell May 2006 Topics (Day One 2 hrs) Audience Research - An Introduction (10 minutes) Radio Ministry - An Introduction (10 minutes) Hardware Components in a Studio/FM Station: Mic/Recorded media/Mixer/Transmitter) (20 minutes) Mic Theory & Techniques (10 minutes) Analog Recording Media (5 Minutes) Digital Recording Media (15 Minutes) Audio Cables in a Studio (5 Minutes) An Introduction to Computer Recording Platform & file Compression (25 Minutes) Basic Mixer Principles (10 Minutes) An Introduction to local FM/AM Tx (10 Minutes) An Introduction to distribution via Satellite for the European Market (5 Minutes) Topics (Day Two - Morning) Review of yesterdays points (Mic/Recorded media/Mixer/Transmitter) (10 Minutes) Digital Editing - Adobe Audition with practice (2 hours) Adobe Audition (the basics: Computer Requirements) Adobe Audition (the basics: Installation, Opening) Adobe Audition (the basics: Preparation for recording - Adjusting the levels) Adobe Audition (the basics: Playing Audio) Adobe Audition (the basics: Saving Audio - no Compression) Adobe Audition (editing: Editing Basics - Cut/Paste) Adobe Audition (editing: Editing Basics - Fades & simple effects) Adobe Audition (editing: Punch Edit) Adobe Audition (Multitrack: an Introduction) Adobe Audition (Multitrack: brief example of music recording) Topics (Day Two) - Afternoon Review of this morning's points (Adobe Audition) (10 Minutes) practice on Adobe Audition (1 hour) Concrete exercises File compression techniques (MPEG) (10 minutes) Audio over the Internet (FTP & Web Publication) (20 Minutes) Content creation (10 minutes) Wrapping it up... il Pubblico e y criteri di prossimit Le fonti dell'informazione 1.Siamo GIORNALISTI ventiquattr'ore su ventiquattro 2.Corrispondenti 3.agenzie di stampa 4.Internet 5.Invitati (ospiti) Le fonti dell'informazione 1.Siamo GIORNALISTI ventiquattr'ore su ventiquattro 2.Corrispondenti 3.agenzie di stampa 4.Internet 5.Invitati (ospiti) I formati del text per la radio 1. La carta 2. estratto d'intervista 3. I titoli dell'attualit 4. SWOT analysis Strength Weakness Opportunities Threats SWOT analysis 25 DAB MPLS Strength Weakness Opportunities Threats Hardware Components in a Studio / FM Station Audio Processing & Transmitter Acoustic Theory & Techniques Inverse Square Law (http://www.mcsquared.com/dbframe.htm)http://www.mcsquared.com/dbframe.htm dB = 20x Log (length old / length new) or 6dB per doubling of the distance Atmospheric Attenuation ( dependent on humidity, T, Air Pressure & Frequency ) Critical Distance (Dc) & mic placement Direct speech / reflected speech Sensitivity (dB SPL) Sound Pressure Level Reverb & Positioning (seeMeters (dB, dBu, Vrms, etc) Mic Pickup Patterns (also referred as Polar patterns) Unidirectional (Cardioid, Supercardiod, Hypercardioid, Shotgun) (50% Dc) Bidirectional (Figure of eight or cosine) Omni-Directional (& Half-Omni or Hemispherical) (30% Dc) Power Mics Phantom Power: (9-52v DC) powers the condenser pre-amp of mic Bias: DC Voltage (1.5-9v DC) powers JFET Transistor on electret condenser mic Equalization (http://www.shure.com/support/technotes/app-eq.html)http://www.shure.com/support/technotes/app-eq.html Improve the naturalness / intelligibility of sound Improve the overall output level (by reducing feedback frequency) But it cannot eliminate distortion Inverse Square Law Metering an Audio Signal dBu Decibels referred to the voltage equivalent of 0 dBm into a 600 load. 0 dBu = 0.775V = 2.2 dBV dBV Decibels referred to 1 Volt. dBm Decibels refered to 1 miliwatt Reverb, Feedback & Interference Positioning (Small Room) Positioning (Large Room) Lecturn Mic Lavalier Microphone Pickup Patterns Microphone Construction Analog Recording Media Digital Recording Media ADVANTAGES OF DIGITAL RECORDING OVER ANALOG RECORDING Sound quality At a good recording resolution (48KHz) digital offers far better signal-to-noise ratio than most tape recorders & are free of tape problems such as tape hiss, modulation noise, print-through, noise reduction pumping, and wow/flutter. Edit/Copy Tape recorders make it necessary to rewind and to fast forward in order to find specific parts of a song. Most digital recorders use random access which allows you to cue to any location instantaneously. Digital recorders also allow you to edit with greater accuracy and ease than ever. Most digital recorders allow you to perform non-destructive editing. Time compression/expansion is another editing technique available on most digital recorders. A songs tempo can be increased or decreased without affecting pitch. Copying the music many times doesnt deteriorate the quality of the original source. Archives (on the proper media and in the right climatic conditions) can last over 100 years ! Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Digital signal processors can add ambience effects (such as reverberation and echo), equalization (tone controls), and other special effects to enhance the original recorded sound. Digital Recording Media Analog Wave to Digital data Digital Recording Media Digital Sample Rate & Bit Rate x2 Data x4 Data { Sample BIT Resolution 8 bit -> 16 bit -> 32 bit Sample rate (FREQUENCY) Resolution 22KHz, 32 KHz, 44.1 KHz, 96 KHz x2 Data x4 Data CD-Audio: KHz Sample Frequency, 16 Bit Resolution, Stereo [74min / 650 Megs]DVD-Audio: 96 KHz Sample Frequency, 32 Bit Resolution, Dolby Digital (5.1) [2hrs / 9 Gigs] The Shannon theorem says that, in order to digitalize an analog signal with full quality, the sample rate must be at least twice the highest frequency, or C = B * log2(1+ S/N) where C is the achievable channel capacity, B is the bandwidth of the line, S is the average signal power and N is the average noise power. Digital Recording Media Digital Audio Flexibility Digital Recording Media Compact Disc & DVD Media MultiLayer DVD Compact Disc Audio Cabling Intro to Computer Recording System Hardware Requirements 400MHz processor (1.5 GHz or faster, recommended) Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium, Windows 2000, or Windows XP Professional (DirectX 8.0) 128MB of RAM (512MB or more recommended) Large Hard Drive(s) 7200 rpm or higher speed (40+ Gig recommended) 1024x768 color display (1280x1024 LCD recommended) Stereo sound card ( multitrack sound card recommended for music production ) CD-ROM drive (CD-RWor DVD-R recommended) Speakers or Headphones recommended Microphone Mixer (Optional) Intro to Computer Recording Audio Path Intro to Computer Recording Audio Path (to/from Sound Card) Digital Out Out Mic In Line In Out Intro to Computer Recording Audio Setup on PC Make sure that wave is NOT muted, and that its volume slider and the master volume slider are both at least halfway up. Set the sound card's recording devices by choosing Options > Properties, selecting Recording, and clicking OK. Each of the devices your sound card can record from will be listed here. Make sure that your Line In (or Mic in) is selected & not muted, and its volume slider is at least halfway up. Intro to Computer Recording Audio Setup on PC Start Adobe Audition and then go to Options, select Settings, and then click on the Devices tab. Make sure that your sound card is selected for both Waveform Playback and Waveform Record. Intro to Computer Recording Audio Setup on PC Test your recording levels with Cool Edit's VU meters. Double- click on the VU meters to turn them on, and then say something in your mic. Use the Windows recording control panel to adjust the levels until the VU meters peak out around -2 or -3 dB. Double-click on the VU meters to turn them off. To Record press the Red REC button. MP3/AAC File Compression File Compression CD-Audio: KHz Sample Frequency, 16 Bit Resolution, Stereo [74min / 650 Megs] Uncompressed, 1 min of Audio ~ 10 Megabytes MPEG compression is based on Perceptual Coding (Psychoacoustics), Masking & dynamic bit allocation RAW 20% Compression 95% Compression File Compression Using dBpowerAMP to encode in MP3After installing dMC this configuration page is shown: The process of converting files from one format to another is called transcoding, generally speaking it is not a good idea to transcode from lossy to lossy format (mp3, wma, ogg are lossy formats) as quality is lost during each conversion. Having said that, if there is a good reason to convert such as the audio format is not supported in a player, or you wish to use a lower bit rate (creating a smaller file, of a lower audio quality) then by all means transcode, if you have the option though re-rip from the original CD. One last point, if a 128Kbps mp3 file is converted to a 192Kbps mp3, the 192Kbps file is not of any higher quality - once quality is lost, it is gone forever. File Compression Ripping an Audio CD in MP3 The process of taking audio from an Audio CD is called Ripping, dMC contains a fully featured CD ripper, to start it select: Start >> Programs >> dBpowerAMP Music Converter and run dMC Audio CD Input: MetaData in MP3/AAC Intro to the Mixer Pan Fader EQ Gain Aux PFL PlugsInputs Outputs Your Mixer ! Inputs Outputs Audio Automation Systems Processing & Transmitter Audio Switcher & Automation System Intro to Radio Broadcasting wavelength L = 150 (0.5 0.05) / / freq (mhz) N = number of half-wavelengths in the length of the antenna. (default = 1). wavelength = 0.5 Example: MHz wavelength = 150 (1-0.05)/100.7 = Meters wavelength = 150 ( )/100.7 = Meters ShortWave Broadcasting