Tech Focus: Broadcast Audio Training, Part 2 — Manufacturers Offer In-Depth Online Programs

A comprehensive pro-audio curriculum can be created, usually at no cost

One consistently available source of training for broadcast-sports audio has been the manufacturers of the equipment used to capture, process, mix, and transport it. Of course, the majority of a manufacturer’s training modules focus on the brand’s own products and are part of its marketing strategies. However, the variety of the content across all the key verticals of broadcast sound, combined with the depth and detail that many achieve, means that sufficiently ambitious students can put together some surprisingly comprehensive curricula on their own. Here’s a look at some of what’s available online and elsewhere from broadcast-audio–equipment manufacturers.

Click here for Tech Focus: Broadcast Audio Training, Part 1 — Some Pandemic Changes May Be Permanent.

Audio-Technica offers a series of basic how-tos on its YouTube channel, including how to select and apply lavalier microphones, use of boom-pole and wireless mics, and microphone placement inside cars.

Calrec’s Sound Institute is a series of free, online, certificated courses and documents covering two of its most widely used digital audio consoles — Brio and Type R — and a series of comprehensive IP training sessions. Brio and Type R training is designed to enable engineers and operators to get up and running quickly and with confidence. The seven-part IP course covers everything a broadcast facility needs to know about IP, how it works, and the effect it is having on the industry, including multicast, PTP, and network design. Calrec continues to increase educational material in its Sound Institute. The year, the company added an eight-part IP Primer, as well as a whitepaper on how to build resilience into IP networks.

Dolby recently launched a remote mixer-training facility based at its San Francisco headquarters. The facility enables live training to be provided remotely, with mixing performed on its in-house Calrec Artemis console, and supports streamed binaural monitoring of Dolby Atmos mixes. Dolby has supported the Calrec Sound Institute in development of Dolby Atmos training. For postproduction and music mixers, Dolby has partnered with Avid to launch Pro Tools and Dolby Atmos production training. This follows many live and on-demand webinars, training tutorials, and master classes led by the Dolby Institute. In partnership with the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences (CRAS), Dolby created free training courses focused on live TV production and continues to develop learning.Dolby.com, which is now home to a number of educational training materials on Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.

Lawo offers a wide range of online tutorials, including a final exam for a certificate of completion of a course on use of its consoles and other products, through the Lawo Online Academy. The Lawo Lounge webinar series provides product tips, application insights, new products, customer interviews, interactive Q&As, and more. A comprehensive primer on networked audio, along with links to whitepapers and other information, can be found here.

Shure’s Shure Audio Institute (SAI) is a global educational and training platform providing access to deep knowledge and practical skills on general audio topics and on technical, sales, and products via online webinars and other training materials and educational booklets. All the training is free and open to anyone who wants to learn more about audio and Shure products. To better prepare audio professionals in today’s evolving wireless marketplace, SAI launched the RF Certification Program, providing RF coordinators and audio professionals with hands-on training conducted by Shure’s team of RF engineers and expert facilitators. The program is designed to arm participants with the skills needed to navigate and troubleshoot complex RF situations.

SSL System T

Solid State Logic (SSL) offers a variety of training and education programs. Dedicated operational training and maintenance courses can take place onsite using a user’s own console, at the SSL HQ studio facility, or over the internet via System T’s remote-production workflows. In addition, frequent webinars provide System T and Network I/O training covering the wide feature set that the product ranges encompass: NGA/immersive workflows; remote production and advanced AoIP implementation, which covers Dante, AES67, and ST 2110 with routing management directly from the console. System T software is available as standard PC application T-SOLSA, running offline for show configuration and training or remotely connected to an active console, providing online training or show assistance on a LAN or over the public internet using a VPN.

Wheatstone’s VoxPro Academy is an online series of video tutorials around the company’s record/editing system, used by sportscasters to record and edit simultaneously.

Click here for Tech Focus: Broadcast Audio Training, Part 1 — Some Pandemic Changes May Be Permanent.