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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => LAB: The Classic Live Audio Board => Topic started by: Pete Erskine on January 14, 2014, 02:13:59 PM
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http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/special_report_the_state_of_production_audio_wireless/live (http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/special_report_the_state_of_production_audio_wireless/live)
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So, basically, we're fucked. The government has been paid off by big business and doesn't care. And it's going to be all but impossible for all but the most highly trained experts to operate RF mics with anything but the most expensive of equipment, which most artists and producers won't be willing to pay for.
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[quote author=Justice C. Bigler And it's going to be all but impossible for all but the most highly trained experts to operate RF mics with anything but the most expensive of equipment, which most artists and producers won't be willing to pay for.
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Many thanks to the FCC for the extra work opportunities.
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Pretty much, Justice, we're screwed because the public has an appetite for watching streaming video on tiny screens. People aren't downloading 300MB apps to their portable devices, they're watching TV.
The reason it got this far is because Congress (you know, those geniuses the public keeps electing) mandated the FCC make money for the treasury. And there is no reason to think reallocation will grind to a halt at 600mHz.
I won't get into the relative value of over the air broadcast TV (there IS an antenna in my attic), but I think selling off 2/3 of the broadcast spectrum and leaving us without legacy operation is bad. But the technology pimps, content "creators" and the big businesses that own the distribution means (spectrum) don't give a rat's ass about our paltry industry because their actual content creators are protected.
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[quote author=Justice C. Bigler And it's going to be all but impossible for all but the most highly trained experts to operate RF mics with anything but the most expensive of equipment, which most artists and producers won't be willing to pay for.
Many thanks to the FCC for the extra work opportunities.
We love you too, Pete. ;)
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So, basically, we're fucked. The government has been paid off by big business and doesn't care. And it's going to be all but impossible for all but the most highly trained experts to operate RF mics with anything but the most expensive of equipment, which most artists and producers won't be willing to pay for.
While I'm as frustrated as anyone that my investment in analog RF is going to have an accelerated depreciation cycle, I will say that needing 300Mhz of bandwidth to run a couple dozen channels of RF with a total throughput of a few megabits per second is ridiculous. The 1960's RF technology that is still "state of the art" needs to change. Hopefully this necessity will mother lots of invention from folks in the RF industry.
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While I'm as frustrated as anyone that my investment in analog RF is going to have an accelerated depreciation cycle, I will say that needing 300Mhz of bandwidth to run a couple dozen channels of RF with a total throughput of a few megabits per second is ridiculous. The 1960's RF technology that is still "state of the art" needs to change. Hopefully this necessity will mother lots of invention from folks in the RF industry.
The deep pockets of the distribution industry or the FCC should be required to mitigate damages caused by the auction. The idea that we're mostly illegal carpetbaggers in the TV spectrum doesn't make us any less victims, just victims without legal standing.
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While I'm as frustrated as anyone that my investment in analog RF is going to have an accelerated depreciation cycle, I will say that needing 300Mhz of bandwidth to run a couple dozen channels of RF with a total throughput of a few megabits per second is ridiculous. The 1960's RF technology that is still "state of the art" needs to change. Hopefully this necessity will mother lots of invention from folks in the RF industry.
A couple of dozen channels of very high quality RF, using today's industry-standard equipment, is easily achievable within 18MHz of clear bandwidth. The operative word being clear. Because the commission doesn't see fit to reserve a truly exclusive band of reasonable size and consistent frequencies across the nation for our industry, we must share bandwidth with primary broadcasters and myriad other secondary consumers, so we require the extra bandwidth to work around them.
BTW, this chipping away will never end as long as the commission feels that the public's hunger for this stupid, bandwidth-eating crap http://www.yahoo.com/tech/how-to-use-jelly-a-buzzy-new-app-that-gives-advice-on-73225400494.html (http://www.yahoo.com/tech/how-to-use-jelly-a-buzzy-new-app-that-gives-advice-on-73225400494.html) is more important to our nation than reliable wireless for content creation. Do you really need to attach a 500Kb photo of a coffee cup to 100b of text in order to ask where the nearest coffee shop is located? NO, YOU DON'T.
Tim,
Part of the TVBD rulings included clarifying Part 15 users (pro audio) as legal secondary operators in the TV bands.
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So when might we find out where the new acceptable 12mhz space will be (replacement for ch 37) I need to purchase 12ch of mics and 8 ch of microphones VERRY soon! They need to work in a biulding along with 16 other ch of mics and 6ch of iem (which I'm sure will need to be replaced) as well. How do you make the best decision at this time?
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Don't forget that in that conference center and university setting you will be competing for those same channels to use in their productions. I even found myself competing with constructions crews and possibly crane operators.
The FCC and Congress most likely believe that the OTA TV space is less and less needed by the public because people are on cable or fiber for computer, telephone, and video access. With the fewer numbers in the rural area being able to be heard above the urban areas and the deep pocket developers it is unlikely we will be able to make any difference.
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So when might we find out where the new acceptable 12mhz space will be (replacement for ch 37) I need to purchase 12ch of mics and 8 ch of microphones VERRY soon! They need to work in a biulding along with 16 other ch of mics and 6ch of iem (which I'm sure will need to be replaced) as well. How do you make the best decision at this time?
Spectrum Bridge has an app called "show my white space" that I use alot.
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So when might we find out where the new acceptable 12mhz space will be (replacement for ch 37)?
Using one of the White Space Database administrators enter your location and they will provide you with that information. My two favorites are Spectrum Bridge and Telcordia. At the moment I prefer Telcordia's GUI but the information is identical. When entering your location I recommend using your Latitude Longitude instead of a zipcode. The database is written for coordinates and there can be discrepancies between administrators with provided zipcodes but they are identical when provided coordinates.
I'd love a clarification from an expert here(I've been keeping up with everything released but I haven't found this yet): We don't know what's going to happen to the reserved channels that are above 600MHz, correct? Depending on the TV market and the forward auction some places my be able to keep their existing reserved channel, while others will have it sold off? Will those market that lose their reserve channel above 600MHz be given another channel below 600MHz after the auction to return their total reserved bandwidth to 12MHz?
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I'd love a clarification from an expert here(I've been keeping up with everything released but I haven't found this yet): We don't know what's going to happen to the reserved channels that are above 600MHz, correct? Depending on the TV market and the forward auction some places my be able to keep their existing reserved channel, while others will have it sold off? Will those market that lose their reserve channel about 600MHz be given another channel below 600MHz after the auction to return their total reserved bandwidth to 12MHz?
That's what I'm asking too.
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So, basically, we're fucked. The government has been paid off by big business and doesn't care. And it's going to be all but impossible for all but the most highly trained experts to operate RF mics with anything but the most expensive of equipment, which most artists and producers won't be willing to pay for.
So next time anyone does a political function and the politician asks for a wireless, let him or her know what they are allowing to happen. When it directly affects them then maybe they will start figuring it out. Just a thought...
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Unfortunately it's not just telecoms companies that are at fault. Even within our industry we have come more and more to rely on radio systems. The number of shows that used to go out with little or no radio systems, now IEM are common place as are radio mic's. Possibly, in the past, we avoided such as the gear wasn't that great and there were significant trade-offs in terms of sound quality and reliability. Major theatre shows often have 40 + as we all well know, major television events can be considerably more, seems like the world and his wife want to be wireless these days. Being that broadcasters do have relatively "deep pockets" and airtime influence, I suspect that in real terms compromises will be reached. Perhaps necessity will drive the next quantum leap forward in technology and the radio systems of the future will be better than anything we could dream of now?
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So next time anyone does a political function and the politician asks for a wireless, let him or know what they are allowing to happen. When it directly affects them then maybe they will start figuring it out. Just a thought...
I like that idea:)
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So next time anyone does a political function and the politician asks for a wireless, let him or know what they are allowing to happen. When it directly affects them then maybe they will start figuring it out. Just a thought...
Sorry, *insert politician* you can't have a wireless mic as you didn't leave any RF spectrum for our mics to operate in. Here's a wired '58 with 100ft of cable though. ;-D
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We don't know what's going to happen to the reserved channels that are above 600MHz, correct?
Correct. Or below 600MHz for that matter. Both are likely to go away.
Depending on the TV market and the forward auction some places my be able to keep their existing reserved channel, while others will have it sold off? Will those market that lose their reserve channel above 600MHz be given another channel below 600MHz after the auction to return their total reserved bandwidth to 12MHz?
Way too early in the process to make any kind of credible prediction, other than to say it most likely the two reserved channels in UHF will almost certainly go away. There are other avenues that are being explored however: The FCC (OET in particular) does understand the importance of wireless microphone operations in society for the very content production that the telcom industry wants to distribute through the same spectrum.
Future FCC Public Notices and Notice of Proposed Rule Makings will provide 600MHz spectrum and auction information as it develops.
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Spectrum Bridge has an app called "show my white space" that I use alot.
All,
We are not completely screwed. I have to believe that the wireless audio designers in the US will come up with technology to work around these new challenges. RAD is testing narrow band technology which allows us to operate hundreds of portable devices in the same UHF bandwidth as one or two FM devices. Shure, Sennheiser and AKG have introduced digital wireless microphones. Know the rules and you will get through this mess. OR, if you really think that it is game over, buy stock in a copper company.
James Stoffo
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James,
The technology exists already. Implementation of same technology at a price point most people can afford will be the real challenge. Quality transmitters and receivers will be the answer to the prayer.
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Implementation of same technology at a price point most people can afford will be the real challenge.
Most of us started out as small fish. Many have happily stayed at that level (weekend warrior, church sound, "sound guy" for their own band, etc.), or have reverted to that status as old age crept up on us. These are the folks who can't just run out and buy all new wireless gear every time the FCC yanks yet another band away from us.