Pro Sound Web: Over the past several years, entertainment production wireless system users in the U.S. have seen the energizing of digital television (DTV) and the 700 MHz band re-allocation, all the while preparing for the mass introduction of white space devices – which is now just around the corner along with the 2016 commencement of the 600 MHz incentive auction.
What does this all mean? It’s the reshaping of all entertainment production wireless operations in the U.S.
2 comments:
This article was very eye opening. No one really thinks about the signals and airwaves they use when you turn on a radio, use wifi or a cell phone. However, so much these days are wireless, and just because their isn't a hard wired cord, doesn't mean it takes up space. Each microphone on an actor during a show takes up a frequency, and if you use wireless controlled head sets that does too. With a down side in the MHz spectrum theatrical companies are going to run into even more problems. Broadway alone will have to make changes to accommodate for this. Sometimes the new technology that comes out and rules the world, hurts a lot of other things in different ways that was not intended. I remember a technical theater teacher of mine telling me about when the cell phone companies took over more of the airwaves which resulted in issues for the masses trying to use them too, like Broadway in Manhattan. This is very interesting to see where this goes.
I haven’t been following this issue very closely, but it’s good to see the FCC compromising in order to help the entertainment industry adjust to the new bandwidth allocations. Still, this adjustment will be time-consuming and expensive. Professional sound companies and commercial theatre companies can afford the switch, but buying a new set of lavs puts a huge dent in the budget. Luckily, this reallocation shouldn’t affect schools and smaller theatre companies too much, since those organizations don’t use a large number of mics simultaneously. The FCC’s decision to open up the VHF band for entertainment use should lead to increased reliability for mics, especially when operating over long distances. The last time I read about this issue, it seemed like something that was going to severely impact sound quality in a negative manner. Now that the FCC has opened up additional bandwidth to compensate for what they’re taking away (and bandwidth at better frequencies), this reallocation should produce positive results.
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