Expanded Technology Showcase Highlights Industry’s Premier 5.1 and High Resolution Audio Event
United Entertainment Media today announced that Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series and DTS will be Platinum Sponsors of the 4th Annual Surround Seminar, scheduled to be held December 13 and 14, 2002 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA.
These two audio innovators join a range of other companies providing hands-on training and technology demonstrations at the pro audio industry’s premier 5.1 and high-resolution audio event.
Also announced as sponsors this year are Denon, Digidesign, Genelec and Waves (at the Gold level); and SRS Labs and Steinberg (at the Silver level). Showcase Sponsors include Audio Engineering Associates, Crane Song, Eventide, Great River Electronics, Geoffrey Daking, George Massenburg Labs, M & K Professional, Manley Labs, Martinsound, Minnetonka, NHT Pro, Royer Labs, Sascom, Soundelux, Tannoy, TC Electronic, Transamerica Audio, Yamaha and Z Systems.
Presented by United Entertainment Media (UEM), publisher of Pro Sound News and Surround Professional magazines, the annual Surround Conference has become an exclusive networking event for engineers and producers on the leading edge of the surround sound and high resolution audio revolution. Professionals attend Surround 2002 to share ideas and techniques, and to immerse themselves in the latest technologies presented by showcase exhibitors.
Microsoft is scheduled to offer technology demonstrations of Windows Media 9 Series, its next-generation digital media platform. Microsoft will showcase Windows Media Audio (WMA) 9 Professional, the Web’s first digital 5.1 surround sound codec. Content providers who use Windows Media Video (WMV) 9 in conjunction with WMA 9 Professional can achieve approximately three times the audio and video compression efficiency of MPEG2, delivering dramatic improvements for download-and-play, streaming over the Web or delivery via physical media such as CDs or DVDs.
“As the demand for multi-channel audio continues to grow, UEM is providing the professional audio production community with a host of helpful seminars and training at Surround 2002,” said Jonathan Usher, director of the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft Corp. “We look forward to showcasing WMA 9 Professional, the first codec to enable Web-based delivery of 5.1-channel surround sound.”
This year, DTS will reveal new 5.1 Music mixes that will soon elevate the “surround music” experience to a whole new level. In addition, its show participation includes sponsorship of two new Surround Music Award categories, recognizing emerging new talent in surround music mixing, as well as original composition.
“Attendees at the Surround Seminar & Showcase are industry innovators and, as such, they have come to expect the most up-to-date advancements in the technology to be on display,” said Martin Porter, senior vice president of UEM. “We are proud that Microsoft has selected our venue to showcase its new technology to the audio production community. And we applaud DTS for its support in bringing new, innovative talent into the surround music arena.”
In addition to the Surround Music Awards program and the largest technology showcase in the event’s four-year history, Surround 2002 will provide master classes by the leading practitioners in the business, as well as an exclusive keynote address by noted producer Don Was.
For a full conference program and to register online for the paid Surround 2002 conference program or the free technology showcase, please visit the Surround Professional Web site.
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