Instant Replay: To Immersive Audio and Beyond: New Experiences in Broadcasting

Welcome to our new series where we will have an instant replay of our events.  First up, our event from the 22nd November 2016, our annual Bernard Happe lecture: ‘To Immersive Audio and Beyond: New Experiences in Broadcasting’

Most people are now aware that a richer TV experience is on its way with manufacturers offering more pixels, more frames, more colours, blacker blacks and whiter whites. However we all know that at least half of the TV experience is what we hear, so in this lecture a team from BBC Design and Engineering explore why we should also expect a better audio experience and how we think it will be delivered.

Simon Tuff is one of the BBC’s principal technologists, specialising in audio. He’s been an audio enthusiast since he started making mix tapes as a teenager and found his way to the BBC after reading electrical and electronic engineering at Bradford University and short spells in the defense and computer industries. Simon’s now part of a BBC wide team,  working with industry, to develop, standardise and implement the next generation of audio technology, which he hopes will create more creative possibilities and deliver a better audience experience.

Chris Baume is a Senior Research Engineer at BBC R&D in London, and the BBC lead for the Orpheus project. His research interests span a number of areas including semantic audio analysis, interaction design and spatial audio. He is currently developing next-generation audio production tools as part of his PhD research at the University of Surrey. Chris is a Chartered Engineer and a member of the BBC’s audio research group where he leads the production tools work stream.

Chris Pike is a Senior Scientist in the audio research team at BBC Research & Development, as well as being a PhD candidate in the Audio Lab at the University of York. He leads BBC R&D’s work on spatial audio for broadcasting and virtual reality.