Succesful testing and trials with professional broadcasters have cleared the way for the release of Mobile Viewpoint’s WMT Live iPhone newsgathering application – which turns an iPhone in a live broadcast camera capable of sending HD-quality video to Mobile Viewpoint’s cloud server for delivery as an SDI or streaming feed.

Now with Apple approval, WMT Live is part of the WMT family of products using bonded networks to upload high-quality video from any location or while on the move.

Neyrinck has added support for Logic Studio 9, Logic Express 9, Cubase and Nuendo to v1.2 of its iPad V-Control Pro mixing and remote recording app.

V-Control uses Wi-Fi to connect an Apple iPad to a Digital Audio Workstation, allowing multi-touch gestures to control transport, editing and mixing functions or to wirelessly record and engineer a track from anywhere within a recording studio. V-Control provides a familiar user interface for each DAW to form portable extension to a workstation.

Unlike previous versions, which only used the HUI communication protocol, v1.2 of V-Control also incorporates the more sophisticated OSC (Open Sound Control) protocol, giving Logic 9 users advanced controller features at a price-point that is significantly cheaper than with equivalent hardware. Version 1.2 also provides the best and easiest control of Cubase and Nuendo by providing a familiar user interface and powerful automation, loop, EQ, and plug-in control. And now that V-Control Free is available, users can can access basic, easy-to-use DAW control at no cost.

‘When we learned that Apple was supporting the OSC protocol in Logic 9.1.4, we abandoned our original plan to use Logic Control protocol,’ says Paul Neyrinck, President and founder of Neyrinck. ‘That added a lot of development time and delayed v1.2, but we knew it would be worth it. Older protocols such as Logic Control force an iPad app to perform like low cost hardware. But Logic’s OSC protocol provides a modern, deep amount of control that matches our design philosophy to make the app look and feel like the app it is controlling. Now we can make V-Control provide advanced controller features at a fraction of the cost of hardware control surfaces.

‘We are excited about bringing V-Control’s power and elegance to Cubase and Nuendo users,’ he adds. ‘Other DAW controllers look completely different than the software being controlled and force you to adjust your thinking to a different user interface. With the iPad’s high resolution graphic display, we can make V-Control a seamless extension to the DAW which enhances creativity and reduces fatigue.’

Rather than being tied to the PC while laying down tracks using Logic 9, Cubase or Nuendo, V-Control Pro uses the iPad’s touchscreen functionality and Wi-Fi to remotely access the DAW’s controls while recording in a vocal booth, adding tracks in a live room, building soundscapes on a Foley stage or reviewing on the studio sofa.

Logic features:

Cubase and Nuendo features:

V-Control Pro v1.2 app for iPad is available now from the Apple App Store.

More: www.neyrinck.com

Tieline is to unveil two multi-user Report-IT for iPhone application packages at the 2011 IBC. These will allow broadcast networks to select the Tieline mobile codec best suited to their requirements at a lower cost per user.

‘Based on the popularity of Report-IT and feedback from hundreds of broadcasters, the Enterprise Edition is superseded by two new and improved multi-user Enterprise packages called Report-IT 10 Pack and Report-IT Enterprise 100 Pack,’ explains Tieline APAC & EMEA Business Development Executive, Charlie Gawley. ‘The original Report-IT Live app, used mainly by small stations and freelance reporters, has not changed. The two new multi-user solutions bring a fresh level of simplicity and affordability to what is the World’s most popular iPhone broadcast application.

‘With Report-IT 10 Pack you pay a very low AUD$399 for 10 Report-IT user licenses and additional license packs can be purchased and added to a broadcast network as required,’ he continues. ‘It is powered by our Enterprise server and is ideal for centrally managing a team of up to ten reporters from the studio using a Report-IT administrator account installed onto an iPhone. Each user account has its own login and there is no on-going subscription fee.

‘Report-IT Enterprise 100 Pack is subscription-based and for AUD$1,500 per annum it can be deployed on up to 100 iPhones. It is suitable for networks with large numbers of reporters and broadcasters who install the application onto many iPhones for a variety of remote contributions by talent.

‘All 100 Pack device licenses can be centrally managed via an iPhone administrator account or Tieline’s new PC graphical user interface management console, which makes it easier to remotely manage dozens of user accounts and associated outside broadcast contributions. Each year when the Enterprise 100 Pack subscription is renewed an additional 100 device licenses are added to a network’s license allocation.

‘With both the 10 Packs and 100 Packs we have significantly reduced the cost of a user licence and increased the number of licenses available. Report-IT Enterprise 100 Pack administrators can even provide the same user login to multiple devices. Many networks requested this feature to enable them to assign a user account to a single studio codec and use this account for a number of ad-hoc contributors. This makes managing large numbers of remote broadcasts and ad-hoc contributions a breeze.

‘We have listened to our customers and believe Report-IT now offers three distinct and improved product solutions for small, medium and large networks - as well as networks managing high quality audio contributions from remote sources using their iPhones,’ Gawley says.

More: www.tieline.com/report-it

Outline took the wraps off its iMode iPad/iPad 2 App at InfoComm 2011.

Using the company’s iMode technology – which embeds a Linux-based CPU with integrated DSP chip, parameter control software and Web server into its powered speaker systems –system set-up and control can be completed from an iPad or iPad 2 via the internet.

‘With the introduction of the iMode Intelligent Digital Loudspeaker Control Platform currently in the Mini-Compassline array and iSM monitor speaker systems, Outline has developed a control app to bring control to the iPad/iPad 2 user,’ says Tom Bensen, Senior VP and MD of Outline North America. ‘Because the iPad is the user interface of choice for many different types of applications, developing an app for remote control of Outline products was an obvious step. We are very happy to offer Outline compatibility to the growing family of iPad users in the professional audio industry for both fixed installation and touring applications.

‘Remote access to system control elements is increasingly a crucial part of a sound engineer’s tool box and the new iMode iPad/iPad 2 App addresses this need,’ he continues. ‘With iMode, users don’t access a speaker enclosure, they go to a web page and can control all system parameters from any place that offers internet access, wired or wireless, from anywhere in the world. This capacity gives incredible flexibility and control by giving a greater number of people access to system settings. For example, a systems integrator for a facility could remotely review stored settings from his office to make sure everything is working to specification. That is very powerful and now possible for any iPad user.’

More: www.outline.it

Remote access to sudio system control systems is now an indispensable modern system technicians’ tool, and the massive global success of Apple’s iPad as a user-interface for many applications makes it ‘the obvious choice’ as a remote control platform for Outline loudspeker systems. Accordingly, Outline’s development team have produced a dedicated app to control its Mini-Compass iMode line array (and, shortly, the new iSM series of stage monitors) with full wireless control.

‘A direct connection between consoles and enclosures is the facility that enabled us to win an Award for Product Innovation at Plasa in London last year. Climbing aboard the ‘magic tablet’ was inevitable and relatively simple for our R&D team, thanks mainly to the iMode technology we launched in 2009 and which is gradually being incorporated in all our self-powered loudspeaker systems’, comments Outlin’e Michele Noselli.

‘iMode means having a computer in every enclosure, complete with web server and specific IP address. Users don’t access an enclosure, but a web page. And from that page they can control whatever they want, even from the other side of the globe, since the web knows no frontiers. Thanks to the eclectic iMode platform – which is genuinely avant-garde – it is now possible to do all this from an iPad, with a touch of the screen. This is what I’d call maximum digital interaction.’

Frankfurt’s Pro Light & Sound and Bergamo’s Show-Way allowed Outline to demonstrate what can be done with an iPad. ‘In Frankfurt, we wanted to see the reactions of the public to this unique possibility,’ says Outline engineer, Daniele Pagani, who is responsible for the project. ‘We didn’t expect to arouse so much interest and even a sort of physical pleasure – even for “laymen” – regarding the control of an enclosure in real time by means of a tablet computer that can be carried around as easily as a diary.

‘Even using sophisticated FIR filters and carrying out complex operations really is child’s play. But the most enjoyable spectacle was seeing the look on people’s faces as they watched the “wings” of our Mini-Compass move on the screen of the iPad a moment after having moved them by hand. This definitely enabled the concept of sensor technology to be instantly understood…’ he adds.

The combination of intuitive user interface, long battery life, wireless and 3G connectivity, light weight and compact size, plus a robust and stable operating system, means that the iPad can be used for almost anything, from a gaming platform to a serious tool for commercial use.

‘On one hand, iPad might seem to be simply a toy for geeks,’ says Outline’s Noselli. ‘Then, when you use it, you stay up late at night and discover that, as well for playing games, it makes even serious work enjoyable. You can also leaf through books, navigate, keep the house under control from a distance, check the weather forecast, make video calls, record videos, take photographs, enjoy a film or a nice cartoon (ideal for the kids on the back seat of the car during long journeys), watch the TV news and do thousands – literally thousands – of other things.’

More: www.outline.it
Apple Store

A recent Facebook discussion on the state of popular music making threw out an interesting benchmark – the ratio between ‘shit’ and ‘the shit’. Let’s call it S/TS. If that’s reminiscent of signal-to-noise (S/N), it’s no accident.

Much of the blame for the swing towards the ‘S’ end of the scale was assigned to major record labels. The rest came technology’s way.

Aeta Audio Systems has launched eScoop, claiming it to be ‘the most complete professional audio recording and broadcasting tool’ for mobile devices and PCs.

Developed in collaboration with Dutch pro-audio developer Technica Del Arte (TDA), the app is supported on iPhones, iPads, Macs and PCs, and provides recording, editing, transmitting and publishing of audio for live broadcasting, allowing users to record and transmit simultaneously through mobile wireless networks and on desk-based IP networks as a client or a server. An Android version is to follow.

eScoop supports protocols such as SIP, as well as both one-way SHOUTcast/Icecast streaming and two-way streaming when a return channel is required. In addition to broadcasting live material, eScoop also enables playout of pre-recorded material while broadcasting. A simple editing tool allows users to isolate any item being used.

The app is aimed at reporters in the field needing to capture live audio without specialist equipment other than an external microphone, if required. The wide range of built-in codecs includes MP2, AAC, AAC-HE, AAC-HEV2, G711, and G722. eScoop is also the first professional software codec to include support for the N/ACIP standard. A high degree of service protection is guaranteed by the use of the SIP protocol, which makes it easier to establish a connection and maintain network security through session border controllers.

‘The design of eScoop is focused on convenient, easy use in the pressure of a live situation,’ says Aeta Audio Systems International Sales Manager, Claudia Haase. ‘eScoop’s clear and elegant interface allows anyone at an event to set up a link to a studio and begin broadcasting audio within seconds, choosing from a wide range of professional formats. eScoop will be an invaluable tool for reporters reacting rapidly to unfolding news, and will help widen the contribution of crowd-sourced coverage of many different events. With eScoop, anyone with an iPhone can be a live reporter.’

More: www.aeta-audio.com

With the release of its Jupiter v2.0 software, Symetrix has provided web-based control via Arc-Web.

Arc-Web is an Ajax/HTML5 standards-based web app that mimics the functionality of Symetrix’ menu-driven wall panel remotes, the ARC-2 Series. Arc-Web is compatible with popular web browsers, operating systems and devices, including iPhone/iPad and Android.

‘It’s no secret that mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are hot technology right now, especially the iPhone and iPad from Apple,’ says Trent Wagner, Senior Product Manager. ‘In other industries, it is quickly becoming expected that remote-controllable products will be accessible from these devices. We see the advantages – there is no longer a need for a user to purchase a separate hardware remote control as their audio system resides comfortably within the rest of their expanding digital universe. Imagine updating food stocking orders, posting the latest special to Twitter, and changing the input source or volume for your restaurant’s sound system all from the palm of your hand.’

Although mobile device access was the primary reason for developing Arc-Web, any computer with network access can act as an ARC remote. For some users, this may be a more intuitive control option, and it will be less expensive than a hardware solution provided the devices and network infrastructure already exist on site.

The list of supported operating systems and browsers is already extensive and will continue to grow. They include Apple’s iOS v3.2+ for iPhone and iPad; Android v1.6+; Internet Explorer v8.0+ for Windows XP+; Safari v5+ for Windows XP+ and Mac OS X 10.5+; and Firefox v3.6+ for Windows XP+ and Mac OS-X 10.5+.

‘For Apple’s popular iOS devices, the Arc-Web is fully web app enabled,’ says Wagner. ‘A user may save the Arc-Webs to Springboard, where Arc-Web’s icon appears alongside regular iOS apps. Arc-Web launches in full screen mode complete with custom splash screen, so it looks and feels like a native app. Moreover, Arc-Web uses Portrait and Landscape auto-rotation on mobile devices running iOS or Android. Client auto-detection ensures that Arc-Web displays appropriately for every permutation of browser and operating system.’

Up to four Arc-Web instances are available for each Jupiter hardware device. ‘That means you essentially have four separate remote interfaces, each with its own specific, customised programming,’ Wagner explains. ‘Users can pull any number of them up for simultaneous use. Security may be enabled or disabled for each of the four Arc-Web instances with each instance having a unique username and password. This makes it easy to assign access for specific controls to only those users who should have access. Just like other Symetrix Arc devices, Arc-Web devices are configured with the intuitive External Controller Wizard, which provides integrators with a guided step-by-step process.’

More: www.symetrix.co

Look up! Clouds are gathering over the internet. Some may have silver linings. Others are most certainly storm clouds.

These clouds are computing clouds – cloud computing. If it’s a new term to you now, it won’t be for long. These clouds will change the way you use your computer and the way you use your music, video and photo libraries. Forever.

TC Helicon has released v1.2 of its VoiceJam ‘an iPhone, iPod and iPad app. With an In-app purchase feature of the HardTune pitch correction effect, and new features, TC reckons the app is ‘ set to allow vocalists to loop, layer and record more exciting and more professional recordings’.

VoiceJam 1.2 uses the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch’s built-in microphone or external microphone to record and layer sound onto an evolving loop. Users can add the HardTune pitch correction effect as an In-App purchase (via the ‘info’ icon), providing an emulation of TC-Helicon’s VoiceTone C1 vocal stompbox. As well as auto pitch correction, this allows ‘extreme gender-bending’ – male-to-female transformations and vice-versa.

New features include:

· Input metering – Singers can be sure they’re singing at ideal volume levels by watching the colour of the input waveform.
· Shots mode –instantly re-triggers loops, like samples on a drum pad.
· Live Performance Flyover – includes the new loop mixer to non-destructively tweak the level of each loop and other controls.
· SoundCloud – allows high-quality uncompressed recordings to be uploaded and shared.
· Share an idea – the opportunity to share new feature ideas directly with TC-Helicon’s development team.


· In-app purchase – enables vocalists to buy pro-quality vocal effects from TC-Helicon’s stompbox effect pedals range, starting with the C1 HardTune pitch correction effect.

‘This version of VoiceJam significantly builds upon its greatest achievement: creating amazing music from scratch, with nothing but your phone or mobile device,’ says TC-Helicon Product Manager, Tom Lang. ‘The addition of In-App purchases of vocal effects from the stompboxes I love is really going to open things up for singers out there. We’re excited to see a lot of extremely creative audio tracks and videos being shared by our users on SoundCloud and YouTube in the coming months. ‘

The VoiceJam v1.2 upgrade is freely available to existing users via the Apple app store. 
 For a real-time product demo video and product details, visit the TC Helicon website.

More: www.tc-helicon.com/voicejam