Today there are still companies that invest thousands of dollars in state-of-the-art equipment to buy inexpensive data network cables.
By Juan Tamayo*
Audio and video systems for live events have evolved in recent years. Who would have thought that there would be so many digital systems and a high traffic of packaged information traveling by data cables or by optical fiber. Now audio and video engineers or operators need to know a little more, it is not enough to know about mixing, compression, saturation, color balance, now they must also know about data transmission, IP protocols and even about electromagnetic theory to carry out a good show.
The question that a person who wants to aspire to work in the business where they do not sleep well should be asked is what basic knowledge should they acquire to perform as a trained operator? Because standing next to an experienced engineer is not enough, now technicians must prepare to solve any type of inconvenience before or during the show.
I would believe and I have bet on trying to explain as best as possible the importance of knowing the theory of data networks, since I believe that it will be the backbone in audiovisual systems. Rental companies large or small should bet so that their staff is prepared to know and know how to act with the TCP-IP protocol or variants of it, how to calculate bandwidth, how to solve addressing problems, how to work better with fixed addresses and not with DHCP (you have to know the network in which you work). Today there are still companies that invest thousands of dollars in state-of-the-art equipment to buy inexpensive data network cables.
What protocols are the most important to learn? I think that depends a lot on the rental company, because there are many protocols and I would believe that the company should focus on those who own their equipment, but if something clear, there is a basis for everything and if you do not have this base there is a great possibility that the event fails. This is my top 3 protocols, possibly because they are the ones I work on the most:
Radio Frequency: In itself, RF is not a protocol as such, but it is almost a science. It is a transmission model that can be made analog or digital, although one is not better than another, but they have in themselves a common theoretical basis. The operator must know the basic techniques of antenna location, know how to find and solve intermodulation problems, perform a basic administration and management of RF frequencies, how to locate the systems, additionally a good craftsman must have good tools, the same happens with RF networks, it is required to have an RF spectrum analyzer and management software.
TCP-IP: Most brands are including RJ 45 ports on their devices that when connected with other equipment turn on an orange and green light. But what's being conveyed out there? What is it for? It is important to recognize what kind of information is being transmitted and what network requirements are needed so that everything goes smoothly. For example, do you know how much bandwidth you consume if you send a video data packet? Is the suiche or hub you are using capable of supporting that volume of information? Do you have a data suiche? If you do not know the answers to these questions and you have everything by Cat5E cable or higher, let me tell you that your events are in danger, that they have not failed does not mean that they cannot fail.
And thirdly I have a tie between Dante, AVB and AES67 and it is a tie because the three protocols are very similar (with their variants) and need a lot of my number 2. I have seen big mistakes, I still do not know how they manage to sound, but with time and help we manage to make the rental companies with which I have worked care more about the subject and manage to have everything very well organized.
My recommendation with these three protocols is to know what is required for them to work well, if I am going to buy a computer with any of these protocols make sure if it is compatible with my existing equipment, take the courses or trainings for the proper operation and, most importantly, do not try to learn how to use it before the show. If possible, make the configurations in the warehouse before packing the equipment in the truck to get to connect and once and for all have everything ready.
I believe that in the guild we lack a lot of knowledge and share experiences. We have a lot of competition and little collaboration, there is a lot to discuss on the subject, but I recommend AVIXA courses on data networks or some other similar course. And in Radio Frequency networks in Audio-Technica we have a course, please attend and learn much more about the subject.
*Juan Tamayo is a senior application engineer for Audio-Technica Latin America, with more than 10 years of experience performing audiovisual projects as a designer, integrator, consultant, among other functions. You can write to the mail [email protected]
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