Chapter 7: Better Phones; Quality Sound

Broadcasting & Sound: Linking Facilities Together

Today, more and more sound production studios are beginning to work together on virtually every type of project, from commercials and voice-over narrations to music scores for films and television.

Nutmeg Recording, in Manhattan, for example, helps ad agencies and producers around the nation tap into New York's outstanding pool of voice-over talent. "We frequently link up with Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver and others," says Rick Granoff, an engineer at the studio. "The quality is so good, the talent might as well be standing at a mike in the other city." The firm uses a CGQ2000: Musicam codec, and Motorola ISDN equipment.

While many studios are accessed through EdNet, the studio also uses its ISDN connections to forward finished commercials to DG Systems in San Francisco for redistribution to radio stations worldwide, and for links to other studios around the country. "It works like a charm," notes Nutmeg's Byron Campbell.

Max Music in Miami, FL, adds an international beat by transmitting digital sound files to and from its headquarters in Spain. The company is the largest distributor of recorded dance music in Europe, and both the American and Spanish locations are actively involved in recording and mixing sound tracks.

"ISDN makes it possible and simple to send music back and forth across the ocean," said Mel Carmona, head of the Miami studio. "In effect, the connections let us exchange digital sound files as if we were in the next room, rather than thousands of miles apart." The firm uses Euronis Planet-ISDN systems and TheLink software to join Macintosh networks at each location.