News

The autumn months will be hectic ones for the audio industry, with many gatherings vying for the attention of engineers, marketing executives, and journalists. Here are but a few of the coming events:

Heading the list is the 105th Convention of the Audio Engineering Society, scheduled for San Francisco's Moscone Center, September 26-29. In addition to meetings of technical and standards committees, there will be over 350 exhibits occupying the Center's North Hall---the largest showcase for professional audio in the world. Exhibits will be open from 12 noon to 6pm Saturday, September 27; 10am to 6pm on Sunday and Monday, the 28th and 29th; and 10am to 4pm on Tuesday the 29th. Working groups will begin meeting Thursday, September 24, two days before the convention officially opens. The Annual AES Business Meeting will be held Saturday the 27th at 9am and is open to all AES members. Advance registration closes September 11, and can be completed using the AES secure server.

London's HiFi Show 98 happens Sept. 17-20, with the first two days being trade-only. The Heathrow Renaissance (formerly Ramada) and Excelsior Hotels will be the sites for this annual event. For details, e-mail hi-finews@lhm.co.uk.

Copenhagen, Denmark will host the AES 15th International Conference, October 31 through November 2. The focus this year will be "Audio, Acoustics, and Small Spaces," covering the reproduction of sound in enclosed areas such as automobiles, airplane cabins, control rooms, and domestic listening rooms. Nineteen technical papers will be presented, and more than 150 participants are expected for the event at the Scanticon hotel and conference center in Snekkersten, 30km north of central Copenhagen. Inquiries should be directed to aes15@delta.dk, or telephone (45) 4593 1211.

"Convergence" will be emphasized at this year's Canadian Consumer Electronics Exposition & Conference (incorporating Sound Stage '98), September 26-28 at the Ramada Hotel Don Valley in Toronto, Ontario. CCEE is Canada's only national show where consumers can experience first-hand the latest in home entertainment technology. Dolby Laboratories will host a number of instructional seminars, and the open-forum panel discussion "Ask the Professionals" will let hobbyists grill writers, retailers, and manufacturers on all things audio/video. More information is available by e-mailing Chris Jameson of Level Ten Communications: media@levelten.on.ca.

The DVD Forum will hold its third US DVD Conference October 1-2 in San Francisco's Grand Peninsula Ballroom. On this year's agenda are standardization issues for DVD-Audio, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, and DVD-RW. The conference will feature displays and working demos of new DVD technology. Registration is $100 for DVD Forum members and $295 for nonmembers. Contact Patricia Belknap of WellWater Event Management at (510) 539-4620.

Webnoize '98, the first annual conference of the Digital Music Network, will be held in Los Angeles November 2-4. New media trends and technology will be covered at the conference, as well as marketing and financing issues. Among the scheduled 75 speakers are Larry Rosen, CEO of N2K; Jason Olim of CDnow; Larry Miller of a2b music; Gerry Kearby of Liquid Audio; Jerry Mickelson of JamTV; and Lee Masters of E! Entertainment.

According to pre-event publicity, the conference will be heavily attended by representatives of the entertainment industries, including film, music, television, and video recording and production executives; retailers and distributors; and computer and software experts. Registration can be made through the Digital Music Network by telephone at (781) 279-2895, through the event website, or by e-mailing 98@webnoize.com.