The 22 July date differed from all of the previous such sessions, however, as it took place in the prestigious surroundings of the Champions' Suite at Emirates Stadium, North London - Arsenal Football Club's home ground. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it proved popular; the event was full to capacity, and the only spare seats were the three reserved in the front row for the siting of the overhead projection system.
Attendees at Emirates were given a thorough grounding in the operation and capabilities of modern wireless microphone technology during the day with specific reference to Shure's QLX-D, UHF-R and flagship Axient systems, and PSM900 and PSM1000 wireless in-ear monitoring.
Tips included how to get the most from the constrained wireless spectrum available to programme-makers, broadcasters and entertainment companies following the government's 2012 auction of the UK RF spectrum (the so-called 'digital dividend'), and how to use laptop and phone based applications to remotely manage wireless networks, from simple news-gathering operations using a couple of transmitters and receivers to complex systems for large events.
Reception from those engineers present was very positive. "Very, very good. Very in-depth description and explanation of the RF wilderness," commented Tom Oakes of Amber Sound, while Ian Barnard of Stage Sound Services added, "It's excellent. Everyone should do it."
"This was the biggest and best Wireless Mastered yet," comments Shure Distibution's Tuomo Tolonen. "We've been delighted with the strong uptake on all of our training events, but this session surpassed our expectations. As you might expect, we are looking to build on this success by returning to Emirates later in the year, and we hope to announce dates shortly for a session at a similar venue in the North of England - watch this space!"
Details of these future Wireless Mastered sessions, along with all of the forthcoming events run by the Shure Academy European Audio Network will be posted at the Shure Academy web site (www.shure-academy.co.uk) in the near future.
(Jim Evans)
