The effect of dynamic range compression on the psychoacoustic quality and loudness of commercial music

It is common practice for music productions to be mastered with the aim of increasing the perceived loudness for the listener, allowing one record to stand out from another by delivering an immediate impact and intensity. Since the advent of the Compact Disc in 1980, music has increased in RMS level by up to 20dB. This results in many commercial releases being compressed to a dynamic range of 2–3 dB. Initial findings of this study have determined that amplitude compression adversely affects the audio signal with the introduction of audible artifacts such as sudden gain changes, modulation of the noise floor and signal distortion, all of which appear to be related to the onset of listener fatigue. In this paper, the history and changes in trends with respect to dynamic range are discussed and findings will be presented and evaluated. Initial experimentation, and both the roadmap and challenges for further and wider research are also described and discussed. The key aim of this research is to quantify the effects (both positive and negative) of dynamic range manipulation on the audio signal and subsequent listener experience. A future goal of this study is to ultimately define recommended standards for the dynamic range levels of mastered music in a similar manner to those associated with the film industry

Combining Science with Art to Educate and Motivate Patients Prior to Colorectal Cancer Screening

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the US despite wide use of colonoscopy to prevent CRC and CRC-related mortality. Colonoscopy is used to identify and remove lesions that will lead to cancer, however, most deaths occur because lesions are not detected or completely removed during the procedure. Patients play a crucial role in the detection component of colonoscopy: the better the colon is prepared, the higher the chance of detection of all polyps and cancers. In general, patients are instructed to clean the colon by way of a paper or web-based form that lists the objective (scientific) steps involved; unfortunately this too often does not result in a well-prepared colon. Behavior is known to be heavily influenced by emotion. As the first phase of a smart education research project we created an artistic and instructional documentary in which patients engage with the educational content through emotional responses; i.e., we motivate patients to follow instructions by combining scientific with emotional aspects of CRC prevention including preparation of the colon prior to colonoscopy. In the second research phase we will test whether use of the documentary results in improved colon preparation

Quanta / Signal / Noise

This is an iOS app that provides an interactive music playback interface for the ensemble The Langham Research Centre

Fast and effective embedded systems design: Applying the ARM mbed (2nd Edition)

A complete education in embedded system programming and hardware design, applying the innovative ARM mbed and its development ecosyste

The interactive album app

Listeners have long been inspired to interact with music and create new representations of popular releases. Vinyl offered many opportunities to reappropriate chart music, from scratching and tempo manipulation to mixing multiple songs together. More recently, artists could engage their audience to interact with their music by offering mix-stems online for experimentation and sharing. With the extended processing power of mobile devices, the opportunities for interactive music are dramatically increasing. This presentation shows research that demonstrates a novel approach to interactive music playback. The research looks at the emergent format of the album app and extends existing paradigms of interactive playback. The novel album app designed in this research presents a new opportunity for listeners to engage with recorded content by allowing them to explore alternative performance takes, renditions of a given song in multiple genres, and by allowing direct interaction with embedded mix-stems, all in real time. The resultant audio remains true to the artist and producer’s studio vision; it is user-influenced, but machine-controlled. The research was conducted in collaboration with artist Daisy and The Dark and was funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council

Fast and effective embedded systems design: applying the ARM mbed

This title provides: a hands-on introduction to the field of embedded systems; a focus on fast prototyping of embedded systems; all key embedded system concepts covered through simple and effective experimentation; an understanding of ARM technology, one of the world's leaders; a practical introduction to embedded C; and, applies possibly the most accessible set of tools available in the embedded world. This book is an introduction to embedded systems design, using the ARM mbed and C programming language as development tools. The mbed provides a compact, self-contained and low-cost hardware core, and the on-line compiler requires no download or installation, being accessible wherever an internet link exists. The book further combines these with a simple "breadboard" approach, whereby simple circuits are built up around the mbed, with no soldering or pcb assembly required. The book adopts a "learning through doing" approach. Each chapter is based around a major topic in embedded systems. The chapter proceeds as a series of practical experiments; the reader sets up a simple hardware system, develops and downloads a simple program, and immediately observes and tests the outcomes. The book then reflects on the experimental results, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the technology or technique introduced, explores how precise the link is between theory and practice, and considers applications and the wider context. This is the only book that explains how to use ARM's mbed development toolkit to help the speedy and easy development of embedded systems. It teaches embedded systems core principles in the context of developing quick applications, making embedded systems development an easy task for the non specialist who does not have a deep knowledge of electronics or software. It provides all key concepts that are covered through simple and effective experimentation

An app for interactive music playback

Listeners have long been inspired to interact with music and create new representations of popular releases. Vinyl offered many opportunities to reappropriate chart music, from scratching and tempo manipulation to mixing multiple songs together. More recently, artists could engage their audience to interact with their music by offering mix-stems online for experimentation and sharing. With the extended processing power of mobile devices, the opportunities for interactive music are dramatically increasing. This presentation shows research that demonstrates a novel approach to interactive music playback. The research looks at the emergent format of the album app and extends existing paradigms of interactive playback. The novel album app designed in this research presents a new opportunity for listeners to engage with recorded content by allowing them to explore alternative performance takes, renditions of a given song in multiple genres, and by allowing direct interaction with embedded mix-stems, all in real time. The resultant audio remains true to the artist and producer’s studio vision; it is user-influenced, but machine-controlled. The research was conducted in collaboration with artist Daisy and The Dark and was funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council