A Leap Ahead for Audio Engineers

In the audio world, the transition to digital can take some getting used to. Audio Images, a San Francisco-based audio and video dealership, helps recording professionals, film companies, and post-production studios make the switch.

The interactive pen display integrates into audio facilities quite easily," says Jim Chen, business partner at Audio Images. Instead of using a desktop monitor and mouse, Wacom's display becomes both the monitor and the control panel, and the pen is the input device. Audio engineers tend to be very tactile people. They are used to having to turn knobs and faders. Having to do those things with a mouse is an extra step that they are not used to. By using the pen, you can get to things much, much quicker." Jim predicts that the average audio engineer's learning curve with Wacom's display is about 10 to 15 minutes.

Jim's business partner, Ron Timmons, says, "Every time someone comes in here and sees this thing, they can't get enough of it. They can't believe this technology even exists, let alone how intuitive and natural it is to work with." Because audio applications contain so many different control functions within the software, there are lots of different options that you need to reach quickly. The pen display makes it easy for engineers to get to their controls. And, says Ron, "It is much faster, you can move all the way across the screen without having to drag the mouse."