First, Mark Schubin, the Metropolitan Opera HD Theatercasts' Engineer-in-Charge, described the history of opera and on-stage operatic effects and illusions. Then he talked about the history of operatic broadcasting, including many audio and video firsts that occurred with opera broadcasts and recordings.

He discussed the technology behind the HD theatercasts (including cameras and microphone placements, the production trucks, the international satellite links, and the multiple audio and video formats), plus the very tight schedule and constraints under which they prepare and produce the broadcasts.

As a finale, he played a short excerpt from a Met Opera HD broadcast.

This meeting was produced by John F. Allen (High Performance Stereo; www.HPS4000.com) and David J. Weinberg. It was underwritten by the New England sections of the Acoustical Society or America (ASA; www.GBCASA.org), the Audio Engineering Society (AES; www.BostonAES.org), and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE; www.SMPTE-NE.org), the Boston Audio Society (www.BostonAudioSociety.org), AMC Theatres (www.AMCEntertainment.com), Sony Corporation of America (www.Sony.com/SCA), and Christie Digital (www.ChristieDigital.com).