How to create a payment gateway and become a payment service provider

 How to create a payment gateway and become a payment service provider

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If you own an online store, you have to embed a payment gateway to process payments safely. In previous posts, we have considered how to integrate it into a website or mobile app. Today, I propose looking at the most difficult, yet, the most customizable approach. Let’s consider payment gateway development and, further, becoming a payment service provider. Indeed, it is a costly affair. However, it has certain advantages.

Here are our stopovers in case you want to overleap:

What is a payment gateway?

Why build a custom gateway?

Payment gateway vs. payment provider

Who needs a custom gateway?

The pros and cons of custom development

How to become a payment service provider

Extra tips for building a payment gateway

How much does a custom gateway cost?

Softensy viewpoint

What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway is a complex system that enables debit/credit card payments for online and offline merchants. It sets a smooth passage of such transactions by encrypting confidential data and transferring them between a buyer, an online shop, and a bank. The shop acts as a payment portal and the bank as a payment processor. Thus, the payment gateway establishes communication between the three participants of the payment process. It ensures every transaction runs safely by applying various anti-fraud tools and acting under the PCI-compliance.

From the technical point of view, the payment gateway is a layer above the payment processor. It receives data from the user and, depending on the chosen payment method, redirects the payment to the processor in an understandable format.

Why build a custom gateway?

There are many ready-made payment methods that you can simply take and connect to your store. In the last article, we examined the best payment gateway providers and gave a credit card processing comparison chart. Nevertheless, none of these options will provide you with full control over the payment process. Besides, there will always be points that you would want to change or add.

Given this, we decided to share our vision of creating a custom gateway. We list the pros, cons, and reveal some tricky moments of such a project.

Payment gateway vs. payment provider

It is essential to understand the difference between the payment gateway and the payment provider. While the first is software, the second is the ability to use this software for its intended purpose.

So, writing a working program doesn’t mean you can embed it into your site or sell it to other merchants right away. First, you need to go through the certification process and connect with a payment processor. Note, building software is not a challenging task. In contrast, the registration procedure may take months or even years. Only after obtaining all the necessary permissions can you act as a provider.

Who needs a custom gateway?

Here are the types of companies that may benefit a lot from building a custom gateway:

Large merchants with high turnover who do not want to depend on a third-party provider

Incumbent billing companies that want to replace or update their software

Hi-growth payment providers that need a more advanced payment processing system

IT firms that intend to grow business by acting as a payment service provider

Acquiring banks that want to improve their front-end solution

The pros and cons of custom development

Pros

Lower fees. With ready-made online payment methods, you are sentenced to lifely fees for every operation. Besides, in most cases, you should pay a registration fee. The custom solution will allow you to be your own boss and reduce payment processing costs.

Custom features. Even the best global payment processor cannot meet all your expectations. If you look through the list of payment methods, you can see that some do not support multi-currency transactions, other ones do not work with recurring charges, yet others are too expensive. Opting for custom development, you can get the exact product you want.

Additional revenue. Owning a payment gateway, you yourself can become a provider. It means you can charge registration fees and transaction fees from other merchants. Thus, you can think of a new way of business development that will help grow your profit.

Cons

Development time. With custom gateway development, you will spend time on the preparatory phase, pure development, testing, and maintenance. It will take longer compared to integrating a ready-made solution. However, in the long run, you will benefit, as you will be freed from recurring charges and gain an extra source of income.

Certification costs. To run your gateway, you need to connect to the payment processor and comply with the PCI requirements. Let’s be clear; it is a long and slow way. Besides, it requires high costs. If you choose a white-labeled solution, you avoid such a headache as you connect to the gateway with all the dust settled.

Sole responsibility. Being a payment service provider, you are totally in charge of transaction security. You must guarantee the protection of cardholder data and the minimum risk of fraud.

 

pros and cons of custom payment gateway

Pros and cons of custom payment gateway

How to become a payment service provider

Now, we will list the steps to take on the path of becoming a payment provider. 

Step 1. Set up infrastructure

You can either host your gateway on the third-party server or prepare the server on your own. The latter option gives you full power, however, you will need to maintain the data center and undergo an annual PCI audit. If you decide to host outside, I recommend considering AWS. They have a developed equipment base and offer solutions for all kinds of business.

Step 2. Integrate with a payment processor

A payment processor is a company or financial institution that processes online transactions. It is either a bank or a payment system, such as Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, etc. To integrate with a processor, you need to obtain their API documentation and implement it as instructed. You will also need to develop an external API for your clients. They will use it to send payments (one-time or recurring) for processing and receive the payment statuses back.

Step 3. Develop CRM

A CRM system is a powerful tool for keeping client data, managing transactions, and controlling managers. It will allow you to do smart forecasting and avoid many mistakes. Basically, CRM is a huge customer base. For you, as a payment provider, it will provide great help for managing new and existing clients.

Step 4. Implement tokenization

Tokenization implies keeping credit card data on the gateway side rather than on the e-commerce store’s server. Tokenization aims to free merchants from storing sensitive data during recurring charges. For that, the buyer’s card number is replaced with a token, which is further used by the online shop.

You must set up tokenization in case you are planning to run the gateway on your own server. The process involves preparing the hardware that will encrypt the card data and the software that will comply with PA-DSS rules. If you choose to host elsewhere, these troubles rest on the server provider’s shoulders.

Step 5. Get 3DS certificate from EMVCo 

EMV stands for Europay + MasterCard + VISA. It is an international standard for bank card transactions with a chip. To get a certificate, you need to do the following:

Contact with EMVCo to get an EMVCo Product Provider Registration Number.

Register in the laboratory and sign a quotation to open access to the lab’s 3DS test platform.

Wait for formal approval of test results.

Receive a letter of confirmation from EMVCo

Contact the certification center and go through the certification procedure

Get the certificate and the license

Step 6. Apply for PCI

It is a mandatory step if you want to deal with online payments. PCI DSS standard aims to reduce fraud by setting twelve obligatory rules for the software that works with credit cards. Besides, it divides companies into four levels depending on the transaction volume. To get approval, you should order the PCI audit. Note, it is a costly affair which you should repeat at least once a year.

 

Steps to take to become a payment service provider

How to become a payment service provider

Extra tips for building a payment gateway

In this section, I’m going to place a few recommendations that will help you build a competitive gateway.

Integrate with many processors. The more payment processors you link with, the more opportunities you give to your merchants. Specifically, the sellers will be able to choose among different acquiring banks to open an operating account. Also, they will have a choice of transaction fee rates.

Make your gateway flexible and adaptive. An advanced payment gateway can quickly adapt to the merchant needs. So, make sure to add accessible customization opportunities. In particular, pay attention to types of payment methods. The more options the buyer has, the higher profit the seller can rise.

Implement a dispute resolution interface. Merchants often face arguable points during their commercial activities. Therefore, you will do them a favor by offering a convenient interface to contact an issuing bank.

Give merchants accessible API. Business owners look for an easy way to integrate payment gateway into their store. If you provide a smooth mechanism to do it, you will increase the chances of getting new customers.

Provide customer support. Even minor issues in payment gateway may cause severe losses to merchants. So, make sure to hire skilled managers and implement chatbots that are available 24/7. It will help you troubleshoot problems shortly if they occur.

How much does it cost to become a payment service provider?

The price of a custom gateway is variable. It mainly depends on your preferences and business strategy. Given this, it is impossible to identify an exact sum. However, there are costs that you will face for sure. Let’s take a look at them.

Development costs €25000 – €35000

Software certification (test platform subscription for 3DS Server, Formal Approval, LoA EMVCo certificate) €15000, €15000, €10000

Tokenization appliance €42000 – €85000

Annual PCI audit €22,000 per year

Integration with banks and processors €4,000 – €13,000 each

 

How much does it cost to become a payment service provider

The cost of becoming a payment service provider

Softensy viewpoint

A custom payment gateway is a right choice for stable companies that want to do business by their own rules. By developing the product from scratch, you tailor it to the specific needs and receive peak efficiency. Moreover, payment gateway development opens ample opportunities for growing your profit. If you want to sell it to other merchants, make sure it is highly secure and easily customizable. The features set should cover multiple payment processors, convenient dispute settlement interface, and easy tool for reporting.

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BTC Makes a Statement With a 33% Recovery Rally

LAST WEEK IN CRYPTO

Hello FreeBitco.in Users! We have something special for you this week. FUN Token is gearing up for an exciting August that promises a host of new developments and upgrades, starting with the $100,000 Trading Competition at Binance. We're covering it all in this edition of Last Week in Crypto. Take a look:

➤ BTC Pierces Resistance at $41,000 As Demand Returns
➤ $100,000 Trading Competition: Over 2.8 Billion FUN Traded
➤ FUN Token: New Layer-2 Token
➤ FUN Token: Token Burning

Bitcoin Flips $41,000 Resistance Amid Record Exchange Outflow

BTC | BITCOIN $39646.64 +7.10% 

In positive news for traders, investors, and institutions alike, Bitcoin capitalized on 21st July's bounce back from $30,000 to rally by 20% last week, flipping the resistance at $41,000 as on-chain data displayed immense positivity.

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Over 5.5 Billion FUN Traded in 4 Days

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The $100,000 FUN Token Trading Competition kicked off what promises to be an exciting August for FUN Token with a host of important developments incoming. The sheer anticipation and enthusiasm was evident as over 5.5 Billion FUN Tokens were traded at Binance in just over 2 days.

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This is FUN Token and Binance's third collaboration in as many months. The last update came a month ago when FUN Token became one of only eight tokens to be listed for Locked Savings at Binance.

To date, a massive $1.4 million in FUN Tokens have been committed to Locked Savings at Binance while a further $0.78 million have been committed to Flexible Savings.

FUN Token CEO Adriaan Brink Announces Plans for New Layer-2 Token Pegged 1:1 With FUN

In an AMA conducted by Binance on 29th July, FUN Token CEO Adriaan Brink announced plans for a new token based on a Layer-2 blockchain. This token will be seamlessly integrated with FUN.

FUN Token was created to solve the issues related to operator escrow in online gambling operations.

When a user places a bet, their funds are moved into escrow until the outcomes are determined. Simultaneously, operators have to ensure sufficient funds are available to settle these bets. By moving operations to a blockchain, these logistical drawbacks are eradicated. However, when it came to FUN, there was an issue.

''Both FUN and BETR suffered tremendously with the rising price and latency of Ethereum transactions, so our first major tech release will be to deal with this issue,'' said Adriaan. ''In the next 2 months we will release a new Layer-2 token on the Polygon/Matic network to leverage its high performance and low transaction fees.''

FreeBitco.in sidestepped these challenges with a simple, off-chain use case in the Premium Membership program. However, to achieve true decentralization, transactions and gameplay have to be on-chain.

A token on the Polygon network will ensure low transaction fees and higher rate of transactions. This token is will be pegged 1:1 to FUN. Through association, this token will have exposure to 46 million FreeBitco.in users.

In a matter of months, FreeBitco.in has created over 167,000 new FUN Token users. These users will be brought on-chain with the launch of the L2 Token. Subsequently, a full-fledged, truly decentralized casino utilizing the L2 Token will be launched, and DPLAY will become a testbed for further development.

FUN Token Releases Statement Regarding Burn Strategy

Through a statement released on FunToken.io, FUN Token has outlined its token burn strategy.

''For all in-house operations such as the soon to be launched decentralized casino we will commit to burning no less than 50% of any profits after costs,'' said the statement. These in-house operations, of course, include both DPLAY and the upcoming Layer-2 decentralized casino.

These burns are set to take place on a quarterly basis with the first burn scheduled for the end of Q3 2021. Lay staking will also be introduced where users will be able to stake their tokens and earn a percentage of the profits earned.

Furthermore, in order to get their hands on the new L2 Token, FUN Token users will be required to escrow their tokens, thus reducing the coins in circulation. This would act as an effective burning program for FUN Token, further improving its value.

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AUDIO ENGINEER OR AUDIO ENGINEERING

An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer)[1][2] helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, and reinforcement of sound. Audio engineers work on the "technical aspect of recording—the placing of microphones, pre-amp knobs, the setting of levels. The physical recording of any project is done by an engineer ... the nuts and bolts."[3]

Sound engineering is increasingly seen as a creative profession where musical instruments and technology are used to produce sound for film, radio, television, music and video games.[4] Audio engineers also set up, sound check and do live sound mixing using a mixing console and a sound reinforcement system for music concerts, theatre, sports games and corporate events.

Alternatively, audio engineer can refer to a scientist or professional engineer who holds an engineering degree and who designs, develops and builds audio or musical technology working under terms such as acoustical engineering, electronic/electrical engineering or (musical) signal processing.

Research and development

Research and development audio engineers invent new technologies, audio software, equipment and techniques, to enhance the process and art of audio engineering.[6] They might design acoustical simulations of rooms, shape algorithms for audio signal processing, specify the requirements for public address systems, carry out research on audible sound for video game console manufacturers, and other advanced fields of audio engineering. They might also be referred to as acoustic engineers.[7][8]

Education

Audio engineering schools

Audio engineers working in research and development may come from backgrounds such as acoustics, computer science, broadcast engineering, physics, acoustical engineering, electrical engineering and electronics. Audio engineering courses at university or college fall into two rough categories: (i) training in the creative use of audio as a sound engineer, and (ii) training in science or engineering topics, which then allows students to apply these concepts while pursuing a career developing audio technologies. Audio training courses provide knowledge of technologies and their application to recording studios and sound reinforcement systems, but do not have sufficient mathematical and scientific content to allow someone to obtain employment in research and development in the audio and acoustic industry.[9]

 

Noted audio engineer Roger Nichols at a vintage Neve recording console

Audio engineers in research and development usually possess a bachelor's degree, master's degree or higher qualification in acoustics, physics, computer science or another engineering discipline. They might work in acoustic consultancy, specializing in architectural acoustics.[10] Alternatively they might work in audio companies (e.g. headphone manufacturer), or other industries that need audio expertise (e.g., automobile manufacturer), or carry out research in a university. Some positions, such as faculty (academic staff) require a Doctor of Philosophy. In Germany a Toningenieur is an audio engineer who designs, builds and repairs audio systems.

Sub-disciplines

The listed sub-disciplines are based on PACS (Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme) coding used by the Acoustical Society of America with some revision.[11]

Audio signal processing

Audio engineers develop audio signal processing algorithms to allow the electronic manipulation of audio signals. These can be processed at the heart of much audio production such as reverberation, Auto-Tune or perceptual coding (e.g. MP3 or Opus). Alternatively, the algorithms might perform echo cancellation, or identify and categorize audio content through music information retrieval or acoustic fingerprint.[12]

Architectural acoustics

Acoustic diffusing mushrooms hanging from the roof of the Royal Albert Hall.

Architectural acoustics is the science and engineering of achieving a good sound within a room.[13] For audio engineers, architectural acoustics can be about achieving good speech intelligibility in a stadium or enhancing the quality of music in a theatre.[14] Architectural Acoustic design is usually done by acoustic consultants.[10]

Electroacoustics

The Pyramid Stage

Electroacoustics is concerned with the design of headphones, microphones, loudspeakers, sound reproduction systems and recording technologies.[8] Examples of electroacoustic design include portable electronic devices (e.g. mobile phones, portable media players, and tablet computers), sound systems in architectural acoustics, surround sound and wave field synthesis in movie theater and vehicle audio.

Musical acoustics

Musical acoustics is concerned with researching and describing the science of music. In audio engineering, this includes the design of electronic instruments such as synthesizers; the human voice (the physics and neurophysiology of singing); physical modeling of musical instruments; room acoustics of concert venues; music information retrieval; music therapy, and the perception and cognition of music.[15][16]

 

 

Psychoacoustics

Psychoacoustics is the scientific study of how humans respond to what they hear. At the heart of audio engineering are listeners who are the final arbitrator as to whether an audio design is successful, such as whether a binaural recording sounds immersive.[12]

Speech

The production, computer processing and perception of speech is an important part of audio engineering. Ensuring speech is transmitted intelligibly, efficiently and with high quality; in rooms, through public address systems and through mobile telephone systems are important areas of study.

Practitioner[edit]

Live sound mixing

At the front of house position, mixing sound for a band

A variety of terms are used to describe audio engineers who install or operate sound recording, sound reinforcement, or sound broadcasting equipment, including large and small format consoles. Terms such as "audio technician," "sound technician," "audio engineer," "audio technologist," "recording engineer," "sound mixer," "mixing engineer" and "sound engineer" can be ambiguous; depending on the context they may be synonymous, or they may refer to different roles in audio production. Such terms can refer to a person working in sound and music production; for instance, a "sound engineer" or "recording engineer" is commonly listed in the credits of commercial music recordings (as well as in other productions that include sound, such as movies). These titles can also refer to technicians who maintain professional audio equipment. Certain jurisdictions specifically prohibit the use of the title engineer to any individual not a registered member of a professional engineering licensing body.

In the recording studio environment, a sound engineer records, edits, manipulates, mixes, or masters sound by technical means to realize the creative vision of the artist and record producer. While usually associated with music production, an audio engineer deals with sound for a wide range of applications, including post-production for video and film, live sound reinforcement, advertising, multimedia, and broadcasting. In larger productions, an audio engineer is responsible for the technical aspects of a sound recording or other audio production, and works together with a record producer or director, although the engineer's role may also be integrated with that of the producer. In smaller productions and studios the sound engineer and producer are often the same person.

In typical sound reinforcement applications, audio engineers often assume the role of producer, making artistic and technical decisions, and sometimes even scheduling and budget decisions.^[18]

In German, the "Tontechniker" (audio technician) is the one who operates the audio equipment and the "Tonmeister" (sound master) is a person who creates recordings or broadcasts of music, who is both deeply musically trained (in classical and non-classical genres), and who also has a detailed theoretical and practical knowledge of virtually all aspects of sound.^{[citation needed]}

TV Audio engineer

Education and training[edit]

See also: Category:Audio engineering schools

Audio engineers come from backgrounds or postsecondary training in fields such as audio, fine arts, broadcasting, music, or electrical engineering. Training in audio engineering and sound recording is offered by colleges and universities. Some audio engineers are autodidacts with no formal training, but who have attained professional skills in audio through extensive on-the-job experience.

Audio engineers must have extensive knowledge of audio engineering principles and techniques. For instance, they must understand how audio signals travel, which equipment to use and when, how to mic different instruments and amplifiers, which microphones to use and how to position them to get the best quality recordings. In addition to technical knowledge, an audio engineer must have the ability to problem solve quickly. The best audio engineers also have a high degree of creativity that allow them to stand out amongst their peers. In the music realm, an audio engineer must also understand the types of sounds and tones that are expected in musical ensembles across different genres—rock and pop music, for example. This knowledge of musical style is typically learned from years of experience listening to and mixing music in recording or live sound contexts. For education and training, there are audio engineering schools all over the world. In North America, the most notable being Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, and OIART (The Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology) in London, Ontario.

Role of women[edit]

According to Women's Audio Mission (WAM), a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco dedicated to the advancement of women in music production and the recording arts, less than 5% of the people working in the field of sound and media are women.^[19] "Only three women have ever been nominated for best producer at the Brits or the Grammys" and none won either award.^[20] According to Susan Rogers, audio engineer and professor at Berklee College of Music, women interested in becoming an audio engineer face "a boys' club, or a guild mentality".^[20] The UK "Music Producers' Guild says less than 4% of its members are women" and at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, "only 6% of the students enrolled on its sound technology course are female."^[20]

Women's Audio Mission was started in 2003 to address the lack of women in professional audio by training over 6,000 women and girls in the recording arts and is the only professional recording studio built and run by women.^[21] Notable recording projects include the Grammy Award-winning Kronos Quartet, Angelique Kidjo (2014 Grammy winner), author Salman Rushdie, the Academy Award-nominated soundtrack to “Dirty Wars”,^[22] Van-Ahn Vo (NPR's top 50 albums of 2013), Grammy-nominated St. Lawrence Quartet, and world music artists Tanya Tagaq and Wu Man.^{[citation needed]}

One of the first women to produce, engineer, arrange and promote music on her own rock and roll music label was Cordell Jackson (1923-2004). Trina Shoemaker is a mixer, record producer and sound engineer who became the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album in 1998 for her work on The Globe Sessions.^[23]

Gail Davies was the first female producer in country music, delivering a string of Top 10 hits in the '70s and '80s including "Someone Is Looking for Someone Like You," "Blue Heartache" and "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)."^[24] When she moved to Nashville in 1976, men "didn't want to work for a woman" and she was told women in the city were "still barefoot, pregnant and [singing] in the vocal booth."^[24] When Jonell Polansky arrived in Nashville in 1994, with a degree in electrical engineering and recording experience in the Bay Area, she was told "You're a woman, and we already had one"—a reference to Wendy Waldman.^[24] KK Proffitt, a studio "owner and chief engineer", states that men in Nashville do not want to have women in the recording booth. At a meeting of the Audio Engineering Society, Proffitt was told to "shut up" by a male producer when she raised the issue of updating studio recording technologies.^[24] Proffitt said she "finds sexism rampant in the industry".^[24]

Other notable women include:

·         Sylvia Robinson, early hip hop music producer

·         Susan Rogers, engineer for Purple Rain

·         Genya Ravan, producer The Dead Boys' Young, Loud and Snotty;

·         Delia Derbyshire, British electronics pioneer

·         Lari White, a co-producer on Toby Keith's White Trash With Money

·         Leslie Ann Jones

Sub-disciplines[edit]

There are four distinct steps to commercial production of a recording: recording, editing, mixing, and mastering. Typically, each is performed by a sound engineer who specializes only in that part of production.

·         Studio engineer – an engineer working within a studio facility, either with a producer or independently.

·         Recording engineer – engineer who records sound.

·         Assistant engineer – often employed in larger studios, allowing them to train to become full-time engineers. They often assist full-time engineers with microphone setups, session breakdowns and in some cases, rough mixes.^[18]

·         Mixing engineer – a person who creates mixes of multi-track recordings. It is common to record a commercial record at one studio and have it mixed by different engineers in other studios.

·         Mastering engineer – the person who masters the final mixed stereo tracks (or sometimes a series of audio stems, which consists in a mix of the main sections) that the mix engineer produces. The mastering engineer makes any final adjustments to the overall sound of the record in the final step before commercial duplication. Mastering engineers use principles of equalization, compression and limiting to fine-tune the sound timbre and dynamics and to achieve a louder recording.

·         Audio/sound designer – broadly an artist who produces sound tracks or sound effects content for media.

·         Live sound engineer

o    Front of House (FOH) engineer, or A1.^[25] – a person dealing with live sound reinforcement. This usually includes planning and installation of loudspeakers, cabling and equipment and mixing sound during the show. This may or may not include running the foldback sound. A live/sound reinforcement engineer hears source material and tries to correlate that sonic experience with system performance.^[26]

o    Wireless microphone engineer, or A2. This position is responsible for wireless microphones during a theatre production, a sports event or a corporate event.

o    Foldback or Monitor engineer – a person running foldback sound during a live event. The term "foldback" comes from the old practice of "folding back" audio signals from the front of house (FOH) mixing console to the stage so musicians can hear themselves while performing. Monitor engineers usually have a separate audio system from the FOH engineer and manipulate audio signals independently from what the audience hears so they can satisfy the requirements of each performer on stage. In-ear systems, digital and analog mixing consoles, and a variety of speaker enclosures are typically used by monitor engineers. In addition most monitor engineers must be familiar with wireless or RF (radio-frequency) equipment and must communicate personally with the artist(s) during each performance.

o    Systems engineer – responsible for the design setup of modern PA systems, which are often very complex. A systems engineer is usually also referred to as a "crew chief" on tour and is responsible for the performance and day-to-day job requirements of the audio crew as a whole along with the FOH audio system. This is a sound-only position concerned with implementation, not to be confused with the interdisciplinary field of system engineering, which typically requires a college degree.

·         Re-recording mixer – a person in post-production who mixes audio tracks for feature films or television programs.

Equipment[edit]

Correcting a room's frequency response.

An audio engineer is proficient with different types of recording media, such as analog tape, digital multi-track recorders and workstations, plug-ins and computer knowledge. With the advent of the digital age, it is increasingly important for the audio engineer to understand software and hardware integration, from synchronization to analog to digital transfers. In their daily work, audio engineers use many tools, including:

·         Tape machines

·         Analog-to-digital converters

·         Digital-to-analog converters

·         Digital audio workstations (DAWs)

·         Audio plug-ins

·         Dynamic range compressors

·         Audio data compressors

·         Music sequencers

·         Signal processors

·         Headphones

·         Microphones

·         Preamplifiers

·         Mixing consoles

·         Amplifiers

·         Loudspeakers

^ "Which Type Of Sound Engineer Are You Destined To Be?". www.sheffieldav.com. Retrieved 2019-02-05.

1.     ^ The difference between a producer and an audio engineer, retrieved 2019-12-08

2.     ^ "Interview with Phil Ek". HitQuarters. 25 May 2009. Archived from the originalon 19 July 2011. Retrieved Sep 3, 2010.

3.     ^ Rosenberg McKay, Dawn. "Audio Engineer Job Description: Salary, Skills, & More". About.com Careers. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 8 Dec 2019.

4.     ^ Smith, S. E. "What Is Audio Engineering?". wiseGeek. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2013.

5.     ^ Daley, Dan, "The Engineers Who Changed Recording: Fathers Of Invention", Sound on Sound magazine, October 2004

6.     ^ University of Salford. "Graduate Jobs in Acoustics". Retrieved 13 May 2013.

7.     ^ Jump up to:^a b Acoustical Society of America. "Acoustics and You". Archived from the original on 2017-03-08. Retrieved 13 May 2013.

8.     ^ University of Salford, Acoustics. "Physics and music technology degrees". Retrieved 17 May 2013.

9.     ^ Jump up to:^a b National Careers Service. "Job profiles: Acoustics consultant". Retrieved 13 May 2013.

10.  ^ Acoustical Society of America. "PACS 2010 Regular Edition—Acoustics Appendix". Archived from the original on 2013-05-14. Retrieved 22 May 2013.

11.  ^ Jump up to:^a b Pohlmann, Ken (2010). Principles of Digital Audio, Sixth Edition. McGraw Hill Professional. p. 336. ISBN 978-0-07-166347-2.

12.  ^ Morfey, Christopher (2001). Dictionary of Acoustics. Academic Press. p. 32.

13.  ^ Templeton, Duncan (1993). Acoustics in the Built Environment: Advice for the Design Team. Architectural Press. ISBN 978-0-7506-0538-0.

14.  ^ Technical Committee on Musical Acoustics (TCMU) of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). "ASA TCMU Home Page". Archived from the original on 2001-06-13. Retrieved 22 May 2013.

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