As signal chains have become increasingly complex, the challenges involved in managing and monitoring these paths have multiplied exponentially. Over the past few decades, we've migrated from handling a single channel of content using composite video and analog audio pairs, to elaborate multi-channel facilities routing HD video with embedded audio over SDI or in many cases discrete AES pairs. These audio signals are often a mix of 5.1 and stereo programs and in many cases encoded to or decoded from Dolby® at some point in the chain.

For many years, broadcast stations have been required by law to incorporate emergency alerting into their air chains—usually directly in line with the program path as the last stage prior to the transmitter. As station groups have consolidated and air chains have become more complex, however, managing this insertion gets a bit trickier. What used to be a 1:1 correspondence between studios, transmitters, and everything in between is often now a matrix of possibilities including multiple studios or automation outputs, along with main and backup program paths and transmitters.

Building on insight and history in the television broadcast industry, The Telos Alliance created a new division to focus on the expanding needs of the TV audio market. Titled the “TV Solutions Group” (TVSG), the knowledge and resources of the two Telos Alliance TV brands, Linear Acoustic and Minnetonka Audio, are combined to provide a wide range of products, solutions, consultation, and custom development. Read more about TVSG here.

Here's the first of many TVSG tech tips:

With its beginnings on the University of Northern Colorado campus in 1967 as KCBL, 91.5 KUNC serves residents of Northern Colorado with a unique blend of locally-produced news, music, and other popular public radio programming. Now owned and operated by Community Radio for Northern Colorado, the group has grown to a network of over 14 stations and translators throughout Colorado.

This year at NAB, the Telos Alliance's TV Division was in the South hall alongside many of the other TV broadcasting companies. While we missed our radio friends, who we normally share a booth with, we had an incredible show. Since last year's NAB, we added Minnetonka, with Linear and Minnetonka sharing a booth that received a constant stream of interested folks. We had several new and innovative products on display both in the cloud and in the flesh. Here's our short recap from the TV side of the Telos Alliance.

So what’s it all about?

By this point, most of us have heard the stories a million times…Streaming, streaming, streaming. Some have gone so far as to suggest that IP based streaming over cellular networks will one day overtake traditional broadcast as a delivery medium. Whatever your viewpoint on that particular sentiment, there is no question that adoption of streaming by consumers has continued to increase at a staggering pace.

The Omnia VOCO^® 8 Networked Microphone System combines 8 high performance preamplifiers with up to 8 channels of comprehensive Omnia.S4 3-band microphone processing including analog, AES, and Livewire+/AES67 Audio over IP connectivity with full IP remote control in a compact 2 rack unit high package.

Engineer Chris Tarr is no stranger to the industry – known to some as the “Ninjaneer” for his ability to swoop into a station and quickly get to the bottom of a problem at all hours of the day and night, Chris has been tackling the engineering challenges of Wisconsin radio stations in the Madison and Milwaukee markets (among others) for a number of years.

We had a chance to talk with Chris about a few of his past projects, and his most recent project installing an Axia iQ console and other hardware for WMHX at Entercom’s Madison station cluster.