Using Voltair to Maximize Your PPM® Encoding

You probably know that not all of your programming encodes equally well in PPM^®, and some content encodes downright badly. But you may not know which of your programming is problematic.

So, how to know? Some Voltair^® users simply watch Voltair’s color-coded screen and note the orange. But that’s not everyone’s idea of a good time, so we designed a better way.

Topics: Voltair

Catching Up with Andrew Jeffries, SVP of Programming for iHeart Radio

Recently, I had a few minutes to catch up with Andrew Jeffries, Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeart Radio, on all things programming, including how processing fits into his efforts to make his many stations sound their absolute best. Without further ado, here's what the radio exec had to say.

Denny: As Senior Vice President of Programming for iHeart, you are in charge of programming for several major stations. Do you feel that the processing of each station is an integral part of your programming approach?

Andrew: All facets of our audio are important to me—from source quality through to the reception quality in the market. Quality processing is critical to the best audible experience in all environments for our consumers. Even though they will never know why a station sounds better or clearer, we do. Setting a sound design that fits your format station and target is part of your brand crafting, just like choosing the music you play or the talent you hire.

The Stream Locomotive Is Leaving the Station. Don't Get Left Behind. 

By 2018 nearly 25% of your terrestrial radio station's annual advertising revenue will come from online listening, according to forecast data from BIA/Kelsey. For broadcasters, streaming is more important than ever. Luckily, we have better options and technology than ever before to create streaming content that is music to listeners’ ears.

Topics: Streaming Audio, Z/IPStream R/2, adaptive streaming, xHE-AAC

Vintage Audio: The Sta-Level Turns 60

As a teenager coming of age in the late '60s and early '70s, I went on nickel tours of every radio station I could. Some of them twice. One piece of equipment that almost every station had was a Gates Sta-Level AGC amplifier. It's safe to say that this device dominated the sound of Top 40 radio from the 1960s through the early '70s. Introduced sixty years ago, in 1956, Gates sold them by the boatload.

Topics: Vintage Radio Technology

TWiRT 296 - This Show Title is Too Long, with Scott Fybush

The FCC's "AM Revitalization" proceeding continues to grind its way through the system, and there's a lot at stake right now for AM stations of all classes. Numerous broadcasters and consultants are filing comments; and so is Scott Fybush. Scott joins Chris Tobin and Kirk Harnack to discuss some strong opinions about improving the AM radio band.

Guest: Scott Fybush

Hosts:  Chris Tobin, IP-Solutionist and Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Voltair Still Gives You a Ratings Advantage

In early 2015, the Telos Alliance^® and 25-Seven^® introduced the Voltair^® Monitor and Processor. According to industry experts, the use of Voltair resulted in more accurate measurement of radio listenership. This disruptive technology enabled Radio to finally get credit for more of the listening it deserves.

Months later, after denying that it had any effect, Nielsen^® responded to Voltair by changing its encoders to include some of Voltair’s features. The company claimed that its so-called enhanced CBET (eCBET) could replace the need for Voltair.

We weren’t so sure.

TWiRT 295 - iDAS and oDAS with Chris Tobin

Could antennas be lurking all around you? Chris Tobin says it’s happening more than you might imagine.  From office buildings to hospitals, and stadiums to convention centers, Distributed Antenna Systems are popping up in walls, ceilings, and on light poles everywhere.  Engineering these systems requires precision planning and field testing.

Hosts:  Chris Tobin, IP-Solutionist and Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Links from the show:

What are iDAS and oDAS?

DAS example projects from BSGI

Indiana University Campus Cellular Project

Omnia on the Riviera

The Riviera Broadcast Group is the owner and operator of three radio stations in the Phoenix market. The company is a cutting-edge broadcast group, founded in January 2005 by Tim Pohlman, a former executive with CBS Radio and partner Chris Maguire, who serves as the company's chief financial officer.

I recently caught up with Chief Engineer Paul Schminke regarding his experience with the Omnia.9sg and how it has been invaluable to his facilities in this geographically challenged area.

Topics: broadcast audio processor

TWiRT 294 - GatesAir with Rich Redmond 

GatesAir traces its origins to 1922 when the Gates Radio Company was founded by Parker Gates. Rich Redmond, Chief Products Officer at GatesAir, joins Chris Tobin and me for updates on IP-Audio, HD Radio transmitter upgrades, and efficient liquid-cooled FM transmitter technology.

Guest: Rich Redmond, Chief Products Officer - GatesAir

Hosts:  Chris Tobin, IP-Solutionist and Kirk Harnack, The Telos Alliance, Delta Radio, & South Seas Broadcasting

Links from the show:

White Paper: The Role of Network Packet Loss Modeling

Flexiva FLX liquid-cooled FM transmitter technolgy

User Report on Liquid Cooled FM Transmitter

Vintage Audio: MSI CP-803 Composite Processor

The first AGC and peak limiter amps for broadcast audio were designed to maintain a station's modulation within FCC limits. Starting in the mid-1960s, they evolved into tools to create a unique 'sound', and to win loudness wars. By 1980, it seemed that audio had been squeezed and squashed as much as possible, and listener fatigue was a common topic for articles and discussions. Then, the composite processor appeared on the scene, and new heights of loudness seemed possible for FM broadcasters. This installment of Found in the Attic contains a brief history of composite processors, and discusses the Modulation Sciences Inc. CP-803 in particular.