IP Radios and SIP with Bob Newberry

Bob Newberry at Clear Channel in Birmingham, Alabama, oversees engineering at 11 radio stations plus 4 HD signals.  Pushing the technology envelope means using new IP-radio technologies along with IP telephone systems - and both areas give Bob more options, better quality audio, and some money savings, too.  Joe Talbot from Telos joins me talking with Bob about learning SIP technology while putting it to good use.

Bringin' the Funk (to Germany) with Omnia Audio

Located in Bavaria, Germany, Regensburg is known for many attractions, including its remains of Roman fortress walls such as the Porta Praetoria. The large medieval center of Regensburg is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it is also the home of Funkhaus Regensburg, a broadcast center which delivers six unique program formats through two FM stations, three DAB+ facilities and six webstreams. Formats for the many stations run the gamut from hot contemporary sounds to something more relaxing. Although Funkhaus Regensburg offers a variety of formats for a diverse listening audience, the preferred audio processor for the facility is the Omnia.9.

Topics: broadcast audio processor

The EKKO Stamp Fad with Philip Mulivor

Nearly 100 years ago radio stations were so new the owners didn’t know who was listening or where. Without the Internet or even many telephones gathering listener reports was spotty. Then the EKKO company hit on a stroke of genius: Radio EKKO Stamps and collector’s books to fill with them. Radio historian and electronics professor, Philip Mulivor, joins us to reveal the fascinating story of early radio listening, and keeping track of stations with EKKO stamps.

AoIP Networks: How Fast Should I Go?

You probably remember learning to drive. Your Driver’s Ed teacher (or other responsible adult) would constantly monitor your speed and point out when you were going too fast. In your own mind, you could never go too fast! And for some of us, once we got that adult out of the car, we put our foot down to the floor. We never changed our thinking, and we have the speeding tickets to prove it!

It would be easy to think of AoIP networks in the same terms: if fast is good, faster is better — right?

Cumulus NASH Tour with Zach Harper

Nationwide daily drivetime radio shows, plus a huge weekly countdown show all emanate from a remodeled studio building in Nashville. It’s the Cumulus NASH studios, home to American Country Countdown, America’s Morning Show and Nash Nights. These state-of-the-art studios are built for multimedia production including video streaming and live concerts. Cumulus Nashville IT Director and Engineer Zach Harper gives a tour to the Nashville SBE chapter, and we brought our video camera along!

Disaster Planning for the Studio

Last time, we covered a number of general planning tips in preparation for disasters. When the disaster strikes is not the time to develop a plan. First on our list of suggestions is hardening your studio site. Should the studio site fail, do you have an off-site backup facility?

If not, think remote truck! Should you lose your studio facility, a remote truck can be pressed into service to keep you on the air. Prior to predictable weather emergencies, keep the truck fluids topped off.

Virtual Radio Console with Mike Dosch

Touchscreen technology is mainstream - from iPads to cash registers.  They’ve been an add-on or secondary console controller in radio studios for a couple years now.  At the Spring NAB in Las Vegas, console maker Lawo introduced a new radio console designed specifically for touchscreen - even multi-touch - control.  Mike Dosch, Director of Virtual Radio Projects at Lawo, joins us to describe the technology and where this tech could go in the future.

Audio Control is a Process, not a Product

Linear Acoustic Focused on TV Audio Issues in Latin America

Gilbert Felix, Linear Acoustic Director of Sales for Latin America, spoke with media regarding the issue of television audio control at the recent SET convention in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Beware the FUD Monster

With more radio stations contemplating Audio-over-IP as an audio infrastructure, one statement made by certain equipment manufacturers goes something like this: “You know, if you buy that gear, a PC is required to run your AoIP network.”

In the sales trade (and let’s be honest, that’s what this is all about), this sort of statement falls under a special designation called “FUD” – Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. Some folks make these sorts of statements in order to distract you from the fact that their systems have nothing better to offer than their competitors, by implying that there’s a horrible fault in their competitor’s gear. In this case, the implication is that a PC attached to the system somehow makes it unreliable for broadcast.

Audio Networking: Purpose-Built vs. The “Kitchen Sink Approach”

There’s a whole lot that goes into building AoIP studio gear. And there might be even more that goes into choosing the system that’s right for your studios!

One key decision you’re faced with almost immediately in your selection process is which design philosophy to align yourself with: Purpose-Built, or the Kitchen Sink.