We keep running upon the subject of Virtual Radio, or Virtualizing Radio.  Chris Tobin and I imagine both good consequences and unfortunate ones as broadcasters implement more virtualization strategies.  Sure, saving money could be a motivator for virtualizing, but Chris asks, “How will you improve your broadcast product with the money saved?”  Kirk points out the increased flexibility of virtual tech allows more localism with less effort.

With social media platforms catering to video, “Visual Radio” is more than just industry buzz.  On the heels of a Washington, DC, symposium on the subject, Chris Tobin shows us the technical setup for a low-budget, yet effective video webcast from WBGO-FM in Newark, NJ. We look at the cameras, connections, interfaces, and software used to create a video version of a traditionally radio-only event.

Many skills required for broadcast engineering are directly applicable to podcast engineering and production.  Chris Curren teaches broadcast and podcast engineering skills, including mixing, fixing, loudness, and using plugins

Everyone starts somewhere, and Jim Armstrong started right near the top - in Boston radio! We’re talking early days of on-air traffic reporting, some technical perspectives from those days, and about Jim’s big switch to broadcast equipment sales; lessons here all of us engineers can learn from.

Radio industry experts are talking with each other, sharing ideas about “visual” radio. We’re asking a lot of questions, too. What are we trying to accomplish with video added to radio? Can we engage our audiences better and longer? What strategies seem to be working?  Chris and Kirk attended the Visual Radio Symposium this week, and Al Reynolds of WAMU was there, too.

“We’re on the verge of a Voice Activated Internet,” says Tom Vernon. Tom’s recent front page Radio World article, “Can Smart Speakers Bring Radio Home?” points to new radio listeners using smart speakers. We may also find voice-activated tasks around broadcast stations, facilitated by Amazon Echo or Google Home devices.

There are myriad perspectives from which to view One World Trade Center’s rebuilding after the tragedies of 9/11. From the broadcast perspective, 2017 marks a notable milestone – the resumption of television transmission from atop One WTC. The latest transmitter and antenna technology is now deployed at One WTC, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere at a symbolic 1,776 feet in height; it has resumed broadcast operations as one of the world’s elite broadcast centers. John Lyons, Director of Broadcast Communications at The Durst Organization, leads a presentation focusing on this new, premiere, RF transmission facility.

The AES and NAB fall shows combine to provide several days of seminars, special events, and equipment demonstrations in New York. Chris and Kirk interview technology leaders and find out what’s hot now and in the future. Special thanks to David Bialik and Andrew Zarian helping make TWiRT possible this week.

Possibly the best regional conference for Radio and TV engineers, the WBA Broadcasters Clinic is our venue in Madison, Wisconsin.  John Chelliah, Steve Lampen, Chris Tarr, and Mark Persons make-up an all-star cast for this episode of TWiRT.  We’re talking 12 GHz coax, AoIP, and console-less consoles, live from Madison.

Jordan Bitz walked into an existing AoIP radio station and had to learn it - fast! Now he’s extended his AoIP network to a transmitter site 30 miles across the valley. Plus, he’s using streaming audio for distribution and backup systems.  

Also on this episode, David Bialik previews an amazing Broadcast and Streaming track at the AES Convention in New York.