Broadcasters are pushing their remote control capabilities to new heights as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt normal operations. While at first, the effects were as small as the reduction of staff and closing of individual studios for cleaning, currently, entire studio facilities are shutting down with all staff told to work remotely whenever possible.

Those who have made the partial or full transition to a modern Audio over IP studio infrastructure are particularly well-positioned to handle the rapid onset of the virus-related staffing restrictions. Many engineers have found that the remote control features they already use for troubleshooting are highly extensible and can be slightly modified for use by production staff.

Sadly, not long after this interview was completed, the engineer featured in this story, Joe Huk, passed away suddenly. Joe was a talented engineer and will be greatly missed. We extend our condolences to his friends and family.

It's been a yearly tradition at WMUZ since the late ‘80s. During the first week in June,  Crawford Broadcasting's Detroit operation partners with Goodwin & Scieszka for the annual Law Day remote, where the client provides free legal advice and gives away safety helmets and bicycles to children in the community. It's an event that requires a lot of planning and preparation from chief engineer Joe Huk, along with a dedicated team at the station. It also involves the Telos Z/IP ONE broadcast IP codec.

TV stations are doing it. TV networks are doing it. Big corporations and SMBs are doing it. So why aren’t radio stations doing it? We’re talking about IP connections with remote offices, moving vehicles, concerts and sports venues, and just about anywhere you’d want to broadcast from - and do it reliably with bonded wireless data connections. Chris Tobin and Kirk Harnack explore the affordable tech that makes this possible.

Mitch Glider of Westwood One joins us to discuss technical operations, and preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

As more and more broadcasters move to IP and public Internet connections for remote broadcasts, the question now is not "Can I do IP remotes?," but "How can I make IP remotes sound as good as ISDN?"