Industry News

The U.S.-based NGO Developing Radio Partners is playing a crucial role in socioeconomic development in several African countries by using local radio to address their communities’ greatest needs.

In Malawi, DRP is closing the knowledge and information gap on sexual reproductive health with a project that helps young people know their health rights. The project, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, has trained more than 400 young people ages 14 to 19 to produce weekly radio programs on diverse topics related to reproductive health.

The project is aimed at making sure boys and girls understand their health rights and are aware of the reproductive health services that are available to them. DRP’s project includes partnerships with nine community-based radio stations that are focusing their weekly radio programs and public service announcements (PSAs) on topics aimed at ending child marriage and reducing rates of teen pregnancy, HIV infections and COVID-19.

The programs also encourage girls and boys to stay in school and complete their education.

In Burkina Faso, DRP trained community health workers and radio reporters to produce a weekly program that was broadcast by a community-based radio station. They believed that if local health workers delivered messages about COVID-19, the communities would pay attention and take preventive measures.

Charles Rice, DRP president and chief executive officer, says radio is how most people in Malawi and Burkina Faso get their news and information.

Internet is often nonexistent or very limited in rural areas, and television can be expensive and require electricity. Radio, on the other hand, is relatively inexpensive, and a radio set can be powered by batteries or by solar.

“We have found radio to be the best option to reach a lot of people all at once. In Malawi, for instance, our potential listening audience among the nine radio stations we work with is about 6.5 million people,” Rice said.

“We work with community radio stations because they are part of the community; they are operated by the community. They are often trusted, and the stations we work with often focus on stories that affect the community – whether it’s related to farming, public health or the environment.”

Chiko Moyo, DRP’s coordinator and trainer in Malawi, works directly with the mentors, the youth reporters and the radio listening clubs at the nine partner radio stations.

“Just as an example, the youth are taught how to hold public officers accountable and they see the fruits that come out of such actions; public funds for SRH (sexual and reproductive health) are put to good use, youth arise to monitor how officers are conducting youth friendly health services, and many other things that help communities to be served better,” Moyo explains.

DRP conducts trainings on a monthly basis and sends weekly tip sheets to help youth reporters focus on specific topics for their weekly programs and PSAs. The Weekly Bulletin is researched, written and fact-checked in Malawi; it provides background on specific issues as well as questions for the reporters to use in their programs and contact details for people to interview.

“Station partners have told us that they rely on these bulletins because they are accurate and timely — and we believe this is why their weekly radio programs are popular. Listeners know that the information they are hearing is accurate” said Mercy Malikwa, who writes the Weekly Bulletin.

DRP has been producing the Weekly Bulletin on sexual reproductive health since May 2017. It started a special weekly bulletin on COVID-19 in March 2020 and it is still being produced.

The radio programs, both in Malawi and Burkina Faso, have proven to be popular with listeners as well as health officials.

“The project has tremendously improved youth reproductive health awareness and rights in the sense that we have better information dissemination through radio, and that has improved the lives of youth and changed their behavior,” said Jossein Chazala, the Youth Friendly Health Services Coordinator in Malawi’s Nkhotakota District.

In Burkina Faso, the radio program led to the creation of a health association covering 16 villages in the listening area; it comprises community leaders and local health workers who work closely with villagers to ensure everyone gets regular health checks and observes COVID-19 preventive measures.

The Malawi stations often use peer-to-peer storytelling to change behavior, and that was dramatically illustrative for Florence Deusi, who was a child bride at 16 but says the weekly youth program on her local station (Mudzi Wathu Community Radio in Mchinji in central Malawi) helped her escape her illegal marriage to a much older man.

“Whenever I was alone I could tune in to the youth program and that’s where I gathered courage to get out of the mess that I was in.”

Now 19, Florence has told her story on the program, “and I encourage girls who are in situations like me to get out of such marriages and go back to school.”

The Malawi stations have other notable successes, including a yearlong campaign by youth reporters at Chirundu Community Radio in Nkhata Bay to have an abandoned hospital converted into a vocational school teaching such skills as bricklaying, welding, and plumbing.

Also, data tracked by DRP and the stations suggests that programs and PSAs at the Mchinji station from January to March 2021 led to an eight-fold increase in the number of young people seeking HIV testing and counseling services. The station manager launched the programs after noticing a huge drop in visits related to HIV testing between October and December 2020.

After Gaka FM in Nsanje in southern Malawi began partnering with DRP in January 2021, visits to the local youth health clinic climbed 81% between January and March compared to figures from July-December 2020.

Data from the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare also suggest that there is correlation between the reduction in child marriages and the radio programs and PSAs produced by DRP-partner stations.

“Based on the data, we believe the radio programs are having a significant impact by reducing child marriages in the districts where we work and increasing the number of COVID-19 vaccinations in those districts where DRP is operating” Rice said.

The author, a public policy analyst, has served as a consultant with the United Nations and the World Bank. He has authored and coauthored numerous books and is a TEDx fellow.

The post Developing Radio Partners Makes a Difference in Africa appeared first on Radio World.

For our readers in the northern hemisphere, fall community sporting events are about to find their way onto many stations.

Here’s a neat project put together by Frank Hertel, principal with Newman-Kees RF Measurements and Engineering, ideal for your remote broadcasts.

When you are broadcasting from a crowded playing field or stadium, crowd noise may make it hard for your listeners to hear the announcer. What you need is an inexpensive and easy way to attenuate the crowd noise.

[Check Out More of Workbench Here]

Frank’s noise-canceling mic is a good solution. By connecting two mics out of phase and using a modified mating connector, you cancel out crowd noise picked up by both mics, which are 180 degrees opposed. The talent mic is clear, with the crowd noise greatly attenuated.

Frank’s idea was the result of a conversation with fellow engineer Phil Bailey around their workbench, preparing for the Evansville Fall Festival Parade, rumored to be only second in size and attendance to Mardi Gras.

The parade was less than a week away and the engineers needed a fix to control the crowd noise. Although they had tried several “noise canceling” microphones, the noise was still distracting.

As they talked, Phil recalled an incident that happened during the taping of a TV show. An intern had wired up a new microphone cable out of phase, with Pins 2 and 3 reversed on one end of the new cable.

Three guests were sitting alongside one another. A microphone, properly phased, was placed between the first and second guest. The out-of-phase mic was placed between the second and third guests. As a result, the guest in the middle was picked up by both mics.

But with one of them out of phase, the audio of the middle guest was subtracted from the combined mix. In this situation, noise cancellation was undesired, so they had to stop taping to fix the problem.

But the TV show’s wiring mistake became the fall festival’s crowd noise solution.

In use, Frank selected two Electro-Voice 635A omnidirectional mics. Imagine your reporter holding the top microphone within about 2 or 3 inches of their mouth, while the bottom microphone is pointing away from the mouth. Crowd noise is picked up equally by each 635A mic, thus the crowd noise is suppressed — virtually canceled!

You can experiment with pattern types; Frank finds that it works best with identical omnidirectionals, and the 635As are inexpensive, under $150 each.

The first photo shows the parts you’ll need to construct this project. Once you’ve gathered them, follow Frank’s step-by-step instructions.

Email me to let our readers know how well this works out for you during the upcoming sports season.

John Bisset, CPBE, has more than 50 years of broadcast engineering experience. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award.
Workbench submissions are encouraged and qualify toward SBE recertification. Email johnpbisset@gmail.com. 

The post Workbench: A Noise-Canceling Mic for Sports Remotes appeared first on Radio World.

“Just as the introduction of digital radio improved usage of RDS, the introduction of hybrid radio will lead to better usage by broadcasters of digital radio in general, and metadata in particular.”

That’s the opinion of David Layer, the vice president of advanced engineering at the National Association of Broadcasters.

Writing in Radio World’s ebook “Trends in Digital Radio 2021,” Layer says the technologies of hybrid radio and its cousin, audio streaming to computers, smartphones and tablets, are poised to bring new features and functionality to radio, just as digital radio did back in the 2000s. 

“Interactivity, non-linear (on-demand) content and rich metadata are going to be what consumers will learn to expect.”

He thinks newer products and services developed to support hybrid radio will support digital radio as well, and that broadcasters will take advantage of this dual capability. 

“As has happened before, consumer expectations will once again be raised (this time by hybrid radio) and as broadcasters respond they will again, or maybe for the first time, recognize the value digital radio can bring to their services.”

Layer believes the stakes are higher than ever for radio broadcasters, as the proliferation of mobile broadband has increased consumer choice in audio services. 

“It’s important for all broadcasters to embrace the use of metadata so that as consumers scan the terrestrial radio dial, what they see is as useful and compelling as when they scan their favorite streaming audio service or satellite radio,” he concluded. 

“Today that is not the case; but if history repeats itself, the introduction of hybrid radio will result not just in support by broadcasters for hybrid services, but better support for digital radio, too.”

Our ebook provides other opinions about the state of global digital radio from thought leaders at organizations like WorldDAB, Digital Radio Mondiale, RadioDNS, Commercial Radio Australia, the European Broadcasting Union, the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, Audi, Xperi, 2wcom, Digital Radio UK and Nautel.

Read it for free at radioworld.com/ebooks.

The post Will the History of RDS Repeat Itself for Digital Radio? appeared first on Radio World.

iHeartMedia Panama City, located in the Florida Panhandle, is no stranger to hurricane goings-on.

Sympathizing with the people of New Orleans, the broadcast cluster set about on Operation Storm Relief to collect needed items, along with some money in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

[Read: Big Louisiana Radio Tower Comes Down in Ida]

When all is collected, the denizens of the Crescent City will receive three truckloads, the semi variety, of goods, food and water.

Items requested, other than nonperishable food, include everything from shampoo, to hand-operated can openers, baby products and bedding. Clothing is frowned upon though underwear and socks are requested.

iHeartMedia Panama City includes WEBZ(FM), WFLA(FM), WFSY(FM) and WPAP(FM).

The post iHeart Panama City Responds to Hurricane Ida appeared first on Radio World.

This is one in a series of interviews with companies planning to exhibit at the 2021 NAB Show in October.

Gregory Mercier is director, product marketing and pre/post sales support for WorldCast Group.

Radio World: What will be your top news or theme?

Gregory Mercier: We are glad to share many exciting developments this year. Our strategy since the pandemic is to support our customers and the industry to adapt to this new environment.

KYBIO, our monitoring and control software, has been improved with the launch the V4. Available on-premises or as a SaaS option, KYBIO is now fully agnostic for all communication protocols used within the media industry. Users also benefit from Dynamic Diagram enhancements, which have moved beyond the previous site level representation to now also include views at the root, site and equipment level.

On the broadcasting side, SmartFM is our innovative technology for Ecreso FM transmitters; it enables broadcasters to reduce their consumption by up to 40%. SmartFM has seen a huge increase of users worldwide, including big national FM networks. This year, we launch the V2 to increase the potential savings and to better meet broadcaster’s requirements on the field.

Our monitoring range has improved with what is probably the most powerful Audemat FM Probe. Still on the Audemat range, we also provide a new RDS Server that gathers any data source and feeds RDS encoders to improve radio datacasting and revenues. This solution is compatible with the new and fully digital Audemat RDS Encoder.

The migration to IP and less hardware remains on our priority list, with two new APT technologies: APTmpX, a unique algorithm to transport MPX over IP with low quantity of data and huge signal transparency; and SynchroStream, the most accurate technology to transport synchronous Audio or MPX over IP. These two technologies are also compatible with our existing ScriptEasy for advanced monitoring and control, and SureStream for always-on redundancy.

RW: What is your FM-SFN Solution and what is different about it?
Mercier: With our range of advanced broadcast products, technologies and services, we centralize all the expertise needed for synchronous FM: Ecreso FM transmitters with digital modulator and perfect control of the signal, APT IP codecs for transparent and reliable transport over IP, and SynchroStream to synchronize the content over multiple transmitter sites.

The solution can also include Drive Tests during the deployment phase thanks to the Audemat FM MC5, and Kybio to monitor the entire broadcasting network operation 24/7. This level of integration from a single supplier and the highest synchronization accuracy available on the market are key for several broadcasters to increase their audience and revenues.

RW: How has the pandemic affected your business?

Mercier: Since last year, and like most companies, our first concern was to ensure the safety of our teams in Europe, Asia and the U.S. while having to reorganize our business operations to meet multiple, new challenges.

Thanks to the agility and determination of our teams, we managed to keep our workflow as seamless as possible, and remain available for our customers who, like us, are impacted by COVID-19.

Added to the pandemic we are also dealing with a global component crisis. However, with the help of our dealers and partners, we anticipate purchasing and production needs to keep delivering our customers worldwide.

We also saw an increase of WorldCast sales in the first half of 2021, both from new customers and existing ones. It is positive from a market point of view but we are especially grateful for all the renewed confidence.

RW: In what way will your company’s booth plans or customer interactions differ because of the pandemic?

Mercier: It’s quite difficult to anticipate how NAB will be this year, but we remain positive and ready to adapt ourselves to make it. As I speak in mid-August, we don’t know if the borders will be open to foreign nationals during NAB, which would of course affect the number of visitors and limit our team on the booth. In such a scenario, we would keep the opportunity to meet our customers, remotely for those who couldn’t attend, and in Vegas with our U.S. staff from WorldCast Systems and Connect. Of course, teams will be reinforced if conditions allow.

The post WorldCast Builds on KYBIO appeared first on Radio World.

This interview is excerpted from the ebook “Automation: The Next Phase.”

The “pandemic year” put new demands on automation and other software-based media management systems that serve radio. Most of these systems were well equipped to meet the challenge, yet there are lessons to be learned from the experiences of the past year and a half.

RCS is all about broadcast software — from its well-known Selector music scheduling system, introduced in 1979, to its 2GO browser-based extensions for mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones and tablets. 

Philippe Generali is president/CEO of RCS.

Radio World: How has the pandemic changed things?

Philippe Generali: The first thing engineers had to do was figure out a simple, easy setup that they could ship to the show host. We’ve seen different choices in various countries depending on what’s available locally, but essentially engineers started shipping a little mixing console and a microphone that sounded decent — whatever the talent needed to talk remotely and sound like they were in the studio. 

And clients that work with RCS software knew that Zetta2GO was an option. It’s built to operate remotely on any type of computer — tablets, PC, Mac or even phones, so there was no need to ship a computer for the host, no need to have a special IT setup, just a decent internet connection. 

RW: Will we go back to what it was before? What’s the new workflow going to be?

Generali: It’s funny, the 2GO browser-based extension — of our traffic software Aquira, of our music scheduling software Selector, of our automation system Zetta — was seen as a bit of a gadget before. People said, “Yeah, that’s nice but I don’t really see myself operating the automation system on a tablet from a remote location.” 

But suddenly it became mission-critical. Tech support calls went through the roof here and in Europe and in Asia as people started to work from home. Many were asking about “that 2GO thing.” Our support people were being asked, “Can you help me set it up? How do I operate it remotely?”

This has changed the way engineers perceive working remotely as well as how good it can sound. 

Some of the talent will say, “I’m happy to work from home.” This was done before of course, but only for megastars like Rush Limbaugh, big syndicated personalities who were able to have their own studio at home. This will now be accessible to pretty much anybody who works at a radio station.

But there’s more. If you have a talented program director who is joining your operation but he doesn’t want to move, he can work with Selector2GO from wherever he is.

When I was a program director and on-air guy, somebody told me, “Be ready to be move around a lot.” I asked why. He said, “Because if you’re successful, you’re going to be hired in a bigger market. And, if you’re not successful, you’re going to be fired and have to move to a lower market. So, you’ll move no matter what.” But those days might be over.

RW: How do you keep radio live and local if more people are remote from the community of license? 

Generali: There’s a lot on social media that will allow you to monitor the situation in your home town. And what I call the “utilities,” traffic and weather — now you can have them anywhere you want. Services like Waze and weather services provide local information.

But you may not necessarily have to be far away from the studio. You could just work from home in the same town, if you want to. It doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily on the other side of the planet or are in a different time zone. The beauty of work-from-home means that, the days you want to come in, you can; the days you don’t want to come, you don’t. You can still know the local life and what’s going on locally.

RW: What are potential buyers of systems asking for these days?

Generali: “Can we have a metered service? We don’t want to build capacity for things that we use only once in a while.” So we discuss with them about whether they operate on premises or whether they operate remotely from the cloud.

We’re going to be very active in the cloud, particularly on the international side. 

We also get questions about how to protect stations from cyberattacks, a new plague that engineers have to worry about. When you speak with an engineer who’s had ransomware infect his network, you know this is a terrible thing.

We offer Cloud-Based Disaster Recovery, which allows the operation to run safely from the cloud. For instance, if you need to turn off all the machines hosting your on-premises software, the program will allow you to still run your voice tracks, which were uploaded a few minutes earlier, your commercials, your songs. They make the station sound like it’s still there and working fine. Meanwhile, you can repair your network locally without any problems. 

RW: When someone asks whether they should be in the cloud, what is your dialogue? 

Generali: Some people say, “Oh, you have to be a multi-city operator to be on the cloud.” However, we have companies that are very small, and some that are very big, considering cloud-based operation. 

As an engineer, you have to talk with management, you have to see how it’s going to change the operation of your stations. 

When you go onto the cloud, you’re going to trade cap-ex for op-ex. Instead of buying a big machine or set of machines that you’ll put on the balance sheet and depreciate, which is not going to impact your EBITDA, now you’re going to go with monthly fees, your cloud costs, bandwidth and software licenses. These costs have to be integrated into the way the station works. 

Do you need a different footprint on real estate? Do you have different staffing needs? Do some people go part-time to adapt for a cloud environment? It’s a profound change. 

You can’t go to the cloud just for the sake of going cloud. It’s not as simple as, “Should you buy an Exchange server for email or should you put the staff on Office 365?” 

RW: Do you find resistance to the idea of recurring costs that go with software as a service?

Generali: Yes, though we have found that the international community is more open to it.
Sometimes there are needs for a cloud-based environment, sometimes for a more hybrid system. But the cloud is a means to an end. It’s not a thing in itself.

Prospective customers ask things like, “Can we have a Christmas channel that would start on Dec. 1, run for one month at the end of the year, and only pay for that month?” Or they would like to do a special internet channel in the memory of rapper DMX for a week, so that they can play all his songs but without having to buy a separate machine or set up anything.

The flexibility of metered service is appealing to content creators. Right now you could go on a metered service within minutes, just the time it takes to put a few hours of logs together, and then you’re on the internet.

RW: One engineer told me he wishes there was more joint development between automation and network infrastructure companies. He actually said, “I’d love to see an automation company put the whole console surface right into the automation system and make it one product.”

Generali: I would gladly invite him to one of our booths at shows. We’ve been demonstrating such technology for the past few years in Europe and in Asia.

For example we presented a fully integrated demo on a gigantic 42- or 50-inch touchscreen. With the HTML Zetta2GO interface, you can operate a virtual console from Wheatstone or Axia on a flatscreen monitor. Zetta2GO is browser-based and everything is HTML. It is the ultimate virtual setup. 

You put a DJ on one of those integrated systems, which has the automation and the console and everything on one gigantic flat surface — tilted 20 to 30 degrees so it is easy to work with. It’s easy to start and stop the music, put pots up and down, cut voice tracks and do everything on one integrated system. 

This is made possible because the software is developed using APIs. The end of the big monolithic design of software applications is here. You cannot afford nowadays to have one big EXE and a few DLLs. All of the modules have to be independent and talking to each other by API. 

It allows features that talk to each other. It allows remote control of every module independently with a light software client like a browser. That, of course, allows moving the software to the cloud, which will be a must for any manufacturer. 

And to your point, having APIs everywhere allows easier communication between vendors for better system integration.

RW: What else should we know about where this class of products is headed?

Generali: API, API, API, the three rules of building software for a solid solution. Your products should be able to interact with anybody’s, including your competitors.

I believe in open architecture, whether you are running in the cloud or on-premises. By design, software in the cloud is based on micro-services and pieces of software that are containerized and able to talk to each other. But having that structure with on-prem software allows various vendors to interact with each other.

We at RCS like to be insulated from that; that’s why we offer music, scheduling, automation, traffic all in one. You only have one phone call to place in case of a problem. But we still build our software with APIs.

And I think we have to mention tech support. Tech support is more important than ever in an environment that can be decentralized for operations. Engineers aren’t always on hand to answer questions. So who do you call?

Tech support is really one of our fortés. It has been for the past 30 years. It’s so important to have this personal touch. Every one of our engineers picking up the phone and answering is being graded by the people they talk to. We cover 24 hours, seven days a week. Even on Christmas morning, you can call us.

Having that touch with the user is more important than ever in a remote work environment.

The post The Three Rules of Software: API, API, API appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission recently issued two Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeitures to two secondary-class stations for the same violations — though the commission, as it has many times in recent weeks, reduced the penalty significantly because these stations provide a secondary service.

In the case of station WRIA(LP), a low-power FM station in Jacksonville, Fla., the Media Bureau found that the licensee — SCLC Jacksonville Florida — willfully violated FCC Rules by failing to file a license renewal application on time and violated the Communications Act by operating the station without authorization.

The details are similar in the case of Katahdin Communications, a permittee looking for a license for FM translator station W273DJ in Millinocket, Maine. Katahdin, too, was notified that it had apparently failed to file a license application on time and also repeatedly violated the Communications Act by operating the translator after its permit had expired.

[Read: Expired Licenses Lead to $7,000 Forfeiture for FM Translator]

In both cases, the Media Bureau concluded that the applicant would be liable for a monetary forfeiture in the amount of $3,500 — a figure that’s a good deal smaller than the base amount of $3,000 for failing to file the required form and another $10,000 for operating without authorization.

In the case of SCLC, its license renewal application was expected to be filed by Oct. 1, 2019, which would have been four months prior to the station’s license expiration date. The Media Bureau notified SCLC that the station’s license would expire if no renewal application was filed by Feb. 1, 2020. When the licensee did file the application on Feb. 25, 2020, it gave no explanation as to the untimely filing — though it did send a letter asking the commission to accept the late-filed application without a penalty. But the formal avenues were not followed, namely that SCLC seek a waiver of the renewal filing deadline. The licensee also failed to request special temporary authority to operate the station after the license expired.

The bureau tentatively found that a $7,000 forfeiture would be appropriate: a $3,000 forfeiture for failing to file on time and a reduced forfeiture of $4,000 for operating without authorization. The bureau adjusted that figure again to $3,500 to include a base amount of $1,500 for filing late and $2,000 for unauthorized operation because as an LPFM the station is providing a secondary service.

The language and methodology used to calculate the forfeiture for Katahdin was similar. The permittee failed to file a covering license application and continued to operate the translator when its license expired on Jan. 8, 2021. Katahdin also failed to request special temporary authority and engaged in unauthorized operation for nearly three months before filing the appropriate paperwork.

The base forfeiture amounts are the same for Katahdin as they were for SCLC: $3,000 for failing to file a required form and another $10,000 for operating without authorization. The bureau also dropped Katahdin’s forfeiture to $7,000 and then again to $3,500, citing the translator’s secondary service nature.

Both SCLC and Katahdin have 30 days to pay the full amount or submit a written statement asking for future reduction or cancellation.

The post Two East Coast Operators Penalized for Late Filing appeared first on Radio World.

Last month AT&T sent this notice that they are discontinuing ISDN service:

ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network (though many engineers say it means It Still Does Not Work). In its day 30 years ago, it was the savior for many radio remotes.

With the use of codecs, stations were able to send clean digital audio for remotes or even as a studio-to-transmitter link. This involved broadcasters forgetting the aggravation of ordering equalized lines from the phone company and once again ordering ISDN service from the regional Bell company.

Many broadcast engineers will tell you that they had to teach the phone techs about this service. It was my common practice to check my ISDN lines at least twice a week to make sure they were still working.

Should we mourn the passing of ISDN? I say no. As long as there is stable internet, the broadcaster has conquered the “battle of here to there.” Audio over IP transport should be easy and readily accessible. Many companies make IP codecs that can be used. Utilizing codecs with a Content Delivery Network adds an extra level of stability and reliability that we only wished for previously.

Consider a couple of solutions provided by a supplier like StreamGuys.

Its Barix Reflector Service involves the inexpensive Barix Instreamer Encoder and the Exstreamer Decoder. The device is small, fitting in a coat pocket. These devices are common in many radio stations.

Once at Streamguys, the content (with closure data) is then sent to as many receiving Barix Exstreamer Decoders as necessary. The only requirement for the originating and receiving location is stable internet connection and a Barix device.

Once configured in its own web Graphical User Interface (GUI), it is almost plug and play. Connect the audio and it is working.

Yes, you can send contact closures through the RS-232 port. This is easy. Just worry about how robust your internet connection is.

The wonderful thing is that you can send to many decoders at once. This is great if you need to create an ad hoc sports network or a backup feed to your translators or repeaters.

StreamGuy’s GatesAir solution involves GatesAir’s Intraplex IP Link and Ascent Server. This can do what the reflector does but with a major improvement: Dynamic Stream Splicing.

DSS allows for two separate encoders to feed your decoder. You can switch between locations or use it as a redundant backup to guarantee that the show will go on. With DSS, I like having a second internet provider to guarantee the redundancy.

Also the IP Link has the ability to translate contact closures to a metadata string. This works in conjunction with GatesAir’s cloud-based Intraplex Ascent server for added reliability. This will transport metadata along with the audio.

StreamGuy’s PassKey solution, which can be added to most of StreamGuys’ services, can be used with a hardware or software encoder. This provides a secure connection by adding a token with a 128-bit encoded password. This prevents hacking or theft of your content. It can be used for audio or video. Again a very robust less hackable solution.

Good riddance, ISDN. With the above solutions you are supported 24-7 by a manned technical operating center that understands your purpose and is in the business to support the broadcaster.

[Also by this author: “Nurture Your Personal Network”]

David Bialik is a consultant who has held technical broadcast and streaming positions for companies like Entercom, CBS Radio, Bloomberg and Bonneville. He is co-chair of the AES Technical Committee for Broadcast and Online Delivery and a Senior Member of the SBE. Reach him at dkbialik@erols.com or 845-634-6595.

Comment on this or any article. Email radioworld@futurenet.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject field.

The post Goodbye ISDN, Hello Streaming appeared first on Radio World.

U.S. broadcasters are again urging the Federal Communications Commission to raise or eliminate the limits on how many radio stations a company can own in a particular market.

The National Association of Broadcasters filed comments this week in the FCC’s quadrennial review of ownership rules.

Under the NAB proposal, one broadcaster could, for instance, own all the AM stations in a city, no matter the size of that market. Also, in smaller markets, one company could own all of the FM stations.

NAB asked the FCC to allow one entity to own up to eight commercial FM stations in Nielsen Audio’s markets 1 through 75 — meaning cities as big as New York and as small as Baton Rouge — plus up to two more stations if the entity participates in the FCC’s incubator program

It also asked the commission to allow one company to own all AM stations in a market, and to allow one to own all FM stations in Nielsen markets 76 and smaller, as well as unrated markets. (Market 76 is currently El Paso.)

The current subcaps on stations are based on a sliding scale: In a radio market with 45 or more stations, an entity may own up to eight, no more than five of which may be in the same service (AM or FM). In a market with 30 to 44 radio stations, an entity may own up to seven, no more than four in the same service. In a market with between 15 and 29 stations, an entity may own up to six, no more than four in the same service. And in a market with 14 or fewer stations, an entity may own up to five radio stations, no more than three of which may be one service, as long as the entity does not own more than half of the radio stations in that market.

NAB also asked the FCC to do away with restrictions that ban combinations among top-four rated TV stations, regardless of audience or advertising shares and that prevent ownership of more than two stations in all markets, regardless of competitive positions.

[Related: “Further Relaxation on Ownership Seems Unlikely”]

The association had made these same recommendations in 2019. The latest comments are part of the FCC’s 2018 quadrennial review, which has been dragged out for various reasons including the ultimately unsuccessful legal challenge by Prometheus Radio and other critics to earlier rule changes under a Republican administration.

After the Supreme Court settled the Prometheus case, FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel opened up another round of comments to refresh the public record.

“The regulatory framework governing ownership of broadcast radio and television stations harms broadcasters’ ability to compete in the marketplace, impedes localism and fails to promote diversity in ownership,” the NAB wrote in a summary of its filing.

“Local radio and television stations operate under media ownership restrictions that date back decades to the analog era and fail to account for changes in the marketplace … These outdated media ownership rules, which no longer enable broadcasters to viably operate in a competitive market or effectively serve the public interest, are in more urgent need of reform than ever.”

The association says that with the decline of newspapers, broadcasters are among the few entities capable of producing “local news, weather, sports and emergency journalism,” efforts that demand high capital and operating costs, “which could be alleviated by leveraging economies of scale.”

It thinks current rules don’t take into consideration increased competition for advertising from big technology platforms or the impact of the pandemic on local journalism.

“In assessing competition, the FCC can no longer maintain the fiction that broadcast stations compete only against other broadcast stations … Given the record evidence … the FCC must conclude that its local ownership rules are no longer necessary in the public interest as the result of competition.”

It also said current rules restricting the size and scale of a station group discourage minority investment.

The post Give Us Subcap Relief, Broadcasters Again Tell FCC appeared first on Radio World.

More info is becoming available about how the NAB Show will manage its proof of vaccination process and other health procedures in Las Vegas next month.

Proof of vaccination will be managed through the free Clear mobile app and Health Pass feature, or by a Vaccination Concierge Service on site. More details about both of those options are expected to be released shortly.

A decision about mask requirements will be made closer to the date of the show, but as of right now Clark County, Nev., requires face coverings in public indoor places and crowded outdoor venues regardless of vaccination.

NAB also said that more health and safety measures have been added by the Las Vegas Convention Center itself.

The NAB will require full vaccination of attendees, exhibitors and its own staff at the NAB Show, Radio Show, and the Sales and Management Television Exchange.

A person will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a two-dose series, such as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine.

Accepted vaccinations include those authorized for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and COVID-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use by the World Health Organization.

The Clear Health Pass Validation App will be active and available to show participants 30 days before the start of the convention.

To validate their status, participants with vaccination records from the United States can utilize Clear Health Pass Validation. Alternatively, participants can visit the show’s Vaccine Concierge Service at the LVCC Oct. 5­ to 13 with their vaccination records and photo ID.

For badge pickup, attendees can bring their Clear Health Pass Validation or vaccination documentation (digital or paper) with a photo ID, to the badge pickup location in the Silver Lot at the LVCC.

The NAB reported that  the LVCC is one of the first major convention centers to be awarded the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR facility accreditation by ISSA.

“This recognizes the LVCC as a gold standard facility and operation for outbreak prevention, response and readiness,” it stated.

Other health measures planned for the show include touchless registration; cleaning protocols, disinfection techniques and work practices; and HVAC upgrades at the LVCC to allow for greater ventilation as well as the use of air filters with a quality rating of hospital-grade filtration.

Meeting rooms and floor theaters will be capped at 75% capacity; transparent partitions will be placed in areas that require closer contact; and hand sanitizer stations will be placed in public spaces, corridors, show floor areas and food and beverage areas.

There will be increased medical staff onsite with reserved medical rooms, and a new telehealth station has been installed at the LVCC to offer on-demand access to health care.

A free contact tracing mobile app developed by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services will be available.

Show organizers have also posted recommendations for exhibitors. These include providing space to allow three feet of separation; one-way traffic flow; dividers; touchless forms of engagement; no handshakes; regular cleaning; and use of digital rather than physical promotional materials.

Detailed information about health and safety procedures is posted at the NAB Show website.

The post NAB Show Will Use App for Proof of Vaxx appeared first on Radio World.