Radio World

William Harrison, chief engineer at WETA(FM) in Washington, wrote us to share a simple way to connect an S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format) output to an EAS input on an AoIP system, in his case on an Axia xNode.

He uses a combination of two readily available adapters: an RJ45-to-F adapter and an F-to-RCA. William chose adapters from Tech Tool Supply as shown in the first photo, but you can find them elsewhere as well.

The adapter obviously doesn’t take into account the difference in peak-to-peak voltage between AES and S/PDIF, but it usually works, and it is incredibly easy and inexpensive.

William has only tried this to get audio into the xNode. Getting audio out of it, or using it with, say, WheatNet-IP may give different results; but the adapter cost is minimal, so you may want to try it.

[Check Out More of Workbench Here]

The process is straightforward. First plug an RJ45-to-F adapter into the xNode. (At the TechToolSupply site, a Rexford Tools female F to RJ45 Plug is Product Code RTC-RJ45-F). Then add an F-to-RCA adapter to mate to the S/PDIF plug (that’s Product Code SKY01130).

The same result can be achieved using an RJ45-to-BNC (www.newbecca.com/product/546275219824) and BNC-to-RCA adapter (at techtoolsupply.com, search Product Code 200-173).

William says the adapter combination also works great in getting the audio from consumer gear into your AoIP network.

I really connect 2U

Speaking of adapters, Dan Slentz amazes me with the things he finds on the internet.

The microphone people at Shure Products are selling a useful device called the X2u. It’s a connector adapter that mates the XLR connector of a professional broadcast microphone to a USB plug.

This makes for easy connection directly to a computer without the need for any additional hardware.

Ideal for podcasters or home recording studios, the connector adapter is compatible with Windows 7, 8, 10 (both 32- and 64-bit), as well as XP, 2000 and Mac OS X (10.1 or later).

What makes this adapter especially helpful is the built-in headphone jack. It lets you monitor the sound without an additional sound card. The adapter includes an integrated preamp with mic gain control, so signal level can be controlled. The X2u also has phantom power, so a condenser microphone can be connected to your computer.

This is a plug-and-play solution, no software is needed. A USB cable and zippered pouch are included, all for $99. Order from your Shure dealer or head to www.shure.com.

If you enter X2u in the search box, the search will also bring up over a hundred application notes; user questions and answers; and specifications.

Learn the basics

Dan also found something for every entry-level engineer on the Radio Shack website: a complete electronics course in 128 pages, originally written for Radio Shack in 1984.

Author Forrest Mims teaches the basics, takes you on a tour of both analog and digital components, explains how they work and then shows how they are combined for various applications.

This sounds ideal for the jock ops manager who wants to know more about electronics and move into engineering.

The lessons include circuit assembly tips and 100 electronic circuits and projects you can build and test. “Getting Started in Electronics” by Forrest Mims is an ebook costing less than $20. It’s available from www.radioshack.com.

Engineering textbooks

And speaking of learning, Charles Frodsham is a retired engineer, nearing 79 years young. Charles writes that he is starting to downsize his library of classic radio and antenna engineering textbooks collected over the years. Charles hasn’t had much success in finding buyers or even a non-profit to donate the books.

Finding classic radio engineering books is a rarity, so here’s what we’ll do. If you have an interest, send me an email with “Workbench Engineering Textbooks” in the subject line, and your contact information. I’ll forward your message on to Charles. These volumes were published between 1937 and 1956. If you are interested, my email address is johnpbisset@gmail.com.

John Bisset, CPBE, has spent over 50 years in broadcasting and more than 30 writing Workbench. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance. He is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award. Workbench submissions are encouraged and count toward SBE recertification. Send to johnpbisset@gmail.com. 

The post Inexpensive Adapters Speed AoIP EAS Connection appeared first on Radio World.

Chris Crump, CBNE, is senior director of sales and marketing for Comrex Corp. This interview is from the 2021 Radio World ebook “Remote Radio Phase II: What We’ve Learned During a Pandemic.”

RW: Chris how will our workflows and future infrastructure be different because of the pandemic and how radio responded to it?

Chris Crump: Back in the good ol’ days before lockdowns, self-quarantines and government-mandated stay-at-home orders, some of our customers had the luxury of using our products to broadcast their shows from home studios or mountain getaways. 

After March of 2020, broadcasting from home became a necessity. Comrex moved quite a bit of product to help customers across several verticals adapt to the new way of working. 

In early 2021 I’ve been talking to a lot of customers who have related conversations with management about reducing office and studio space. As building leases come up for renewal, it is making a lot of sense for air staff and content creators to work from home, and the cost savings is substantial. 

We’ve been specialists in remote broadcasting since 1961 and up until now, remotes have been about sports and news coverage or the occasional NTR event. But now, remote is how the majority of broadcasters/content creators are working. Needless to say, it’s been a great time (businesswise) to have the word “remote” in your company description. 

RW: Which Comrex products have played critical roles in these new workflows, and why?

Crump: Our ACCESS NX Portable IP audio codec was front and center in helping broadcasters to get their air staffs equipped to broadcast from home. Our production team worked overtime and weekends over the past year to keep up with the demand. 

The volume of NX Portables was matched with the complementary studio units, the ACCESS NX Rack and ACCESS MultiRack. One large corporate broadcaster made a substantial purchase of our BRIC-Link II IP audio codecs, which they pair with a small podcasting mixer in a convenient and easy-to-configure take-home kit for air talent. 

Our Opal IP audio gateway saw a sizable increase in demand for podcasters that needed an easy way for their guest to connect to them remotely. 

I think it’s fair to say that our entire product line solved a lot of different problems for engineering staffs all over the world as the pandemic took hold. .. .We are having lots of conversations with customers about new solutions for the new and unique scenarios that are presenting themselves in the wake of current events.

RW: Talk to me about the required level of home connectivity and ISP support for work-from-home operations.

Crump: Since we introduced our ACCESS IP audio codecs around 2004, we have worked very hard to ruggedize this platform and make it the most reliable means of transmitting broadcast quality audio, even on challenging networks. 

That being said, my general advice to anyone that asks “what kind of connection should I get” is get the best service you can afford. And that service should reflect the seriousness of your endeavor. In some cases, having two network options is not only a good idea but crucial. 

As more and more people have been working from home, engaging in endless Zoom video calls and kids digital learning from home, we’ve seen huge demands on network infrastructures. We created our CrossLock VPN technology to respond to these kinds of demands to avoid packet loss and provide stability. Part of what makes CrossLock so special is its ability to utilize multiple data networks and load balance between them to respond to packet loss or even network outages in a very nimble and transparent way. 

So, to recap: Get the best network you can afford, then get a second or third network (wired broadband or 4G LTE) and let CrossLock on your ACCESS or BRIC-Link II codec do all the heavy lifting for you to keep you on the air.

RW: What advanced considerations did stations deal with? 

Crump: I can tell you that we heard a lot of very interesting stories from Comrex users, talent and engineers with unique “work from home” challenges faced on a daily basis — from a cat that “learned” how to disconnect the host from the station with a well-placed paw, to a host who uses a closet as a studio because a closet full of clothes is the best acoustic treatment ever. 

I think that many engineers grappled with a shortage of mix-minuses, especially on older analog consoles. It’s certainly an argument for upgrading to a fancy new AoIP console/routing system like WheatNet, Axia or SAS. These all have mix engines with the ability to generate as many mix-minuses as you need. 

I’ve personally had a lot of conversations with announcers about setting up mix-minus on their home consoles. In fact, we’re finishing up a few videos on the topic that we hope our customers will find useful.

RW: Anything else we should know?

Crump: We have always been a strong advocate of improving the listener experience on any platform where content is meant to entertain, educate and inform. 

The main mission of Tom Harnett, our technical director, is to rid the airwaves of low-grade, tinny telephone audio. Our Opal IP audio gateway was one of those first big steps for us. And it’s really nice to hear it being used more and more on the airwaves. 

I’m pretty excited about some of the things I’m seeing and hearing from our development team, especially considering how well they lend themselves to the new way that broadcasters and content creators are having to work. Sure, it’s a “new normal” or whatever, and there are lots of challenges; but we think the new normal is going to sound pretty great if we have anything to do with it.

The post “The New Normal Is Going to Sound Pretty Great” appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission has issued bidding instructions for the 114 applicants that are qualified to bid in its upcoming Auction 109.

The auction will offer 135 FM construction permits and four AM CPs. Bidding begins Tuesday, July 27. A mock auction will take place earlier in the month.

The commission has put out a public notice with bidding instructions and other important info, including the announcement that one FM CP, in Livingston Manor, N.Y., has been removed from the list; it said the Media Bureau determined that the allotment was not properly added to the Table of FM Allotments and so it was included in the list in error.

Relevant links appear at the end of this story.

The FCC reminded bidders that they are responsible for investigating “technical and marketplace factors that may have a bearing on its valuation of the construction permits in Auction 109. The commission makes no representations or warranties about the use of this spectrum for particular services.”

It also encouraged bidders to do their own research into the existence of any pending proceedings, pleadings, applications or authorizations, and to inspect any prospective transmitter sites in or near the service area for which it plans to bid, to confirm availability.

It also noted that the Media Bureau has protected the parameters of the four previously licensed AM stations on the relevant frequencies in the St. Louis area.

Read the public notice.

Attachment A  — Permits available

Attachment B — List of applicants that are qualified to bid, with their upfront payment amount and maximum eligibility in bidding units.

Attachment C  — List of Qualified Applicants

Attachment D  — Applicants Not Qualified to Bid

The post FCC Issues Bidding Instructions for Auction 109 appeared first on Radio World.

Bahraini national radio broadcaster Bahrain Radio has undergone a lengthy and thorough renovation. Central to the renovation is becoming a digital plant with Lawo equipment at the heart.

According to a release, “The entire facility has been refurbished, from nine radio studios and control rooms to the MCR (Master Control Room) and CAR (Central Apparatus Room), with a parallel overhaul of furniture, equipment, automation systems, radio library and acoustics.”

[See Our Who’s Buying What Page]

Ministry of Information Affairs Assistant Undersecretary for Technical Affairs Eng Abdulla Ahmed Abalooshi explained, “Our radio station and studios were built in 1980. They were really old, and we used to have the occasional breakdown with no support available for them. All our FM and AM stations are processed in these studios and go through the MCR; our radio channels are also available on satellite and OTT. With this project, we have transferred our entire radio technology to a digital platform and have added a few elements that will make life easier for the production people in our radio department.”

Based around a Lawo MADI network, other Lawo equipment includes consoles, routers, VisTool virtual radio system and VSM IP broadcast control system. An RCS radio automation was also installed.

Thinking toward the future, Bahrain Radio scaled the renovation for 15 stations. It currently has nine.

Overseeing the project was GloCom, a Middle East-based broadcast and multimedia technology integrator.

Submit announcements for Who’s Buying What to radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post Bahrain Radio Renovates With Lawo appeared first on Radio World.

Orban Labs announced a change in how its PCn1600 audio processing software is sold.

“For several years, Modulation Index and StreamS had an exclusive license to sell PCn1600 processing; that exclusivity ended this week,” the company stated.

President David Day said in the announcement, “All Orban dealers worldwide can now add our PCn1600 to their Orban product portfolio. … It is our understanding that Modulation Index and StreamS will continue to support their existing PCn1600 users.”

[Read: KNMJ Simply Streams With StreamS]

Orban said the PCn1600 brought the company’s audio processing technology to audio streaming operating natively on Windows PC platforms and that Orban has used variants in its XPN-AM processor and in the Linux-based Ross RSAP.

Modulation Index is headed by Greg Ogonowski; StreamS is its line of streaming encoders and other audio products. It confirmed that “due to a failure to reach a mutually satisfying agreement with Orban Labs,” it will no longer sell the Orban Optimod 1600 PCn on an exclusive basis.

“The Orban Optimod 1600 PCn has been a big part of our product offerings and we will continue to work with clients who purchase the Optimod 1600 from us and are under a support contract,” Modulation Index said in a statement. “We will also expand our support for other audio processors that are available in software form, which we believe is the future of audio processing not just for streaming but for every broadcast venue.”

The post Orban Reorganizes PCn1600 Sales appeared first on Radio World.

As of Wednesday it was official: The newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership and the radio/TV cross-ownership rules are off the U.S. federal rulebooks.

It was a formality; the Federal Communications Commission had already announced that the change was pending after the Supreme Court ruled in its favor in the case “Prometheus Radio Project vs. FCC” this spring.

[Read: FCC Wants More Input Before Finishing Rule Review]

But now a summary of the order has been published in the Federal Register and the FCC said the rules officially died on June 30.

The Television Joint Sales Agreement Attribution Rule also officially is eliminated; and the Local Television Ownership Rule and Local Radio Ownership Rule were reinstated, as were the eligible entity standard and certain other measures.

At the same time the commission announced deadline dates for fresh public comments about media ownership rules. Comments are due Aug. 2, and reply comments are due Aug. 30.

[Read: Further Relaxation of Ownership Rules Seems Unlikely]

As we reported earlier, acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wants to update the record before the commission finalizes its 2018 Quadrennial Review proceeding. So the FCC is asking whether its media ownership rules remain “necessary in the public interest as the result of competition.”

For a full list of what the commission is asking, see the public notice. Filings should refer to MB Docket No. 18-349.

The post Cross-Ownership Rules Officially Are Dead appeared first on Radio World.

A new survey from a media research firm found that radio has good reason to be optimistic about increased radio listening in the months ahead.

The Ratings Prospects Study 18 from NuVoodoo suggests that radio listening is set to increase over the next several months as more vaccinated people consider returning to the office. In its nationwide study in June 2021 of more than 3,100 respondents aged 14 to 54 years old, NuVoodoo asked participants to share details of their current work situation. The study also asked respondents to forecast what they expect their current work situation to be by the end of 2021.

[Read: Nielsen Has Good News in May Numbers]

The report found that a significant number of respondents are expecting to return to the office or jobsite by year’s end. This increase should result in an 11-point rise in out-of-home commuting by the end of 2021.

To help stations focus on this rebooting of commuting over the next several months, NuVoodoo will share in-depth results of the survey through a series of webinars beginning in mid-July.

“The return to work outside the home is great for radio,” said Leigh Jacobs, executive vice president of research for NuVoodoo Media Services. “While FM/AM streaming consumption is slightly better among those who work from home compared to those who work outside their home, total at-work radio listening is better among those who work outside the home.”

As a result, NuVoodoo is encouraging stations to focus their marketing message of the return to commuting and work, said Mike O’Connor, executive vice president of marketing for NuVoodoo Media Services. “We’re calling our webinar series ‘Reboot the Commute’ because that’s where we see the growth opportunity for our clients.”

Topics during the webinar with include how radio is faring against digital competition, what actually causes listeners to switch or listen more, and where radio stands in the hierarchy of listening choices available via touch-screen car audio-systems. Those webinars are scheduled for July 21 at 1 p.m., July 27 at noon, July 29 at 2 p.m. and August 4 at 3 p.m. All times are Eastern.

Registration for the webinar sessions can be made nuvoodoo.com/webinars.

The post Radio Can Expect to See Rebound by Year’s End, Survey Says appeared first on Radio World.

The Society of Broadcast Engineers said its latest recruitment drive added 47 individual members and two sustaining members to the association.

This year’s campaign ran March through May, with the theme “Add Power to Your Profession.” Current members were incentivized to help drive recruitment with prize donations from sustaining member companies and a discount on membership dues for each new member they bring in.

[Read: 2021 AES Show Will Co-Locate With NAB]

SBE membership now stands at approximately 4,500 people.

The grand prize for the membership drive is a trip to the SBE National Meeting this fall, or a cash prize option. The winner of that was Cris Alexander, CPBE, AMD, DRB, of Crawford Broadcasting, who is also tech editor of Radio World Engineering Extra.

Prizes were donated by Blackmagic Design, Comark, Davicom/Comlab, Dielectric, Heartland Video Systems, LBA, Orban, Shively Labs, Telos Alliance and Tieline.

The post SBE Drive Nets New Members appeared first on Radio World.

Electricity is the lifeblood of any radio station. Without power, everything from the office lights to the digital audio systems to the transmitters would cease to run after the generators ran out of fuel. There is no radio without power.

Craig Timmermans is the CEO and owner of Manitoulin Broadcasting Corp., which operates Great Lakes Country 103 FM CHAW(FM) and Hits100 CFRM(FM) in the aptly named community of Little Current, situated on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada.

Timmermans knows all about sky-high electricity bills. That is why his company has made renewable energy investments that slashed their transmitter electrical bills by 80 percent and took their studio/office complex completely off the grid.

“I am very, very happy with this system,” said Timmermans. “I can’t believe that I’m getting all of this energy from the sun and wind to power my stations. Best of all, Mother Nature doesn’t charge me a delivery fee.”

Timmermans’ venture into radio broadcasting began in 2001, when he was given permission to open CFRM — at a whopping 1.4 watts. Over the next six years he was able to move up incrementally to 27,500 watts, vastly increasing CFRM’s reach from local to regional coverage.

Unfortunately, what also changed was Timmermans’ electricity bill.

“The first one I received from Hydro One was for about $6,000 for two months,” he told RW. “I almost had a heart attack.”

Fortunately, Timmermans is an electrical engineer who knows all about renewable energy. So after his heart settled back to normal, Timmermans decided to slash his transmitter costs by going green.

In 2009, Timmermans took action.  “Since we’re on a mountaintop, it only made sense to install a micro wind turbine to take advantage of the air moving around up there,” he said. “So we did. Now instead of buying $3,000/month of power from Hydro One, we were buying less than $1,200 per month.” This was at Manitoulin Radio’s original rented 300-foot tower site.

In 2016, Timmermans added CHAW, Country 103, a 50,000 watt commercial station, to the portfolio. Two years later he bought and erected a new 450-foot tower and transmission site on his property on McLean’s Mountain outside Little Current.

“With both the 50,000-watt transmitter for the country station and 27,500 watt transmitter for the hits station, our monthly electricity costs were projected to hit $6,000-plus! So we bought three more micro wind turbines and put all four of them at the new transmitter site. The result is that our actual monthly electricity bills are $1,350.”

A bonus: Timmermans has configured the power system here so that it only draws on the outside grid when the wind isn’t generating sufficient electricity. Otherwise, Mother Nature is working to keep his two transmitters on air — for a lot less money and reducing our carbon footprint.

As for the cost of installing the micro wind turbines and the associated equipment to power the transmitter complex?

“It was a significant investment, but the money we saved paid it back in about eight months,” Timmermans said. He has since purchased solar panels to install here, “to bring the transmission bill a lot closer to zero.”

Great Lakes Country 103 FM and Hits100 FM have a total of nine employees. Prior to 2020, the offices and studios were in a rented facility in downtown Little Current, population about 2,500.

“People could see our DJs working through the front window,” Timmermans. “It was a way of connecting to the community.” The facility was powered by a biodiesel generator.

But Craig and his wife KT also own and operate two major music festivals, Manitoulin Country Fest and Rockin’ the Rock, on their own 84 acres outside of town every summer; and building a new studio complex on their own land was a logical move.

“After all, we interview the artists who appear at our festivals on our stations as a way of boosting their profiles,” he said. “So it just made sense to have our studios in the same place as our permanent stage and campgrounds.”

In 2020, despite the pandemic, they built a two-story, 2,600-square-foot studio complex to house the two FM stations at 1 Radio Road, Little Current, on the Timmermans’ “Manitoulin Country Fest” grounds.

Because Hydro One wanted to charge a hefty sum to run power lines to the new complex, Manitoulin Broadcasting built it to run entirely off-grid.

To make this possible, Timmermans installed a battery storage system capable of storing 2,000 amp hours of power at 48 volts. When charged, the system has enough power to run the complex for a week, 24/7.

It is primarily charged by a series of south-facing solar panels constructed outside the facility, supplemented by pole-mounted vertical wind turbines.

“Compared to conventional wind turbines, the vertical turbines are extremely quiet,” Timmermans said. For times when there isn’t enough sun nor wind to fully recharge the batteries, the studio complex has a diesel generator, which uses about $20 of diesel fuel per month during the winter.

“During hot summer months, we generate enough electricity from the sun to power all the lights, computers, broadcast consoles, support equipment and even our central air-conditioning for free,” he said.

“It just amazes me that I can get all that energy from just the sun. I am very proud to say our 2,600-square-foot, air-conditioned office building with two FM radios studios is 100% off-grid.”

The power is consistent and reliable, and the money saved grows every day.

Timmermans expressed a willingness to share his knowledge with other broadcasters. Contact him through www.hits100.ca or www.country103fm.ca.

But some quick advice: For station owners with rural transmitter/tower sites, “small wind turbines to help power your facility just makes good business sense,” he said. “To survive in today’s economy, you have to look at fixed costs that are very high, such as electricity, and find ways to offset those costs and just be greener.”

Owners who can add solar panels and vertical wind turbines to their studio complexes can also save money over time and keep these costs controllable as the grid’s power prices go up.

Besides the savings, there is satisfaction associated with generating most or even all of the electrical lifeblood that your station needs.

Reducing their carbon footprint is important to the Timmermans.

“We just put in all brand-new carpet in the office, and I was vacuuming it the other say,” said Timmermans. “And I said to some friends that were visiting, ‘You know what? I’m vacuuming for free! It’s not costing me a dime to vacuum our building.’”

James Careless is a radio and podcast producer, host and interviewer who has written for RW since 1990. 

The post Saving on Power in Little Current appeared first on Radio World.

The Georgia Association of Broadcasters named finalists for its 2021 GABBY Awards.

“This year’s awards will be presented on Saturday, Oct. 23. The finalists … will either receive a GABBY or Merit award for broadcasting excellence in various categories,” the association said.

 Finalists are listed on the GAB website.

Registration for the annual GABCON conference also is now open. The event will take place at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead.

The post GAB Announces GABBY Finalists appeared first on Radio World.

C-Band users, take note. The Federal Communications Commission released an updated list of earth stations this month.

Making note of this, the law firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer says radio stations should review the list “to make sure that any earth station that you operate is included and that all of the details of its operations are correct.”

[Read: Repacking C-Band Earth Stations]

“The updated list (see a PDF version here and an Excel version here) reflects a variety of changes to earth station registrations, including address or coordinate corrections, registration/licensee name changes due to sales or other transfers, and the removal of earth stations that were reportedly inactive and unresponsive to FCC inquiries about their status,” the law firm wrote in a newsletter of the Vermont Association of Broadcasters.

The FCC’s public notice lists Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) earth stations in the 3.7–4.2 GHz band (C-Band) within the contiguous United States that the International Bureau has found satisfy the criteria to be classified as incumbent earth stations for purposes of the C-Band transition.

The post C-Band Users, Check Your Listing appeared first on Radio World.

The Radio Board of the National Association of Broadcasters has a new chair. He’s Bill Wilson, the CEO of Townsquare Media Group.

He succeeds David Santrella, the president of Broadcast Media for Salem Media Group, who now becomes chairman of the association’s Joint Board of Directors, succeeding Jordan Wertlieb of Hearst Television.

John Zimmer, president and owner of Zimmer Radio of Mid-Missouri Inc., was elected Radio Board first vice chair, while Kevin Perry, VP/COO of Perry Publishing and Broadcasting, was elected second vice chair.

Collin Jones, senior vice president of corporate development and strategy for Cumulus Media Inc., was elected as the Radio Board’s major group representative on the NAB Board’s Executive Committee.

[Read: Hershberger Honored With 2021 NAB Engineering Award]

On the TV side, Perry Sook, chairman, president and CEO of Nexstar Media Group, was elected as NAB Television Board chair. Lynn Beall, EVP/COO of Media Operations for TEGNA, was elected TV Board first vice chair. Pat LaPlatney, president and co-chief executive officer of Gray Television Inc., was elected TV Board second vice chair, while and Emily Barr, president and CEO of Graham Media Group, was elected third vice chair.

And Christopher Wood, SVP and associate general counsel for government and regulatory affairs at Univision Communications, was appointed to the designated TV network seat on the NAB Board’s Executive Committee.

The post Bill Wilson Is New NAB Radio Board Chair appeared first on Radio World.

This is one in a series of articles from the Radio World ebook “The Real World of AoIP.”

Radio World recently asked several manufacturers to identify the most important technical development or trend in the use of AoIP.

Doug Ferber, Tieline’s VP Sales, Americas, said that the most important trends in the studio are the widespread adoption of AES67 and Networked Media Open Specifications (NMOS), as well as the overall need for increased capacity for IP audio codecs.

“AES67 will make life easier in the world of AoIP with its promise of interoperability between competing audio via standards-based delivery without requiring specialized network equipment,” Ferber said.

“NMOS will provide a control and management layer in addition to the transport layer provided by SMPTE ST 2110 to also provide more straightforward interoperability between products so end users and service providers can build better systems.

“In addition to discovery and registration, device connection management and network control, NMOS will also feature audio channel mapping capability and interoperable security,” he said.

the most important AoIP trend Tieline sees is the need for more audio streams in a single rack unit.

“The move toward more centralized broadcast facilities and content delivery will require audio codecs to do more, or as we like to say in the AoIP world, have higher density. Radio station operations will continue to consolidate, and we think more content will be delivered from fewer locations so the audio encoders/decoders used will have to be equipped with more channels. These AoIP trends are reflected in the design of our new DSP-based codec, the Gateway.”

The post Doug Ferber on Trends in AoIP appeared first on Radio World.

The headlines are everywhere. Weekly online listening is at an all-time high. Sirius bought Pandora; iHeart bought Triton. Smart speakers continue to proliferate. Everyone is talking about audio.

In Radio World’s latest ebook we explore the premise that, if radio organizations want to succeed in the new wider world of audio, streaming needs to be a bigger part of their business strategy.

We ask how broadcasters can better monetize their streams, improve sound quality and promote their streams more aggressively. And we explain key terminology.

Also, what information can data analytics give managers now about their listeners? How should streaming strategies overlap with deployment for smart speakers, apps and voice-controlled car infotainment systems? Do streaming and podcasting benefit or conflict with one another in a media strategy?

The ebook explores these questions through interviews and commentaries from thought leaders and technology suppliers. Read it here.

The post Streaming for Radio in 2021: A New Ebook appeared first on Radio World.

At an online ceremony this week, Sue Zizza accepted the Norman Corwin Award for Excellence in Audio Theatre from the National Audio Theatre Festivals.

Zizza was honored as a producer of award-winning audio theater for radio, the web and commercial release for more than 40 years, as well as an influential teacher of sound for radio, television and film, starting at Hofstra University in 1987 and continuing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Colleagues commented on Zizza’s extensive body of work and prolific output, and they roasted her mildly for an insistent work personality. One described her as “an ants in the pants artist,” another said, “You just can’t say no to Sue.”

Her fellow artist and Corwin Award recipient Brian Price commended her for helping to keep the flame of audio theater alive during the difficult years of the 1990s and early 2000s, before podcasting helped bring a wave of fresh interest in all things audio.

Participants said she was a worthy recipient of an award named for Norman Corwin, “the grand master of American radio theater.”

Zizza is also owner of Radio Waves Studios with her partner, Dave Shinn. Among her recent work, she was commissioned to create a radio program to help celebrate UNESCO’s World Radio Day in 2021.

Sunday evening’s video conference also served as the conclusion of the ninth annual Hear Now Festival, which celebrates the work of “master storytellers.”

The post Colleagues Honor Audio Theater Innovator Sue Zizza appeared first on Radio World.

Delilah has purchased the AM radio station where her career began.

Her company announced that the syndicated radio host acquired KDUN in Reedsport, Ore.

The nondirectional station, which is licensed at 1030 kHz for 50 kW daytime and 630 watts at night, had been owned by Post Rock Communications. Terms were not announced.

[Read: Delilah Thrives on Instant Connection]

According to FCC records, KDUN has been silent since December for technical reasons. It received Special Temporary Authority to remain silent earlier this month, though the commission noted in the letter that the owner had failed to submit a request to remain silent for most of the first part of 2021.

“The transmitter is still housed in the same small wood structure, that is literally in the middle of a cow pasture on the banks of the Smith River,” her company said in a press release.

“Delilah is feverishly working to restore the site in order to be able to again be heard on ‘KDUN, the voice of the Oregon Dunes.’”

Her company related the story that when young Delilah Rene was in middle school, she won a speech contest that was judged in part by Jerome and Steve Kenegy, brothers who owned the local radio station. The contest winners were invited to the studios. “The first time she was in the studio, Delilah says she felt ‘at home,’ and her passion for radio was born.” She eventually took a job there before moving on to become a DJ and later a syndicated host.

[Read more about the history of KDUN.]

It said she hopes to help cultivate “local young talent who have a passion for communicating” but that “for now, getting the station upgraded and updated is first on her agenda.” The company said that other radio professionals including Smokey Rivers, Gary Nolan, Chris Mays and Jim Ryan “have stepped up to the plate in this endeavor” to help.

She was inducted into NAB’s Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2017.

The post Delilah Buys the Station Where She Started appeared first on Radio World.

Spotify is expanding its audio advertising marketplace to several new countries.

“Following a successful U.S. launch of the Spotify Audience Network in April, Spotify is taking its audio-first advertising marketplace on the road,” according to the announcement. “The network will now be available to advertisers and Megaphone publishers in Australia, Canada and the U.K. as of June 29.”

[Read: Are Podcast Listeners Open to More Ads?]

The company calls it an “audio-first advertising marketplace.” It includes the audiences that listen to podcasts from the company’s four studios — Spotify Studios, The Ringer, Gimlet, Parcast — and from third-party podcast publishers including ViacomCBS, the Wall Street Journal, Girlboss and adelicious.

According to a Spotify info page, “Advertisers have historically bought podcast ads on a title-by-title basis. And while title-based buying remains an effective way to align with trusted podcasts and hosts, an advertiser’s reach is limited to a specific title. This has made it challenging to target your customers at scale.”

Its marketplace, it says, provides audience-based targeting tools including demographic targeting, geographic targeting and audience segment targeting.

The post Spotify Expands Audience Network appeared first on Radio World.

Because of the ongoing chip shortage, General Motors will omit HD Radio from certain pickup models.

The change was first reported by the website GM Trucks. A GM spokesperson has confirmed the plan to Radio World. The change starts with vehicles produced on or after July 12.

HD Radio isn’t the only victim of the worldwide chip problem. According to automotive trade reports, GM said previously it would build certain trucks without Active Fuel Management and Dynamic Fuel Management technologies due to the global microchip shortage. And the Detroit Free Press recently reported about the broader impact of the chip shortage: “Car dealers have barren parking lots, consumers face limited options on new vehicle purchases and buyers must wait, and wait, for their new ride to be built.”

[Read: HD Radio’s History of Innovation and Future of Growth]

Kevin Kelly, senior manager, product and brand communications for General Motors, confirmed the HD Radio change in an email to Radio World. “Due to the global, industry-wide shortage of semiconductors GM is removing the HD Radio feature from certain 2021 model year Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 [vehicles] and all 2022 model year Chevrolet Silverado 2500/3500 HD and GMC Sierra 2500/3500 HD [vehicles].”

Kelly said this change to the availability of HD Radio “is currently expected to be permanent.”

Radio World invited comment from Xperi Corp. and will report any reply.

GM Trucks also reported that a window sticker will include the line “Not Equipped with HD Radio,” and a $50 MSRP credit will be applied.

The post Global Chip Shortage Hits HD Radio appeared first on Radio World.

Digital Alert Systems has issued guidance to users of its equipment ahead of the next national test of the Emergency Alert System.

The test is scheduled for Aug. 11 at 2:20 p.m. EDT. The manufacturer released a preparation document to help users of its gear.

This test will be sent via the EAS broadcast-based Primary Entry Point (PEP) system, not the FEMA IPAWS CAP message system.

[Read: National EAS Test Will Focus on Broadcast Chain]

“The NPT is an occasion to perform essential checks on fundamental items, such as checking that the EAS equipment is operating, backup power is functional, the radio monitors are tuned and monitoring the appropriate sources from the state EAS plan, and the equipment’s software is updated,” the company said in an announcement.

It quoted Bill Robertson, VP of business development, saying that if a participant’s DASDEC has been maintained with current software, most steps to prepare for the test are already done. “All DASDEC software from version 3.0 onward will automatically and properly process the NPT code, using the six-zeros national-location code, by immediately forwarding the test alert in compliance with the FCC’s rules.”

But if a DASDEC has earlier than version 3.0, you should update it at least to 3.0 and preferably to V4.3, which he said is most current with security and operational features.

[Read: FCC Releases Results of 2019 EAS Test]

The company said proper configuration is important, especially regarding the system clock. Participants should confirm devices are synced to the correct time and time zone. “One way is to double-check if the device is properly synchronized to a network time source. If a DASDEC is not connected to a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server, then it is important for the user to ensure that the unit time is manually synchronized to an official time source.”

DAS also reminded stations that they must fill out forms on the online EAS Test Reporting System. Form One is due July 6. Form Two must be done after the test, by Aug. 12. Form Three is due Sept. 27.

The backup test date is Aug. 25.

The post DAS Has Guidance for DASDEC Users appeared first on Radio World.

Here’s an upcoming event from one of our sister publications that will be of interest to radio people who also work in AV, education and other related fields.

With InfoComm 2021 coming up in October, Systems Contractor News and AVIXA, the association that produces the show, are teaming up for a virtual event on Sept. 23 called InfoComm Sneak Peek.

Attendees will get previews of education sessions on topics including digital signage trends, emerging audio solutions and classrooms of the future. The event will also feature sneak peeks from manufacturers of products they’ll be launching at InfoComm, in addition to networking opportunities.

Rochelle Richardson, CEM, senior vice president of expositions and events at AVIXA, said the virtual event “will pull back the curtain to reveal new and cutting-edge solutions and technologies and give a glimpse of what the industry can expect to experience at the big show.”

InfoComm Sneak Peek is free to attend for qualified integrators, consultants, content creators, technology managers and others. To register or learn more, visit www.infocommsneakpeek.com.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Adam Goldstein at adam.goldstein@futurenet.com.

InfoComm also is giving readers a free Exhibit Hall pass to the show. Use VIP Code “FUTURE” to redeem your free pass during registration. And for show updates, visit the InfoComm 2021 hub.

The post SCN and AVIXA Launch InfoComm Sneak Peek Virtual Event appeared first on Radio World.