Industry News

One of the topics for debate among technology leaders this spring — when they weren’t talking about face masks or hurriedly setting up remote operations — has been whether the Federal Communications Commission should allow zoned programming for FM stations in the United States.

The National Association of Broadcasters gave qualified support to the general concept but voiced concerns over potential interference. Separately, four prominent radio groups told the FCC that much more real-world data is necessary before the commission should even proceed to a notice of proposed rulemaking.

One veteran industry observer said the concept if approved could spark a “booster boom,” resulting in an increase in the number of booster facilities and modifications to existing boosters.

Cites Advertising Demand
The signal of an FM booster is used to strengthen reception within a station’s coverage contour on the same frequency as the primary station. Under current rules the booster must retransmit the same programming of the primary station.

Chicago-based GeoBroadcast Solutions, the company advocating the use of boosters to deploy geo-targeted content within specific parts of stations’ over-the-air coverage areas, petitioned the commission in March to consider the technical feasibility of its system, renewing an effort that goes back at least eight years. The commission then asked for industry comments about whether to take next steps.

GBS says its technology, marketed under the name ZoneCasting, would allow FM broadcasters to do “hyperlocal programming, advertising and emergency alerting,” or what it calls geo-fencing audio delivery. The company asserts that radio is the only mass medium that cannot geo-target its content. It favors a “voluntary, market-driven” transition; and says its zoned coverage would not cause harmful interference to neighboring FM stations or to the primary station.

“We are encouraged by the amount of support we received from the broadcast industry, as well as the advertising and public safety sectors.” — Bill Hieatt, CTO of GeoBroadcast Solutions

“The ongoing evolution of ZoneCasting and its ability to geo-target an analog or HD Radio signal is made by arranging transmitters in a cluster to allow programming in the zoned area to break away from the main signal and transmit geo-targeted content,” the company states in its promotional material.

“ZoneCasting works as a single-frequency network deployed to boost the signal from the main transmitter to the booster nodes.”

Launching the technology would only require one change to a subsection of the rules on boosters, it wrote in its petition for rulemaking in March.

The proposed revision adds the following language: “The programming aired on the FM broadcast booster station must be ‘substantially similar’ to that aired by its primary station. For purposes of this section, ‘substantially similar’ means that the programming must be the same except for advertisements, promotions for upcoming programs and enhanced capabilities including hyper-localized content (e.g., geo-targeted weather, targeted emergency alerts and hyperlocal news).” Such “fenced zones” could also be used for traffic information and second language programming, GBS has said.

GeoBroadcast supports its argument for using the geo-fencing audio technology by citing “interest and demand” by broadcasters and advertisers. It says research by BIA Advisory Services found that more than 90% of local retailers would spend more on broadcast radio advertising if zoned advertising were available. The study purports to show that “two-thirds of national advertisers indicated their interest in zoned broadcast coverage,” according to GeoBroadcast.

For precedent for its proposal, GeoBroadcast pointed to the FCC’s 2017 authorization to allow television broadcasters to use the Next Generation TV standard, also known as ATSC 3.0, which it said allowed for a higher level of service and benefits for consumers.

“Zoned broadcast coverage can be deployed without causing any interference concerns and without consumers having to buy any new equipment,” according to the filing, “since the signals can be received on existing radio receivers.” And when not operating in geo-targeting mode, the primary station’s signal is amplified, thus improving the signal in the area covered by the boosters at all times, it said.

The company says it has studied zoned broadcast coverage for a decade. Indeed, the commission did issue a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the company’s technology in 2012 and collected comments, but took no further action at that time.

Now it says its development work through simulations and modeling, as well as test work including a five-site network at Entercom’s KWFN in San Diego, demonstrate that the concept works. GeoBroadcast has used “extensive network design work at NPR Labs to identify the power and height for the ZoneCasting boosters under a variety of primary station types and terrain conditions,” according to its filing.

“Field tests have shown that deployment of ZoneCasting does not result in harmful interference within the SFN either between the primary station and boosters or among the booster cluster itself,” it said.
Bert Goldman, president of Goldman Engineering Management, wrote in the GBS filing that “the ZoneCasting technology that broadcasters could deploy does not raise any technical concerns” that should hold up commission action (see below).

He told Radio World in an email the system uses the Synchrocast feature of GatesAir Intraplex codecs. “There is no other source that I know of which could supply that tight of a timing synchronization unless an RF STL link is used, but they typically use IP-based delivery,” Goldman wrote.

ZoneCasting currently works only with analog FM, but GeoBroadcast is working toward compatibility with digital radio systems, Goldman said.

The company’s ongoing testing “demonstrates the HD signal will work successfully with HD receivers in a ZoneCasting system,” according to a spokesman. “We are currently consulting with Xperi and infrastructure providers to ensure HD listeners will have a seamless listening experience.”

Supportive Words

GBS said the industry comments this spring demonstrated “general agreement” for innovative technologies and new paths for revenue. “Many of the detailed comments expressed anticipation for a level playing field in the broadcast industry and excitement for the ability to add localized weather and traffic, news, advertising, and emergency alerting during short parts of a broadcast hour, and the benefit it will offer listeners, small businesses and advertisers.”

Among those commenting in support, Sky Media LLC, licensee of KPKK(FM) in Amargosa Valley, Nev., wrote that it would “utilize zoned broadcast coverage to provide targeted emergency alerts, local news and public interest programming and localized advertisements responsive to the needs of small business.”

Another small broadcaster says the technology would bring numerous benefits to consumers. “Zoned coverage would make radio much more attractive to small businesses, who would be able to reach their targeted audiences more effectively and efficiently as well as local political candidates and local groups wishing to discuss localized issues affecting contiguous neighborhoods,” wrote Ashley Communications Inc., licensee of KLCY(FM) in Vernal, Utah.

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council commented that “the ability to geo-target content on radio will be especially beneficial to minority broadcasters and their advertisers.”

Emmis Communications, which owns six FM and two AM radio stations, is in support, according to a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

“From our company’s experience, this kind of geo-targeting could bring real benefits to the radio industry since it has the potential to address one drawback of the radio industry as it competes with other media: no ability to geo-target content and advertisements,” wrote Rick Cummings, director of programming for Emmis Communications.

Zoned advertising is a big part of the appeal here, and GBS noted support from advertising and marketing companies such as Ansira, Dentsu and MAGNA Global.

It also emphasizes the value in alerting. Craig Fugate, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told the FCC he believes geo-targeting is essential to allow regionalized alerts and warnings during times of emergency.

“In this era of hyper-local and targeted communications, radio has become the lone medium unable to reach its listeners on a granular basis. And, in fact, the value of geo-targeting through radio in times of local, regional, state, and federal emergencies is a paramount personal concern of mine,” wrote Fugate.

He continued, “Without a doubt, localized radio broadcast updates of today’s COVID-19 crisis would serve the public good by communicating public safety information pertinent to specific portions of the airwave’s audience. Consider the benefit of reaching a 25-mile portion of a radio signal about local test sites or shelters versus informing that same station’s 100-mile audience that do not need those specifics but require their own, zoned, details.”

Words of Caution
The National Association of Broadcasters supports giving FM broadcasters zoned broadcasting capabilities, but said the proposal is not entirely free of concerns.

The association noted its own previous opposition to the creation of a new Class C4 FM radio service due to an increased risk of interference to incumbent FM service — though in this case, it acknowledged, “any potential interference caused by using boosters to target content should only affect an FM station’s own service, and the decision whether to risk such self-interference would be purely voluntary,” NAB wrote.

It continued, “We also observe potential concerns that GBS’ system currently works only with analog FM service, which could undermine the continued expansion of digital audio broadcasting (DAB, also called HD Radio). There may be potential disruption to DAB in the targeted zones. This issue is not addressed in the petition.”

On balance, however, NAB favors the FCC granting the petition to move ahead to an NPRM.
GBS has, however, not yet made its case successfully to several of the country’s leading broadcasters.
iHeartMedia, Entercom Communications, Cumulus Media and Beasley Media Group jointly told the FCC that “more real-world vetting” is needed before the commission moves ahead even to an NPRM. The language in its filing was much more cautionary.

“Automatically authorizing such an unproven technology … is particularly premature given the proponent’s acknowledgment that listeners will experience some degree of ‘self-interference,’ as the booster signal is handed off from the primary programming to the zone programming.” — Joint filing by iHeartMedia, Cumulus, 
Entercom and Beasley

“Technologies that are not yet widely proven which could cause interference to the primary signal, as well as confusion among radio listeners as the primary signal is handed off to a localized signal, should not prematurely be adopted as a default standard without more real-world experience gathered with experimental authorizations,” they wrote.

“Automatically authorizing such an unproven technology … is particularly premature given the proponent’s acknowledgment that listeners will experience some degree of ‘self-interference,’ as the booster signal is handed off from the primary programming to the zone programming,” they wrote.
They acknowledged that GBS referenced studies of its technology but believes there has only been one “real-world” experimental test of its current iteration.

They said that by moving to an NPRM, the FCC would essentially endorse ZoneCasting “without the need for implementors to report back to the commission on the benefits, problems and/or weaknesses of the system.” They asked the FCC to allow more experimental authorizations and reporting, as it has done for technologies like Single Sideband Suppressed Carrier Modulation, all-digital on AM, Modulation Dependent Carrier Level controls and HD Radio.

Others raising concern include REC Networks, a low-power FM advocate. It said the booster rule change could lead to an increased risk of interference within the FM band and possibly bring on a “booster-boom” in the United States.

“(REC) must disagree in part with petitioner’s claims that ZoneCasting does not raise technical or interference issues and has ‘no impact on other broadcasters.’ There could be situations where the installation of an FM booster would create harmful interference to an LPFM station, mainly in cases where the full-service FM station was created or modified after the establishment date of the LPFM station,” wrote Michi Bradley, founder of REC Networks.

Commenting to Radio World about the general technical issues involved, Jim Stanley, president of Stanley Broadcast Engineering, said proper installation and maintenance of a station’s RF infrastructure will be critical to limiting self-interference when deploying such a system.

“Anytime multiple transmitters (boosters) are operated on the same frequency, synchronization is needed. This includes using GPS to phase lock the carriers and usually some type of audio delay in the input(s) of one or more transmitters.”

Stanley said, “When more than one transmitter is operated on the same frequency, with no geological terrain disruption between the two transmitter sites, there will be a certain amount of interference between the two signals where the contours meet. The degree of interference between multiple sites would vary depending on conditions. It is important that the booster sites be engineered and installed so that the booster coverage does not extend beyond the authorized 60 dBu contour of the primary facility.”

In a press release after the comment deadline, Bill Hieatt, CTO of GeoBroadcast Solutions, said, “The comments raised important issues for the industry as a whole and specific, instructive points on how our technology needs to address ideas and share knowledge to help it improve, as it has a chance to evolve in the marketplace.”

Making It Work
Bert Goldman, president of Goldman Engineering Management, has been working with GeoBroadcast since 2015 to develop multitransmitter booster systems known as MaxxCasting. He said ZoneCasting is based on that technology.

He told the FCC that MaxxCasting systems use boosters synchronized both with the main transmitter and with each other to produce seamless transitions between node areas. This, he said, improves coverage well beyond what would be possible with only the main transmitter by filling in low-signal areas within an FM station’s protected service contour.

He said the system is used successfully in numerous markets including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle “and is expanding rapidly.” Users, he said, report “vastly improved” quality of service and Nielsen PPM decoding.

Goldman said MaxxCasting achieves interference-free signal improvement due to four techniques that essentially “trick” a receiver into acting as if it is hearing one station instead of two or more, which would result in distortion and interference.

These techniques are carrier synchronization, which Goldman said is now possible by using GPS-trained oscillators; pilot phase synchronization, also possible using GPS; the use of small cells or “nodes” with highly directional antennas to keep the real-time FM waveforms at the receiver to within two microseconds; and maintaining audio modulation of the main and booster carriers to identical waveforms with less than a 0.1 dB difference between the main transmitter and all nodes.

On those last two points, Goldman added that recent technical advances play an important part.
“The technology to so precisely control the timing of the audio waveform for both analog stations and stations operating with HD Radio has only been perfected recently. Accurate RF modeling and prediction, critical in optimizing performance, is accomplished with powerful software tools developed by the wireless industry for cellular communications. This allows GeoBroadcast to precisely tailor parameters to maximize coverage and eliminate interference.”

“Modulation matching is also a recent development, made possible by digital composite and AES digital transmission, synchronization and high-speed data circuits.”

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

The post GBS Gathers Support for Geo-Targeting appeared first on Radio World.

Kevin Suggs arrived in Seattle just in time for the ’90s grunge-era gold rush, when the city was bursting with bands looking to score a record deal. Spending a decade of 12-hour-plus days pushing faders at studios like Avast! Recording Co. was the perfect training to head up audio engineering for the podcast series “Live on KEXP.”

“Things just started to explode,” Suggs says. “Even though I wasn’t working with any huge Seattle bands, there were just so many bands and everybody was recording. It was a very vibrant time to be making music in this town. Everybody had a shot.”

As a freelance engineer and steel guitarist, Suggs racked up credits on albums by Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins and Brandi Carlile. By the time he arrived at KEXP(FM), a nonprofit arts organization known for curating adventurous music for its FM radio station and online properties, the audio crew was producing more than 100 live music sessions a year.

“Live on KEXP” — until recently known as “KEXP’s Live Performances” — is the latest evolution of a podcasting program that began in 2004, and a key arm of the organization’s multiplatform approach that includes broadcasting to the Seattle radio market and streaming to two million YouTube subscribers.

Every note of sound, though, begins with Suggs and the audio engineering team. Today, KEXP logs about 300 performances every year. To maintain efficiency and consistency, Suggs begins each session with a proven template based around workhorse mics like Shure SM57s and SM58s and a baseline of plug-ins and presets in Pro Tools.

“My mantra for these things is just simplicity,” says Suggs. “I’m not trying to recreate a band’s record or anything. I’m trying to capture what the band is giving.”

Until a few years ago, the engineers mixed the audio to two-track on an eight-bus digital Mackie board before sending it to Pro Tools. These days, they automate the mix through an Avid S6 Pro Tools control surface.

“It’s recording every move I make,” he says. “If I didn’t quite get that guitar solo up in time, I can make a marker. And then once we’re off the air, I can go back and I can fix that [for the podcast].”

Like any live recording situation, though, control is a relative concept. There’s only so much isolation you can do when a full band is playing together in a room. Suggs has a few tricks to help keep instruments in their own lanes, but sometimes he simply has to let it bleed.

“I always start my mixes with the vocal mics up because they’re going to color everything,” he notes. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to solo the kick drum, because as soon you push those vocal mics up, it’s going to change that kick drum sound completely. It’s just a matter of embracing the bleed, because you’re going to get a lot of it.”

Instead of setting up bands according to their stage plots, Suggs positions them in a circle, with everyone facing each other like in a rehearsal. In the absence of isolation barriers, this configuration cancels some of the interference between the vocal mic and drum mics.

Every session that ends up on the “Live on KEXP” podcast is first broadcast via radio to the Seattle area. With few exceptions, what ends up on YouTube and the podcast is exactly the same as what the radio listeners heard. The main difference between the broadcast and streaming audio is in the mastering stage.

“We hit the one that goes out on the air with a little more compression [from an LA-2A compressor], and then we do a raw track [for streaming] that has nothing on it and no compression. That’s what we usually use for mastering, so we can start fresh without any other compression.”

When shelter-in-place orders came into play in March, the “Live on KEXP” team was already set up to have their engineers work remotely. Most, like Suggs, have studios in their homes, so they’re able to mix and master sessions seamlessly.

Luckily, KEXP has enough sessions in the can to last well into the summer months. The only audio being recorded at home for the “Live on KEXP” podcast is the voiceover by host Troy Nelson, who runs an AKG Perception 220 mic through a Universal Audio Arrow audio interface into Logic Pro X.

Rest assured, Suggs and the audio engineering team will be ready to go as soon as they’re able to get back to the studio.

“I really feed off of the vibe,” he says. “There’s really something about that live energy and the mix being a performance. At the same time as the band’s performing, you’re performing the mixing. You still get that adrenaline rush. There’s no net.”

This story originally appeared in Podcast Pro, a free weekly newsletter about the production side of podcasting. Sign up here.

The post KEXP Podcast Blurs the Lines Between Live and Studio appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission said the big “repurposing” of C-band spectrum for 5G services will happen on an accelerated timeline.

The commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau got commitments from five eligible satellite operators to meet an accelerated “clearing” timeline that will make way for faster 5G deployment in the 3.7 GHz band.

The commission this winter adopted rules to free up 280 megahertz of spectrum for 5G. The rules required existing satellite operators — including those that support radio and TV broadcast uses — to repack operations from the band’s entire 500 megahertz into the upper 200 megahertz, leaving a guard band and a newly freed up block, the lower 280 megahertz.

[Read: C-Band Plan Aims to Limit Broadcast Disruption]

The FCC provided five space station operators with an opportunity to clear the lower 300 megahertz on an accelerated timeframe in exchange for accelerated relocation payments.

It said Eutelsat, Intelsat, SES, Star One and Telesat committed to accelerated relocation. The five must clear 120 megahertz of spectrum in certain areas by Dec. 5, 2021. In a second phase, they must clear the lower 120 megahertz in the remaining areas, plus an additional 180 megahertz nationwide, by Dec. 5, 2023.

“If the companies fulfill these commitments, they will be eligible for up to $9.7 billion in accelerated relocation payments plus reasonable relocation costs, paid for by the new flexible use licensees,” the FCC explained. “Had the satellite operators not chosen to accept accelerated relocation payments, the deadline for clearing the lower 300 megahertz of the band would have been Dec. 5, 2025.”

[Read: C-Band Repack Could Be Costly for Many Stations]

Chairman Ajit Pai positioned this as a big day for American 5G. “The acceptance of accelerated relocation by all eligible satellite operators vindicates the FCC’s approach for making C-band spectrum available for 5G more quickly. Our initiative will enable this critical mid-band spectrum to be used for new and innovative wireless services that will be delivered to American consumers years ahead of schedule.”

The commission’s C-band auction is scheduled to begin this Dec. 8.

The post C-Band Spectrum to Be Cleared on Accelerated Timeline appeared first on Radio World.

“New Nielsen diary data reveals there was no audience impact from COVID-19.”

That’s according to Westwood One, which published a list of “myths surrounding coronavirus and AM/FM radio listening,” particularly hoping to change a mindset about radio that it finds prevalent among media people who live in New York City.

Westwood One warned that the ad community should not project New York’s COVID-19 experiences and media habits to the rest of America; it called this “marketing malpractice.”

It said that AM/FM radio retained 97% of prior listening volumes in markets 50–100. “There was only a –3% reduction in listening from February to April in markets ranked 50–100, dispelling New York City-based media planner and strategist beliefs that no one is listening to AM/FM radio.”

It also cited data from Geopath showing that outside of America’s largest cities, “miles traveled match or exceed prior year volumes” during the week of May 11, and that though miles traveled fell in late March and early April, they had “recovered significantly” since then. The company sought to challenge the perception that “the barren streets of New York City, America’s capital of media planning,” are representative of America.

Seeking to highlight the ongoing effectiveness of radio, Westwood One says Nielsen diary and PPM data suggest that “American AM/FM radio has retained 93% of pre-COVID-19 reach levels and 86% of pre-COVID-19 average quarter-hour audiences.”

It also said 91%+ of Americans are not reached by Pandora and Spotify, whereas an AM/FM radio buy reaches large portions of Pandora and Spotify audiences for free.

Read the blog post.

The post Westwood One Slams NYC-Based Ad Buying Assumptions appeared first on Radio World.

Cox Media Group has a new president and CEO.

On May 29, Daniel York was tapped as the company’s new head. He will be responsible for managing the company’s media platforms as well as overseeing the company’s long-term strategic priorities.

York most recently served as senior executive vice president and chief content officer of AT&T and its subsidiary DirecTV.

[Read: Kim Guthrie Departs Cox Media Group]

York replaces Kim Guthrie, a 22-year veteran with the company who decided to move on from the organization on May 6. Steve Pruett, executive chairman of Cox Media Group, said Guthrie had been instrumental in positioning Cox for future success as an industry-leading media company and thanked her for her decades of service. Guthrie took on the president/CEO role in January 2017 after working in various roles including as executive vice president of national ad platforms.

After the announcement, York said in a statement that he is excited to lead the company, “[one that] has the most talented team and leadership in the industry,” he said. “I have always admired and respected the unparalleled quality of CMG’s 90-plus TV and radio stations, digital and advertising platforms, and the company’s unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity.”

York added that this has proven especially important over past few months, as consumers have underscored the importance of valuable content, local news and entertainment.

While at AT&T, York served as president of content and advertising sales and helped build AT&T’s video business. During his tenure he oversaw all content activities including licensing, operations, strategy, investments, original content, compliance, and ran AT&T’s ad sales and regional sports networks. Prior to joining AT&T, York served as senior vice president of programming and development at In Demand Networks. He started his career at HBO, where he held various management positions, including vice president and general manager at HBO/Time Warner Sports. York has also served on the boards of numerous companies, including the Tennis Channel and the Game Show Network. He currently serves on the board of the T. Howard Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing diversity in the media industry.

The post Daniel York Named Cox Media Group President and CEO appeared first on Radio World.

A reader asked, “Are there any industry guidelines regarding radio microphones and COVID-19?”

Our sister publication Pro Sound Network has a fun older blog post about “Cleaning That Nasty Microphone.”

Here’s what manufacturer DPA says about “Proper Mic Hygiene.”

This resource from Sennheiser is cogent.

From Audio-Technica.

And a video from high-end mic maker Royer Labs about disinfecting:

More broadly, the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing compiled a list of potential safety measures that production facilities can implement as they return to work. Most can be applied to radio as well.

We welcome links for additions to this list. Email radioworld@futurenet.com.

The post How Should I Disinfect My Microphone? appeared first on Radio World.

Taking aim at pros working in electronic music production, Apple recently released a major update to Logic Pro X, packaging the app with a “professional” version of Live Loops, new sampling features and both new and revamped beatmaking tools. Logic Pro X 10.5 is free for existing users, and otherwise runs $199 on the Mac App Store.

Primary among the updates is Live Loops, which lets users create music in nonlinear ways. Loops, samples and recordings can be arranged on a musical grid, then used to try out and build musical ideas. Those in turn can be captured on Logic’s timeline, where they can be further developed using typical production methods. Remix FX brings a selection of effects to Live Loops — gates, filters and more — which can be used in real time over individual tracks or an entire song. Along with this, the newly updated Logic Remote iOS app now can trigger sounds in Live Loops; users can also use the app for browsing and adding loops, or applying Remix FX to a session.

Sampler updates the EXS24 plug-in with new sound-shaping controls, but is still backwards-compatible. Hand-in-hand with that is Quick Sampler which lets users add or record a sound, edit it into shape and then use it as a playable instrument. Sounds for Quick Sampler can be taken from Logic, voice memos recorded on an iPhone or recorded directly into the app.

Apple is also using the latest edition of Logic Pro X to dive deeper into beatmaking with tools like Step Sequencer, a new editor for developing and programming drum beats, bass lines, melodic parts and more, using a pattern-style production interface. Users get control over parameters like note velocity, repeat, gate, skip, playback direction and randomization. Working with Step Sequencer are Drum Synth, a collection of various drum and percussion sounds that can be granularly controlled and edited, and Drum Machine Designer, a tool for building drum kits using sounds from Drum Synth or Quick Sampler.

Info: www.apple.com/logic-pro

The post Apple Logic Pro X Gets Massive Update with V10.5 appeared first on Radio World.

GeoBroadcast Solutions has secured a supportive recommendation from the developer of HD Radio in its quest to get the FCC to open a notice of proposed rulemaking about FM geo-targeting.

GBS wants to be able to sell its ZoneCasting system to FM broadcasters in the United States. It says the technology, using synchronized boosters, would give stations the ability to add very localized ads, information and alerting during parts of a broadcast hour.

This would require a rule change, so it has asked the commission to open a notice of proposed rulemaking with that in mind.

The NAB has given its qualified support to the FCC taking next steps. But some in the engineering community are dubious that it could work; and several influential companies have said it’s too soon even for an NPRM, expressing concern about interference and listener confusion. They asked the commission to wait, lest it indicate implied endorsement before the idea has been fully tested.

[Read: Large Groups Raise a Caution Flag on Geo-Targeting]

Among companies raising a caution earlier was Xperi Corp., parent of HD Radio. It filed comments saying the FCC should hold off in order to gather specific information on how the ZoneCasting technology would affect the listener experience. At the time it expressed concern with the impact on HD Radio, noting that a key requirement of its digital system is the simulcasting of the analog service on the HD1 digital channel and noting that radios are designed to blend between analog and HD1 digital audio during initial tuning or under weak signal conditions.

But GBS apparently has been working hard behind the scenes with broadcast industry players to advance its proposal. And now Xperi has updated its recommendation to the FCC via an ex parte letter explaining why:

“Since filing our comments, we have engaged in conversations with GeoBroadcast and understand that it is planning demonstrations for how ZoneCasting will be deployed in a digital setting,” Xperi wrote.

“These demonstrations will involve local broadcasters and be overseen by third-party engineering consultants Roberson and Associates. Xperi will work with GeoBroadcast to develop appropriate test plans to provide data demonstrating the ZoneCasting experience on HD Radio stations. Xperi also will provide technical support in implementation of the tests and evaluation of the results.”

It now suggests that the commission “continue with the process to move toward an NPRM. The NPRM process will give all parties ample time to explore these various issues.”

In a statement reacting to this letter, GBS said it “has been continuously refining and simulating the models that will successfully integrate geo-targeting within HD Radio, and look forward to working closely with Xperi in the field and at our headquarter laboratory in Chicago. We are confident that by working closely with the industry our technology will continue to be refined.”

The post Xperi Says It’s OK With a Geo-Targeting NPRM appeared first on Radio World.

The author is former chief engineer at WMMM(AM) and WCFS(AM). He mans the Hobby Broadcaster and Campus Broadcaster website.

I read the recent comments from Alabama Broadcaster Association’s Larry Wilkins concerning LP/Part 15 transmission regulations with trepidation (“Low-Power Transmitter Guidance From Larry Wilkins”). I’m skeptical in regards to the validity of the information he used as reference.

It would appear that the author had taken much of their obtained knowledge from a July 1991 FCC public noticed titled “Permitted Forms of Low Power Broadcast Operation.” This notice cites a maximum coverage area of 200 feet for both FM and AM unlicensed broadcasting.

Wilkins correctly cites the applicable field intensity for Part 15 compliant FM operation as defined in Part 15.239, 250µV/meter at 3 meters. This is an absolute and, as such, the maximum service area would certainly be around the 200 foot mark, depending on the sensitivity of the receiver being used.

However, I believe Wilkins is in error in his statement of “The same is true on the AM broadcast band, where devices are limited to an effective service range of approximately 200 feet (61 meters).” While this appears to coincide with the FCC public notice this is inaccurate.

It is important to understand that the public notice is not the actual Part 15 regulations. Perhaps the 200-foot range might be accurate in regards to Part 15.209, whereas a specified field intensity is defined, which is calculated via a formula defined in the regulation. Its value is dependent on operating frequency.

However, the FCC has afforded two exceptions to this regulation which legally allows a service area greater than 200 feet under the proper conditions. Those would be Part 15.219 and Part 15.221.

Part 15.219 specifically allows a Part 15 transmitter to operate at 100 milliwatts input power to the final amplifier stage but limits the total length of the radiating element (antenna) and any ground lead used to no greater than 3 meters in length. There is no field strength limitation mentioned in this regulation.

Under a FOI request we obtained one of the FCC documents used by field inspectors as reference for pirate radio enforcement, titled “Module II 215: Unlicensed Radio Operation.” While heavily redacted, it’s interesting to note that on Page 5 of this document it specifically mentions that neither Part 15.219 nor the regulation which applies to low-power broadcasting on an educational institution’s campus, Part 15.221, has no specified field strength limitation.

What does this have to do with an alleged 200-foot service limit for Part 15-compliant AM broadcast? Back in 2013 two broadcast engineering colleagues assisted me with my undertaking of “The AM Transmitter Challenge.” The specimen for this side-by-side transmitter comparison consisted of four manufactured, 100 milliwatt, FCC certified Part 15 AM transmitters in addition to a notable Part 15-compliant kit transmitter. All transmitters where tested with their specified antenna, whether it was a 102-inch “CB style” whip antenna, a custom radiating element which was part of the transmitter’s certification and a wire antenna which accompanied the kit device.

Each tested transmitter was installed identically in a ground mounted Part 15.219-compliant manner and utilized a single 8-foot ground rod with a 0.5 millisiemens per meter ground conductivity. Each transmitter’s field strength was measured using my Potomac FIM-41 and documented for comparison. The highest performing transmitter had a coverage area just short of one mile using a typical automobile receiver.

While I haven’t been able to personally document the effects of better ground conductivity I’ve been informed a small improvement in range is enjoyed with similar installations in areas which have higher soil conductivity.

A church down county from me recently equipped themselves with a commercially available certified Part 15 AM transmitter to allow worship services to be enjoyed by congregants from the comfort of the automobiles in the parking lot.

The newfound interest in Part 15 broadcast obligates us to provide accurate and dependable information to the broadcasters, most of whom have no technical background and little interest in learning it.

Radio World invites industry-oriented commentaries and responses. Send to Radio World.

The post Begging to Differ on Part 15 Regulations appeared first on Radio World.

“Always have a backup” has been a mantra of radio engineers since the earliest days of broadcasting. Much time and energy has been spent developing disaster recovery plans that outline responses to fires, floods, tornadoes and other cataclysmic events.

But the outbreak of COVID-19 required most station employees, including air staff, to work at home for extended periods of time, a contingency that some engineers might wish they’d spent more time considering.

Lessons learned in the first weeks of the pandemic were discussed in an interesting episode of “This Week in Radio Tech (TWiRT),” hosted by Kirk Harnack, senior systems consultant for The Telos Alliance, and Chris Tobin, IP solutionist. They convened a special edition to talk about “Broadcast Continuity in a Pandemic,” sharing experiences in adapting station workflows and technology.

Codecs and Chromebooks
Geary Morrill is regional director of engineering at Alpha Media USA, an early adopter of the WideOrbit 4.0. He said that platform was being used by those working at home for remote access to the station via iPad and iPhone apps, mainly for recording and voice track activities.

Robbie Green, director of technical operations at Entercom Houston, said his employer created a work-from-home protocol for most staff, although air talent was still in the building. Should it become necessary for them to leave, equipment was set up so they can voice track from home. For the sports staff, he purchased a number of Comrex Opal IP Audio Gateways, as well as refurbished Chromebooks to equip remote kits.

Green said that the cluster’s building includes 600,000 feet of rentable space, of which the station occupies half. If someone working there were to become infected, building management would have to close the building for decontamination, so plans were developed for that eventuality.

A challenge facing many broadcasters, including Green, is how to handle the generation of logs. “Our traffic people have been working remotely for over a week, and program directors can also do logs remotely. We have a secure portal where they can dump everything into our WideOrbit system.”

Tom McGinley, chief engineer at KUFM(FM/TV), engineering manager at Townsquare Media in Missoula, Mont., and Radio World technical advisor, said that a global pandemic occurs about once every hundred years. If this outbreak had happened 20 years ago, he said, broadcasters wouldn’t have had the internet and IP connectivity we have today. The challenge would have been much greater for stations merely to stay on the air.

With no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in his area at the time of the podcast, McGinley said buildings were still accessible for talent. Traffic was being managed off-site through an internet connection. Plans were underway to do live shows remotely via Comrex Access gear, along with RCS NexGen iPush and Remote. McGinley added that the stations were already planning an upgrade to RCS Zetta, which has more flexibility for remote broadcast.

“This is What We Do”
Consultant Gary Kline applauded the efforts of broadcast engineers worldwide. Rising to unexpected challenges and having solutions ready before management knows to ask is “what we do,” he said. Kline praised codec manufacturers whose shipping departments worked overtime in March and April to make sure broadcasters got the tools they needed to stay on the air.

He said that while there has been growing awareness in recent years of the need to prepare for disasters, not all contingencies have been addressed.

“Many stations would have emergency generators as well as backup IP and internet facilities,” he said, describing conversations with clients, “but I would ask ‘What if you have to leave your building?’ and they weren’t so sure about that. Next time, we’ll be so much better prepared for something like this, so there is a silver lining to the story.”

“I tell everyone, it’s just a remote broadcast, only from your home.” — Jim Armstrong

Jim Armstrong, director of eastern U.S. sales at the Telos Alliance, has fielded a lot of questions about accessing equipment such as consoles off-site.

“I tell everyone, it’s just a remote broadcast, only from your home.” One aspect that sometimes gets overlooked is that most AoIP consoles can be operated remotely, and routing switchers can also be controlled off-site.

Several software products are available to fill these needs. There’s third-party software from IP Studios in Paris that runs IP tablet software. He discussed Axia SoftSurface, a program that connects to an engine or console to control the mix bus and faders, and Axia Pathfinder Core Pro, a development tool that allows users to create a virtual Fusion console.

He praised radio engineers for their handling of the situation and joked that a person is not really in radio until they’ve slept at the station, a rite of passage.

Bill Bennett, media solutions manager for ENCO Systems, talked about how stations could access and use their automation playout systems remotely.

For some time, he said, automation has meant servers in the studios plus some form of offsite backup. The cloud has experienced explosive growth over the past 15 years. Engineers have gotten comfortable with the idea of the cloud as a place to store data offsite and as part of their backup plans.

ENCO’s current automation playout system has a web interface, the front of which is HTML5-compliant so it can run on a browser. At the same time, the software is running on a virtual machine in the cloud.

Another bit of software keeps the virtual machine in sync with the studio machine over a VPN line.

An important consideration is keeping viruses that might infect the studio machine from reaching the virtual machine in the cloud. Harnack noted that Paravel Systems’ Rivendell 3.0, the open source automation playout system, is capable of running from the cloud during disasters.

With this type of system in place, all that is necessary in emergencies is to access the virtual machine via a laptop, and route a stream to the transmitter.

Also participating in the conversation were Mike Sprysenski, regional director of engineering at iHeartMedia, and Bryan Waters, chief engineer at Cumulus Media, Atlanta. The podcast can be accessed at thisweekinradiotech.com, or you can watch the full episode below.

Chris Tobin had the last word, talking about understanding workflow solutions. Air talent may be accustomed to working in front of a console and a stack of three audio devices and hotkeys to fire things off. They won’t have those at home and may experience initial stress if everything is different. The goal of the engineer should be to know the workflow of your announcers off-site, and try to make it as similar to the studio environment as possible.

Lightning Round
Harnack asked panelists for words of wisdom that could fit in 30 seconds or less.

Bill Bennett — Use two-factor authentication for network authentication and file access. Yes, it’s more complicated and slows things down, but much more secure.

Gary Kline — Ask yourself who is your backup if you become sick or quarantined. Formally designate someone if you need to.

Geary Morrill — Keep an even keel and be patient with staff as they adapt to the unfamiliar. People will feed off your emotional state.

Jim Armstrong — Have essential spares on the shelf. Remember that you don’t really need it until you need it, and then you really do.

Mike Sprysenski — Remember to take care of yourself as you’re taking care of everybody else.

Bryan Waters — Keep it simple. Give people what they need to work from home, but don’t overwhelm or complicate.

Robbie Green — Create documentation that’s written for the non-technical person. Have someone do a test drive with it before you distribute.

Tom McGinley — Look for the silver linings as this situation winds down. Expect a new level of competence from stations as they revise disaster recovery plans.

To watch the full episode, click here.

The post Broadcast Continuity in a Pandemic appeared first on Radio World.