Industry News

The author of this commentary is a consultant and co-chair of the Audio Engineering Society’s Technical Committee for Broadcast and Online Delivery.

Loudness normalization has been a “go to” complaint for many critics of media. The problem was attacked early in this century when Congress introduced the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act — the CALM Act — to try to normalize television audio and ads inserted by the cable providers (I realize this is an oversimplified description).

The Advanced Television Systems Committee led the way in writing the loudness rules. The Audio Engineering Society introduced Recommended Loudness Practices for Audio Streaming (TD-1004) and Over the Top Television (OTT) (TD-1005 and TD-1006).

TD-1005 and TD-1006 led to a standard called AES71 (which is for content delivery and distribution). Then the Consumer Electronics Association aligned with that standard to create ANSI/CTA-2075 to cover playback on devices.

Yes, much has been done for the topic of loudness.

But wait; now there’s more.

As reported by Radio World’s sister site nexttv.com, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) is now saying that there should be a CALM Act for OTT and streaming services.

The advantage of an act over a standard is easy: An act is an enforceable law, standards are not!

If Congress and most listeners do not like commercials being 3 dB or more louder than the content, why do it? Why not create a more enjoyable experience?

Currently the Audio Engineering Society’s Broadcast and Online Delivery Technical Committee is in the process of revising TD-1004 and also plans to introduce a Loudness Education Website.

Why is loudness important? Easy: You do not want to invite a listener to adjust the volume knob when different sources are played. You also do not want audio levels to differ, upsetting the enjoyment for the listener.

How do you quantify loudness? With a loudness meter. This meter will be read in LUFS or LKFS. There is no difference between LKFS and LUFS.

What levels are acceptable? For video streaming (and OTT), –24 LUFS is the accepted level. For audio-only streaming, –19 LUFS is the current accepted level.

With the introduction of a metadata-controlled loudness level, this will most likely be brought “in line” with video.

Come on, stream providers, do the right thing! Congress has much more important matters to take care of, especially when we can police ourselves. Hopefully the industry can do so before another CALM Act is created.

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

The post Come on, Stream Providers, Do the Right Thing!   appeared first on Radio World.

Radio engineer Gary Blau has died.

According to his friend and colleague Hal Kneller, Blau died Sunday morning at a hospice facility in Sebring, Fla. after a three-year fight with cancer.

In 1999 Blau became director of engineering for Jefferson Pilot stations in Miami, which later were sold to Lincoln Financial and subsequently to Entercom.

He led the engineering for WMXJ, WLYF, WSFS and WAXY until last year when he was obliged to retire because of his health.

“Even during his retirement, while going for treatments, he kept his HAM station W3AM active until as recently as last Sunday Aug. 23,” Kneller wrote to Radio World in an email.

Before Miami Blau worked in Phoenix, New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles in both radio and television engineering. During his early years in the business, he was a partner in the ownership of an FM station in Pennsylvania.

He was a regular on the amateur radio “Broadcast Net” and the SBE Net. In addition to his hobby of amateur radio and his career in broadcast engineering, Blau enjoyed building things from scratch, designing circuits and even making his own printed circuit boards, Kneller said.

He is survived by his wife Diana.

Radio World welcomes anecdotes about Gary Blau as well as photos of him to share on this page; email radioworld@futurenet.com.

A post on Blau’s W3AM website about how to find AM on the amateur radio bands provides a sample of his personality and his sense of humor:

“While I use SSB, NBFM and other low-fi modes, I have a particularly warm fondness for the superior sound quality and relaxed and courteous operating style that is unique to AM (Angel Music),” he wrote.

“The organic experience of using vintage equipment with those curious glass objects inside that get so darned hot and smell so, well, electronic, flows naturally into the ultimate tranquility and zen-like oneness with the ether you’ll feel when operating AM. So come on, pour yourself a highball, fire up that old Viking, and become a vessel empty of yourself!

“And, the chicks really dig it.”

The post Gary Blau, Silent Key appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters announced the launch of the Broadcast Resource Hub, a repository for tools, resources and information on relevant issues impacting local radio and television stations.

The site is operated in partnership with the NAB Leadership Foundation, an affiliated operation of the NAB, that provides professional training, technology apprenticeship programs and other leadership insights to broadcasters.

For radio broadcasters, the site offers several portals to help broadcast stations as they navigate unique challenges — from reporting while in a dangerous situation to covering stories that involve sensitive topics.

[Read: NAB Foundation Launches Diversity Resource]

For radio broadcasters, for example, the Election Toolkit portal within the hub gives stations guidance on how to best engage Americans voters during the 2020 electoral process. The toolkit offers guidelines on how to train staff to better distinguish between accurate and inaccurate information online, offers a list of resources like polling place finders and suggestions for encouraging the youth vote, and includes free broadcast-ready radio spots in both Spanish and English.

Other courses and toolkits include a portal on cyber awareness, a toolkit on reporting during the coronavirus pandemic, and a resource called the Spot Center that offers free broadcast-quality public service announcements for radio.

“NAB has created a variety of new and evergreen resources to assist radio and television broadcasters in various aspects of their businesses from education and training to advocacy and innovation,” said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith.

Another portal within the hub highlights key regulatory issues, including a current the NAB’s lobbying efforts asking Congress to provide relief to broadcast stations struggling to survive the COVID-19 crisis.

Also available through the Broadcast Resource Hub is the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resource, a website launched in August by the Leadership Foundation that features resources to help media companies and industry professionals create and sustain a diverse and inclusive workplace.

The post NAB Opens New Broadcast Resource Hub appeared first on Radio World.

The author is teacher, coach, CEO and founder of Jacket Radio.

KEMP, Texas — Jacket Radio is Kemp Independent School District’s official radio station. Kemp is a small rural town about 45 minutes southeast of Dallas.

I’ve been a history teacher and coach at the school for many years. About three years ago, I came up with the idea to start a radio program for our students. When I proposed the plan to the school’s principal, he loved it and we got the project off the ground in no time. We named it Jacket Radio and began streaming through business management courses. From day one our students ran the station and led the classes.

The goal through this initiative was to provide the kids with a real-life business setting where they would work in the station’s different departments (marketing, programming, engineering, etc.) and learn how to collaborate with each other.

Trustworthy

The station was almost immediately successful, but with a tight budget and little experience in this domain, it was a challenge for us to meet audience expectation. All the attention meant we had to keep growing in order to maintain relevancy. That’s not an easy task when you’re learning as you go. But we managed to add to our program offerings and began covering some of the sporting events for our high school and junior high teams.

As luck would have it, that year our teams started to do really well and made it to the football semifinals and the basketball regional finals — a big deal for rural Texas. That’s when others, not only students, began tuning in. I mean we were pulling in some 40,000 listeners per game. That’s huge for a tiny town like us.

We also started the Jacket Radio Podcast Network and introduced the Jacket Radio app so listeners can tune in through the app or directly online. As we grew it became clear that we needed to invest in dependable transport technology, and that’s where Barix came into play.

Since we weren’t well versed in the world of radio and audio, when shopping for a solution we were adamant about doing our research well. The more we studied how to move audio  efficiently and reliably, the more the signs pointed us to Barix.

Today we have a live 24/7 broadcast with a mix of music, prerecorded segments and school sports, in addition to our podcasts. We use the Barix Instreamer encoder to help us ensure we deliver quality content in (AAC format) to our app and online.

Simple and Effective

Before transitioning to the Instreamer, we used a laptop computer with an Icecast or Shoutcast program to send the audio to http://radio.co from the remote sports events. When covering away games, we never knew what the opponent’s facility would offer, for example whether it had internet or a room to set up equipment. There have even been times we’ve had to broadcast from the bleachers — a real hassle with more complicated equipment.

The Barix Instreamer has changed that for us. Getting our remote sports broadcasts and events to air is now very simple. All we have to do is plug it in and power it up, and it connects to http://radio.co without further technical requirements. What’s more, it frees up the laptop for other projects.

Barix was responsive from our first contact. They configured the box for us, and with the help of their partner radio.co, we were provided a video tutorial and the Instreamer worked seamlessly from the start.

Jacket Radio’s audio quality has improved enormously. There is no choppy signal to worry about with drop-ins and dropouts. Instead we now have this flexible yet dependable and simple setup where we plug the Instreamer into the laptop, and use a mixer and mics. We usually have three people in a booth, and recently experimented using a sideline reporter with the remote mic and monitor.

The Instreamer gives us more freedom. Now that we’re up to speed using it for sports, and because we are so community-involved, we’d like to also start broadcasting from street fairs and festivals.

Our in-depth research paid off from an investment perspective. There are other units out there with various price tags, but when we factored in quality vs. cost, Barix won hands down. The Barix Instreamer is not only affordable but it’s dependable, which ultimately is key for the long-term success of Jacket Radio.

Radio World User Reports are testimonial articles intended to help readers understand why a colleague chose a particular product to solve a technical situation.

For information, contact Will Schmidt at Barix at 1-866-815-0866. For international information, contact Reto Brader in Germany at 41-43-433-22-11 or visit www.barix.com.

The post User Report: Barix Brings Jacket Radio to Texas Community appeared first on Radio World.

The author is membership program director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. NFCB commentaries are featured regularly at www.radioworld.com.

The Center for Community Media at the Craig Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York recently issued an extensive study on the role of Spanish-language media. Even if your organization is not serving the monolingual-Spanish or Spanish-dominant listener, what researchers noted may give your radio station clues as to potential service opportunities.

The new report is available here. It’s in Spanish, but if you’re limited to English as your own language, never fear. Tools such as Google Translate will help you navigate any barriers you encounter — at least as far as any machine translation can at this stage.

Community Broadcaster: Correct the Record

Journalists who led the investigation into how Spanish-language media is reporting the news tracked thousands of stories since 2016, following Donald Trump’s election. What were the biggest trends they observed? What was left out? Did politics enter the fray? Their findings may surprise you.

What was most striking was that conventional wisdom might tell you Spanish-language media would become either more dogged in their approach around, or would simply more closely follow, the matters polls suggest are on everyone’s minds, including immigration, policing and Congress. You might think the early-term press room clash between Pres. Trump and prominent Univision journalist Jorge Ramos was a precursor to regular reporting on how new policies are impacting various communities. One might also reasonably assume the detention center issue that engulfed media for a time would inform a lot of journalism.

Your guesses would be incorrect, though.

The Center for Community Media researchers found news as a whole declined significantly over the last four years. That is, journalism focused on national issues, the White House and more disappeared. Instead, Spanish-language outlets — like more English-language media, frankly — pivoted to covering celebrities and social media.

There are many complicated reasons for this editorial decision. For English-language radio stations hoping to appeal to new audiences, however, these results point to potential directions.

One path suggests your station could follow what’s happening now and inject popular themes into your programming. You might also consider how your organization can fill gaps in an audience’s media diet.

Clearly, though, English-language media finding Spanish-language audiences is far more involved than “build it and they will come.” There is trust to be fostered. Community outreach, meeting with leaders, and hiring and volunteer opportunities that reflect the community you wish to attract are all part of the formula. Your radio station would also have to plan, in concert with area stakeholders, what issues are more relevant. Audience surveys of how they consume media and what’s interesting may also be illuminating.

While those passionate about the role of journalism may find the new report alarming, community media advocates might see this as a chance to expand, to serve our communities, and to fulfill our purpose of education for all the people.

The post Community Broadcaster: Tuned Out appeared first on Radio World.

Electronics Research Inc. posted this cool photo on LinkedIn. It shows part of a new master FM antenna that will be installed on the TV Hill Tower in Baltimore.

“The final configuration will include two levels of three-panel elements, each for WIYY, WLIF, WJZ-FM, and WWMX,” the company wrote. The FM channel combiner system is also designed and built by ERI.

The new system was purchased by Hearst and Entercom, and will replace an existing master.

ERI’s Bill Harland said the project is related to the FCC repack, which is driving modifications to towers around the United States and has had a domino effect on many radio stations.

The post Prepping a New Master Antenna for Charm City appeared first on Radio World.

There is at least one small upside to COVID-19, which is that we have more time to catch up on things around the station or workshop. Empty studios give the engineer free reign for both cleaning and maintenance. Funny how there’s still so much to do!

Professional Engineer (P. E.) Buc Fitch has come up with a great cable test kit for the entry-level engineer, intern or assistant to build. It’s fun for more seasoned engineers too. After all, why should the new guy or gal have all the fun?

Buc’s “kit” is, as he puts it, is an “uber-simple XLR-3 cable tester.” Its purpose is to test XLR-connectorized cables for proper wiring and polarity. We’ve simplified the circuit description; hand the rest of this article to your intern and let them figure it out.

First, let’s talk about XLR polarity. It’s important!

A few years ago, I was visiting a customer who was having problems wiring up a mic cable. The internet said Pin 1 was hot! The internet is a great tool only when it’s used properly. Standard mic wiring, at least in the United States, is Pin 2 hot or +, Pin 3 i negative or – , and Pin 1 is ground. As with any tool, it must be used properly. So double-check what you read on the internet by visiting several sites or asking a fellow broadcast engineer.

Buc’s cable tester will avoid this wiring problem, permitting you to verify all your XLR cables. You may be surprised to see how some cables, especially in your remote kit, are wired!

This project can be assembled with junk box parts; nothing is really critical. Buc’s schematic sketch shows power via battery or wall wart, your choice.

In the center of the schematic are the chassis-mounted XLR male and female connectors. One thing to remind the intern is that the pins flip or “reverse” from one connector (female) to the other connector (male). Be sure to check the pin numbers on each connector before soldering.

The three pushbutton switches are simple N.O. (normally open) chassis mount switches. The LEDs are not critical; Buc chose red, green and blue. LED current is limited by either the 100 ohm or 47 ohm half-watt resistors, depending on the power supply used.

As for the power supply, the simplest is shown to the left: two AA batteries mounted in a simple two-battery holder.

AA batteries provide 1.5 VDC each, and since they are wired in series, the total voltage is _____?

For the wall wart supply, the approximately 6 VDC wall wart plugs into a jack on the side of the chassis box, and feeds a 5 VDC three-pin regulator. Its output connects to a 1N4004 diode in parallel with an optional 2.1V Zener diode. Again, watch the polarity!

A nice feature that Buc added to this box is the 3.6 Volt NiCad battery, which is rechargeable and permits operation without the unit being connected to an AC power source. The NiCad will be charged when the wall wart is plugged in.

By the way, the longer horizontal line on the battery symbol is the “positive” side of the battery.

Construction is not critical and any small chassis box will work. Buc’s finished product is shown in Fig. 2. If you build one of these, send in a high-resolution picture to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

(Two 1.5V batteries connected in series gives you 3 Volts, did you get it right?)

Stick These Somewhere

Eventually many of us will return to our radio stations and offices. New York Printing Solutions is providing a variety of large-format printed floor stickers and wall decals that you can use to remind employees about social distancing, wearing masks and other customized messages.

These are full-color vinyl indoor/outdoor, scuff-resistant decals. They are removable and leave no residue. They can be customized with your station logo.

You know that I like to see engineers work with other department heads; well, here’s an idea: Print a bunch of these up with your station logo and distribute to advertisers that serve the general public.

The company prints everything from business cards to foam-core posters, and finding the COVID-19 stickers took a little navigation. Visit www.nyprintingsolutions.com/floorstickers/.

Honey, Where’s the Shower Curtain?

I’ve had several email discussions with Todd Callahan at KUT Radio in Austin, Texas. Todd was looking for some kind of cover to protect his AoIP surfaces from both dust and dirt, as well as cleaning compounds that may be used to disinfect studios.

A natural choice is a custom-made furniture slip-cover.  A great idea, but when he started pricing them … whoa, expensive!

Here’s a better choice: A clear plastic shower curtain can be trimmed to fit pretty much any size console or surface. The edges can be held in place with strips of ScotchBlue Original Multi-Surface Painters Tape. The tape will keep the edges secure for up to two weeks and can be removed without leaving residue.

John Bisset has spent over 50 years in the broadcasting industry and is still learning. He handles western U.S. radio sales for the Telos Alliance. He holds CPBE certification with the Society of Broadcast Engineers and is a past recipient of the SBE’s Educator of the Year Award. Email tips to johnpbisset@gmail.com.

The post Workbench: Build This XLR Cable Tester appeared first on Radio World.

The National Association of Broadcasters sees the efforts of cable and internet company association ACA Connects in asking for a stay and reconsideration the FCC’s C-Band lump sum payments plans as strictly a ploy to garner more money for its members. It is urging the FCC to reject all requests for review of the final cost catalog levied by ACAC.

The FCC is preparing to conduct the C-Band auction, which will open up the lower 280 MHz of the C-Band spectrum for wireless and 5G development, while moving the current occupants of that spectrum to the upper 200 MHz of the band. Those being relocated have different options for reimbursement, including a lump sum payment determined on average cost of all estimates.

[Read: Takeaways From the NAB’s C-Band Webinar]

ACAC, whose members include cable operators that would be impacted by the C-Band auction, has been fighting the FCC’s final cost catalog and lump sum payment amount because it did not include IRDs (integrated receivers/decoders) into the calculation, which it says would help with a transition to the more efficient fiber delivery. ACAC has been petitioning the FCC to review the cost catalog calculations again and recently made a court filing to stay the current lump sum deadline of Sept. 14.

NAB opposes these actions by ACAC, claiming the group is “seeking handouts” and that the association’s primary focus is to increase its memberships’ wealth at the expense of other parties and the overall goal of repurposing the spectrum.

According to NAB, the public notice determining the lump sum payment does include IRDs, but for satellite operators not the individual MVPDs that ACAC is petitioning for; NAB says this is the right determination. NAB also denies the ACAC accusation that the process of calculating the lump sum was flawed. NAB does not believe any of ACAC’s arguments hold water.

Rather, NAB views these actions by ACAC as “the latest step in ACA’s  ongoing quest to transform a spectrum reallocation process into a cash cow that will funnel funds from winning flexible use license bidders to ACA’s members.”

“Broadcasters, programmers, satellite operators and other stakeholders are about to undertake a complex transition that must be concluded in an ambitious timeframe,” the NAB wrote. “The commission’s focus should remain on ensuring that this process unfolds in an orderly and efficient manner that preserves content distribution and protects American viewers and listeners — not on maximizing payments to ACA’s members. We urge the commission to reject the Application for Review.”

The FCC is currently planning to conduct the C-Band auction on Dec. 8.

The post NAB: ACAC Seeking “Handouts” With C-Band Lump Sum Demands appeared first on Radio World.

The FCC is openly giving radio broadcasters a chance to reboot their online political file efforts and address timeliness issues for candidate and issue advertising rate uploads. The commission for now appears to be ending investigations into those online public files and holding off fining broadcasters that need to catch up.

The most recent developments stem from an investigation the commission launched in early 2019 following a complaint against Entercom and its Buffalo, N.Y., cluster from a political candidate and whether she was charged the lowest unit rate possible during the 2018 election cycle.

[Read: Yet More Settlements in Political File “Derelictions”]

During that investigation several other major radio groups self-reported political file issues to the FCC with hopes of reaching an agreement on compliance. The National Association of Broadcasters helped broker an agreement earlier this summer that resulted in signed consent decrees with a half-dozen major radio groups that close FCC investigations and ensures compliance, but do not levy fines, said Robert Baker, an FCC attorney who appeared on a recent webcast hosted by the New York State Broadcasters Association.

“These consent decrees will require the broadcasters to submit compliance plans for the remainder of this year and through the end of 2021,” Baker said. Along with Entercom the group of six includes Alpha Media, Beasley Media, Cumulus Media, iHeartMedia and Salem Media Group. The broadcasters admit they were tardy in updating their online political files with relevant materials, according to the FCC. In all, the six groups own nearly 1,900 radio stations.

“It is crucial that stations maintain political files that are complete and up to date because the information in them directly affects, among other things, the statutory rights of opposing candidates to request equal opportunities,” according the consent decrees.

The FCC has recently been more focused in online political file compliance, observers say, most likely because of the current election cycle and the resulting political advertising being placed.

[Read: Big Radio Companies Settle With FCC on Online Political Files]

The FCC’s consent decree with Entercom is blunt in its wording: “Entercom has now formally agreed to enter into the attached consent decree, pursuant to which Entercom admits that it repeatedly violated its political file obligations by not uploading required records in a timely manner. Entercom further agrees to implement a comprehensive compliance plan to ensure future compliance with its political file obligations and to submit periodic compliance reports to the bureau.”

“The goal of our efforts is to gain compliance. Simple as that,” Baker said during the webinar.

Similarly, the FCC has resolved online political files compliance issues with another 107 smaller radio licensees, again through consent decrees, that are meant to ensure future compliance. None of the smaller radio broadcasters will face monetary fines.

For instance, the FCC recently released a consent decree with radio licensee Carter Broadcasting, which owns WSBZ(FM) in Miramar, Fla. The FCC found the licensee failed to comply with political file requirements and suspended processing its license renewal application as a result. The consent decree stated: “Carter Broadcasting, Inc. agrees, among other things, to implement a comprehensive compliance plan to ensure future compliance with its political file obligations and to submit periodic compliance reports to the Media Bureau.”

Baker, the FCC attorney, encourages radio licensees that have been derelict in maintaining their online political file to reach out to the FCC for assistance if it is needed.

The commission says it first adopted rules requiring broadcast stations to maintain public files documenting requests for political advertising time more than 80 years ago. The FCC transitioned the public file from in-station to online for all radio licensees in 2018.

See more stories on Political Files here.

The post FCC Cuts Deal With Broadcasters Over Political Files appeared first on Radio World.

Nautel and Telos Alliance are collaborating on what they describe as a new approach to HD Radio time alignment.

They say the solution, demonstrated this week in a webinar, eliminates alignment issues “completely” by locking the FM and HD1 outputs from the audio processor through the rest of the HD Radio air chain into the transmitter.

Omnia Product Manager Geoff Steadman at Telos Alliance is quoted in the announcement saying that many vendors have engineered “complex solutions with add-on or built-in receivers that generate correction signals to attempt to minimize blending issues.” But he said such solutions can affect the signal by covering up delay drifts.

Nautel CTO Philipp Schmid said, “Our solution locks the FM and HD1 outputs at the audio processor, and keeps them locked as they pass through the remainder of the HD Radio air-chain right into the transmitter. No extra boxes, additional audio codecs, radio receivers or correction methods are needed, and the Nautel/Telos Alliance solution utilizes proven ‘Made for Radio’ standards including MPX, µMPX, and E2X.”

The solution, he said, allows a station’s HD Radio equipment to be “location-agnostic,” located either at the transmitter or the studio, without needing external time synch.

In the webinar, the companies showed Telos Alliance Omnia Enterprise 9s high-density audio processing software, Gen4 Importer/Exporter and Nautel technology running on a Nautel HD MultiCast+.

Nautel Head of Marketing John Whyte pointed out the open environment of the latter product and said the company plans to develop products based on these technologies. Nautel also announced support on HD MultiCast+ for the Telos Alliance Omnia Enterprise 9, which centralizes audio processing and virtualizes operation. It’s a tool for high-density server-based systems for customers with a large volume of signals to process.

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