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A further step
That the future of media moves towards digital formats, and nobody doubts it. It would be foolish not to recognize that the digitization of audio and video bring new opportunities and benefits through the tasks of receiving, editing, production, post production, storage, treatment, and further disclosure of information, the engine being more important in the evolution of media language, providing new symbolic codes for the production of content.
In radio, for example, for many years running digital systems to assist the production and placing on air commercials, music and content, having pioneered Argentina of such applications, but are integrated into other equipment, in general, analog, as if it were a more peripheral.
In recent years we have seen that some stations, re-equip their studios with expensive digital consoles, which in principle would seem to be beneficial, but when we analyze in detail how to incorporate this equipment is not so .
In most cases, we have seen, which replaced an old analog console, and instead put on a digital, without changing the rest of the facilities of analog technology.
In these facilities, we can see that along the chain audio from the microphone, until the transfer is happening innumerable conversions A / D and D / A for the inclusion of teams from different technologies.
This situation, far from being a technological breakthrough, seems to contradict all the principles of good engineering.
If the option is to digitize all existing studies or develop new studios fully digital solutions are much more versatile and modern on the market that have gone a step ahead of traditional digital devices.
The latest in broadcast technologies are based on Networked Audio Systems, which through the use of a particular protocol developed, carrying a stream of audio over standard Ethernet networks.
So far they are all proprietary protocols, since for the moment there is no standard that applies to these technologies, as well as SIP, that puts focus on digital telephony signaling, known as voice over IP (VoIP), and most of them support it.
There are already several technologies that work on this idea. Among the highlights is EtherSound developed by Digigram, a French company specializing in the manufacture of professional audio cards for PC, CobraNet a protocol developed by Cirrus Logic, and Axia LiveWire, a division of Telos Systems, a leading global provider of audio processors, audio codecs and ISDN telephone interfaces / ISDN broadcast.
Axia specializes in routing systems, mixing and distribution of digital audio signals for broadcast and other professional audio scenarios.
Everything would suggest that Axia LiveWire is the most mature technology, and which have developed more compatible devices, being supported by major U.S. broadcast companies.
Several years ago I have been following the evolution of this technology, samples suscesivas NAB in Las Vegas, and I had the opportunity to visit some stations fully equipped with this system.
In 2005, with Chief Technology Officer of The Network, along with my colleague from Radio Mitre, Guillermo Chialvo, and Mr. Jorge Lloveras, made a presentation on these new technologies in a Seminar Exhibition of that year CAPER , who had a big impact. Returning
Axia LiveWire system, it is a modular system, consisting of audio nodes, which act as interfaces for different input types exist, these modules support both analog and digital inputs are handled by the control consoles and called Mix that deals Engine routing and mixtures of signals. In the case of existence of several studies, all audio is routed through a Router Selector, to the input of audio or if the network has an IP digital link is sent directly to the digital input audio codec.
All these elements are linked by a Category 6 Ethernet cable that through a 10/100/1000 switch that can handle 250 uncompressed audio signals simultaneously across the network, thus saving a significant amount of money cabling and civil works by replacing the complex balanced audio cable, a single UTP cable, while allowing for easy maintenance and thus reduces cost of ownership (TCO) and return on investment (ROI) for their exploitation. Thus
audio sources do not depend on its location within the building, which, wherever they are, they will be incorporated into a single audio stream that runs over IP network, and does not depend on where accessing it.
I believe that this technology, although it has not yet been implemented in our country, offers interesting advantages to broadcasters, and Axia LiveWire, you put a step forward in the digitization of radio stations.
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