Rob Piotrowski
Star Participant
Generally speaking those types of discussions are found on the Engineering forums. Most folks here talk programming or (as you observed) history. Sometimes Kokomo too.
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Entercom New Digs
- Thread starter LITTLEBOYBLUE
- Start date
Generally speaking those types of discussions are found on the Engineering forums. Most folks here talk programming or (as you observed) history. Sometimes Kokomo too.
Like I said a little name dropping like Arrakis, Axia or Wheatstone would give an idea of the basic backbone of the new digs. I would imagine there are more digital cat6 cables going into each studio versus analog multipair. I would say that after the Entercom/CBS merger I would expect the CBS station to move to the new Entercom facility since the CBS studios are analog and getting to the point of being replaced any way.
I wonder if Entercom have anything they can donate to my collection of radio stuff here on Vashon. Luckily there is an old Ski factory for sale out here if I need more room.
I wonder if Entercom have anything they can donate to my collection of radio stuff here on Vashon. Luckily there is an old Ski factory for sale out here if I need more room.
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Where did I say history was bad? It is pretty common around here to take a current topic for discussion and turn it around to history, or revisionist history, as the case may be.
It is a little disappointing that nobody commented or even mentioned what sort of studios or technology were being used at the new Entercom plant. Maybe those things don't matter to folks that regularly comment on this board? Not being critical, just noticing there doesn't seem to be any interest in the evolution of things.
As some have been critical the new KING TV studios, broadcast technology is making a huge shift over to IP. For radio, big analog audio boards and studio furniture are being replaced with tablets and cloud-based remote voice tracking applications. Details like floating studio floors or isolated studio walls, are being replaced by less-expensive options. The number of staff to support on air operations are being replaced by "digital" folks, who spend their day carrying the station line on social media sites.
Again, not being critical as to the posts, just noticing the lack of interest in modern radio.
Most of this isn't news to me, in fact I'd probably be surprised how much analog stuff is still in use. You're totally right that stations are trying to do more with fewer employees, KRKO/KKXA only has eight fulltime staffers, plus several parttime folks including the jocks on KKXA. They've got a nice little setup up there.
fordranger797
Star Participant
It is a little disappointing that nobody commented or even mentioned what sort of studios or technology were being used at the new Entercom plant. Maybe those things don't matter to folks that regularly comment on this board? Not being critical, just noticing there doesn't seem to be any interest in the evolution of things.
I would actually be very interested in hearing about the new tech. I'm not much of a fan of those modern digital boards that use a screen to display all of the levels (like they use over at Hubbard Media), but digital is the way of the future.
Where did I say history was bad? It is pretty common around here to take a current topic for discussion and turn it around to history, or revisionist history, as the case may be.
It is a little disappointing that nobody commented or even mentioned what sort of studios or technology were being used at the new Entercom plant. Maybe those things don't matter to folks that regularly comment on this board? Not being critical, just noticing there doesn't seem to be any interest in the evolution of things.
As some have been critical the new KING TV studios, broadcast technology is making a huge shift over to IP. For radio, big analog audio boards and studio furniture are being replaced with tablets and cloud-based remote voice tracking applications. Details like floating studio floors or isolated studio walls, are being replaced by less-expensive options. The number of staff to support on air operations are being replaced by "digital" folks, who spend their day carrying the station line on social media sites.
Again, not being critical as to the posts, just noticing the lack of interest in modern radio.
I'm not sure what the split is here of programming fans vs. engineering types, but I'd guess the majority of people here are more into the programming aspect than the engineering aspect of radio.
It wouldn't surprise me that everything is going cloud based. The place I used to work at had a track of cables throughout the building -- connecting all the studios -- that was maybe half a foot thick. I'm guessing that if that facility still existed now it would be much, much thinner with less cables connecting the studios. A lot of it would be wireless.
I don't see radio going cloud based for "On Air" resources. Imagine AWS crashes your off the air, ISP goes away your off the air. Wifi goes away your off the air. Cloud bases would work for new commercial delivery and music distribution but not for On Air play back.
While the Tech of a new plant is interesting I also find of interest, stuff about the old facility. Like most disgusting studio when dismantled. Hardest board to pry off the counter due to Soda and coffee being spilled under it. Most interesting thing found in the old studio's.
Whats the oldest piece of equipment moved to the new studios and most important is parking provided for staff.
While the Tech of a new plant is interesting I also find of interest, stuff about the old facility. Like most disgusting studio when dismantled. Hardest board to pry off the counter due to Soda and coffee being spilled under it. Most interesting thing found in the old studio's.
Whats the oldest piece of equipment moved to the new studios and most important is parking provided for staff.
I don't see radio going cloud based for "On Air" resources. Imagine AWS crashes your off the air, ISP goes away your off the air. Wifi goes away your off the air. Cloud bases would work for new commercial delivery and music distribution but not for On Air play back.
Wow Steve, you need to get off that island once and a while!
The big buzz over the past two years at NAB has been cloud Master Control for TV, and this past year, cloud automation for radio. Especially with the loss of the local studio rule, a station owner or group can literally have their voice tracked periods completely unattended from a cloud service. The only thing they do is feed it a log. The talent sits at home and voice tracks to the cloud service via a GUI with a mic plugged into the sound card on their laptop.
We have a woman in Dubai doing a Middle East version of a weekly Top 40 countdown show via this method. The automation isn't completely a cloud service, but it's pretty darn close. Oh, and so far it's all been proven to be VERY reliable. In fact, I've been using audio/video encoded IP via the public Internet from Dubai to the USA 24/7 for five years. Those IP feeds have been more reliable and certainly less expensive than my satellite paths. Of course, I'm using an encrypted VPN tunnel to avoid prying eyes, but it's not a bid deal to set that up.
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Rob Piotrowski
Star Participant
Not to keep an OT thread from going more OT...
For my $.02 the cloud should be used for office computing, thousands or tens of thousands of users, SMB, etc. etc. Not for radio broadcasting. Remember what happened a few months ago when one of the providers (AWS or Azure - can't remember which now) went down for a half a day because someone mistyped a line of code? What do you tell your GM when he wants to know why someone else's servers caused a revenue loss?
No thanks. You can't list enough advantages for the cloud for a sane engineer to put the station's revenue stream at risk.
For my $.02 the cloud should be used for office computing, thousands or tens of thousands of users, SMB, etc. etc. Not for radio broadcasting. Remember what happened a few months ago when one of the providers (AWS or Azure - can't remember which now) went down for a half a day because someone mistyped a line of code? What do you tell your GM when he wants to know why someone else's servers caused a revenue loss?
No thanks. You can't list enough advantages for the cloud for a sane engineer to put the station's revenue stream at risk.
I just live in an area that has issues with 24/7 internet service it's fast and speedy when it works. I guess it's better in the big city. For home I fall back to a satellite at least once a month. I'm curios what the pre buffer of these cloud services are. Are they downloading 1 hour ahead so that if there is a momentary issue it does not mess up the feed. I guess it would be store then forward. I see the content delivery and log cloud based but at the local end it's a Store and Forward machine.
I just meant that I don't see Audio vault for example running in the cloud for actual on air play back versus a machine playing local (Audio Vault) but getting all content/logs via the cloud before actual playback and then playing what is needed. Things that would get updated daily would be Voice tracks, new spots, promo's, music or news. That I do understand is being used now. So more just a mix up in meaning.
Some times I only get off the Island twice a month. And half those times I'm driving through the Jungle under the Alaskan way Viaduct. That's gotten a little better recently.
I just meant that I don't see Audio vault for example running in the cloud for actual on air play back versus a machine playing local (Audio Vault) but getting all content/logs via the cloud before actual playback and then playing what is needed. Things that would get updated daily would be Voice tracks, new spots, promo's, music or news. That I do understand is being used now. So more just a mix up in meaning.
Some times I only get off the Island twice a month. And half those times I'm driving through the Jungle under the Alaskan way Viaduct. That's gotten a little better recently.
This is actually an interesting discussion. I always thought that the big companies like Entercom and iHeart had the music in the cloud, loaded into a temporary buffer on the local machine, the same as when you click a link to an audio file on the internet. When it opens, yes you are streaming it, but it loads well ahead of time so if your internet goes down briefly, you don't lose your audio. Since it's specific to the station, I thought the imaging was on the local machine. That's what I thought about spots as well, but now that I think about it more, I would think the spots are on a separate server connected by a lan to the air computer.
Alot can be learned just going to the Automation website of choice and doing some reading and re search.
I have been busy just mowing and weedeating around transmitter sites this year. The only time I deal with Automation issues is Dead air and that involves calling the studio and having some one kick it on their end. The only station purchase I did research on was what type of ridding mower Bonneville bought. In the end a Husqvarna. And it's all analog except this one has a digital hobs display.
I have been busy just mowing and weedeating around transmitter sites this year. The only time I deal with Automation issues is Dead air and that involves calling the studio and having some one kick it on their end. The only station purchase I did research on was what type of ridding mower Bonneville bought. In the end a Husqvarna. And it's all analog except this one has a digital hobs display.
Rob Piotrowski
Star Participant
This is actually an interesting discussion. I always thought that the big companies like Entercom and iHeart had the music in the cloud, loaded into a temporary buffer on the local machine, the same as when you click a link to an audio file on the internet. When it opens, yes you are streaming it, but it loads well ahead of time so if your internet goes down briefly, you don't lose your audio. Since it's specific to the station, I thought the imaging was on the local machine. That's what I thought about spots as well, but now that I think about it more, I would think the spots are on a separate server connected by a lan to the air computer.
That is a very imaginative approach, but not anywhere near how terrestrial signals are streamed.
Alot can be learned just going to the Automation website of choice and doing some reading and re search.
I have been busy just mowing and weedeating around transmitter sites this year. The only time I deal with Automation issues is Dead air and that involves calling the studio and having some one kick it on their end. The only station purchase I did research on was what type of ridding mower Bonneville bought. In the end a Husqvarna. And it's all analog except this one has a digital hobs display.
Maybe you need to plant some virtual grass so you can mow it from the cloud!
Husqvarna makes a Robotic mower that like a Roomba vacuum, it just drives itself around the yard. That would be great if I could make it run on RF and not escape the yard. It comes with an app so it's cloud based, they say you can control it from anywhere in the world. A quote from their website.
"Through the smartphone mobile application, you can receive your Automower®'s current status and send “Start”, “Stop” and “Park” commands to the mower from anywhere in the world. Automower® Connect brings the mower’s menu system to your smartphone, making it easy to read and change the mower settings remotely*. In case of theft, you will get an alarm and be able to track your mower’s position."
They make a model that cuts up to 1.25 acres which almost work and its got a Li-Ion battery so it could explode at any time. It cost $3500. But I bet I could rig the anti theft notice to slam the gates closed on the ferry docks!
Just found one that does 5 acres
"Through the smartphone mobile application, you can receive your Automower®'s current status and send “Start”, “Stop” and “Park” commands to the mower from anywhere in the world. Automower® Connect brings the mower’s menu system to your smartphone, making it easy to read and change the mower settings remotely*. In case of theft, you will get an alarm and be able to track your mower’s position."
They make a model that cuts up to 1.25 acres which almost work and its got a Li-Ion battery so it could explode at any time. It cost $3500. But I bet I could rig the anti theft notice to slam the gates closed on the ferry docks!
Just found one that does 5 acres
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Although I wouldn't be surprised at more audio and other radio programming being 'in the cloud', I also wouldn't be surprised that a lot of stations weren't.
Many were still using tape automation when CD automation was in the process of fading away and MOHD was already taking over. They were hanging on to what worked, to save money....
Some stations -- mainly in smaller markets -- hold to the idea "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." And computers can store so much music more cheaply now. Internet connections can break down. It's always good to have a backup.
Many were still using tape automation when CD automation was in the process of fading away and MOHD was already taking over. They were hanging on to what worked, to save money....
Some stations -- mainly in smaller markets -- hold to the idea "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." And computers can store so much music more cheaply now. Internet connections can break down. It's always good to have a backup.
I would suspect you're right, especially in cases where an owner doesn't have any other radio properties, such as Synclaire in this market.Although I wouldn't be surprised at more audio and other radio programming being 'in the cloud', I also wouldn't be surprised that a lot of stations weren't.
Many were still using tape automation when CD automation was in the process of fading away and MOHD was already taking over. They were hanging on to what worked, to save money....
Some stations -- mainly in smaller markets -- hold to the idea "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." And computers can store so much music more cheaply now. Internet connections can break down. It's always good to have a backup.
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