Broadcast – SYMON MUTHEMBA

The Ultimate Production and Transmission Broadcast Facility

symonmk — Sun, 13 May 2018 10:39:12 +0000

Media broadcast is grossly underdeveloped in Kenya. Even with the seemingly sophistication of media broadcast in Europe and America, the Kenyan media experience is quite poor. This is due to the limited competition incumbents face that new players must aggressively work against to get a piece of the cake. Setting up a TV/radio production and transmission facility may seem like a daunting task but worry no more. This post talks about bringing together a cost effective, space efficient and future proofed broadcast facility that may be just what you need to set yourself up! Specifically, it outlines the general workflow of the entire system and the hardware and software that can be used for smooth operation. Introduction A TV facility system integration project involves several stakeholders. From the owners to the day-to-day users. Special attention is required to fully capture their requirements and desires. The need to do is to properly plan your implementation of their ideas. Fortunately, I’ve been exposed to what this entails and can give recommendations. Broadcast equipment is quite expensive, you’re well advised to be selective. To start, have your considerations in mind: Available budget Deadlines and schedules Available skilled labor Available inputs and desired outputs Let’s imagine a scenario in which the budget is constrained, the timelines are short and the labor limited. However, this does not cap the stakeholders’ dreams, for they often fantasize about an ideal glorious future. The customer is always right. Thus, we consider, as much as possible, the maximum number of inputs and outputs that can be sustained by our system. Our goal now becomes to provide a reliable, inexpensive, fully operational production and transmission system that is also future-proof. Hardware Setup To start off, understand the standards in use. In Kenya, SD (720×576) is the standard for DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television). SD will be our video output for DVB-T transmission. No such limitations exist with IP output streams and as such we can output full HD. Capturing physical video inputs can be done through SDI, HDMI, composite or component interfaces. We’ll mostly be dealing with SD-SDI sources in Kenya. However, since most hardware supports up to 3G-SDI (1080p60), future upgrades to HD is not a problem. Audio formats comprise of analog audio (Left, right) and digital audio (AES 3), MADI (Multichannel Audio Digital Interface) or audio over ethernet (AoE). This may be captured by an audio sound card. IP capture is the most versatile and friendly, as a variety of compression formats are commonly supported for input: AVC/H.264 Video, AAC Audio, MPEG-2 Video, MPEG-2 Transport Stream and MPEG Layer I/II/III audio. This can all be received over UDP, RTP and HLS protocols. In a TV studio, the core hardware is the playout engine and clients. This can just be a Windows (7+) PC with the playout software. It is the add-in cards that matter. The cards may be: Video capture/playback cards Audio cards Video encoder (GPU) cards Network interface cards PC Setup To have all this in one system would be quite a stretch, we may need to separate the playout clients and the streaming server for more efficiency and scaling. Having a separate playout client and encoding/streaming server is important because of these reasons: Playout clients and live graphics generators are graphics intensive apps thus the PCs in use need external GPUs (graphics processing units). GPUs basically offer very high core counts (200+) at low processing speeds (~1 MHz). Efficient GPUs include the NVIDIA GeForce and Quadro cards. Encoding video is typically an extremely CPU intensive task. Especially if we want to encode multiple output streams. One could do well with an i7 7700K (4 cores @ 4.2 GHz) for one output stream. To support more streams beyond that multi-core processors are required. Intel Xeon and AMD Threadripper go up to 16 cores @ 3.4GHz. After this we can add broadcast specific hardware to our system. Capture and Playback Video can be captured either as a physical stream, using SDI/HDMI capture cards like Figure 1, or as an IP stream, using NIC cards. Popular capture cards are offered by Blackmagic Design and Magewell. These cards are designed to work with a multitude of different applications across Mac, Windows and Linux workstations. The BNC ports are bi-directional such the the cards can support capture and playback. Audio requires professional grade hardware as, just as we’ve discussed before, it is critical in broadcast. Sound cards are required to get the audio into the system and for output too. At the very least (going cheap) an external/USB sound card may be used. PCI sound cards are more expensive but much more reliable. Popular sound cards are offered by Focusrite and AudioScience. NIC cards support a wide number of features. Video and audio can be captured and streamed using streaming network protocols. Commonly, HTTP Live (HLS), UDP, RTP, RTSP, HTTP and RTMP (pushed from Flash server) protocols can be captured or streamed through IP infrastructure. Applications In Use The heart of any broadcast facility starts with the playout software. In the past, I discussed how to best choose the right playout for you. Playout system is an industry term used to describe the equipment, software and/or processes—typically within some kind of broadcast environment—responsible for “playing” source media and converting or rendering it into a form which may be “put to air”, or presented, for external use. OtsAV.com Just to mention, popular automation and playout systems that I have worked with include Cinegy Air, AVRA, DirEttore, VPlay and ImediaTouch. While a playout software may be useful to you sometimes all you want is recording and encoding or streaming software. Luckily, as the Internet becomes richer so does the availability of free open source broadcast software. I will talk about 2! Butt: Broadcast Using This Tool This is a free audio streaming software that runs on Mac, Windows and Linux OS. It captures audio from your audio device and streams to a SHOUTcast or Icecast server. Butt and […]

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How Computers ‘See’ and Add Value to Your Media: An Intro to Computer Vision

symonmk — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 18:00:37 +0000

This decade has been defined by advancement in data based technologies and learning algorithms. Terms like AI and automation have been used extensively to explain current trends in just about all industries. They have also been used to spark debates over fears of massive unemployment and increased consumerism that these technologies may bring. It is of much importance that you, yes YOU, the reader, to check and understand how these technologies may transform your way of life in years to come. One you may or may not have heard of is Computer Vision, that is likely to transform my current area of work and in this post I look at what this means for you and I. Okay, Fancy Term, But What Is It? Computer vision (CV) is a branch of computer science that deals with enabling computers to process digital visual data and perform certain computations to make decisions based on the data. In simpler terms the computers can see and respond to images and videos provided to them, live or recorded, with a high level of accuracy and understanding. Image processing algorithms are at the heart of this to analyse images and videos (videos are just images when taken frame by frame). However, computers can see more than just images of bananas, image processing algorithms can be used for thermal (infrared) imaging, medical (x-ray and CT) scanning, satellite imaging and other forms humans can’t detect. CV has proven incredibly important to some of the most talked about companies in the world. Tesla is using CV to control their driver-less cars while Google Photos has already categorized my photos in terms of people and places. These are just some ways CV is being used but the possibilities are endless. Is Computer Vision Important? A study by Cisco revealed that by 2019, 80% of all Internet traffic will be video. We are a year away from that reality. Hmm. Maybe I should be making videos instead of bloggi… I digress. According to that study, there is an ongoing explosion of video content. Without CV algorithms most of the data that can be generated from the content will be wasted. In the media and entertainment world, useful information derived from videos can be used to more efficiently position and time adverts with sufficient knowledge that they will be seen/interacted with. Check out how TheTake is doing it in a very interesting way. CV has been used extensively in sports broadcast especially with tracking fast moving objects and object identification. Post-match analysis of sports videos, Figure 1, gave rise to richer sports commentaries, very useful for coaches and fans. On a hardware level, CV is useful in the automotive industry (as discussed earlier with Tesla), manufacturing where quality assurance can be aided with CV; check out Sight Machine a company that uses CV and other AI techniques to improve manufacturing, farming industry, for this check out Prospera, to detect crop yields and many more. They may work hand in hand with IoT devices to deliver decisions over the Internet. One limitation with CV applications is poor quality images. However, we are seeing how that keeps changing year after year with cameras capable of taking higher resolution images, at a higher dynamic range. They even include processors that perform image stabilization, noise reduction and defect removal all while being smaller and more robust. What Really Happens? So far I’ve mentioned image processing and algorithms, I’ll explain further. An image fed to a computer can be broken down to individual pixels. Each pixel is defined by a color or the chromaticity of the pixel. There could be several ways to represent color but a popular scheme is the RGB value that defines intensity of red, green or blue color as an integer between 0 and 255 e.g. (201, 250, 100) represents tennis ball green. To perform image analysis, you tell the computer what RGB value requires tracking. In our example, you feed it the RGB value of tennis ball green and images of a tennis court with an ongoing match. The scene is analysed pixel by pixel until it lands on the pixel whose RGB value has the lowest difference to the one provided. That covers the basics but in reality, things need to be more efficient than that. Analysis is better performed using kernels which analyse a patch of pixels and characterize them. Kernels can then be combined to characterize a combination of features and with this complex images can be detected. Convolution algorithms can be further added to aid in detection, where a series inputs from an image can carry a specific weight (by multiplying the input value with the weight) and then added together. This is used to generate useful kernels to further analyse the images. Such is a convolutional neural network (CNN), which learns to generate useful kernels. Beyond this, the CNNs may perform image processing in layers. Layer 1 may detect lines (1D), layer 2 may detect shapes (2D), layer 3 may detect shadows (3D) and so on. Usually, the greater the number of layers used the better the computer’s ability to accurately identify objects and make meaningful decisions. The use of a multitude of layers, as in Figure 2, gave rise to the term deep learning algorithms. This goes even further with stuff like Markov models coming into place to provide more accurate results. Where CV is Best Applied CV is likely to revolutionize several fields and industries. We will begin to see smarter devices and robots using imaging to perform a variety of tasks. Drones equipped with cameras to give reports of drought and forest cover and immediately establish optimal irrigation schemes. CV experts and doctors could start collecting all imaging records for faster and more accurate diagnosis. The results of applied computer vision could massively reduce costs of items as manufacturing processes become more streamlined. The entertainment sector stands to make massive profits from applied CV. Imagine being able to read your audiences reactions and quickly adjust […]

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Are We Ready For The Future? 4 Trends We Need To Look Out For

symonmk — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 19:25:57 +0000

Whether we like it or not, the future is already here with us. Hot terms like AI and machine learning have been with us for some time now. Automation is rapidly replacing manpower and only the owners of such technology seem to be benefiting. Consumption encouraged with the masses as they reap rewards. What does this mean for us in the technical landscape? Like our ancestors before us, we adapt. In this article we look at some trends in broadcast and media content delivery and their technical implications in engineering. Times have been changing and with new technology come new ways to do things. Recently, promising platforms have taken root and seem to be growing year by year. Just to highlight a few areas that have captured my interests, they are: OTT (over-the-top) services VOD (video-on-demand) services AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality) and interactive media Viewer data analytics We have interacted with some of these already with the likes of Youtube (AVOD – Advertising VOD) and Netflix (SVOD – Subscription VOD). AR and VR have featured in popular mobile and video games in the last few years. Viewer data analytics has extensively been used to recommend content based on your profile, geographical location, usage history and the complexity of the algorithms used increase each day. OTT and VOD Services OTT services are those where audio and video content offered by the content creator goes directly to the viewers via the Internet. This means that conventional broadcast infrastructure used for terrestrial broadcast for TV and radio, as an example, are not used in this process. All that is required is a screen and an Internet connection, which as we have seen before will not be much of a problem in the coming years. VOD services, Figure 1, are those that offer audio and video content to the consumers at their convenience, hence the on-demand part. These services have been growing in Kenya with the initial embrace of Youtube then other SVOD services like ShowMax and Netflix entered the country and recently Viusasa, a Kenyan-owned SVOD platform was launched and has been popular since. AR and VR Augmented reality is a video technology that has grown in popularity in the past years. It’s basically a concept that enhances the perception of reality by superimposing images, text or other graphics layered on live video captured by fixed or mobile cameras. AR has been increasingly used globally for video entertainment and gaming. In Kenya, AR offers opportunities for use in education with collaboration as a key application and in business with applications in e-commerce, real-estate, advertising and in the auto industry (Nyamwamu and Onsongo, 2016). Virtual reality is an immersive experience in a computer generated environment usually by means of a head gear, Figure 2, allowing the user to see the immersive content while everything else is blanked out. Globally, companies like Google and Facebook have invested large sums into this technology. Locally, we are seeing the likes of BlackRhino VR already competing in this space. The firm has been able to provide VR solutions for major corporations in the country notably Safaricom and the Kenya Wildlife Service. Increasing demand for VR technology could mean more space for other firms to develop. Viewer Data Analytics and Big Data This is quite a complex topic and deep discussions on data can be had with my girlfriend Cate Gitau. In our focus today however, I’ll look at the impact of viewer data analytics and why it leads to greater user engagement and retention in media. In recent years, practices of data analysis have become even more advanced as it is ubiquitous. Media companies have embraced it to get the most out of their platforms. It involves the systematic analysis of the viewers patterns such as their watch/listen time, history, devices and other, maybe intrusive, areas that we clicked ‘Agree’ on the Terms and Conditions we should probably have read. This analysis is then used by the companies to present the content in such a way that is most appealing and most likely to keep us engaged. For a lot of these platforms, engagement time, is a key metric. I recently had a demonstration with Futuri Media on how they are using data to drive engagement for media broadcasters. However, this is not the only way big data can be used. To provide more meaningful content in our country, analysis of the different regions can be gathered to ensure better spread of infrastructure to lessen the burden of connectivity to majority of the population. The Numbers We are likely to react when the money is on the table so lets get to it! According to PwC’s Entertainment and media outlook: 2017 – 2021 An African perspective report, the full spectrum of Kenya’s entertainment industry was worth USD 2.1 billion and is expected to reach USD 3.2 billion in 2021. Revenues from the Internet services discussed earlier are expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.5% to USD 1.0 billion by end of 2021 and by this period the Internet advertising budget will have doubled to USD 227 million, a CAGR of 13.6%. Interestingly, the report also details Kenya’s preference for PC and console gaming over casual/mobile gaming and this industry is set to grow to USD 104 million at a CAGR of 11.5%. This will also enhance the growth of e-sports gaming in the country. Revenues from e-sports will likely be from streaming advertising, consumer contribution, consumer ticket sales and sponsorship revenue. In South Africa, revenues from VR technology are expected to grow at a very steep CAGR of 72.6% to R422 million. Technical Implications Darwinism is always a factor when it comes to who gets to thrive. The engineering community is faced with a lot of expectations in leading the way forward. As Marshall McLuhan put it in 1964, the medium is the message, we ought to find innovative ways to deliver content and create ways for advertisers to reach […]

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Getting It Right With Audio Quality And Consistency

symonmk — Wed, 14 Feb 2018 07:00:09 +0000

Of the twenty one senses that we have, hearing plays a large role in how we experience the world we live in. When it comes to video, humans tend to accept the limitations of the current generation technology. Remember when monochrome TVs were widely adopted? Mom remembers. However, we always expect clean, crisp audio from our entertainment/news platforms. Bad sounding media is often unforgivable as compared to poor image quality. Herein lies the need to ensure consistent great quality audio reaches your listeners. Let’s check the considerations audio engineers in your plant can contribute to the highest possible audio quality and consistency. Audio media goes through two major processes during its creation, audio production and audio processing. Production involves the activities and equipment used to capture or create sounds. This includes audio design, mixing, editing, dubbing, applying various sound effects and balancing sources. Audio production is beyond the scope of this topic but will be referenced to as it comes before the audio processing chain. The audio processing chain refers to the activities and processes to give your audio a particular desired sound. That means that the sound from your production site has a particular mood and feel. This is achieved by the technical manipulation of the audio signal. Processing is based how you want your audio to impact your listening audience, an interesting scientific study called psychoacoustics. Quality Audio engineers need to ensure the best signal quality of the audio that is produced from the production sites (they may be audio labs, recording studios, FM and TV studio etc) and this process starts from the infrastructure used to capture and transmit the sound. Isolation and acoustic treatment was covered in a previous post, beyond that we have the transmitting elements; cables and connectors. XLR cables should be fabricated well as and the audio cable should be of high quality. I’ve had instances of cables I bought having rusted sleeves! So be wary of those Luthuli Avenue stores and pick the right brand. High quality connectors should be used for the best sounding audio. The popular Neutrik connectors should suffice. High quality microphones for better sound capture should be used. However, great sounding audio doesn’t come cheap. Testing your connections can be quite easy as long as you do not have complicated cable paths. Also avoid running them alongside power cables to minimize interference. Test for any shorting of the cable elements (hot, cold and sleeve/ground) using a continuity test and resistance along the sleeve should be as low as possible. The rusted sleeve I described earlier had high resistance. Testing for audio in a large plant after all cables are terminated may be a grueling task therefore it is best to plan early on testing while terminating the connections to ensure you are satisfied at each step. Now check your equipment for any distortion from clipping before getting the signal to the audio processor, in an FM plant the standard equipment before the processor are: Microphone preamps Console summing amplifiers Communication devices such as phone systems, remote links Analog-to-digital converters Stereo profanity delay Computer sound cards Consistency Audio quality MUST be ensured before processing as manipulating bad audio to give you desired results is a worthless effort. In the audio processing chain the sound engineer can perform a set of operations to fine-tune the signal. For best results use linear uncompressed audio formats such as WAV as compared to compressed formats like mp3. A digital sound processor may be added to your chain to perform the following operations: Multiband compression Stereo expansion Equalization Automatic gain control Multiband compression is a form of dynamic range compression. This range compression is performed to either amplify low levels or reduce higher levels. It is important, say in traffic, that the low levels does not get lost in the background, and high levels aren’t too uncomfortable for listeners. In the automobile, dynamic range cannot exceed 20dB without causing problems A multiband compressor checks the audio being fed to it and adds compression to only the parts of the signal that need compressing. This can allow the engineers to increase the loudness levels without much fear of distortion. Stereo expansion/widening is a technique used to expand your stereo image. Stereo image is the perceived spatial location of the sound source. Thus stereo expansion increases the perceived width of your audio. Panning is the most important technique when it comes to stereo expansion as it allows you to place instruments or vocals to as wide an area as desired. An extreme version of this method is binaural panning that emulates human hearing by allowing you to position the direction of a signal source so your ears perceive the sound as coming from either in front, behind, above, below, and to the left or right of the listening position when using a stereo output. Get a good set of headphones and enjoy this video. Equalization (EQ) is simply manipulating the different frequency components in your signal by use of an equalizer. It is important to note that for the reasons discussed earlier, dynamic range compression should come before EQ for the best perceived effect, otherwise it will be difficult to establish the effect of EQ. The equalizer is a circuit or DSP (digital signal processing) plug-in with linear filters. EQ is the way to give your audio a particular mood depending on how you play around with the low, mid and high frequencies. Automatic gain control is usually the final step to the output. In electronics, it is a closed-loop circuit that provides a feedback loops allowing for a controlled output despite variable input amplitude. This is used to ensure consistent volume of the audio signal. From Figure 2, the signal to be gain controlled goes to a diode and capacitor, which produce a peak-following DC voltage. Again, the equipment following the processing chain in an FM plant can also affect the quality of the audio. They should also be checked for proper […]

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Quick Guide To Radio Broadcast Transmission

symonmk — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 04:22:05 +0000

Your studio is already set up and it’s now time to go LIVE! Right? Well, there is the issue of how to get that audio to your audience. In Kenya, FM radio is the most common, and profitable, form of broadcast. This is why most of the infrastructure to support it has been set up across the country. Installation might be a grueling task for a small team (such as ours about a month ago), but the outcome becomes far more rewarding than I expected. In this post I go over the technologies that make radio broadcast transmission possible. With a new studio seeking to have their first broadcast transmission or an existing one seeking to expand to other regions, the requirements to be installed remain largely the same as they have been for decades, only this time, we have IP on our side, making things much easier. Audio Link Now starting from your studio, that fresh audio has been captured by your state of the art audio console and you need the people to hear. Transmitting audio over IP is as simple as installing a PtP (point-to-point) microwave link to your transmitting site. Usually the studio site and transmitting site are not in the same location as the transmitting sites are commonly in isolated highland regions. The audio over IP network can be achieved using audio IP-STL (Internet Protocol – Studio Transmitter Link). In our use case, Sigmacom’s Digital IP-STL encoder/decoder system. We set up them using their first recommended configuration as in Figure 1. In our previous installation, the IP link was of about 35 kilometers from the studio to the transmission site. The link was achieved through a PtP microwave link using Ubiquiti’s Rocket M5 radios (TX and RX) attached to RocketDish antennas that we mounted on masts at the TX and RX sites. After the signal has been captured and decoded, it is fed to the exciter. In our example the EuroCaster DS2000 FM Transmitter can power an RF signal up to 2kW of power. This transmitter power (TPO) is adjustable as is the frequency range of transmission, in Kenya it ranges from 87.5 MHz to 108.0 MHz. From this point, the signal can be sent to the broadcast antenna system. Filters, Feeders and Splitters Try saying that three times. The signal from the transmitter has to be propagated to the antenna system somehow. In between comes in a connection of transmission line components. The filter is a factory calibrated FM band-pass filter, which is set to the exact desired frequency, example 98.00MHz. The filter is connected to the antenna system through a coaxial feeder cable. A large feeder cable, like in Figure 2 that can go up to 170mm diameter, carries the large amount of energy from the filter with minimum attenuation to a splitter which splits the signal, in our example 8 times, to the low power antenna elements. The low power antennas may be fed with smaller feeder cables of 20mm. At every connection point with the feeder cable, for example, connection with the filter and splitter, a waveguide rotary joint is used in connecting the RF waveguides. The feeder cable is also grounded to the mast tower. The signal has now reached the antenna system. Transmission Antenna For this application, a circularly polarized antenna was used to achieve omni-directional signal transmission. Figure 3 shows one bay of the antenna. The antenna achieves circular polarization by having the radiating components perpendicular to one another, thereby propagation of horizontal and vertical components occur simultaneously. A singular antenna as in Figure 3 has the following features: Impedance of 50 Ohm Omni-directional pattern, approx. +/- 3dB Band start 87.5MHz, band stop 108.0Mhz Lightning protected, all metal parts DC grounded The antenna is combined with 7 other antennas producing an 8-bay antenna as in Figure 4. Increasing the antenna bays improves several performance parameters such as the directionality and gain. How? Circular polarization splits the effective radiated power (ERP) between the horizontal and vertical components, adding antenna bays on top of each other leads to addition in gain per bay. ERP is used to calculate the range of the signal, mathematically defined as: ERP = [Antenna Power] X [Antenna Power Gain] A 2-bay system has a gain of approximately 4.1dBd/6.25dBi while an 8-bay system has a gain of 10.1dBd/12.25dBi. Since the gain is higher and losses minimized, the system requires less TPO. Additional bays, however, increase overall system weight as the main trade-off. These are the basic components one would require to achieve broadcast, in our example, a radiating diameter of 100km could be achieved with the above discussed configuration. When setting up such a system, it is important to capture the necessary requirements so as not to have conflicting components during set up. Hopefully this guide will bring you closer to understanding what goes on before you tune in to your favorite FM channel.

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Here’s How You Make Sound Decisions on Acoustics

symonmk — Wed, 06 Dec 2017 13:47:50 +0000

Pun obviously intended. The effects of sound in some industries has an important effect on the quality of work produced as well as in some key applications, especially in the field of broadcast that I currently work in. Sound is the perceived pressure produced by the propagation of energy through a medium released when matter vibrates, while acoustics is the branch of physics that deals with the production, control, transmission, reception, and effects of sound. Some of the areas of application that are dependent on sound are full/hemi anechoic chambers, radio and television studios, airports, nightclubs, torture chambers (just a guess, I’m not completely sure about this one), recording booths and many more. These are environments where sound needs to be well controlled. An example that I’ve dealt with was in radio studios. Imagine listening to your favorite radio show in the morning then you faintly hear the buzz of a helicopter or the bark of a dog within the show. Such interference would obviously dampen your experience of the show. So before you give them a bad rating, get to know what they should’ve done. Soundproofing and Isolation Soundproofing is the act of minimizing the entry of external noise into a room. Noise comes from many areas; outside noise from traffic, planes; from inside the building like chatter, walking and movement. Noise is captured by sensitive microphones typically used in these applications. It’s obvious measures have to be taken to mitigate the effects of noise in a lab or studio, since running tests or shows only at 3am, dead in the night, is not much of an option. Therefore, soundproofing isolates an area from effects of such noise For proper isolation, consider right from the very architectural plan of these rooms to cater for factors such as sound pressure, to ensure desired noise levels. The room should be ‘shielded’ from outside noise sources using several ways: Construction with heavy material such as thick concrete walls Use of double doors Heavy doors Closing off the studios from sources of noise within the building such as steps, chatter Sealing any and all air gaps on windows and doors Acoustic Treatment Acoustic treatment refers to measures taken to ensure good quality sound capture/recording within a room. In-room noise from echo, air conditioning systems and computer fans lead to poor sound capture and this can never be reduced through isolation as discussed earlier. Treating a room requires knowledge of the kind of sound to be captured but a few methods that we will discuss will greatly improve the sound quality compared to no treatment at all. When we’re discussing acoustic treatment, we refer to catering for the following scenarios: Reflection of low frequency sound off the room walls caused by the size and dimensions of the room. Reflection of mid to high frequency sound off hard surfaces within the room. To have the best sound, an investment in acoustic treatment material that absorbs and diffuses sound MUST be made. Sound absorption Sound that bounces off surfaces can be reduced by placing panels which absorb the sound before it reflects back to the capturing devices. You can easily check the acoustic properties of your room by walking to every point of the room and clapping your hands as loudly as you can. Check the reverberations that are produced, if you get audible echoes especially with a ringing sound, you need a great deal of treatment, if you have minimal reverberation, this is good though you still stand a chance to benefit from some acoustical treatment. The room can be treated using some of the following methods: Using bass traps to absorb low frequencies Using acoustic panels and foam boards to absorb the mid to high frequencies Using diffusers to scatter the other frequencies Use an acoustic carpet specially made to absorb sound In an-echoic chambers, use of large acoustic absorbers Such items could be found locally in Nairobi, like acoustic carpets are easily found at Tile & Carpet Center and other vendors of these products. Final considerations you could make are the equipment to be used in the room, like computers whose fans make noise, the air conditioning system may also bring in undesired noise. However, different people may want different noise levels in a room so plan and execute wisely with proper research and consult the experts. Fun fact: Microsoft broke the world record for constructing the quietest place ever and they have an interactive website to show you how they did it, sounds really interesting.

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5 Things to Consider When Choosing an Automation/Playout Software for Your TV or Radio Studio

symonmk — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 09:26:02 +0000

Broadcast automation is a crucial part of any modern radio or TV studio. A playout software is an application whose main function is to allow you to schedule and transmit media from your studio to your audience. For TV and radio studios this is a major component of the overall broadcast system and needs to be chosen very carefully. Typically, playout softwares are located in the master control room of a studio where all the feeds available are directed to it. These may include audio and video feeds from other sources such as live content from video switchers, media files located locally in the computer or a networked storage, incoming OB content e.t.c. One needs to understand what a particular brand of playout software offers to avoid certain mistakes and to meet your particular requirements. Radio and TV Automation While it might be a simple assumption that the only difference in automation for radio and TV is the type of media used, audio and video, there are a great deal of practical differences. The complexities of their automation are also increased by the fact that radio and TV are first and foremost businesses and require a smart, reliable way of tracking the ads and sponsored contents they get paid to do. A complete radio automation system may involve the following: Song scheduler/playlist editor Crossover editor Live-assist module Spots/commercials programmer (different commercials for different regions and commercials going to multiple stations) Integrated RDS (radio data system) Playout to defined formats Other possible features are a clock system, rules and programming commands for your music in their respective categories, practical templates, rotation and an audit feature that checks the users and their activities. In television, a playout software will include other features in addition to some mentioned above (especially the scheduler and the spots programmer), to support the video content going on air. The features of a TV automation system are such as: Output in multiple formats i.e. SD (576i), HD (720p and 1080i/p) and some up to 4K! (2160p) Output in physical SDI or network stream as H.264 or MPEG-2 Electronic program guide (EPG) generation Graphic insertion for logos , animations, scrolls and other elements Multiple client configuration for traffic, program and admin control Simultaneous outputs in different formats (SD, HD, 4K) Support of most popular and used codecs Real time graphics control and updating Other possible features include a teleprompter, a simple video editor and GPIO control. To a novice, the above information may sound cryptic but with good understanding of your requirements, you can apply the following five factors in choosing one for your studio: Reliability and stability of the system – Running a TV or radio studio requires 24 hour non-stop coverage every single day. It is one of the ways to ensure audience retention. Therefore, the playout software should be stable enough to be active throughout the lifetime of the studio, which is years. This means also providing the right hardware and operating system and conditions (ALWAYS disable Windows updates!), these are usually recommended by the creator. Technical Support – So much might go wrong during operation of the system. Ensuring the product you are purchasing guarantees technical support, either from the software creators or the contracted engineers you hired (such as the company I work for), might come in handy especially during the early stages of deployment. The technical support team may also offer training to the users within your station. Level of automation – While shopping for the software to pic, you would want to pic the one with the highest level of automation at your price point. This is to increase the overall efficiency of the system, reduce manual steps as well as labor costs. A high level of automation reduces the potential for errors in the system, especially when sponsored contents and advertisements are involved. Ease of usability and user experience – Ultimately, the main users of the system may never be users with technical backgrounds. This is important to consider as I have witnessed how complicated software becomes a pain to the point users reject going through a steep learning curve and most features of the software ends up unused. A friendly layout, comprehensive manual and easy-to-reach points are essential for such an important piece of your studio. Price and budget – This now depends on the studio’s ability to get the best product in the market or compromise for a cheaper solution and lose some above mention features or consideration factors. Whatever you decide on, keep your requirements at the top of your mind and let some of these factors guide your decision. While this is a simplification of sorts, other factors may come in to place depending on your unique situation but I hope I’ve shed some light on the aspects I consider important. I have personally worked with several playout systems including Cinegy AIR, AVRA, VPlay and Imedia, involving installation and configuration at a client site.

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