Audio Broadcast Canada (ABC) and its suppliers are helping broadcasters move to the next level of multi-station processing and codec operations. As distributors of Orban and Tieline products, ABC offers Canadian broadcasters access to the newest technologies from these longstanding engineering leaders. From conception to completion, with expert technical support throughout the entire project, veteran broadcast professionals work with you to upgrade your audio delivery methods to 2022 optimum standards.
Orban centralized audio processing tailored to broadcasters with high-density needs
Radio and internet broadcasters worldwide are realizing the benefits of moving operations to centralized – and ideally, virtualized – environments. Many of these customers have high-density needs, with many signals that need to be managed. Orban’s new OPTIMOD XPN-Enterprise™ easily meets those needs.
OPTIMOD XPN-Enterprise™ is an easy-to-use, Linux-based, customizable processing platform for multiple broadcast stations or streaming services with centralized control. It provides Orban’s propriety OptiCloud™ processing for up to 8 FM and 8 HD/DAB+ radio channels plus eight Internet stream processing channels for a total of 24 output channels all in a 1 RU package, using an enterprise-class softGear™ server and the appropriate OPTIMOD XPN-Enterprise™ Nodes.
Content to be OptiCloud™ processed is brought to one location, utilizing any of the most common methods of audio transport – AES3, AES-67, SMPTE 2110-30, Dante or Livewire+, and creates the necessary outputs (analog, AES3, FM Composite, DMPX and Orban uMPX™) using the appropriate Orban XPN-Enterprise Nodes for distribution to each transmitter site. The OPTIMOD XPN-Enterprise™ server supports AES67, SMPTE2110/2027 – dual redundant networks, Dante and Livewire+ and allows you to set up a state-of-the-art AoIP audio processing system.
Tieline’s New Generation 4 Channel IP Codec (1RU) brings it all together
The Gateway 4 is a powerful DSP-based 1RU IP codec designed for live remote broadcasting applications, as well as STL or SSL links. The Gateway 4 includes support for AES67, ST 2110-30, ST 2022-7, RAVENNA, NMOS IS-04 and IS-05, Ember+, AES3 and analog I/O as standard, and an optional WheatNet-IP card.
Tieline Gateway 4 codec
The Gateway 4 supports 4 full-duplex audio channels in 1RU to provide two stereo connections, or one stereo and two mono connections, or up to 4 mono connections. The codec also supports multiple unicasting to up to 20 endpoints and multicasting.
For larger networks, the Gateway 4 is ideal for transmitter sites, remote trucks or rack-mounted remote kits. For affiliates and smaller stations it can be used to transport studio-to-studio links, or a stereo studio-to-transmitter link signal plus another stereo connection, or dual mono connections for remotes. Customers with higher channel requirements will gravitate towards the Gateway multi-channel codec.
Multiple Layers of Redundancy For Remotes and STLs
The Gateway 4 seamlessly integrates with all Tieline IP codecs and delivers hitless packet switching using SmartStream PLUS redundant streaming. A primary and 3 redundant streams can be configured for each connection, delivering multiple layers of IP network redundancy. The makes it the ideal codec to use with the ViA remote codec to deliver rock-solid connection redundancy.
The codec also supports bandwidth aggregation using Fuse-IP technologies over internet connections. It features dual internal power supplies, dual LAN ports and dual AoIP ports. Automated network failure detection provides automatic switching to a backup IP LAN connection or fail over to an ISDN connection using an optional Euro ISDN module. Automatic silence detection can fail over to alternative audio sources, including file playback, HTTP client streaming, and other options, which is ideal for STL applications.
The Gateway 4 is also interoperable with all Tieline IP codecs and compatible over SIP with all EBU N/ACIP Tech 3326, 3347 and 3368 compliant codecs and devices.
Flexible and Adaptable AoIP Solutions
Like the Gateway codec, the Gateway 4 is compliant with AES67 and SMPTE ST 2110-30 for audio transport. These standards provide the framework for transporting uncompressed PCM audio around the broadcast plant. The AES67 and ST 2110-30 standards support session Description Protocol (SDP) for configuring the number of audio channels per stream, encoding format, bits per sample, sampling frequency and number of samples in a packet.
Tieline codecs stream AES67 and ST 2110-30 compliant digital audio between equipment from manufacturers supporting these standards. They also support installation of an optional WheatNet-IP card. This provides a flexible platform for routing audio between a range of equipment using proprietary AoIP protocols like WheatNet-IP, as well as devices supporting RAVENNA, AES67 and ST 2110-30.
Even if studios install equipment using proprietary AoIP protocols such as WheatNet-IP, Livewire+ or Dante, in the real-world broadcast engineers often need the ability to connect and stream between equipment from different vendors. This is where AES67, RAVENNA, and ST 2110-30 for those in the TV world, provide a high degree of interoperability with proprietary protocols such as Dante and Livewire+ (in AES67 compatibility mode).
Other key codec features include:
- Input EQ, compression and limiting.
- HTTP SHOUTcast and Icecast server streaming capability.
- SD card slot for firmware upgrades and memory options.
- Hardware GPIOs and Logic I/Os.
- Module slot for ISDN module, future technologies, and hardware upgrades.
The Gateway 4 is configurable through an embedded HTML5 Toolbox Web-GUI interface and is also fully controllable using Tieline’s Cloud Codec Controller.
Your 2022 Canadian Connection
For more information, or to discuss your upcoming centralization project, contact:
Jane Rusch at Audio Broadcast Canada
(289) 296-7538
