Tech Notes from the Field

In a nutshell: Because they work.  In the last week we had one day, last Sunday, three live broadcasts or some feed via Tieline. One was our weekly show utilizing a POTS connection, one was an extended broadcast utilizing IP through a resort, and one was feeds from a concert utilizing IP via Verizon 4G modem.  Meanwhile a fourth unit was in Mexico ready for a week of morning show broadcasts utilizing IP. Needless to say everything worked just fine with minimal issues.

If that was not enough, we helped a fellow broadcaster stay on the air while tower work occurred at their site. We provided our Aux site for use and we used a Tieline to provide audio from their studios to ours via IP. Once again, all worked just fine.

If you have not noticed, and you have read the trades, audio delivery via IP is our number one choice. We prepared for and accepted the Internet as a viable option, even international. Latency has not been an issue. Quality is quite acceptable and actually superior.  The one caveat is the occasional data hit. This is kept to a minimum with the right combination of data rate and error correction. Of the worst offenders was the resort hotel right in our backyard. Our experience is they have minimal bandwidth shared with many guests. The kicker is the broadcast from Cabo had less errors than the local resort! 

The ease of use and the flexibility of the Tielines keep us on top of our live broadcasts. We are sticklers on quality. We like to tinker with the latest (4G).  We are successful because of it. Our oldest Tieline iMix-3G is coming up to at least 5 or 6 years old now. We work them hard, and we will be working them harder.