AI-Enabled Horizons: Pioneering Multilingual Content Integrity in Broadcasting - $15
Date: April 3, 2024Topics: 2024 BEITC Proceedings, Emerging Technologies in Media DeliveryAI-enabled solutions are transforming global broadcasting by enhancing multilingual content integrity through advancements in Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technologies. This paper explores the integration of advanced computational frameworks and hardware to enhance the accuracy, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of ASR systems for broadcasters managing multilingual content at scale.
Kyle Suess | Amira Labs | Columbia, Md., United States
Stefan Cardenas | Amira Labs | Columbia, Md., United States
Paul Briscoe | TAG Video Systems | Tel Aviv, Israel – Toronto, Canada
AI-Powered Per-title Encoding - $15
Date: October 9, 2021Topics: 2021 BEITC Proceedings, OTT Television TechnologiesAI-Powered Per-title Encoding leverages machine learning techniques in order to optimize the standard per-title encoding method. As a result, storage and delivery costs can be saved by up to 50%.
Anita Chen | Fraunhofer FOKUS | Berlin, Germany
Christoph Mueller | Fraunhofer FOKUS | Berlin, Germany
Daniel Silhavy | Fraunhofer FOKUS | Berlin, Germany
Stephan Steglich | Fraunhofer FOKUS | Berlin, Germany
Stefan Arbanowski | Fraunhofer FOKUS | Berlin, Germany
AM Carrier Power Reduction in All-Digital Service Mode MA3 - $15
Date: April 3, 2024Topics: 2024 BEITC Proceedings, Radio TopicsSome AM radio stations have turned off their analog broadcasts and converted to digital-only operations, with the possibility of better coverage, improved ratings, and more competitive features. Since a modulated analog signal is not present, it is possible to reduce the main carrier power in All-Digital service mode MA3 without adversely affecting audio quality and availability. This might not only decrease conversion costs but could also save broadcasters thousands of dollars per year in utility bills. Alternatively, the resulting power savings could be applied to the digital subcarriers, thereby enhancing the robustness of the digital signal.
Since receivers use the main carrier to demodulate the digital signal, reducing its power could potentially degrade reception performance. Specifically, HD Radio receivers use the main carrier to correct frequency differences between the received and transmitted signals, and to normalize the amplitude of the digital subcarriers across the allocated channel bandwidth. Xperi has analyzed and simulated the effects of reduced main carrier power to determine an acceptable decrease and quantify the resulting degradation. Results indicate that a 6-dB carrier power reduction, with a concomitant 4-dB reduction of the two OFDM reference subcarriers, should have a negligible impact on signal robustness.
The next logical step in assessing the viability of reduced MA3 carrier power was to validate these predictions by measuring performance in a real-world automotive environment, using Hubbard Broadcasting station WWFD in Frederick, MD. Field tests were performed over multiple routes to expose the signal to a variety of terrain, speed, interference, and shadowing conditions.
This paper will review Xperi’s analytical and simulated performance predictions and will present field test results that successfully validate them. Results indicate that reducing carrier power by 6 dB and reference subcarrier power by 4 dB has an insignificant effect on WWFD’s MA3 digital audio coverage area.
Paul Peyla | Xperi Inc. | Columbia, Md., United States
Jeff Baird | Xperi Inc. | Columbia, Md., United States
Dave Kolesar | Hubbard Broadcasting | Washington, D.C., United States
AM Radio FCC NRSC Compliance Reports - $15
Date: April 14, 2023Topics: 2023 BEITC Proceedings, Radio TechnologyEvery year, each of the more than 4,000 FCC-licensed AM radio stations in the US are required to make and document “NRSC measurements” and place the reports in the station official files. While these measurements can be done by local station engineers, the measurements are relatively complex and can require sophisticated equipment to be completed properly. Compiling the measurements into a document that meets FCC requirements can also be difficult. The number of contract engineers capable of making the making the measurements and providing professional reports continues to decline. The cost of providing these reports is increasing, making it even more difficult for station management to meet the FCC report requirements. This paper discusses some history behind these measurements, reviews the details as specified in the FCC rules and NRSC Standards, and offers suggestions on how to compile the measurement data to create professional reports.
James Dalke | Dalke Broadcast Service, Inc. | Bellevue, Washington, United States
Martin Hadfield | The Hadfield Group, LLC | Seattle, Washington, United States
An Innovative In-Service Antenna Monitoring System to Protect Your Antenna and Transmission Line - $15
Date: April 3, 2024Topics: 2024 BEITC Proceedings, Broadcast Facility DesignAntenna and transmission line systems are critical components of the broadcast transmission infrastructure. Unfortunately, traditional monitoring is limited simply to reflected power. Depending on speed and accuracy of the monitoring equipment, some arcs or small reflected changes can go unnoticed. SPINNER introduced the Antenna Monitoring System (AMS) in 2015. It scans for arcing from the transmitter building all the way up to the end of the antenna. The AMS provides protection to the entire RF system by alerting and or opening the transmitter interlock when an arc is sensed. While the AMS provided protection, it couldn’t tell you where the fault occurred. We have innovated again by adding Distance to Fault (DtF) analysis in the AMS 2.0 system. This paper will discuss the methodology and benefits of the AMS 2.0 along with some real-world results where the AMS protection detected and closely located faults before significant damage occurred.
Heidi Stamm | SPINNER GmbH | Munich, Germany
Anton Lindner | SPINNER GmbH | Munich, Germany
Christoph Neumaier | SPINNER GmbH | Munich, Germany
Todd Loney | SPINNER ICT Inc. | Duluth, Georgia, United States
An Open Platform for Media Over IP Network Load Testing with Off-the-Shelf Hardware - $15
Date: April 14, 2023Topics: 2023 BEITC Proceedings, Broadcast Facility DesignAs the media industry continues to transform and adopt media over IP solutions, the importance of proper testing and verification of network performance and timing infrastructures cannot be overemphasized. The SMPTE ST 2110-21 standard sets strict timing and jitter requirements that depend on predictable network behavior. The acceptable network load level limitations for particular video formats used in a facility must be tested and verified before commissioning the facility. However, broadcasters and system integrators often skip this step due to cost and the unavailability of equipment that can generate adequate network traffic load and proper traffic profiles. This creates a need for a cost-effective solution that enables broadcasters to perform acceptance testing of their media over IP networks as close to the real-world load, traffic patterns, and network scenarios as possible. This paper is the first in the series of publications to propose a solution for media over IP network load testing using off-the-shelf hardware and open-source software. The proposed solution allows for generating specific media traffic profiles, ensuring that the performance of the traffic shape and network timing is adequately tested and verified, leading to a more reliable and robust media over IP infrastructure. The paper explores the hardware, software, tuning, and integration needed to build such a testing platform. Future publications will explore that traffic patterns and real-world testing.
Ievgen Kostiukevych | European Broadcasting Union | Geneva, Switzerland
Pavlo Kondratenko | European Broadcasting Union | Geneva, Switzerland
Thomas Kernen | NVIDIA | Zurich, Switzerland
Willem Vermost | VRT | Brussels, Belgium
