Innovaton in Radio

Advanced FM HD Radio™ Service Modes WTLP Field Test Results - $15

Xperi has developed a new set of Advanced FM service modes in response to emerging market demands and opportunities.  These new service modes offer broadcasters the ability to significantly enhance their digital capacity using both hybrid and all-digital waveforms.  Some of these advanced service modes are backward compatible with existing service modes, and some are not.  This presentation will review the results of recent field trials using Hubbard station WTLP in Braddock Heights, MD.  Specifically, it will compare performance of the new signals with their legacy counterparts, highlighting the critical tradeoff of robustness for capacity.  These test results demonstrate the ability of HD Radio broadcast technology to reliably deliver higher-throughput digital information over much of the existing coverage area.

Paul Peyla | Xperi, Inc. | Columbia, Maryland, United States
Dave Kolesar | Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. | Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Audio Services Over ATSC 3.0: A Proof of Concept - $15

(Winner, 2023 BEIT Conference Proceedings Best Paper Award)

This paper provides a proof-of-concept for delivering audio services using ATSC 3.0. First, it outlines the initial starting requirements for the development of the system. It then covers the determinations made at each process step to fulfill these goals: encoding, delivery layer, physical layer, and receiver. Real-world results of the tests conducted in the Baltimore market are then discussed. Finally, the next steps in development and potential gaps in the standard to fill are suggested.

Liam Power | ONEMEDIA | Hunt Valley, Maryland, United States

High-Power Digital FM Field Test Project - $15

A petition for rulemaking filed at the FCC in October 2022 by NAB and Xperi requests that the FCC adopt an updated formula to determine FM power levels for stations seeking to exceed the currently authorized FM digital ERP of -14dBc. The proposed new formula, which is based on real world, operational experience gained since the FCC last approved a power increase in 2010, will allow more stations to increase digital power above the existing -14 dBc level, without the need for separate FCC authorization. Included in the joint NAB-Xperi filing is information on a field test project conducted by NAB, Audacy, New York Public Radio and Xperi in 2021 to assess the impact on first-adjacent channels of increasing the digital power level from -14 dBc to -10 dBc. The results of this field test demonstrate that the new formula being proposed should adequately protect first-adjacent channels, and are the topic of this paper.

David Layer | National Association of Broadcasters | Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Alan Jurison | iHeartMedia | Syracuse, New York, United States
Russ Mundschenk | Xperi, Inc. (retired) | Columbia, Maryland, United States
Steve Shultis | New York Public Radio | New York, New York, United States
E. Glynn Walden | Audacy, Inc. (retired) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States