WHEAT:NEWS June 2023 Volume 14, Number 6
PART III: BONNEVILLE, 100 STUDIOS LATER
They started small and scaled up to more than a hundred new studios in Salt Lake City, Denver, San Francisco, Sacramento, Phoenix and finally Seattle, affecting all 22 Bonneville stations in six major U.S. markets. By the time the team of Bonneville engineers had moved from the Salt Lake City facility to Denver and then onto San Francisco, they were halfway up a huge learning curve.
“We were learning a lot between those locations and mostly that you can downsize and squeeze a lot out of music formats, because it was really just an MP4IP-USB (four-channel mic processor with AoIP I/O), some audio drivers and a VoxPro (recorder/editor). But comparing that to the spoken word format where we have a lot more going on - a lot more sources coming in, more mix minuses, reporters dialing in, people remoting in, and news reports, and sounders – we had to be much more nimble in those studios,” said Jason Ornellas, Regional Director of Technology for Bonneville International.
Whereas the biggest concern for music stations seemed to center on how many faders and where, talk and sports studios required more access to I/O, logic and the automated features of the WheatNet-IP audio network. For these studios, they were able to use features like WheatNet’s Associated Connections to create a predetermined back haul, IFB feed or mix-minus for each device based on its location in the system or on a fader. Associated Connections “automagically” give the proper return feed to the codec based on the location of a microphone, for example. In the same way, Associated Connections are also used to send the correct mix-minus to the right microphone during a live broadcast.
MOVING ALONG WITH SOFTWARE
As the Bonneville engineering team moved up the learning curve with each location, and Wheatstone added more virtual applications to the WheatNet-IP environment with each successive year, software began to seep into the studios. (For background on the Bonneville studio project, read part I and II, Bonneville on Being Their Own Systems Integrator and Bonneville on Studio Logistics and Pain Points.)
“In Phoenix, for example, we went with Sideboards for the news desk, and for Seattle we went with Screenbuilder in some news desk positions,” said Bonneville Regional Director of Technology Aaron Farnham.
By the time they had arrived in Seattle, the team was able to do a lot more with backend scripting of the WheatNet-IP system to automate processes with switching, logic, control, and using touchscreens instead of fixed control panels or surfaces. “Seattle was really the turning point. We did some custom scripting with Agile in Australia for cueing up and switching headphone feeds using WheatNet-IP GPIOs, and that’s also about the time when Wheatstone came out with ReMIX (remote app),” said Ornellas. He noted that three Seattle on-air control rooms have physical LXE consoles as do the two podcast production rooms there, along with LXEs or L-8 consoles for the two main production studios. But the five edit rooms have ReMIX virtual consoles or instances of Screenbuilder, two software apps that are growing in importance at Bonneville.
“Software often falls below the capex threshold at Bonneville, so it is easier to budget for,” said Ornellas.
Software applications like Screenbuilder and ReMIX can fill in the gap where hardware can’t, he added. “We’re probably using 60 percent of what we have. Now that we have a working knowledge of Screenbuilder, we can fine tune and make our systems more sophisticated.”
THE NEVERENDING STORY
The Bonneville team completed the six-location project officially in early 2023, but in many ways, the journey has just begun. “If you just go into maintenance mode, you’re never going forward. We’re always looking at the technology coming out and changing things up as our needs change,” said Farnham.
The group, he added, isn’t riding the 10-year or 15-year ROI cycle and then starting over. Everything they do today, from its systems to its engineers who have an inside knowledge of those systems, is building toward tomorrow.
“I think for us, there are going to be more software applications or combining more applications and more vendor interoperability in a single box,” agreed Ornellas, who is also a member of the NAB Radio Tech Committee and chair of the PPM Subgroup committee of Next Gen Radio Architecture. “That’s where we’re going with this. If we lose a studio, can we recover? What are the next software applications we want to migrate to? This has really given us the system so that as a group we are functioning as one. We’re able to fill in for each other in each market. We know the facilities, we know the people, we know the operations, we know the systems. That was one of the big motivators for keeping integration in-house.”
Click below for a photo tour of Bonneville’s new studios in six major U.S. markets. If you’re planning a studio project, be sure to download our new ebook Studio Project Planning Guide for tips on design and project flow.
WINNING COMBINATION OF WHEAT, RADIO, AND COLLEGE
This is what a winning streak looks like.
This is film and television major Jake Serrano seated in front of a Wheatstone console soaking up another big win for his radio sports show The Overtime, which airs on the Best College Radio Station named at the 2023 Intercollegiate Broadcasting Systems (IBS) Media Awards.
107.7 The Bronc WRRC-FM is run almost exclusively by students like Jake at Rider University and was recognized for its stellar operation at the IBS conference in New York City on February 25, 2023. WRRC-FM was also nominated for the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award for College Radio Station of the Year in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Last year, 107.7 The Bronc also earned three National Electronic Media Association Awards.
This is Jake’s first radio gig and the second consecutive win for The Overtime, which won the Best Sports Update award at the 2022 and 2023 IBS Media Awards. “As a recent transfer student, I think it’s remarkable that in less than two semesters at Rider, I won a national award with 107.7 The Bronc Retro, despite never working at a radio station previously,” commented Serrano in the college newsletter. The Overtime is a daily report that covers scores and highlights of local, regional and national sports.
Wheatstone is honored to be part of student success stories like Jake Serrano’s.
Photo credited to News@Rider.
STREAMING LIVES HERE
With sporting events changing by the venue and the hour, streaming is a dynamic and growing part of the Sports Entertainment Network New Zealand (SENZ) that can require different content and sponsorships for more than 17 unique markets throughout New Zealand. SENZ is using the Wheatstream appliance for provisioning streams and managing metadata out to its CDN provider and eventual delivery to the SEN/SENZ streaming app. Streaming instances are spun up by Wheatstream and processed individually, all managed by SENZ’s WheatNet-IP audio network as part of the native AoIP environment. Streaming is integrated into the busy 24/7 sports network like any other audio chain, with AoIP logic controls for triggering stream provisioning and live coverage and color streamed directly from the studio automation or talk studio, shown above.
No matter how you stream it, Wheatstone has you covered.
In the cloud: Layers Stream software running on AWS gives you stream provisioning, audio processing, and metadata support from the cloud.
On the server: Layers Stream software can be added to any server in your rack room or regional data center for managing each stream locally along with related metadata and audio processing designed specifically for streaming.
From an AoIP appliance: Streamblade/Wheatstream appliances manage multiple streams in one rack unit, including audio processing and metadata individualized by channel. Add onto your studio network or ours.
SCREENBUILDER IN 142 SECONDS
Here’s how to build your own screen … in 142 seconds. For ideas on how you can build screens for network control using our Screenbuilder or to develop scripts for virtual news desks, control panels and signal monitors, log onto our Scripters Forum.
THE STARS WERE OUT
It was a night to remember, even for frequent clubbers like our own Jay Tyler.
The Broadcasting + Cable Hall of Fame gala held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City last month paid tribute to the pioneers, innovators, and stars of our industry. Among them were Beasley Media Group CEO Caroline Beasley and her late father, George Beasley, posthumously.
Jay and our esteemed media adviser, Future USA Managing Director Carmel King, were there to honor these two special broadcasters as they were inducted into the B+C Hall of Fame, counting them among an exclusive community of honorees who have truly changed the course of our industry. During the event, Caroline spoke of her father, the industry they both loved, and what an honor it is to “be a part of such an outstanding class of inductees.”
Other luminaries honored at this year’s event included Soledad O’Brien, Rachael Ray, Deborah Roberts and Al Roker. Five-time National Sportscaster of the Year and multi-Emmy Award-winning CBS Sports commentator Jim Nantz received the Hall of Fame’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.
Beasley Broadcast Group’s CTO Mike Cooney, who was recognized for his many contributions to the industry as the 2023 recipient of the NAB Radio Engineering Achievement Award, alongside Future’s Carmel King and Wheatstone’s Jay Tyler at the Broadcasting + Cable Hall of Fame event on May 3.
Above, Beasley’s CEO Caroline Beasley at the B+C Hall of Fame gala, who commented that they only thing better than being inducted into the B+C Hall of Fame would be to have her father “by my side, to accept this incredible honor together in person.” The late George G. Beasley, who left behind a broadcasting legacy that remains unmatched, was posthumously inducted into the 2023 B+C Hall of Fame along with his daughter, Caroline, on May 3.
WHAT HAS YOUR BLADE 4 DONE FOR YOU LATELY?
If you’re not doing at least three of these six things with your Blade 4, you’re working way too hard. Here’s how one Blade 4 I/O unit can make your life a lot easier.
- Assign source signals with various useful attributes for the moment at hand, such as defining a corresponding backfeed or mix-minus signal to be connected or audio processing to be activated, and on whatever destination from which that source gets connected.
- Assign variable audio buffer sizes on destinations receiving remote connections to compensate for signal jitter.
- Call it like you see it. We enhanced system names—Signal, Blade, and Location names are no longer restricted to eight characters.
- Ease into standards with enhanced AoIP compliance for AES67 and SMPTE 2110, including auto-generating 1ms packet streams on all Blade 4 signals with 1ms mono and 5.1 surround stream support; 0.125ms packet stream receive capability; NMOS stream visibility and exposure for third-party routing control.
- Run scripts directly on Blade 4. Separate hardware devices or PCs are not required.
- Navigate controls and functions like a pro with menu tabs for configuring system metering and monitoring, simplifying salvo controls, and enhancing logic functions for SLIOs.
Interesting Links:
The Wheatstone online store is now open! You can purchase demo units, spare cards, subassemblies, modules and other discontinued or out-of-production components for Wheatstone, Audioarts, and VoxPro products online, or call Wheatstone customer support at 252-638-7000 or contact the Wheatstone technical support team online as usual.
The store is another convenience at wheatstone.com, where you can access product manuals, white papers and tutorials as well as technical and discussion forums such as our AoIP Scripters Forum.
Compare All of Wheatstone's Remote Solutions
We've got remote solutions for virtually every networkable console we've built in the last 20 years or so. For basic volume, on/off, bus assign, logic, it's as easy as running an app either locally with a good VPN, or back at the studio, using a remote-access app such as Teambuilder to run.
Remote Solutions Video Demonstrations
Jay Tyler recently completed a series of videos demonstrating the various solutions Wheatstone offers for remote broadcasting.
Check out the chart below, and/or click here to learn more on our Remote Solutions web page.
Studio Project Planning Guide
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR MAKING YOUR STUDIO PROJECT A SUCCESS
Have you seen the latest smart studio trends? Discover expert tips, surprising uses for AoIP Blades, 6 common studio gotchas, and how to be aware of little expenses. A must-read before you begin your studio project.
Making Sense of the Virtual Studio
SMART STRATEGIES AND VIRTUAL TOOLS FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE
Curious about how the modern studio has evolved in an IP world? Virtualization of the studio is WAY more than tossing a control surface on a touch screen. With today's tools, you can virtualize control over almost ANYTHING you want to do with your audio network. This free e-book illustrates what real-world engineers and radio studios are doing. Pretty amazing stuff.
Advancing AOIP for Broadcast
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF EMERGING STANDARDS SUCH AS AES67 VIA AUDIO OVER IP TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR BROADCAST FACILITY
Putting together a new studio? Updating an existing studio? This collection of articles, white papers, and brand new material can help you get the most out of your venture. Best of all, it's FREE to download!
IP Audio for TV Production and Beyond
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MANAGING MORE CHANNELS, MORE MIXES, AND MORE REMOTE VENUES
For this FREE e-book download, we've put together this e-book with fresh info and some of the articles that we've authored for our website, white papers, and news that dives into some of the cool stuff you can do with a modern AoIP network like Wheatstone's WheatNet-IP.
Got feedback or questions? Click my name below to send us an e-mail. You can also use the links at the top or bottom of the page to follow us on popular social networking sites and the tabs will take you to our most often visited pages.
