WHEAT:NEWS October 2024 Volume 15, Number 10
WBZ SPORTS HUB STUDIO PROJECT, ULTIMATE TEAM SPORT
Examples of team sports are basketball, baseball, football, hockey, and, for reasons that will make sense to anyone who has seen the back of a TOC rack, we’ll add studio projects.
There is no finish line without a dash of luck, an occasional punt, and a whole lot of teamwork. That’s true for any studio project, and it was especially true for 98.5 The Sports Hub, Boston’s flagship station for football, hockey, basketball, and soccer that moved into a new studio space a while back, along with seven other Beasley stations.
In the run up to a new 25,000-square-foot studio in Waltham, the stations were operating out of a modern WheatNet IP audio networked facility in Dorchester. Here, LXE console surfaces put in 18-hour days (read When Faders Fly) covering games back to back for the New England Patriots, Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, New England Revolution and Boston Red Sox—all with commentaries, plays, and replays bouncing between the booth at the field, the analysts downline in a studio, and the live action on the field.
How did Beasley Boston keep all that on track while moving seven stations and WBZ FM 98.5 The Sports Hub to new digs in between the Celtics playoffs and the Patriots training camp?
Teamwork is how.
Meet the team: Beasley Boston DOE Dennis Knudsen and his team of engineers; intelligent AoIP networking by WheatNet with AoIP expertise by our tech team at Wheatstone; studio design by Steve Burns and his team at V Three Studios; systems integration by the team at Inrush Broadcast Services; and additional AoIP scripting by Chris Penny at Agile Broadcast.
The result was a thoughtfully laid out studio core of 17 on-air and production studios networked together through WheatNet IP with some 20 AoIP control surfaces of various types (LXE, L Series and Sideboards) moved over from the Dorchester facility. Networked in were WideOrbit automation and more than 40 codecs ranging in brand and capacity that now keeps The Sports Hub hopping with live sports coverage from the field.
The Sports Hub is now running out several hours of sports content daily on NBC Sports Boston, an NBC regional network carried via cable in six states across New England and nationally via DIRECTV. The 600-square-foot space dedicated to sports looks more like a TV studio than a radio studio, with angled lighting and cameras strategically placed to bring out the best in sportscasters.
From two control rooms and a horseshoe shaped set with six talent positions, The Sports Hub is managing overlapping live coverage for the Boston Bruins, New England Patriots, Boston Celtics and New England Revolution. Five key AoIP designs make this possible:
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Dual-redundant, mirrored WheatNet control rooms for fast switching between sporting events, each with their own delay, local IDs, and breaks for everything from live color commentary and highlights to interviews from the sidelines.
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Custom touchscreens above every LXE console for quick network sends to the syndication headend along with the correct automation tones and triggers for distribution to Patriot, Bruins, and Celtics affiliate stations. The tap-through routing menu was designed using ScreenBuilder tools and is within easy reach of the surface controls.
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Automatic mix-minus, GPIO logic and associated codecs for saving precious seconds when potting up a live report from the field. The right mix-minus automatically follows the right source, whether it’s down the hall, in the booth, or across a link, along with the relevant GPIO logic for triggering mics or breaks. Even connections associated with those sources follow along for things like getting the right return feed with the right Tieline or Comrex codec, all courtesy of WheatNet IP intelligent networking.
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Tracks piped through the WheatNet talkback system studio-to-studio so sportscasters can quickly pivot from covering live plays one minute to commercial reads the next, all in one sitting.
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Close collaboration between producers and hosts through LXE shared fader tracking and controls. The LXE console surface in the talk studio mirrors the state of the active control room’s LXE console surface, down to the position of physical faders, making it possible for operators in both studios to seamlessly share mixing controls. Custom scripting was originally provided by Chris Penny of Agile Broadcast and updated for the move to Waltham. Other panels were scripted using Wheatstone’s ScreenBuilder tools by Mike Dorris of Inrush for monitoring EAS, VoxPro and other ancillary equipment.
The Sports Hub went live from the new studios in late 2022, just after the Celtics playoffs and right before Patriots training camp, along with WBOS-FM (Rock 92.9), WBQT-FM (Hot 96.9), WKLB-FM (Country 102.5), WROR-FM (105.7 WROR), and WRCA AM/FM (Bloomberg Radio).
Click here to view a photo gallery of the new studios, courtesy of V Three Studios and Inrush.
WHEATSTONE WINS IBC 2024 BEST OF SHOW X3
A shout out to the panel of judges and experts who recognized all the hard work we put into our products at last month’s IBC show, and a special thanks to our customers who keep us innovating!
Wheatstone won a Radio World Best of Show award at the recent IBC show for the Blade 4, the only AoIP I/O unit to include audio codecs, processing, control, OS, and low latency RIST connectivity in one RU.
We also left the show with a Radio World Best of Show award for our value AoIP system, a complete studio system with DMX console, local I/O, Ethernet switch, and now automation control. And wait there’s more… TV Technology gave us a Best of Show award for our Strata console and Remote Strata virtual mixer combo, which is ideal for today’s highly collaborative television news teams.
We humbly add these to our trophy room full of reminders of what a great industry we serve (perhaps next to our Emmy, given to us in 2020 for our development work on AoIP).
FROM YOUR WHEAT SUPPORT TEAM: TRAFFIC COPS, JEDIS, AND IGMP
IGMP is part traffic cop, part Jedi for multicast networks. It is the communications protocol used by network routers to ensure that audio goes to where it is needed, and not to where it isn’t needed. Without IGMP, all the audio data in your system would go to every single device that is connected to your network. Every Blade, every console surface, every talent station and computer would receive tons of data that they don’t need, and port flooding would occur. Port flooding leads to packet loss, which results in audio dropouts, missed or sluggish meters/control, and galactic chaos in general. You’ll find What is IGMP and Why You Need It as well as other helpful tips, videos and product information at our new online Wheatstone Support Center, a repository of knowledge and technical information created by our support team.
RETHINKING THE STUDIO
We’re rethinking how to build a radio station.
It wasn’t too long ago that you needed a studio for every station and a fader for every source in that studio. Then along came AoIP, and with it, every source on every fader and the shrinking size and number of studios needed.
Now, with automation systems like Zetta, WideOrbit, and ENCO tightly integrated into WheatNet IP, we can do even more with less.
“The automation system is now essentially driving things so when I hit the button to put my live show on air, the automation comes in and lays out all the faders and away we go. That changes the way we think about building studios,” commented our Tech Support Engineer John Davis, who commissions dozens of WheatNet IP studios every year.
With the number of studios now based on how many live shows and events happen at one time, rather than sources and signals, the new math is one main studio for every two or three stations and a smaller “budget” studio that serves multiple purposes. A typical WheatNet IP configuration, for example, includes two large studios with LXE or L Series console surfaces to stagger morning and afternoon shows for several stations, and another smaller studio with a DMX console surface for voicetracking and producing the occasional live news or sports event.
Making this configuration far more flexible is the recent addition of the WheatNet IP automation control interface (ACI) to the DMX console system, our Audioarts value AoIP system, which includes a console surface, mix engine with local I/O, and a five-port Ethernet switch. By adding full automation integration to the DMX system, we have effectively added versatility to the budget studio—a concept that resulted in one of our three Best of Show awards during the IBC show last month. “What this means to broadcasters is they can have the same capability in those smaller budget studios as the big studio down the hall,” said Davis.
The math gets even better for smaller operations whose main studios are budget studios. For these broadcasters, adding our automation protocol to the DMX could effectively eliminate an extra studio or two along with all the relays and engineering that goes into automation integration. Adding ACI to the DMX console system also makes it possible for these broadcasters to add touchscreen panels using WheatNet IP ScreenBuilder, thereby replacing costly hardware with virtual interfaces.
Rethinking the radio operation starts with the scope and size of studios. Other considerations, such as network topology, routing and scripting, will also impact cost and flexibility. For a free studio evaluation, contact our sales engineers at sales@wheatstone.com or download our guide Studio Project Planning for tips and trends from studio experts and integrators.
AoIP AND THE NEED FOR SPEED
Sometime in April the Internet crossed a major sound barrier. Researchers transferred 301 Tbps of data across a single standard optical fiber, the equivalent of transferring 1,800 4K movies over the internet in one second and 4.5 million times faster than the average home broadband speed today.
And to think, we used to consider a gigabit-per-second fast! At the rate things are going, we will all be ziplining live media across distance and space soon.
Not so fast. In order for the real world to catch up to those speeds—and by ‘real world’ we mean live-streaming audio or video between studios, sports venues, and cloud server farms—we’ll need a much more robust IP transport protocol.
Which brings us to RIST, or Reliable Internet Stream Transport, now found in our Blade 4 I/O units that make up the WheatNet IP audio network. RIST adds error correction and packet recovery to UDP multicasting, the IP transport layer for AoIP, streaming and other realtime media applications. So, while UDP multicasting enabled us to reduce WheatNet IP audio network packet timing to 1/4 msec for minimum latency across a local studio network, RIST now gives us the transport means to move AoIP traffic beyond the studio walls and across distances over the public internet, where links are less reliable and distance adds more delay.
RIST adjusts in realtime to achieve the lowest latency and fastest performance for a given link, whether it’s high-speed or slow-mo, and whether it’s closer to the target destination or several hops away. This lets you take advantage of the growing number of high-speed links that make it possible to stream at full audio bandwidth between your studio and a low-cost contribution network, for example. Yet, you can still get the best connection possible on existing, slower links when sharing realtime content between locations, venues, and studios.
RIST is why WheatNet IP audio networks can now move the highest possible quality audio in realtime over most any link at great distances; it’s also why we recently received a Radio World IBC 2024 Best of Show award for the Blade 4.
It's as easy as opening a RIST stream session from the Blade 4 (or our streaming appliances or server software, which also have RIST) and establishing a low-latency, high-quality connection between the local IP address and an IP address on the far end.
RIST is based on established protocols widely adopted by the broadcast industry, including many specifications found in SMPTE 2022-1; it uses things like RTP sequencing to identify potential packet losses and multi-link bonding to guarantee media delivery over these public links.
By the way, our fourth generation Blade 4 also has optional OPUS codecs for streaming compressed audio as needed. You could say we’re also breaking a few sound barriers. Blade 4 is the only I/O unit in the industry that includes audio processing, codecs, mixing, routing, control, operating system and now RIST connectivity in one rack unit.
Wheatstone is Coming to NAB NY October 8-10, 2024!
Interesting Links: Hurricane Helene from the Waterfront
Hurricane Helene is on our minds. We live and work in the small coastal town of New Bern, North Carolina. Although our factory was largely unaffected by Hurricane Helene, we are all deeply impacted by the beacons of resiliency demonstrated by our friends in the broadcast industry. Here are just a few reports from the waterfront:
Radio’s Resilience During Hurricane Helene
WSB TV and the Caravan of Care
Beasley works with Red Cross on Hurricane Relief
Local radio lifeline in wake of Helene:
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.
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.
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