Page 15 - IP Audio for TV Production And Beyond

Wheatstone’s Dimension Three IP audio
console handles the mixing, mic control and IFB
for all three from the Charlo e studio, using
WheatNet-IP audio network I/O BLADEs. The
three studios are less than a few hundred miles
from each other. For audio-video transport,
Bahakel uses Adtec, Harmonic and Sencore
equipment for the IP links. “O en syncing the
audio and video is a problem, but for us it has not
been. We make sure the A/V encoding is done
properly, with close a en on paid to stream parameters and system design for synchroniza on so there’s no video and audio dri ,” explains Davis.
There is a slight delay due to H.264 HD 4:2:2 quality video encoding and transport, but Davis says this has been an an cipated part of produc on since the group began central- cas ng WOLO-TV from WCCB-TV over earlier DS3 circuits years ago.
The di erence is that by going from DS3 circuits to a dedicated IP link, the group has cut transport costs in half
– and without compromising reliability. When Hurricane Ma hew came through the area last fall, Bahakel broadcast live on all three sta ons from all three sta ons, con nuing to broadcast even during a mass evacua on in Myrtle Beach without losing IP connec vity. WFXB-TV’s building was empty and dark, remotely operated from WCCB-TV during the storm.
“Everything we do is around the idea that it has to work reliably without daily interven on, and we prove the system beforehand so we know the opera onal limita ons,” explains Davis. As IT technology proves itself over me, the group then folds those new developments into its opera on, making the best of current technology without ge ng
stuck with early adopter reliability issues. WCCB-
TV started with a Wheatstone TV80 analog audio console in 1999, and then upgraded to the Dimension Three with touchscreen access in October of 2016. “We evaluated the console and saw that it could be connected via (IP audio network) BLADEs, and thought, ‘let’s see what else we can do with that,’” says Davis. “Wheatstone’s service and support are superb, so
we had con dence their IP products would meet our needs.”
Recently, he expanded on the WheatNet-IP audio network with Wheatstone’s EDGE and Aura8-IP BLADE for an eight-channel audio link over Ethernet IP. The group uses the system for transpor ng mul ple Columbia radio sta ons’ audio back to WOLO-TV’s master control in Charlo e for Emergency Alert System (EAS) compliance.
“While we do push the envelope here, rather than going for the 100 percent that’s problema c, we go for the
80 percent that works. That’s working very well for us,” sums up Davis.
Sounds like a good plan to us. l
Gary Strickler, senior audio mixer for WCCB-TV’s evening news, in front of the sta on’s original TV80 audio console
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