The Broadcasters' Desktop Resource

This Week’s Newsletter

Greetings from your broadcast friends out on the Desert…
This is the BDR Newsletter 736 Volume 15, #9 for September 20, 2023

Here are some things you might want to know about:

IBC
If IBC was not on your list this year, there were 43,065 folks in Amsterdam, from 170 countries. Some 1200 exhibitors were there, and like NAB, the attendance is backing up a bit each year – this year over 3/4 the pre-pandemic attendance. The key topics: cloud, AI, 5G, and VR/AR/XR, also encompassing gaming and esports. We have been noting some of the newer tech and features in the Manufacturers’ News section below over the past month. A lot, yes, was drived from the Spring NAB Show, but some new items were definitely on the menu.

AI – OH, YES
As mentioned, a large part of the exhibition in Amsterdam concerned AI and how it will affect nearly every part of society, including broadcast. One of the most attended sessions – the room was overflowed – was on AI: the opportunities and limitations. In recent months, we have been learning of AI announcers, commercial spokespeople, and it is interesting to note that some of the AI tools now will output voices in audio and video in eight languages. More to come!

LIVE FROM … ANYWHERE
Far from the days of trying to find a place to set up a Marti feed, we now have a suite of programs to do live remote broadcasts  and interviews from anywhere. The IQOYA suite from Digigram is worth a look for the way it simplifies the process, adds features, and lets you decide how to set it up.

Join us at 2 PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific for the BDR Lunch Gathering. we will have a live demonstration, questions and answers, and more. Your program folks may be interested. The link is available at www.theBDR.net/TLG/ or on youtube.com/thebdrnet (you can even subscribe and get a reminder when we are live or the video is posted.)

NPT QUESTIONS?
We are only two weeks from the NPT. If there are any questions you still have about the NPT or your receivers, the recent BDR Lunch Gathering should answer them. Ed Czarnecki from DASDEC was among those who joined us to discuss what is required now, and what is coming at the end of the year. The video is available here.

CES
While there are regional broadcast-oriented conventions still to go here in the fall, CES has announced that registration for January is now open. CES will run in Las Vegas from January 9-12, 2024.

CYBER SECURITY
Have you done a personal password/cyber security audit recently? It is important to keep up with the latest scams and hacks. It is not just a personal responsibility though. It is also not just IT’s responsibility. Everyone should have a hand in being cyber secure.

WKRP AT 45
WKRP in Cincinnati first hit the airwaves on September 18, 1978. Most folks will admit that amongst the jokes was about the best depiction of life in the industry. Yes, they took liberties (we could list them). But while we laughed, we saw ourselves and our co-workers.

FOR SALE/WANTED
A special offer: a working Nautel ND50 is available, possibly even for donation, but needs to be moved shortly. That and other listings are here.
And do not forget Dana’s Dally Deals.

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May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!



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Some recent articles of interest:

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      May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

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      MANUFACTURERS’ NEWS

      ABC Audio links up with, erm, LinkUp Communications. The companies have inked a deal to distribute news and entertainment content and advertising to the over 1500 affiliate stations and more than 82 million listeners worldwide. More info here.

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      Telos Alliance has two new additions to their product line family of popular streaming audio encoders and processors: Z/IPStream X/20 and Z/IPStream R/20 Stream Encoders. The debut will be in Amsterdam. Z/IPStream R/20 is a dedicated 1RU encoding and processing hardware appliance with and Z/IPStream X/20 is implemented in software for deployment on Windows PCs and servers.

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      GatesAir
      has debuted the GatesAir Maxiva GNSS-PTP, a standalone 1RU solution with a sophisticated switching algorithm that assures high-precision 10MHz and 1 PPS reference signals to mission-critical components in the signal chain, including transmitters, networking, and studio equipment.

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      Wheatstone’s
      latest version of the WheatNet IP audio network, V5 is now available.

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      There are often more news items from manufacturers (and links) at: www.thebdr.net/manufacturers-news and https://www.thebdr.net/quick-takes/

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      May we please recommend this fine company which supports the BDR – and you!

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      Do You Remember? This week in history:
      Broadcast related items:

        • 26 years ago (9/19/97) Auto-Tune pitch-correction software is released.
        • 28 years ago (9/17/95) the BBC began Eureka-147 DAB broadcasts.
        • 36 years ago (9/19/87) The Grateful Dead had their only Top 10 hit. *
        • 45 years ago (9/18/78) WKRP in Cincinnati debuted on CBS.
        • 50 years ago (9/20/73) Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match.
        • 54 years ago (9/19/69) saw a #1 hit by a cartoon group. **
        • 59 years ago (9/22/64) “Fiddler on the Roof” debuts on Broadway.
        • 63 years ago (9/19/60) Chubby Checker hit #1 with he cover of “The Twist.” ***

        Here are a couple of more newsy-type items:

        • 48 years ago (9/22/75) Sara Jane Moore attempted to assassinate President Ford.
        • 62 years ago (9/22/61) JFK signed the Peace Corps legislation.
        • 64 years ago (9/19/59) Nikita Khrushchev was barred from visiting Disneyland and was mocked in LA.
        • 65 years ago (9/19/57) the United States detonated a 1.7 kiloton nuclear weapon in an underground tunnel 65 miles from Las Vegas.
        • 142 years ago (9/19/1881) James Garfield was assassinated. Chester Arthur was the new US President.
        • 161 years ago (9/22/1862) Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

        … and 330 years ago (9/18/1793) George Washington laid the cornerstone to the United States Capitol building. ****

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                * “Touch of Grey” peaked at #10. No other Grateful Dead song got as high.

                ** “Sugar Sugar” by The Archies was #1 for four weeks!

                *** Checker managed to top the charts with this song again in 1962. (The original, by Hank Ballard & The Midnighters only reached  #28.)

                **** The building would take nearly a century to complete, as architects came and went, the British set fire to it, and it was called into use.

                WEEKEND BONUS

                According to Instagram, here are the top 20 most famous streets in the US.


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                barry

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