[cma-l] mobile technology and community radio

Mon Sep 5 17:28:47 BST 2011

Clive,

I've not tried it for STL, but I believe the free Sonos 4 software
http://www.burnill.co.uk/index.html has functionality that you can use for a
low latency link.  The software is pretty demanding on PC's processors
though, so you need some PC's with "grunt"!

Text from website copied below.

Glyn

www.a-bc.co.uk

The audio over IP function (STL).

This enables studio to transmitter links using Ogg/Vorbis encoding that
achieves FM like quality at 64kBits/s. A normal ADSL broadband feed can be
used to a remote site. The link can feed multiple sites limited only by the
available bandwidth of the Internet connection.(The software has a limit of
eight feeds).
The other use of the link is for outside broadcasts or feeds from remote
studios. The link is low latency (adjustable)and bi-directional for such
linking.
The STL uses a peer-to-peer method using UDP packets. There is a
server-client method of establishing UDP peer-to-peer connections. This is
an aid for sites that do not have a fixed IP address.
The STL link implements virtual RS232 Serial Data ports for remote control.
The serial data link is bi-directional.

2011/9/5 Clive Glover <clive.glover at lineone.net>

> Peter
>
> We have been experimenting over the Summer with various ways of doing
> Outside Broadcasts. Essentially we have mikes, mixer and music source(s)
> plus a laptop PC creating a stream broadcast over the Internet which is then
> picked up in the studios. In theory we can use a direct Ethernet connection
> or WiFi if available at the remote location or 3G otherwise. However
> Ethernet is rarely available and we have found WiFi unreliable so have opted
> for 3G which works well. We got a 3G dongle for ￡30 from 3 which lasted us
> through the whole Summer!
>
> The only major problem with this setup is that there is a delay of several
> seconds which can cause problems if we are interacting with a presenter in
> the studio. We tried various combinations of presenter in studio with
> reporter on remote site, presenter at remote site with music coming from
> studio and broadcasting the whole programme from the remote site. Perhaps
> surprisingly the latter worked best as it avoided problems working with the
> delay.
>
> The technical solution to the delay is to use special "black boxes" called
> Instreamers and Extreamers although these are expensive (￡200 or so each).
> But running the whole programme from the remote site works very well as long
> as the broadband link stays up.
>
> The other main lesson is that it is essential to have a technical operator
> at the studios all the time during an OB, with a direct communications link
> (mobile phone usually although it could be Skype).
>
> I think we have been surprised that this setup can produce such a good
> quality link from an external site using just a few ￡100s of equipment. Only
> a few years ago such things required van fulls of equipment and a staff of
> dozens - at least for the BBC!
>
> regards,
>
> Clive Glover
>
> Radio Verulam
>
> St Albans
>
> On 4 Sep 2011, at 22:42, London Chinese Radio wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> Sounds a bit vague, but I would be interested in hearing what use community
> stations are making of mobile technology.
> So the first question is "what do I mean by mobile technology", to which
> the answer must be "somehow using a mobile phone to interact with a radio
> station or it's output"
>
> I once saw a presenter who used to take calls to his mobile which he had
> plugged into the mixing desk (that was on Sound Radio) it worked really
> well, and he did get quite a number of calls.
> Some of our presenters come and want to play music from their iphones, so I
> guess that's another use. Once, before we had a telephone hybrid, we had a
> presenter who did a phone in, and held the mobile up to the mic, that worked
> pretty well too....
> But more importantly, listeners - do you take texts, SMS, facebook
> messages, etc. How about people listening with their mobile phones?
> Or what about using SMS services to contact large amounts of people en
> masse...? Anyone had experiences with that?
> Does anyone know of any way to broadcast to mobile phones and avoid huge
> costs to listeners on mobiles?
>
> I'm about to start a mobile technology project, and I'd like to hear any
> success stories, maybe we can all share what works well. I certainly will be
> more than happy to share any results from the project.
>
>
> Best regards to all,
>
> Peter Vautier
> London Chinese Radio
>
> --
> 野火烧不尽，春风吹又生
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