Mike Rabey Chief engineer from Entercom Indianapolis talks about his experience testing Tieline's new audio over IP.

Getting remote broadcast audio from a remote site to the studio usually employs one of 3 well-known routes: RPU transmitters, POTS codecs, or ISDN links. I was intrigued by the opportunity to test-drive the new Tieline Audio-Over-IP option for its G3 codec.

Testing started as soon as the trial units were dropped off. Now that high-speed internet is available at most businesses, the concept of achieving a high-quality stereo audio path from a remote site, over the internet, has become feasible. 128 kbps stereo audio, for free, is an attractive idea.

The units started off at a 9.6 kbps data rate, and quickly improved as I manually stepped the data rate upward. At 24 kbps, the Tielines switched into stereo mode. At 128 kbps, they produced truly remarkable audio quality.
I then connected them over the office network, which produced excellent audio quality.

Next, I connected from a Comcast cable modem in the building to the static address our IT manager Gill Rudolph had set up. After some experimenting with IP address/port setting combinations, it worked quite well.

We put the G3 system to the test during a remote broadcast of WZPL's “Smiley Morning Show” from a local comedy club.

Two days prior, I went to the site, which had SBC DSL service, plugged the Tieline in and it promptly connected to the studio unit in flawless stereo.

I arrived early on the big day. After an initial hiccup caused by the house wiring being out of phase, we were in business.
The producer went to his car to listen and came back grinning from ear to ear. “That sounds great! It's the best sounding remote I've ever heard!”

A large crowd assembled at the comedy club at 6 am to watch the show, and their laughter and applause made the broadcast even more enjoyable.

Tieline will launch a new 3G broadband cellular wireless remote software module for Commander and i-Mix G3 codecs at NAB 2006.

Now you can connect through 3G wireless broadband cellular networks to deliver live, broadcast quality remotes to the studio.

3G (or 3-G) is short for third-generation technology and applies to broadband-enabled cell phones. 3G provides the ability to transfer voice data (a telephone call) and non-voice data (downloading info, emailing, and instant messaging). (http://en.wikipedia.org)

Tieline has engineered a reliable IP solution for delivering broadcast quality audio over 3G’s broadband internet component, which enables data transfer at download speeds of up to 384kbps and upload speeds of up to 128kbps.
3G covers a broad spectrum of technologies which are slightly different in major regions of the world, including 3G, UMTS, and EVDO. Coverage is provided by at least one cellular service provider in a number of countries throughout the world. For example, Cingular in the United States, Vodafone in Germany and 3 in the in the UK and Australia.

Using Tieline’s new USB Master module a 3G broadband-enabled cell phone can be attached to the Commander or i-Mix codec. You can broadcast from anywhere reliable wireless 3G coverage is available.

Not only can you conduct high quality near real-time audio broadcast anywhere there is a 3G signal, but if the connection can support the bandwidth, you can also deliver off-air studio communications on the same link.

Once a 3G compatible phone (with broadband internet) is connected to the optional USB Master module on the Tieline Commander or i-Mix G3 codecs, the codec will take over dialing and enable you to connect to the internet and transfer audio back to the studio live.

It's easy. It's fast. It's excellent audio of the highest quality. It's going to be your remote broadcaster's best friend, and it's available now for you to test drive at NAB booth N3215.

We're proud to announce the arrival of two new network interfaces for the Commander G3 series codecs - a hardware X.21/V.35 module for digital leased lines and a software 3G module for cellular broadband wireless connections.
Tieline’s marketing manager Darren Levy said "adding wireless over 3G and X.21 digital leased line modules to the Commander and i-Mix G3 codec platforms will make our codecs the first in the world to offer 6 different network options in a single codec including IP, 3G, POTS, GSM, ISDN, and X.21 networks."



Now you can choose one codec that can grow as your network access grows offering 15-20kHz audio in mono and stereo. A multi-network codec gives broadcasters more flexibility in the field to deliver live remotes in a moment's notice over any available network.

In addition, Tieline is the only codec to offer two simultaneous remotes over two different networks from a single codec. You can dial from one studio codec to two field codecs and run two separate remotes over any two separate networks.

What is RSS?

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) takes the hassle of staying up to date with the latest Tieline Technology news and information. Rather than spending endless hours searching web pages, RSS delivers the latest news and information directly to you.

How do I use RSS?

There are two different ways you can read RSS news feeds, they are:

1. Using a compatible web browser you can read RSS feeds that will appear like ordinary bookmarks that will update automatically with the latest Tieline news and information. All you have to do is check the bookmarks from time to time to see whats new. If you find a topic that interests you simply click on it and you will be taken to the Tieline webpage that will have more information on the desired topic. Most web browsers apart from Internet Explorer ™ support RSS feeds. The most popular web browsers that support RSS feeds are Firefox ™ and Safari ™
2. Apart from using a web browser RSS news feeds can be read from software called "RSS News readers". RSS News Readers can be downloaded from the internet.

How do I set up my web browser for Tieline Technology RSS feeds?

1. Using your compatible web browser navigate to the Tieline Technology website
2. An RSS icon will appear within the web browser (not within the web page itself). Unfortunately different web browsers display their version of the RSS icon in a different place. For example Firefox ™ will display an orange icon on the bottom right hand corner of the screen, while Safari™ will display a blue icon at the end of the address bar.

Fig 1: Example of the Firefox ™ RSS icon on the bottom right hand side of the web browser

3. Click the RSS icon and the browser will then prompt you to subscribe to the feed (see Fig 1). Click the prompt and the browser will promt you to name the RSS feed. If you are using Firefox ™ click the drop down arrow in the "Create in" field and select the "Bookmarks Toolbar Folder" (see Fig 2 below) and then Click "OK".

Fig 2: Example of the Browser prompt

Now no matter what web page your visiting the Tieline Technology news links are always infront of you (see Fig 3 below).

How do I set up my RSS News reader software for Tieline Technology RSS feeds if I do not have a compatible browser?

If you don't have a compatible web browser you can download software called "RSS News Readers" which will enable you to read news feeds from the internet.

1. Search, download and install your desired RSS reader from the internet.
2. After installing the reader right click the icon on the Tieline home page and click "Copy link location" to copy the URL of the Tieline RSS news feed.
3. Manually paste the link to the Tieline RSS feed into the RSS reader application.
4. Follow the prompts offered by your RSS reader to complete the subscription.
5. Use your RSS reader to read the latest news topics. By clicking a topic of interest you will be taken to the Tieline webpage with more information.

   Firefox™ and the Firefox logos are trademarks of the Mozilla Foundation. Internet Explorer™ and Outlook ™ are trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Safari™ is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.