WGN's HomeTown Voices are heard thanks to ACCESS

For a couple of years now, Chicago's WGN Radio (720 AM) has been traversing Greater Chicagoland on a trek they call the HomeTown Voices Tour. Oak Park, Aurora, Naperville, St. Charles, Geneva, Skokie, Downers Grove are just a few of the stops they've made. WGN's Director of Engineering, Jim Carollo, put the ACCESS Portable to the test by sending it out on the road to cover some events where ISDN was not available. Jim was kind enough to send us a report AND some audio with video!

"Recently, we were at the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso as stop #35 on our Home Town Voices monthly tour. As I told you when we spoke the last time, I was not able to get an ISDN line. That part of Indiana is Verizon territory and they need at least three weeks notice to provide ISDN so it was not feasible for this broadcast. Instead I ordered three POTS lines and a DSL line, which they can provide in a few days. The DSL was a stand alone line for our use and there was nothing on it but our Access portable. The Opera House also gave me access to their DSL as a backup but there are other things happening on their system such as ticket sales and office internet connectivity. I did not want to take the chance that some sudden peak on their system could cause a problem for us so I set up the Access unit on our line and used theirs for our laptops to check email and communicate with our studio.

I had a Matrix unit running as backup on one of the POTS lines but as far as I know, it was not needed. The dedicated DSL had plenty of issues though. The delay time kept varying from 30ms to 350ms on the peer stats monitor page of the portable. I guess I need to understand better what that means. Our total delay for this remote stayed pretty constant. It was almost totally in sync with the Matrix delay so I am guessing it to be around 0.25 second. In any case, it was not a problem and they tell me there were no glitches. I attached a sample of the first couple of minutes of the show. As usual, feel free to use it as you wish. Later this week, I'm going to try Wrigley Field using the fixed delay setting we set up."

Jim

James J. Carollo

Director of Engineering

WGN Radio

Chicago, IL

For audio from the June 6th Valparaiso remote CLICK HERE.

For audio from the July 11th Skokie remote CLICK HERE.

Cape Town FM Has ACCESS at the "Heart" of it's Outside Broadcasts

We'd be lying if we didn't admit that we think we've got one of the coolest products on the planet in our ACCESS Portable codec. But we are obviously and admittedly biased. So, nothing makes us prouder of our efforts than unsolicited praise and adoration such as the note we recently received from our new best friends in South Africa:

Access works like a charm for Heart104.9FM on the move!


Cape Town's Heart 104.9FM recently became the first South African broadcaster to acquire a Comrex Access system. The result was a complete rejuvenation of our outside broadcast strategy that left our competition literally standing still.

The ability to deliver digital quality from any location with 3G coverage saw Heart 104.9FM successfully broadcast the breakfast show on the move in the traffic with our audience in our OB van. Other OB locations included a sailing yacht, the top of Table Mountain, and live presentation while walking the streets of the CBD [editor's note: that's "central business district"...fyi].

ISDN services have always disappointed, so we explored alternative options. Key concerns were reliability, user friendliness and genuine portability. An advert for the Comrex Access in Radio World International sparked my interest and we contacted the local agent, Tele-Media. In response to our doubts about local reliability of the 3G network, 3G Data cards and others; Tele-Media offered a trial-basis deal allowing us to return the system if we weren't blown away.

Their confidence was well founded. Setup was a breeze. The system manual is very detailed, and the Comrex support team is informed and helpful.

The COMREX ACCESS has opened new horizons, allowing the Heart 104.9FM sales team to sell creative remote broadcasting packages. Our clients are excited, creating innovative and entertaining programming from locations that suit our advertisers better than our rivals offerings.


User-friendly operation enables more presenters the opportunity to explore new technology without the assistance of qualified technicians. ACCESS can be configured via the touch-screen display or online using a web browser.

The heart of the Comrex access is called BRIC (Broadcast Reliable Internet Codec). BRIC technology has been engineered not only to be robust enough for the Internet, but usable in really challenging Internet environments like 802.11x Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, 3G cellular and satellite based Internet connections.

ACCESS comes with a series of profiles that are optimized for the majority of IP and POTS connections. Many users may never have the need to define their own profiles. But many advanced options are available to help with troublesome remotes, or remotes with special requirements. In this way, you can build a profile having these advanced options and assign them to one or all remotes you've defined.

Technician Babu Parker adjusts some ACCESS audio levels before sending it out in the CBD with Koketso Sachane.

Those of us who have been remote broadcasters have been wishing for a system like this for a long time, and our Programming and Sales teams are reaping the benefits as well.

Babu Parker
Sound and Broadcast Technician
HeartFM
Cape Town
South Africa

You can find out more about Heart 104.9 FM by visiting their website: www.1049.fm

DC101 Rocks out in the Desert. Back home they're "deserted" by POTS & ISDN

Back in February of this year, Ed Cole, the Remote Coordinator (we prefer the title "Radio Remote Road Warrior") for Clear Channel Washington DC, contacted us to let us know that he'd be taking his ACCESS for a broadcast overseas. Ed wrote, "I wanted to drop you guys a line to let you know of a special, cool remote broadcast we've got coming up in early March. Our local rock station, DC101, is doing a remote broadcast from the Desert Rock Festival in Dubai, UAE on March 7, and I'm proud to be the engineer for this event. As far as I know, we've never done a remote like this, from a country so far from the United States, and we're pumped for it! ... I've been testing our [ACCESS Portable] locally all week in preparation for this broadcast, and I must say, that little unit rocks! I'll make sure we take pictures and e-mail them to you once we get back home. Would you like me to write up a few paragraphs about our experience once we get back in the States? I'd love to..."

Sure, Ed! If you're happy...then we're happy. Just after the remote, Ed (pictured with his ACCESS Portable below) wrote us with an update:

March 11, 2008
"Hey guys,
We finally got back home last night after a crazy two days of travel. I'll tell you about that later, but I wanted to thank you guys for hooking me up with that upgrade on my Access! That little unit was a stone cold beast! We got hooked up into their DSL connection. I hooked it into my little Linksys switch, and it connected back here instantly! Like we were back home! It stayed connected the entire broadcast, with only two little hiccups on the IFB return, but they were quick little hits, nothing major. I have pictures and I'd like to write up my paragraph if you guys would like to publish it on your site. Tell me how we get it done? Ed"

Well, just write up something, Ed. We'll get it posted for you. So, the next day, Ed filed this report...
March 12, 2008

"Our local rock station, DC101, had a special opportunity to broadcast from Dubai, UAE, at the Dubai Desert Rock Festival, and my trusty Access unit was with me, ready to work. The trip was interesting from the second we went through security/customs at the airports in DC, Amsterdam, Paris and Dubai. When I took it out of my suitcase each time to run it through security, everyone kept asking me what it is, and I explained it to them, to their amazement. That little baby gets double and triple looks from everyone! Once we arrived in Dubai, and got on-site where the Festival took place, and got our broadcast setup, the Access worked like a true champ. ... the Access [was] working OT on a DSL connection the local telecom provided for us. To my surprise, it connected back to the rack unit instantly. I thought maybe it would take a few seconds with the distance between us and home base, but it locked in and stayed connected for the entire broadcast. We used the great AAC-LD algorithm, which sounds as good, if not better than ISDN. The delay was minimal, with no loss on either end. I was so impressed by the Access, and it's strength under those extreme circumstances. I can't wait to see what our next worldwide excursion will be, but I know I'll have my partner with me, the Comrex Access! Thank you again guys! I'll keep you updated whenvever we do more cool remotes and the Access tags along with me. Ed"

(Pictured left: Elliott from Elliott in the Morning. Above right: DDRF's hanging "bar" which had no bathroom and hopefully a two drink maximum. Please leave your keys with the bouncer.)

Ed recently followed up with this little item on April 30th. This time, ACCESS proved its mettle at home in D.C.:

April 30, 2008 -- NO POTS, NO ISDN!

"Great story that went down yesterday...we had an ISDN and POTS line supposedly scheduled to be installed for a remote we did yesterday. Of course, Verizon screwed up, and I couldn't find either line at our location, so I asked the IT guys on-site if we could use either a wireless or hard-wired internet connection to do the show on, and they said yes! So we fired up on the air yesterday with my handy dandy Access, who bailed us out of a potential disaster! How great is that? :) Ed"

Okay, Ed. You're right. It's really great. Thanks for putting ACCESS through the paces. We're certain that DC101's listeners are lucky to have you working so hard for them.

Rays Baseball goes live with ACCESS

Andy Freed (left), Evan Longoria
and Dave Wills
Tampa, FL -- Ah! Spring is in the air. The smell of the grass and the crack of the bat. There's nothing quite like Spring Training in Florida! Fans of the Tampa Bay Rays have a lot to be excited about this year with a new look, great new talent and the prospect of 80+ wins this season. The Rays' broadcast team is also looking to score with fans by doing lots of great remotes this season. Armed with their new ACCESS Portable and Mixer, the Rays have been doing weekly remotes during Spring training for locations all over the Tampa Bay area.
Traditionally, the Rays have relied on ISDN or POTS for their remote broadcasts and ACCESS is usually in the "on-deck circle" as a backup. Well, at a recent remote at Champp's Sports Bar, Rays broadcasters Andy Freed and Dave Wills were all set to do their "Hot Stove Show: Countdown to Opening Day" live from the local eatery. But just moments prior to the broadcast, panic ensued when the ISDN line dropped and wouldn't reconnect!

Luckily, ACCESS was running and ready to go connected via Wi-Fi provided by the restaurant. It was a good thing too! The broadcast featured an interview with the Rays' new owner, Stuart Sternberg, as well as Rays' 3rd base prospect, Evan Longoria.

"ACCESS was connected and the broadcast was flawless. We were really up against it in the last minutes before the show and ACCESS really came through for us," says Rich Herrera, Rays' Director of Broadcast Operations. "We've been using ACCESS in a lot of different applications and plan to use it extensively for pre and post-game shows as well as various other remote broadcasts that we provide to our radio network affiliates throughout the season. Herrera continues, "We had been looking for a way to get mobile with our broadcast so we could talk to fans outside of the stadium or just be more spontaneous regarding our broadcast locations. By using widely available IP circuits like Wi-Fi, 3G cellular and broadband connections, ACCESS Portable is really the perfect solution for our operation."

Rays Sr. Director of Broadcasting, Larry McCabe
and Rich Herrera, Dir. of Broadcast Ops.