Maintaining Audio Quality in the Broadcast Facility 2011 - Orban

Table of Contents
MAINTAINING AUDIO QUALITY IN THE BROADCAST FACILITY..................................................... 1
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1
PART 1: RECORDING MEDIA.......................................................................................................... 4
Compact Disc ........................................................................................................................... 4
Quality Control in CD Transfers.............................................................................................. 7
CD-R and CD-RW, DVD±R, DVD±RW, DVD-A, HD-DVD, Blu-ray...................................... 9
Digital Tape............................................................................................................................ 10
Hard Disk Systems.................................................................................................................. 11
Flash RAM.............................................................................................................................. 11
Data Compression .................................................................................................................. 12
PART 2: SYSTEM CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................. 20
Wiring and Grounding ........................................................................................................... 20
Headroom............................................................................................................................... 22
Bit Accuracy ........................................................................................................................... 25
Metering ................................................................................................................................. 26
Measuring and Controlling Loudness .................................................................................... 27
Speech/Music Balance............................................................................................................ 30
Electronic Quality................................................................................................................... 31
The Arbitron® PPM (Portable People Meter) ....................................................................... 38
PART 3: THE PRODUCTION STUDIO.............................................................................................. 40
Choosing Monitor Loudspeakers............................................................................................ 40
Loudspeaker Location and Room Acoustics........................................................................... 41
Loudspeaker Equalization ...................................................................................................... 42
Stereo Enhancement ............................................................................................................... 44
Other Production Equipment.................................................................................................. 44
Production Practices .............................................................................................................. 45
PART 4: EQUIPMENT FOLLOWING OPTIMOD ............................................................................. 47
STL.......................................................................................................................................... 47
FM Exciter.............................................................................................................................. 47
FM Transmitter ...................................................................................................................... 48
FM Antenna............................................................................................................................ 49
AM Transmitter ...................................................................................................................... 49
AM Antenna............................................................................................................................ 49
DAB/ HD Radio / Netcasting Encoders.................................................................................. 50
SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 51
APPENDIX: ANALOG MEDIA ........................................................................................................ 53
Vinyl Disk ............................................................................................................................... 53
Analog Tape............................................................................................................................ 58
Tape Recorder Maintenance: ................................................................................................. 61
Recording Your Own Alignment Tapes .................................................................................. 64
“Sticky Shed Syndrome” ........................................................................................................ 65
Cartridge Tape Machine Maintenance: ................................................................................. 66
ABOUT THE AUTHORS ................................................................................................................. 67