[continued from previous message]

understanding of the basic physics of antenna operation. And working with
him was a pleasure — his sense of humor, his appreciation for economy of effort, his stories about farming (and I am a farmer too) made knowing him
a great privilege and pleasure.”

Tom King, chairman of Kintronic Labs, said, “John worked with our engineer, Bobby Cox, on a regular basis over the course of his broadcast career. John
was like family to us. He would often come to our office to discuss AM
projects that he had going on with Clear Channel-Jacor-iHeartMedia to
address installation details.”

They described Warner as a thorough project engineer who successfully
planned and implemented every AM station project in which he was involved
in most of the 50 United States. “He loved implementing AM radio projects from start to finish, and he was a great educator, who helped train other broadcast engineers that are still serving the industry today.”

“He thoroughly enjoyed his work and it gave him great purpose in life,” daughter Jenn told RW Sunday. “He loved imparting his wisdom and experience with others and formed friendships with others in the business through collaboration.”

Warner also enjoyed traveling, photography, gardening, amateur radio and spending time with his grandchildren.

According to his obituary, his wife Lynne Hartwell Warner passed away in
2013.

Funeral services and interment are private.

The post John Warner Dies, Was Respected AM Engineer appeared first on
Radio World.


///////////////////////////////////////////
iHeartMedia, GBS Spar Again Over Geo-Targeting

Posted: 28 Feb 2022 02:00 AM PST https://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/headlines/iheartmedia-gbs-spar-again-over-geo-targeting


GeoBroadcast Solutions is again firing back at iHeartMedia for opposing its request that FM broadcasters be allowed to geo-target content.

The FCC has a rulemaking proceeding on the idea, as we’ve reported; iHeartMedia in a series of filings has voiced concern based on what it
calls unresolved technical questions and the risk of splintering the local advertising market.

GBS says its technology, which it brands as ZoneCasting, gives FM
broadcasters an advantage by allowing them to air content intended for
specific coverage areas for limited periods of time. It uses FM boosters to allow for hyperlocal advertising and content independent of the signals of
its primary station within different portions of the primary’s protected service contour.

GBS has compared its technology to iHeartMedia’s AdBuilder website feature, saying that the latter essentially mirrors ZoneCasting in that it allows advertisers to select communities on a map to target their ads.

iHeartMedia argued back that the comparison is inapt.

“In fact, the AdBuilder interface simply allows potential advertisers, including small and medium businesses, to produce and purchase spots to air strategically over iHeartMedia radio stations’ full broadcast service areas and is nothing like FM booster ZoneCasting,” iHeart said in its February
2022 filing.

iHeart continued: “Nevertheless, to support its strawman contention that iHeartMedia is seeking to reinforce and protect its AdBuilder offering, GBS fundamentally mischaracterizes AdBuilder as being essentially equivalent to ZoneCasting.”

The company noted that the NAB has expressed concern about possible
undermining of the broadcast industry’s business model if advertisers could select desired target areas of a station’s broadcast signal, thus creating the ability to geo-target affluent “Gold Coast” areas of a station’s service area.

“The lack of comprehensive testing by GBS in a multitude of settings, endorsement by a government agency of a single vendor’s exclusive and proprietary technology, potential for redlining by advertisers, costs to implement and the disruption to net advertising revenues necessary for broadcasters to serve the listening public,” the media company argues.

[Related: “Large Groups Raise a Caution Flag on Geo-Targeting”]

GBS, in a letter last week to the FCC, replies that its fundamental point
when comparing ZoneCasting to AdBuilder is that a prominent feature of the technologies is the same: “to enable advertisers to reach intended audience both contextually and geographically.”

The technology company disputes iHeart’s claim that ZoneCasting could
burden broadcasters economically.

“That is baseless. The proposed rule would permit the use of geo-targeting technology on a voluntary basis, so it imposes costs on no one,” GBS told
the FCC. “If iHeart or any other broadcaster does not want to invest in the future, then they need not. For those broadcasters who choose to adopt this technology, there are options to finance any costs.”

[GBS commentary: “ZoneCasting Will Level the Playing Field for Radio”]

GBS says iHeart’s argument that ZoneCasting could cause harmful
interference is based on year-old NAB comments that did not include a
technical investigation. “More problematically, iHeart’s Feb. 8, 2022, filing ignores technical demonstrations and analysis of geo-targeting
submitted to the commission five months ago that provided robust evidence
that geo-targeting using boosters enhances the listener experience, works
well with the existing emergency alert system, and causes no interference
to any other broadcaster,” GBS wrote.

GBS has said that any resulting co-channel interference or
self-interference would be manageable and not detrimental to listeners.

The company goes on to say numerous supporters including stakeholders representing minority-owned broadcasters and civil rights advocates have praised the opportunity to lower the barrier to entry for small businesses seeking to advertise on radio and promote the growth of stations that
benefit.

“The proposed rule change advances the public interest by also enabling broadcasters to deliver geo-targeted news, traffic, weather and other vital content to their community. That is the epitome of localism, and the
commission should embrace that goal to put radio on par with all other media,” GBS concludes.

The GBS letter, prepared by Covington & Burling LLP, included the graphic
below indicating terrestrial radio is the only major broadcast platform
lacking the ability to geo-target content.


The post iHeartMedia, GBS Spar Again Over Geo-Targeting appeared first on
Radio World.


///////////////////////////////////////////
SIP codecs exploit compatibility

Posted: 28 Feb 2022 02:00 AM PST https://www.radioworld.com/tech-and-gear/buyers-guide/sip-codecs-exploit-compatibility


Radio World Buyer’s Guide articles are intended to help readers understand why their colleagues chose particular products to solve various technical situations. This month’s articles focus on products for radio remotes and sports.
Kevin Leach is on location in the Yorkshire Pennines in Northern England,
using a USB SIP Codec and Mediaport Sonja router.

In:Quality, a U.K.-based company that specializes in remote broadcast
products and services, recently introduced the USB SIP Codec. Kevin Leach
is founding director.

Radio World: What are the advantages of a SIP codec over other platforms?

Kevin Leach: The beauty of SIP is compatibility, now that so many devices support both SIP and the Opus audio format.

The person making a call from one compatible device doesn’t need to know anything about the equipment at the other end. They just dial its SIP
address, and the call parameters are negotiated automatically.

RW: Can you give examples how your clients are using it creatively?

Leach: Sure. The touchscreen version of our USB SIP Codec has been
extremely popular in parts of the BBC, and for Radio France. Both had to respond quickly to the first COVID lockdowns and were able to deploy our devices to their hosts and pundits, to allow them to connect to the studios from home.

The low cost and immediate availability of our devices allowed both broadcasters to purchase in bulk and at short notice. Meanwhile, the
simplicity of the setup and on-screen controls allowed the hosts to install
the codecs, without the help of an engineer.

RW: Are there misconceptions you’d like to dispel about the product or SIP
in general?

Leach: I think some radio producers are still skeptical about SIP, and IP
in general, because they have had bad experiences in the early days,
especially when using bad WiFi or 3G connections.

Consumer broadband has become much more robust in recent years, especially
when WiFi is eliminated. For that reason, our devices do not support WiFi,
and instead are hard-wired to the router using Ethernet.

Because SIP is a telephony standard, many users are also surprised at just
how clean the audio sounds with Opus, and how stable the calls are with our codecs, despite the lack of a delay.

RW: What else should we know?

Leach: Since the success of the USB SIP Codec, we’ve released a version
that has built-in analog XLR connectors. These units are really versatile
when hooked up to an analog board in a studio. You can send a link to
guests who can connect in from a web browser, and you can even make and
receive phone calls, if you subscribe to the extra functionality.

So in total our SIP codecs come in four flavors: USB SIP Codec Zero, a
small device with no screen; USB SIP Codec Touch, with a 7-inch screen for
use with USB mics; and the XLR versions of Zero and Touch. Separately, our ipDTL works similarly but runs in a web browser on a computer, while hybrIP
is a version of ipDTL designed for talk show calls.

Info: https://inquality.com/contact-us/

The post SIP codecs exploit compatibility appeared first on Radio World.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)