The company says the new MPX products offer numerous system design options. It is based on customer requirements for MPX generation, manipulation, distribution, and economic aspects. To connect the studio and the MPX link, inputs for analog audio, AES/EBU and Audio over IP are provided. Whereby all known standards for Audio over IP streaming, control, and status query are supported. All main modules like stereo generator, RDS encoder or MPX codec are software-based and easy to activate. For operators, this leads to a multitude of facilities.
Technicians are enabled to generate the MPX signal fitting to the station’s needs. It is possible to assemble the whole MPX signal, including audio, pilot, and RDS for high-quality 100% lossless transmission. If the bandwidth economy is an issue the solution offers several opportunities starting at the stage of signal generation. It’s possible to create the MPX signal just including audio and pilot. In this case, RDS data is forwarded separately or is only assembled at the regional studio located at the transmitter site. Besides, broadcasters can choose to use a compression algorithm for lower bandwidth IP connections and narrowband STL channels.
The opportunities at the transmitter site are directly linked to the idea of flexibility at the studio. Besides just forwarding the fully assembled MPX signal to the transmitter it is also
possible to manipulate it at the receiving site. For example, splitting the MPX signal into its components and substituting the RDS data with regionalized RDS information, if needed. Or, the local RDS data is added at the transmitter site’s local studio in case the forwarded MPX signal only includes audio and pilot.
Moreover, it is also possible to distribute the MPX signal via satellite by MPE encapsulation at the studio and by an optional satellite tuner available for 2wcom’s receiving units. This is an advantage when satellite bandwidth is more economical, or coverage should be increased for regions still lacking broadband IP. Consequently, it is also possible to establish source redundancy by forwarding the station program via IP and satellite in parallel and switch to the best source available at the transmitter site.
coming back to the innovative modularly configurable concept of the 4audio series. If the aim is just to transmit the assembled MPX signal 100% lossless to the transmitter, the IP-4c four-channel codec supports this approach perfectly. In any case of signal generation or signal manipulation, a product of the 4audio MPX series has to be chosen equipped with the respective software modules, such as RDS encoder, stereo generator or MPX codec.
