In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019 - 10
10
www.inbroadcast.com | IBC2019 InShow Guide | 13-17 September
Broadcast Audio Processing
Orban's Peter Lee provides a strategy to managing
the sound of your station to get the desired result...
T
his guideline proposes a
systematic approach for
getting the desired result to
the on-air sound you want.
Tuning a station's audio
processing
requires
a
demanding
combination
of artistic judgment and
technical
experience.
The basic approach is finding your
preferred sound incrementally. The
idea is that you won't know that you've
arrived until you went too far.
If the general manager, programme
director and engineer have divergent
preferences, define who will be the
ultimate judge.
Encourage use of audience research
which is much more reliable than
depending on the preferences of one
(or a few) individuals.
The Desired Result
The "right" answer is the processing
that maximises your target audience.
At one end of the scale is minimal
processing for an on-air sound that is
most faithful to the original recording.
On the other end of the scale is
aggressive processing that may sound
quite different from the original
source.
Good judgment is the rule. There
is no meter indication of when
processing is "in tune"; you must rely
on your artistic judgment. Deciding
on, and defining, the ideal point on
the scale is perhaps the most difficult
task in meeting your objective. Legal
limitations restrict peak modulation.
Peak modulation and perceived
loudness are not alike. Increasing
loudness by simply cranking the
modulation invites legal penalties;
more effective alternatives exist.
Align your processing objectives to
complement the overall audience,
format and business plan.
If increased time spent listening is
a priority for your station's ratings,
aggressive
processing
for
dial
dominance is not appropriate. But
CHR and Urban formats can often
benefit from a highly processed sound
that increases the energy level of
the presentation. Compression and
equalisation can do this; there's no
reason to make the sound overtly
distorted and grungy by excessive
clipping.
System Considerations
No audio processor can repair
poor source audio. Aggressive audio
processing exaggerates any defects
in the source material seen by the
processor. More audio processing
components installed in your system
increases risk of failure and often,
degrades the audio. In general, it's
wise to minimise components in the
audio chain.
Peak overshoot is the enemy of
perceived loudness. Every percent of
overshoot broadcast is about 0.1dB of
loudness sacrificed. Therefore, every
component in the system following
and including the broadcast audio
processor must have the lowest
possible overshoot. Probably the
best measure of an audio processor's
performance is how effectively it
can reduce the peak-to-average
ratio without introducing unpleasant
artefacts.
Configuration
Components in the system must
be arranged to deliver the best
peak control possible (i.e., minimum
overshoot) to the transmitter. A
common problem is locating the
main audio processor prior to an
overshooting studio to transmitter
link (STL); if the audio with overshoot
is applied directly to the transmitter,
you must reduce modulation (and
loudness) to remain legal. Two
common solutions are to relocate the
main audio processor after the STL, or
to fix the overshoot problem in the STL
itself. While some newer exciters have
built-in overshoot limiters, use these
only as a last resort.
Receivers differ. Act upon the
broadcasting system as a whole: from
Orban OPTIMOD 8700i
the studios to the audience, through
the lens of the processing componentsSTL transmitter-receiver. Listen in
varied environments whatever is
typical to your audience. In addition,
if your target audience typically listens
at low volume, it's wise to do the same.
It's prudent to have a high-quality
monitoring system as a reference,
however keep things in the context of
the target audience.
Start Tweaking
Where to start? You most likely
will have a digital processor, try
one or more of the manufacturer's
recommended presets as a starting
point. Some digital processors (like the
OPTIMOD) have the added advantage
of a single control that scales many
parameters to your preference,
making the task of adjustment much
easier.
What to tweak? Make an effort to
understand the operation of your
audio processor(s). Manufacturers
implement traditional controls in
different ways.
Document everything before you
change anything, and document each
change along the way. At some point,
you'll need to back up to a previous
setting. For analogue processors,
create a chart tabulating the control
parameters, and the date of each
change. If you have a digital audio
processor, save each change to a
preset.
Use an incremental approach.
Making large changes to many
parameters in one session is difficult
to manage. The downside to making
small adjustments is that differences
can be too subtle to notice. Listen.
Allow plenty of time to judge the
effects of your changes. What sounds
fine on a few songs may sound
wretched on another. What sounds
great on your monitoring
system may sound wimpy
on a car radio. Where and
when to stop? Ask "how will I
know when I'm done?" If the
present on-air sound is far
from your goal, it's relatively
easy to judge changes to the
audio processing. However,
as the processed sound approaches
the goal, subjective differences
become increasingly subtle.
Troubleshooting
What to do if your station's sound is
unsatisfactory? First, determine where
the problem begins. If the programme
output of the audio console sounds
fine, does it sound okay at the output
of the processor? At the output of the
STL? Next, determine if the problem is
due to a component failure, or due to
maladjustment.
If the problem seems to originate
from the processor, the best way
to determine if it's functioning
properly is to restore all settings to
the manufacturer's recommended
positions (or recall a factory preset).
You'll have a good idea of the nature of
the problem at this point. If the on-air
sound is unsatisfactory, but it doesn't
sound broken, bypass any processors
one by one and compare the overall
sound.
Define your on-air audio goal
as much as possible. Break the
adjustment
process
down
to
manageable steps, both in the number
of system components, and in the
parameters changed in an adjustment
session. Expect to over-adjust and be
prepared to revert to some previously
documented setting.
Audience First
The worst thing you can do is to
forget the interests of your audience
in the heat of the battle. If you deliver
obviously distorted, squashed, and
pumped audio, they may respond by
tuning out!
See Orban on stand 8.D93.
www.orban.com
Orban 5500
http://www.inbroadcast.com
http://www.orban.com
In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019
In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019 - Intro
In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019 - Cover1
In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019 - Cover2
In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019 - 3
In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019 - 4
In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019 - 5
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In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019 - Cover3
In Broadcast - InShowguide 2019 - Cover4
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