september 1987 $3.00 b11/1 e - … · processor -controlled atrs. now, with the a807, budget...

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Also in this issue: Microphone Techniques for MTS Time Base Correctors

Psychoacoustics GM/CE Relationships

Top Notch for Your Bottom LineA top-notch performer, the new Studer A807 has the features and sound qualityyou need for demanding production applications. And, as the lowest -pricedStuder, it also looks good on your bottom line.

The Fruits of "Trickle -Down" Technology. Over the past fiveyears Studer has developed a whole new generation of micro-processor -controlled ATRs. Now, with the A807, budget -mindedpros can find this new technology in a compact, ingeniouslyengineered package.

A Summary of Top -Notch Features: Digital setting and storage of audio alignment paratrO Tape shuttle wheel Zero locate, autolocate, start locate, and loop functions Multiple timer modes Programmable keys for additional locator addresses, fader

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SEPTEMBER 1987 VOLUME 23/NUMBER 9

ea urea

CoverThis original oil painting wasdone by New York -based illus-trator Steve Dininno. It graphi-cally depicts how audio proces-sors are employed by radiostations to appeal to a wide spec-trum of users.

22

BROADCAST MANA EMENT/ENGINEERIN

46

20 Audio Engineering & ProductionThe Power of ProcessingAudio processors are standard fare in radio. Some broadcastersemploy these devices to provide a healthy boost to their signals,while others see them as lethal weapons in the ratings war...by Steven Schwartz, Radio/Audio Editor

Microphone Techniques for MTS 29In keeping with this development, microphone techniques areevolving as standards are being set . . by Robin Lanier

20

Psychoacoustics-Part IV: Combination Tonesand Harmony 36This final installment of BM/E's series on the science of soundperception focuses on two tone effects . . . by Paul B. Christensen

43 TV Engineering & ProductionSome A,B,C's on TBC's and Frame SyncsPerhaps the most critical aspect of video processing lies inkeeping the video signal in proper shape throughout the plant.. . . by Brian McKernan, Television Editor

55 Transmission/Distribution EngineeringSatellite Protection SystemsBonneville Satellite maintains sat network systems throughintelligent technical planning.

65 Broadcast ManagementUndeclared War?: The GM/CE Relationship 65Operating today's radio station is a complex task of balancingthe financial and programming concerns of the general man-ager and the techical and operational duties of the chief engi-neer...by Tim Wetmore, Editor

Radio '87 Preview 70This year's gathering in Anaheim promises "Engineering Plus". . . and more . . . by Steven Schwartz, Radio/Audio Editor

8 Editorial 72 FCC Rules &AM Revisited (Again) Regulations

Comparative Renewal

10 industry NewsFairness Doctrine battleshaping up

76 New Equipment80 Business Briefs82 Advertisers Index

BM/E SEPTEMBER 1987 7

Editorial

"The industry is pre-pared to rise from

the fear and uncer-tainty that has

plagued it for the lastseveral years."

AM Stereo Revisite(Again)

With the recent follow-up report issued by the National Telecom-munications and Information Administration on its February studyon AM stereo, that technology is being brought under scrutiny onceagain. Two proclamations of note came out of the second report. TheNTIA's determination that there is not degradation of sound inmultisystem radios compared with single -system AM receivers wasqualified by the statement that implementation of multisystem tech-nology was not feasible due to the dominance of Motorola's C-Quamsystem in the marketplace and the lack of support for multisystemunits by manufacturers.

The more cogent statement in the recent report, however, concernsthe NTIA's recommendation that the FCC protect the C-Quam pilottone from interference. In our opinion this is the right move. Suchprotection would provide the needed impetus to the sagging AMmarketplace. Having already lived under the intolerable burden ofconfusion, AM broadcasters need a strong, positive force to renewtheir vigor. A bold gesture by the FCC in protecting the C-Quam pi-lot tone would surely serve notice to AMers that the industry is pre-pared to rise from the fear and uncertainty that has plagued it forthe last several years.

Importantly, this would only be a protection and not new regula-tory red tape. Thus, there would be no interference with thosebroadcasters who have chosen the Kahn AM stereo system or thosestill free to chose it. It would, like the EIA's MTS protection, onlygive the industry the comfort of protection rather than dictating toit a certain technology. Such a move by the FCC, it would appear, isas close as we are likely to get to a solution, and is certainly as closeas we will ever get to satisfying all concerned parties.

Go ahead FCC, pass the protection.

Tim WetmoreEditor

8 BM/E SEPTEMBER 1987

SURVIVAL RADIOIt really is a jungfr out there. And in that jungle,

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Industry NewsFairness Battle LinesFormedNAB president Edward 0. Frittshas issued a statement sayingthat his organization will work tohelp President Reagan sustain hisJune 20 veto of the fairness doc-trine. A Congressional battle onthe issue is shaping up as this is-sue goes to press.

"The President believes as webelieve that the fairness doctrineis unconstitutional and impingeson the First Amendment rights ofbroadcasters," Fritts says. "Ourpreliminary count is that a veto issustainable and we will workhard to help the President sustainhis veto. Broadcasters believe infairness and will report fairlywhether there is a fairness doc-trine or not. The question iswhether we should have govern-ment telling our news depart-ments how to operate."

One group opposing the FCC'sAugust 4 abolition of the fairnessdoctrine is the Syracuse PeaceCouncil. They have filed a peti-tion with the U.S. Court of Ap-peals in New York to have the doc-trine reinstated, and argue thatthe FCC acted beyond its author-ity in repealing the doctrine. Thegroup maintains that the doctrinewas law, and not FCC policy, andthat the commission does not havethe authority to declare it uncon-stitutional.

FCC Raids Pirate RadioShipIn a move to protest what theysaw as the "stagnant" state ofrock programming on New YorkCity radio, a group of self -de-scribed radio enthusiastslaunched a seafaring pirate radiooperation off the shore of Long Is-land late last July.

Housed in a rusting 170 -footfreighter outfitted with five trans-mitters-including a 110 -foot ra-dio tower-the station, dubbedRadio NewYork International(RNI), began broadcasting on July23. Two days later, two FCCagents along with officers fromthe Customs Service and Immi-gration and Naturalization Serv-ice boarded the Honduran-regis-

The new CNN Newsroom at Atlanta's just -completed $30 mil-lion CNN Center became operational at 6 a.m. (EST) July 13.Occupying 20,000 square feet of space and employing 120 peo-ple, the CNN Newsroom is outfitted with a specially designedBasys newsroom computer system with capacity for more than500 terminals. In keeping with CNN tradition, a window at thefront of the newsroom adjoins the CNN news set, giving audi-ences at home a view of newsmaking operations. Directly be-hind the window are three writer's pods, one for each eight -hour shift. Behind the pods is the supervising producer's desk,national and international assignment desks, and-in the lowerright of this picture-the satellite newsgathering/CNN News -beam coordination desk. The computer graphics area is visiblein the upper right. CNN is received in 42 million homes, serves175 broadcast television stations, and is carried on nearly everyCATV system in North America.

tered ship and issued a warning tothe station's personnel that theywere apparently violating Fed-eral rules by broadcasting with-out a license.

RNI claimed, however, thatthey were in international watersoutside the three-mile territoriallimit (and thus, outside the FCC'sjurisdiction), and they resumedtheir rock and oldies broadcastson unassigned frequencies on theAM, FM, and shortwave bandsthe following evening.

"It's like sending up a flare thatsomething is wrong in the radiomedia in New York that peoplewould go this far to try and bringan alternative voice to the air,"RNI's 30 -year -old operationsmanager Randi Steele told theNew York Post.

At dawn on July 27, the FCCreturned in the company of CoastGuardsmen who arrested the sta-

tion's chief engineer, Alan Wei-ner, and disc jockey IvanRothstein. The two men were ar-raigned later that day in FederalDistrict Court in Brooklyn oncharges of conspiracy to impedethe FCC and operating a broad-cast station off the shore of theU.S. Both were released on theirown recognizance after promisingto cease the broadcasts.

Weiner, of Monticello, Maine,has had run-ins with the FCCprior to RNI. In 1971, Federalagents broke up his pirate radiostation, WSEX, in Yonkers, NewYork; two years ago his radio li-cense in Maine was revoked forbroadcasting on unassigned fre-quencies.

An FCC spokeswoman notedthat although the ship was flyingthe Honduran flag, RNI violatedan international treaty that for-bids broadcast operations aboard


and this... and this!J8 x 6 BIE: 6mm Wide, 96mm Telephoto, 11" M.O.D.!

Once again, superior Canon opt cal technobcygives you greater flexibility and capability than eie-befcre. The incredible Canon J8 x 6 BIE lens providesthe wide-angle coverage you need in tight situatiorsand its built-in 2X extender gives you 96mm-whetyou need to get closer.

CationOptics DivisionCanon USA, Inc., Head Office: One Canon Plaza. Lake Success. NY 11042 (516) 488-6'00Dallas Office: 3200 Regent Blvd.. ff-virg, TX 75063 (214) 830-9600Chicaco Office- 100 Park Blvd., Itasca IL 60143 (312) 250-6200West Coast Office: 123 Paularino Avenue East, Costa Mesa, CA 926 (714) 979-6000Canon Canada, Inc., 6390 Dixie Roac, Mississauga, Ontario L5T1P7, Canada (416) 676-2720a. 1986 Canon U.S.A , Inc

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Industry News

ships. She added that the Hondu-ran government was notified be-fore the ship was seized.

If convicted, Weiner andRothstein could face maximumprison terms of five years and$250,000 fines. A hearing hasbeen set for August 27.

SMPTE to USSRThree officials of the Society ofMotion Picture and TelevisionEngineers (SMPTE) have re-

cently returned from a nine -daytechnical demonstration tour ofthe USSR for the purpose of ex-changing information and ideaswith their Soviet counterparts.

SMPTE president M. CarlosKennedy, editorial vice presidentHoward T. La Zare, and societyengineering director of motionpictures Edmund M. Digiuliomade the trip at the expressed in-vitation of S. A. Solomatin, dep-uty chairman of Goskino, state

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committee on cinematography.The SMPTE delegation visited

Soviet motion -picture research in-stitutes, labs, television and filmstudios, and manufacturing facili-ties in Moscow, Kiev, and Lenin-grad. They also participated intechnical discussions of theGoskino.

Among the observations thegroup made on the trip was thatthe USSR feeds television pro-gramming via satellite to thecountry's five time zones. M.Carlos Kennedy stated that "Ourhosts in the Soviet Union dis-played a great deal of openness,sincerity, and friendliness. Theywere respectful and totally open-minded to our ideas."

Help for HaitiansThe following is an edited appealreceived by this magazine fromThomas F. Korn, district gover-nor's aide of the World Commu-nity Services Committee and ofthe Marshfield, WI, Rotary Club.Mr. Korn writes:

"For the past three years ourRotary Club has been involved ina number of projects to helpschools and hospitals in and nearCap-Haitien, Haiti. They badlyneed a 5 kW or larger, 120 volt AC(60 Hz) automatic electric genera-tor, either gasoline or dieseldriven. They need it for a chil-dren's clinic to pump water and topower microscopes and other elec-tronic devices. Also badly neededis a low -power (maximum 250watts, preferably less) FM broad-cast transmitter, antenna, andstudio equipment. Haitians haveradios but need to be taught toboil their water, cook their veg-etables, and wash their hands.The University Roi there will op-erate the station. Neither ofthese items need be new, but theyshould be in reasonably reliableoperating condition. One of yourreaders might have this equip-ment going to waste somewhereand it could be saving lives rightnow. Naturally we are hoping analtruistic reader will make a giftof these items."

Mr. Korn can be contacted bywriting to the Marshfield RotaryClub, P.O. Box 928, Marshfield,WI 54449.



Solidasa Sony.

Sony videotape has arock -solid reputation as thetoughest you can buy.

One word sums up everything we triedto achieve with Vl-K videotape: durability.

From its cross -linked binder systemto its adhesive base film, it wasperfected for the real worldof constant jogging, stillframe editing, shuttlinc...and deadlines.

And its ultrafineVivax- magnetic particleformulation was made todeliver astonishing picturequality, higher stabilityand optimum S/N ratiowith the lowest headwearrate of any major one -inchvideotape.

Mat we did for V1 -E. benefited BCTBetacarn® too, resulting trouble -free stillframe editing, totally reliable repeatedplayback and worry -free long-term storage.

And new Sony BRS and XBR II-matic®cassettes have all of the wove plus the newSony Carixmmirror- back coating, as wellas Sony's anti -static shell, which we intro-

duced in BCT Betacam. They delivera new level of durability, runabilityand especially fewer dropouts.

So, after all, Sony professionalvideotape .s just like any otherSony: stancard-settng videoand audio with a "solid as arock" repu:ation. That's why

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SONYTHE CNE AND ONLY -Circle 11) on Reader Service Card

1987 Sony Corporation of Anerica. Sony. Vivax, E etacam, U-matic. Carbonm:rror aid The One and Only a e trademark; of Sony

industry News

Traffic, Lint, and CleanBeaches

Innovative promotions are no-thing new to radio, but some re-cent ideas again prove that theimagination of radio people is lim-itless.

One promotion is making lifeeasier for distressed motorists onPhoenix's Black Canyon and Su-perstition freeways during morn-ing and evening rush hours. Forseveral months, a special Chevy

van operated by local KOY AMand FM has provided free road-side service to troubled cars anddrivers.

The KOY/Courtesy Chevroletvan is outfitted to provide gas, fixflats, jump batteries, or call a tow.In addition, KOY's woman in thevan, Julie Lyle, provides listenerswith a "worm's eye view" of thetraffic situation.

Lint is even more abundantthan disabled cars, prompting

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WKRI in West Warwick, RI, toconduct a lint-a-thon. Morningpersonalities Donna Wagoner andAl DeStefano urged listeners tosend in the fuzzy stuff, whichWKRI then sent by the bale to aCalifornia artist who sculpts it.

The stunt was inspired by astory on the AP wire feature"Where There's Life," by AP na-tional writer Ira Dreyfuss. APmember stations frequently turnthe feature's offbeat stories intopromotions and contests that en-joy enthusiastic listener response.

Response to the problem of lit-tered Los Angeles County beachesrecently consisted of a donation of6,000 trash barrels by area sta-tion KTVW-FM, known as theWave. The barrels will be spottedalong a 31 -mile stretch of coast-line, and will sport the Wave logo.A station spokesperson said theprogram is a "giving back" to thecommunity, which has stronglysupported the seven -month -oldWave.

TV News ExpandsTwice as many network televisionaffiliates increased their eveninglocal news programming during1986 as decreased it, according toa new study by the Television In-formation Office (TIO).

The study also shows that 249stations now broadcast one houror more of local news between 4p.m. and 7 p.m., an increase of 13stations in one year. Other statis-tics find that 37 affiliates in-creased local news programmingbetween May 1986 and May 1987,while 18 reduced it, and 19 sta-tions doubled their local news pro-gramming from 30 to 60 minutes.

The survey is based on A.C.Nielsen data from all 214 report-able Nielsen markets, covering638 affiliates. "Americans getmost of their news from televi-sion," said TIO director RobertMulholland. "The study indicatesstations are aware of, and re-sponding to, their viewers' newsneeds."

RKO Licenses RevokedIn a 75 -page decision delivered onAugust 11, FCC Administrative


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Law Judge Edward Kuhlmannruled that RKO General "is un-qualified to continue as a broad-cast licensee."

Upon denying the company's re-newal application for KHJ-TV inLos Angeles, Kuhlmann called forrevoking RKO's licenses on its 13other broadcast properties.

Kuhlmann accused the com-pany of repeatedly lying to theFCC, falsifying documents, over-charging advertisers, and de-frauding affiliates. He added that"no case ever before decided bythis Commission presents dishon-esty comparable to RKO's. Thereis not a single case of fraudulentbusiness practices investigatedand reviewed by this Commissionwhich exhibits as many practicesaffecting as many advertisersover as many years."

The decision charges that RKOpurposely submitted at least 30false financial reports to the FCC

from 1971 to 1975 that distortedbarter and trade revenues foreach station by as much as$400,000. In 1977, RKO esti-mated these errors to total $3.8million, but Kuhlmann maintainsthat the true amount remains un-known because the company lacksdocumentation for many of thetransactions.

Kuhlmann further noted thatbetween 1979 and 1985, the RKOradio networks, under then presi-dent Thomas Burchill (now pres-ident of the Lifetime cable chan-nel), practiced "unethical and dis-honest business activities" thatresulted in an estimated $5 mil-lion overcharge to advertisers.

He also charged company exec-utives with attempting to coverup the destruction of an internalaudit that found RKO to be in a"perilous position" with the FCC,IRS, and SEC-as well as mis-leading the Commission about an

IRS probe into the company'sbusiness transactions.

RKO's president Pat Servodidioclaims that Kuhlmann "refused togive weight to the extraordinarycommitment and achievements ofour stations to their mandate ofpublic community service."

In addition to KHJ-TV, RKO'sproperties include: KHJ-AM,KRTH-FM (Los Angeles); WOR-AM, WRKS-FM (New York);WHBQ-TV, WHBQ-AM (Mem-phis); WRKO-AM, WROR-FM(Boston); KRFC-AM (San Fran-cisco); WGMS-FM (Washington,D.C.); WGMS-AM (Bethesda);WFYR-FM (Chicago); WAXY -FM(Fort Lauderdale).

RKO has 30 days to appeal thedecision, which is expected to gobefore the FCC Review Board be-fore being voted on by the entireCommission. The company willretain all of its licenses until allappeals are exhausted.

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Audio processors are standard fare in radio.Some broadcasters employ these devices to provide a healthy

boost to their signals, while others seethem as lethal weapons in the ratings war. How can

processors help-or hurt-your station, and what's loudnessgot to do with it?

Asking station engineersabout their choice of pro-cessing gear can be like

requesting Stealth bomber blue-prints from the Pentagon. Mostdecline to get into specifics; somewill only discuss a single compo-nent in their system. A few won'ttalk about it at all. The top secretstatus accorded most radio sta-tions' audio processors is under-standable, however, given thecompetitive nature of the business(where almost any advantageover "the guys down the road" is a

closely guarded asset).As the last link in the audio

chain before transmission, pro-cessing plays a crucial role in theway a station presents itself to itslisteners. Although each stationstrives for a unique balance ofhardware and applied technique,most rely on three basic processorfunctions: compression/expan-sion, adding less effective gain forlarger signals and more for small-er ones, respectively; limiting,which maintains consistency inthe signal by keeping the output

By Steven Schwartz

WLVE's chief engineer Roy Press-man stands by his Optimod8100A, which is kept as a backupsystem for the station's process-ing chain.

within selected parameters; andclipping, which increases signaldensity by chopping down peaksto a predetermined value. In addi-tion to boosting the modulationlevel, combinations of these threeprocesses can be used to signifi-cantly enhance broadcast mate-rial by adding differing amountsof loudness, brightness, and dis-tortion. Hence, many stationscredit their processor selectionwith providing a particular soundquality that distinguishes themfrom the competition.


Audio Engineering & Production

Just how much processing isused depends on a station's formatas well as its program and sourcematerials; some may opt not touse it at all. Many classical musicbroadcasters, for instance, sharethe opinion that audio processingadds unwanted coloration to themusic and are thus willing tosacrifice the added loudness fora purer signal. Conversely, mostother commercial broadcasters-particularly those with rock 'n'roll formats-apply these blackboxes as heavy artillery in the

battle for dominance on the dial.This is nothing new, of course.

The concept of competitive loud-ness has been around since theearly 1960s, when programmersfirst hit upon the notion that in-creased modulation levels yieldedhigher cumes. The legacy of thattheory continues on today in theform of so-called loudness warsamong FMer's in some highlycompetitive markets-although itis generally acknowledged thatthere isn't all that much band-width left for significant increasesin modulation. Ironically, it was avery similar situation that manyfeel was a major factor in the deci-mation of the AM band.

That fact, as well as the popularimpact of the compact disk, iscausing some FM broadcasters tore-examine their processing prior-ities. At least that's the opinion ofthe major processor manufactur-ers, such as Texar's presidentGlen Clark, who sees the FM mar-ket "steering away from the loud-ness -at -all -costs philosophy toloudness without the expense toquality."

Clark maintains that was one ofthe reasons behind the 1981 intro-duction of Texar's Audio Prism, adiscriminate audio processor withdigital control of its compres-sion/expansion functions. "Thetraditional analog processor willexpand and compress," he ex-plains. "When it stops compress-ing it starts expanding. Such con-tinual gain reversals in analogprocessing is one of the leadingcauses of grunge and listener fa-tigue. The digitally -controlledprocessor, on the other hand, willexpand, compress, and-when ne-cessary-do nothing. The AudioPrism changes the gain only whenthe situation requires it. All thoseextra gain reversals don't contrib-ute to the loudness; they only con-tribute to the grunge factor."

Loud and cleanThe concept of digital control is

apparently one that appeals to

broadcasters. In New York Cityalone, Clark estimates that thereare 22 Audio Prisms either on orfeeding the antenna atop the Em-pire State Building. Two of thosebelong to WNEW-FM, a Metro-media station featuring a contem-porary/classic rock format. In fact,the Audio Prisms were the onlyprocessors in the station that chiefengineer Fred Moore would spe-cifically mention.

"We've had our Texars for ap-proximately three years," henotes. "The thing that I like bestabout them is that it's hard tomake a Texar sound bad. I thinkthat's one of the features that hasmade them so popular. They'vealso been extremely reliable;we've had virtually no down timeon either one."

While he would not go into de-tail about the WNEW's processingchain, Moore emphasized that hedoes not use any equalization onthe station's on -air McCurdy 8000Series console. Mic processing isalso left out of the picture. Rather,he points out his preference forSennheiser's MD421 microphone,which has a roll -off control forrange adjustments that can sat-isfy most situations where pro-cessing would have otherwisebeen required.

"We don't have any real blackboxes hidden away anywhere," hesays. "We try to do what we dowith good sound engineering tech-niques. And that produces whatwe want in terms of audio here."

Nevertheless, Clark states thatthe Audio Prism is most com-monly used by FM broadcasters inconjunction with Orban's Opti-mod 8100 and, depending on thesituation, a quality clipping de-vice. Moore remains firm. "I'veused it with and without Opti-mods, as well as other transmitterdevices," he says.

Despite the station's claim ofhaving the world's largest recordcollection, Moore has seen a rapidincrease in the number of CDsplayed on the air in recent


Audio Engineering & ProductionAudio Processing

months. Still, he maintains thatthe station rarely changes the set-tings on its processors (aside froman occasional fine tuning) andnever adjusts it for different audiosources. When he does tweak theprocessing, he will spend weekslistening to it on a myriad ofsources. The final decision willusually rest on a high -qualityreceiver/speaker system-the ra-tionale being, "if it sounds good onthat, it should sound good on theothers." Moore adds: "We try to beas consistent as possible. If youlistened to WNEW last year andyou listen again a year from now,you will hear a station thatsounds very much the same. Wedon't make willy-nilly changes."

Although he insists thatWNEW does not "tailor" its soundto cater to any particular segmentof its listening audience, Mooreadmits that it is a common ap-proach to programming in theNew York area. He notes that tenyears ago WPLJ (one of WNEW'smajor competitors) had a "tinny"sound that was designed to pro-vide maximum loudness to listen-ers with transistor radios. Today,portable and personal stereo sys-tems, car radios, clock radios-aswell as hi-fi equipment in thehome-are all potential vehiclesfor special processing treatment.

"You try to be aware of whatthat audience wants to hear," saysAndy Butler, director of engineer-ing for Emmis Broadcasting'sNew York stations WQHT-FMand WFAN-AM. "It is subjectiveto a certain extent, but you haveto do it. For example, WQHT fea-tures an urban dance formataimed primarily at 18 to 24 yearolds, male and female-primarilyfemale. Consequently, we don'tsee our average audience listen-ing on a home stereo system, atleast it's not as likely as it wouldbe with a rock audience. They'remore likely to be listening on aportable stereo unit, a table radio,or a car radio. So, you have to beaware of how you sound on thattype of receiver. It generally callsfor a full, fat low end. And, tomaintain definition against thatfat bottom, it also requires prettyhealthy presence equalization."

Terry Grieger, chief of engineeringfor Emmis Broadcasting, in the"wire room" at New York'sWQHT/WFAN. To his left is the sta-tion's backup processing chainconsisting of (from bottom) a pairof Orban Optimods, two AudioPrisms, an Eventide Digital Delay,and a CRL Spectral Energy Proces-sor system.

Butler notes that since there isnot a lot of contemporary dancemusic available on CD, the sta-tion relies solely on carts for itssource material. ITC Series 99cart machines handle the record-ing chores, while a combination of99s and Delta decks are used forplayback. The station's on -air stu-dio is also equipped with anAuditronics 200 Series console,which is fed into a custom-builtprocessor.

The processor's design allowsthe station to have all its variousfunctions-compression, limiting,spectral tailoring, and stereogeneration-contained within asingle box. The approach affordseasier control of the various pro-cessing parameters, and, accord-ing to Butler, actually makes thestation sound better. He adds thatthe decision to originally go witha custom-made processor aroseout of the specialized nature of thestation's format. "We needed to gowith somebody who was willing to

work with the company in devel-oping something that would meetour needs," he says. "We looked ata number of different processors,but we couldn't find anything thatwas commercially available thatcould have been altered to dowhat we wanted it to do for any-where near a reasonable amountof money or labor."

The company also uses a customprocessor on WFAN-AM, the na-tion's first all -sports talk radiostation which made its on -air de-but last July 1st. Here again, thedecision to use an original proces-sor design was based on the na-ture of the program material.

"A lot of AM processors have arough time dealing with all -talkformats," Butler says. "They tendto be designed to concentratemore on music than voice. Besidesthe fact that the bandwidth is nar-rower, I personally feel it's a lotmore difficult to achieve competi-tive loudness and density withvoice programming-especiallyover a telephone-than with mu-sic. The waveforms are muchmore complex, insofar as theamount of transients and asym-metry involved. Call -in programsare really tough. Trying to main-tain competitive density whenyou have a narrow band centeredat 2200 Hz and significant signalloss is not easy."

Stretching the limitsNeedless to say, the AM band

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and receiver manufacturers.The compromise worked out

calls for stations to use a modified75 Rs preemphasis curve in con-junction with a 10 kHz filter. Sofar, the 10 kHz filter has gener-ated more than its share of con-cern within the industry, with op-ponents claiming that a 15 kHzfilter should have been selectedto achieve parity with FM. Thosein favor of the NRSC's choiceargue that the implementation ofa true 15 kHz filter would haveinvolved a most unfeasible re-quirement-reallocating the en-tire AM band.

One of the more outspoken crit-ics of the standard is the MikeDorrough of Dorrough Electronics(and the inventor of the discrimi-nate audio processor), who seesthe 75 µs preemphasis as "too de-manding a curve that will changethe timing of the harmonics" andperceives the 10 kHz filter as be-ing "nonmusical." Nevertheless,the three processor manufactur-ers who participated in theNRSC-Orban, Texar, and CRL-are confident that the standard isworkable.

"We gave a lot of thought to thecurve. The NRSC filter is not atrivial engineering problem,"says Glen Clark. "If you approachit with conventional methods-that is, pulling out the filter cook-

book and taking it from there-then those accusations are cor-rect. But I know that two of themanufacturers, including Texar,have already solved the problem,and we're quite pleased with themusical sound of it. But it wasn'teasy. You have to be prepared tospend two months in the lab andto do some inventive techniques."

All three companies introducednew NRSC-compliant processinggear at this year's NAB conven-tion, as well as economical retrofitkits and upgrades for older proces-sors currently in use. "We've al-ready converted 200 stations overto the standard," notes CRL'ssales manager Bob Richards."And I have another 500 post-cards in my drawer from stationsthat have pledged to covert to theNRSC. We expect it to really turnthings around."

Processing progressAlthough it is extremely sig-

nificant, the NRSC standard isnot the only new development inprocessing these days. Orban'smarketing and sales managerHoward Mullinack states that hiscompany is currently pursuingtwo new areas of interest. Thefirst is mic processing, as evi-denced by the unveiling of the787A programmable mic proces-sor at NAB. Slated for shipping

Zeeco Corp.'s WQIO-FM, Mount Vernon, OH, became the first Americanbroadcasters to use DAT on the air. The station is using five Sony DTC-1000 ES decks.


later this fall, the 787A featuresthree -band parametric equaliza-tion, a compressor section, and afull -function de-esser to controlexcessive sibilance. Mullinackpoints out that whereas most an-nouncers like to have their ownmic processing setups, they can'talways be trusted to reset the con-trols. Consequently, the majorfeature of this new unit is its32 programmable presets withbuilt-in security codes to preventtampering.

The company is also lookinginto various ways of enhancingstereo imaging, which would beaimed primarily at CHR (contem-porary hit radio) stations lookingfor a more impressive sound in thecar. Mullinack notes that whileprogress is being made, there arestill multipath problems to over-come, as well as an undesirablesacrifice of the mono (L + R) signalthat results from the increasing ofthe L -R level.

Although "digital" continues tobe a potent buzzword in the pro-cessing community, all of the ma-jor manufacturers predict that thedigital processor (i.e., one thatperforms all of its processingchores in the digital domain) isstill several years down the road.The general consensus is that thecurrent cost of the technologyis still too high to offer a signifi-cant improvement over analogprocessors.

Consequently, Texar's Clarktakes a more cautious outlook onthe future, maintaining that "it'sgoing to be a game of inches fromhere on.

"When you think about the the-oretical limits and you realizewhere we are right now, you seethat Orban, CRL, and Texar areall playing with the same laws ofphysics. And, when you realizethat we're all working within thesame limitations, you then realizethat there just isn't that muchmore that any of them can do asfar as the quantum leap isconcerned."

Instead, he suggests that"cleanness" is the big news in themajor markets. "Make sure you'vegot a clean exciter. Clean up thestudios, get rid of your turntables

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and cart machines-go with digi-tal tape or CDs. I think that theprocessing situation is prettystatic and the limiting factors aresome place other than with theprocessors. By that, I mean the ex-citers in the studio or the sourcematerial."

CRL's Bob Richards, mean-while, looks to the CD to providethe momentum for his company,and notes the recent introductionof two new "digital -friendly" pro-cessors specifically tailored tocompliment the high dynamicrange of the CD. "We feel theseproducts offer the lowest distor-tion of any product we've everbuilt," he says. "They've bothbeen designed using the com-pact disk as source material inour lab."

The line consists of the new Ste-reo Gain Controller, a dual -bandAGC with 9 dB of gain reductionand .15 percent of IM and har-monic distortion, and the SMP-850 limiter, a transfer functionlimiter that was originally devel-oped for the TV market, featuringthree -band limiting for true highfrequency reproduction withoutcausing depression of the mid-range.

"Traditionally, music that wasbroadcast over the radio with pro-cessing usually sounded betterthan what the consumers playedthemselves at home," he says."But with the compact disk that'schanging; CDs sound better thanthe radio. So, from a processingpoint of view the question is: howdo you broadcast that improvedsound without degradation?"

Back in the trenchesRoy Pressman, chief engineer

at Miami's WLVE-FM, takes is-sue with the first part of Richards'observation.

"I don't agree with that simplybecause of the number of activestages that you have to gothrough to get to the end user'sradio," he says. "I think it's almostan impossibility for it to soundany better than the record. Whenyou play a record, you're going tobe dealing with optimal signal-to-noise, minimum distortion, mini-mal phase shift, and I just don't

think there's any way, at thispoint, to be competitive and haveit sound better than the record. Ithink some people may have themisconception that just becausethere's a little AGC on there thatit may sound better to them, butto my ears, the record is alwayswhat we're trying to get the radioto sound like."

Nevertheless, Pressman isquick to acknowledge the superioraudio performance of the CD. Theflagship station for GilmoreBroadcasting, WLVE features anadult contemporary format andwas the first in its market to playa compact disk over the air; thedigital sound source now com-prises 80 percent of the station'sprogramming. The station's com-mitment to quality audio is fur-ther evidenced by its choice ofhardware, which includes an adigital STL and a state-of-the-arton -air studio highlighted by a Pa-cific Recorders & EngineeringBMX 111-22 audio console, threePhilips LHH 2000 CD players, sixITC Series 99 cart decks with dbxnoise reduction, and JBL 4411speakers.

For processing the console out-put, the station relies on custom-built triband AGC and FM limitercomponents, as well as a commer-cial stereo generator with somebuilt-in composite clipping (anOrban Optimod 8100A is kept onhand as a backup processor). Theon -air studio also includes threeADR mic processors used in con-junction with the station's selec-tion of Neumann U87, U889, andTLM microphones.

Despite the station's array ofprocessing gear, Pressman prac-tices caution in applying it to thesignal: "I think the best compro-mise is to use everything in mod-eration-a moderate amount ofcompression and limiting andenough clipping so that you'recompetitively loud-rather thanjust going for broke with an awfullot of everything. There's also adetrimental effect when there'stoo much processing. A CD willusually sound a lot louder than anLP or a cart because all the dy-namics and transients are there.It punches through a lot better.

"It all boils down to one thing,"he explains. "That is, as long asyou're as competitively loud withyour competitor, you're fine. Ifyou're the lowest thing on thedial, there's a possibility that yourlisteners will not hear you. Butthere has never been a study con-ducted that I know about thatsays because a station is louder itgets better ratings. It's kind of ashame, too, because if you evertake a CD and play it directly intothe exciter without any process-ing at all-other than somepreemphasis, obviously-and lis-ten to it back on a good stereo,you wouldn't believe how goodit sounds. It's simply amazing.Unfortunately, the volume ofeverything else on the dial justburies it."

Although the CD seems des-tined to be a permanent fixture onthe broadcast landscape, manyprogrammers are now lookingonce again to the Far East inanticipation of the arrival of digi-tal audio tape (DAT) recorders,which offer the same high -endspecifications as the digital diskpacked into a downsized cassettewith up to two hour's worth ofplayback/recording time.

For Zeeco Corporation's WQIO-FM in Mount Vernon, OH, the fu-ture has already arrived. Whenthe station commenced broadcast-ing last June 29, it also becameone of the first American broad-casters to use the DAT format onthe air. WQIO presently has fiveSony DTC-1000ES decks, which,according to chief engineer RickCruz, provide the station with 60percent of its programming (15percent is reserved for CDs, whilethe remaining 25 percent is han-dled by ITC Delta cart machines).

Although Cruz says that hesigned a nondisclosure contractand is bound by it not to revealany of the components in the pro-cessing chain, he notes that thestation currently uses seven dif-ferent processors in its system. "Ishould emphasize that we do notoverprocess our signal," he says."We have such control over ourparameters that we can virtuallycross our lows, mids, and highsover to any frequency we desire."


He admits, however, that whenthe station first started using theprocessing with its DAT and CDsources, they experienced a lot ofsplash on the high end. This wasultimately eliminated via a cross-over/EQ combination used in con-junction with the limiter/com-pressors. Cruz adds that a "coupleof units in the limiter/compressorcategory" also had to be modifiedsimply because they were actingtoo much like a machine. "Whenthe music came to a quiet passageyou could just hear the compres-sion kick in, even when we hadthe compression settings turnedall the way down," he explains.

The station keeps two DAT ma-chines in its production suite andanother two in the on -air studiowhich are fed into a 12 -channelLogitek Perfectionist console; thefifth DTC-1000ES deck is kept asa backup unit in the event thatone of the other machines breaksdown. WQIO also intends to be-come the first station in the U.S.to give away a DAT recorder toone of it listeners during the weekof September 17th as part of alocal promotion campaign withCoca-Cola and McDonald's.

Cruz mentions that the DATmachines have an approximately5 dB louder output than some ofthe station's other source ma-chines. However, the differencewas sometimes masked by some ofthe processing circuits designed toenhance stereo reproduction orstereo tracking. "It just soundedlike it was being processed toomuch," he says. "And that's notwhat we wanted-especially withthe DAT technology. We wantedpeople to notice the difference be-tween a Delta Scotch cart and adigital tape."

Obviously, the importance ofhigh -quality source material andmachines cannot be overlooked inany discussion about audio pro-cessing. Thus, WLVE's Roy Press-men offers this bit of advice forstations looking to overhaul theirprocessing gear: "The conclusionthat I've drawn over the years isthat the most critical thing to astation's success is program andsource material. This is where alot of stations run into problems.

They run out and buy everythingthey can find, do everything theycan to beat the guy down the road.The problem is they may not havea good tape transfer system, theymay have lousy turntables andold carts. It comes down to theuniversal law-garbage in, gar-bage out. And if they're using thisstuff while the competition is us-ing CDs, they still stand to losebecause the audio signal going

into those audio processors hasgot to be perfect.

"It's really easy to go out andbuy a new piece of processinggear. But tell someone they haveto recart 800 songs and see whatkind of reaction you get. Youknow, you can shine the paint onthat ear all you want, but if theengine is out of tune, you're notgoing to beat the other guy."BM/E

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MicrophoneTechniques for

MTSIn the last few years, television audio production capabilities

have improved due to the demands of Multichannel Television Sound.In keeping with this development,

microphone techniques are evolving as standards are being set.

he human ear is a very sen-sitive, but quite subjective,instrument. Since the way

we hear recorded mate-rial is based, to a greatdegree, on the place-ment of microphones inrecording an event, theresultant stereo sound isanalyzed on a subjective basis.Such built-in subjectivity, ofcourse, leads the audio productionpeople to approach microphoneuse in a variety of ways. In turn,this condition causes stereo au-dio production to be in a seeming-ly perpetual state of transition.There is, therefore, no right way,and broadcasters are adopting awide range of techniques, fromstandard procedures to experi-mental tactics.

Recently, however, there hasbeen a consolidation of sortsaround the M -S (mid -side) tech-nique due to its many advantagesfor stereo broadcasting. Oncethought of as a special process formusic recording, M -S has foundnew territory and is beginning totake hold in the production ofsports telecasts. HBO's footballpickup strategy, for example, in-corporates the M -S application.

The M -S advantages for pickingup sound at such venues becomes

By Robin Lanier

evidentgiven thebasics of themethod. The sys-tem calls for acoincident tech-nique with onemicrophone,which can be anomnidirectional,cardioid, or su-per-cardioid,pointed straightahead. This consti-tutes the "M" mike.A second mike, the"S", is a figure -eightdeployed at right anglesto the M. The two are mount-ed very close together on thesame vertical axis.

The outputs of the two micro-phones are then sent through a

Neumann's smallshotgun M -S micro-phone is shown herewith its ENG/EFPhandheld flexible

mounting. Themounting can

be put on astand or

boom.

,==

' -

plus/minus matrix toproduce a combined out- - -1111put, similar to that derived


Audio Engineering & ProductionMTS Miking

(2Y

QC

Optional Outfield Microphones

(cardioids or shotguns)

O

O3B (shotgun or parabola)

[PAN RIGHT]

Wireless (handheld omni)[PAN C)

aAmbience R (PZM)

(PAN RI

(widely spaced, elevated in grandstands)

Home

O

(coincident pair)[PAN UR]

R

1B (shotgun or parabola)[PAN LEFT]

aAmbience L (PZM)

/0, [PAN LI

Figure 1: A proposed stereo baseball microphone layout.

from an X -Y microphone com-bination. Sounds originating onthe left are localized to the leftside, and right -side originatingsounds are localized to the right.The M + S in the matrix comprisesthe left side, while the M -Smakes up the right.

An additional feature of theM -S technique allows some finecontrol of the sound image. By ad-justing the ratio between the am-plitude of the two outputs, the ste-reo reception angle and the widthof the stereo image can be manip-ulated over a wide range, fromnarrow to broad. Also, the direct-reverb ratio can be adjusted tosuit a range of program demands.

With the use of coincidentmikes, localization of the image instereo depends on intensity differ-ences alone, since phase differ-ences between the two channelsare extremely small. The result isvery stable stereo source locations(left, center, and right). The treat-ment of ambient sound is thusquite realistic. Ambience from alldirections is in phase in the twochannels, but its directions are

correctly reproduced, providingan even spread from left to right,producing a sound free of falsecoloration.

M -S applicationsOf primary concern in sports

pickups, like baseball or HBO'sfootball telecasts, is the ability ofM -S to put both the announcerand the events in front of the cam-era, squarely in the center of thesound image. Of course, this po-sitioning has been found to becritical both to stereo televisionand to film in order to avoid dis-turbing "dislocation" effects onthe listener. With the main ele-ments correctly in the center, leftor right of the sound image, theevents obtain a strong feeling ofreality. (See Figure 1 for proposedbaseball microphone placement).

Such an effect is enhanced bythe ambient crowd noises thatseem to surround the listener as ifhe were in the stands. It is thiscombination of effects that haslong made stereo sound in sportstelevision popular in Japan, and itis now beginning to do the same

here.There has been concern ex-

pressed about stereo television forthose viewers who are still re-stricted to receiving mono sound.Here again, the M -S techniquescores. MTS, of course, gets itsmono by adding left and rightchannels together. If the pickupmethod employs M -S miking, thatmeans M + S is added to M - S,and the S, or side, mike outputsimply cancels out. The straightpickup from the M mike is the per-fect mono.

In addition, with this M -S monoconfiguration, the ratio of reverbto direct sound is reduced (reverbis largely in the S channel). Thisis fortunate since listeners are of-ten disturbed by high reverb inmono sound since it confuses theirperception of the material. While,on the other hand, reverb in ste-reo is acceptable, often desirable,because the hearing system getsdouble cues and can zero in on theprogram material.

The effectiveness of M -S seemsevident from the information pre-sented. The industry, as notedearlier, is still in a transitionstage, however, since there aremany engineers who were"raised" on multiple microphonetechniques for picking up largecrowds. Many of them continue touse that method of feeding stereotelevision. Even with their highskill level, it takes careful read-justment, mike shifting, and am-plitude balancing to get a goodsound. This is further complicatedby the necessity for getting a goodmono sound, requiring further ad-justment. So the ease of use wouldseem to be an advantage.

Complaints persist, however,regarding the M -S technique. Thesubjectivity alluded to earlierplays a part in perceptions of M -Snot yielding a strong stereo. It'spossible that those who are usedto multiple microphone stereo,with its large phase differences,

About the Author:Robin Lanier, formerly BM/E's senioreditor, is now an independent writerand consultant living in New YorkCity.


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are conditioned to the inherentwide, reverberant kind of stereoproduced by multiple miking.There is less stability of localiza-tion in this method than occurswith coincident miking (localiza-tion tends to be especially poor inthe center).

Advanced hybridmethods

In popular music, multiplemikes will probably always beused since the objective is not toget the most natural sound, but toachieve an unnatural emphasison part of the sound. The methodis also very attractive when largemusical ensembles-opera, sym-phony, chorus-must be pickedup. It is tempting to be able tostick a mike in front of some ele-ment that is weak.

It is possible, however, to com-bine M -S with multiple mikes inan advanced stereo pickup tech-nique. This hybrid method wasused by CBS during its coverageof the last Super Bowl game. Themanner of deployment included anumber of M -S assemblies at dif-ferent locations to assure pickup

The RSM 190microphonesystem fromNeumann in-cludes a

short shot-gun assem-bly with thetwo mikesinside thehousing, aswell as a

small, easilyportable ma-trix.


of scattered events throughout thestadium. An elaborate mixingsystem allowed the emphasis toshift as needed.

Further combining the attri-butes of each system, CBS added athird, separate channel by com-bining the two accounts of the am-bience. The three channels werethen encoded into Dolby stereo,which allowed them to be broad-cast over two MTS channels.Viewers with Dolby decoderscould create a third playbackchannel with additional speakersat the rear for a "surround sound"effect. The third channel had noaffect on receivers without the de-coder; mono and stereo were han-dled as in normal MTS, but listen-ers with decoders could get aneven stronger sense of being inthe stadium.

In keeping with the evolvingnature of stereo television, then,M -S demonstrates the potentialfor a variety of future develop-ments. This is due, in part, to itsgreat flexibility in standard pro-cedure as in its use for moviesound and videotaped programs.

For example, Jerry Bruck, pres-ident of Posthorn Recording inNew York, and an independentrecording engineer, was consul-tant for sound recording in themotion picture Fame. The moviedepended heavily on excellentprojection of music, an element ofthe picture that later receivedcritical acclaim. Bruck used M -Stechniques throughout. In doingso, however, he took advantage ofthe system's flexibility: the M andS signals were not put throughthe matrix before being recorded,but the matrix was used in post-

production to produce the final.As with broadcast

programs, di-

alog and many single events mustbe strongly centered in film, andBruck could do this instantly, asrequired, by closing the stereo an-gle to a tight focus. On the otherhand, when a large musical groupperformed, or there was a crowdscene, the stereo perspective couldbe opened wide. The stunning re-sult was that the picture gainedtremendous power in presenta-tion. Bruck has used M -S forsound recording in many other as-signments, including a video pro-duced for release to television ofVladimir Horowitz.

The music connectionAnother New York indepen-

dent, Bob Katz, has used M -S asthe preferred pickup technique onmany assignments, one of whichwas for a recent video special. Thepiece was a history of jazz calledTrumpeting with the trumpeterWynton Marsalis as star and host.The program included both re-corded and live segments, incorpo-rating a number of mono sourcesof historical jazz.

By recording the M and S sig-nals separately and setting thestereo perspective in post -produc-tion, Katz was able to match thespread to the highly variable con-ditions encountered with the dif-ferent source material. He couldget excellent stereo with just theright spread in live segments, butwas able to reduce the spread tomatch the ambience and generaleffect of each of the recorded monoportions. The sources, of course,varied to a great extent in theirquality, and the use of M -S al-lowed Katz to produce a more uni-fied type of sound.

Independent engineers andCBS are not the only ones exploit-ing the possibilities of M -S. BothABC and, especially, NBC areputting the technique to some usein stereo telecasting. PBS, as well,is using it extensively to feed tele-vision affiliates via the organiza-tion's satellite network. If currenttrends continue, it seems fairlysure that M -S will be the predomi-nant mike technique for stereobroadcasting of live material inthe future. As the technique findsits way into more recording situa-

tions, it will reach broadcasterssecond hand as finished programmaterial.

Some additional attractions ofM -S should be noted. A critical ad-vantage is that, unlike X -Y stereomiking systems, the main sounddoes not come in off -axis to the mi-crophones. Since microphonestend to add false color to off -axissound, a system that greatly re-duces off -axis pickup has an ad-vantage in fidelity.

An important characteristic ofthe stereo effect in M -S is that itdoes not diminish when the soundsources are far away from themike. In phase -difference ori-ented separate miking, eventsvery close to the mike tend to haveexaggerated separation, whilethose far off tend to lose any senseof separation.

Further, there is a great physi-cal advantage in the fact that asingle mike assembly, which canbe mounted on a single stand orboom, is a complete stereo mikesystem. One assembly is a lot eas-ier to handle than two, not only tocarry to the appropriate spot, butalso to set up for the right soundbalance. One disadvantage to benoted in the M -S system is thepresence of an additional unit, thematrix. Yet, the matrix can be leftbehind and employed during post -production.

The equipmentconnection

Those interested in stereo pro-duction and the M -S techniquequite naturally wonder whatequipment is available. Any twohigh-grade mikes, one of which isa figure -eight, can be assembledinto an M -S pair. They must be

This matrix for M -S, made by Au-dio Engineering Associates, can beused to feed the M and S signalsdirectly to tape. It can also pro-duce the left and right activechannels.

quite close together, so small sizeis an advantage. There are, in ad-dition, a number of manufactur-ers making complete pairs, withmountings especially designed tohold the two mikes extremelyclose and lined up vertically. It isprobably better in most cases tobuy an assembled pair than to usea homemade mounting, whichwould require expert work on amachine tool to obtain the mount-

ing required.Prepared microphone pairs are

offered by, among others, AKG,Schoeps, Neumann, Sanken, and,most recently, by Fostex. It seemslikely that as the popularity of M-S spreads there will be more readypairs on the market. Still, thosenow available are of a very highquality, reflected, of course, intheir prices.

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pairs, then, is straightforward.The matrix, on the other hand,may prove more difficult to comeby. There is a matrix with an ex-cellent reputation, the MS -38,made by Audio Engineering Asso-ciates of Pasadena, CA. WesleyDooley, a principal of that com-pany, and his associate RonaldStreicher have been importantambassadors for the M -S tech-nique. Their 1982 paper on thetopic for the Audio EngineeringSociety (AES) was an intensivetreatise and has become the stan-dard background source.

Another AES paper ("StereoMicrophone Techniques for Broad-cast"-AES pre-print #2146), thisone prepared by Skip Pizzi of Na-tional Public Radio, describes M -Sapplications in considerable detailand includes the schematic of a"homemade" matrix (see Figure 2).His main conclusion: M -S is thebest technique available, with theenhancement of additional M -Smikes when necessary to fill holes

100k

Mid -in

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pre -outputs

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100k--51k

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lbok e lb

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1001,

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510

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5111111--NAArli 5%100k51k

Operation: 1) W/S-level off (CCW). AdlostMid mic-pream gain him forproper level. Then set side mic-preamp gain trim

C3

_t_

L -Cut

(M+5)

0R -out

(M -S)

Q +18VC C2

Tif_16-_,_0_ 0 C°m4 c1 ,r4,2 0 Itiv

IC 1,2 = 5532AI 1 R = 1%, 1/2w. metal filmC1 = 0.1 ml polystyreneC2 = 100 mf/25V electrolyticC3 -- IOW polystyrene

Figure 2: Active, line -level M -S matrix (unbalanced).

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Introducing Modu-Comm.The AT4462 is designed for the realworld. For instance, let's assume you'redoing a simple sports remote. You setup microphones for the sportscasterand the color announcer, plus a stereomike for the ambient crowd noise.Normally you would also have to run a

or strengthen the ambience, forbroadcasting or recording largemusical groups.

Exploiting the flexibility of M -Swith a new system, the RSM 190,is Neumann (distributed byGotham Audio in New York). De-scribing the new mike pair: the Mis a short, shotgun design, and theS mike is a figure -eight as re-quired. Neumann is targeting itsdevice at the studio and locationapplications in which M -S hasproved itself as well as, surpris-ingly, the ENG/EFP markets. Thesystem includes a portable ma-trix, so that the stereo perspectiveand the direct-reverb ratio can beset over a wide range on the job.For a location shot that has highnoise or excessive ambience, the Smike output relative to the Mmike can be sharply reduced, withthe shotgun providing a longreach. When a wide stereo imageis wanted, that is, of course, in-stantly available. The systemswitching allows the M and S out-

puts to be recorded without goingthrough the matrix so that per-spective can be adjusted in post -production, if desired.

The system takes advantage ofthe compactness and adjustabilityof M -S to provide an easily ob-tained field stereo under extremeconditions. Engineers who havemade preliminary use of the RSM190 at airports, in street scenes,inside a large market, and inother typical difficult locationshave given it positive reviews.

Audio Engineering Associatesalso makes a unit, the MS -380,that combines the matrix withtwo high -quality mike preamps aswell as very flexible switchingand connection systems. The totaleffect is to make M -S useable, notonly in broadcasting, but in re-cording, motion picture sound,and sound reinforcement.

Another complete M -S systemrecently on the market is from theFostex Corp., and is interestingfor its own reasons. It is consider-

ably less expensive than most ofthe other systems mentioned, inline with the well-known effort ofFostex to widen the market forbroadcast equipment. The micro-phones use the ribbon magneticsystem that Fostex has been mar-keting in its separate microphoneunits. The diaphragms are thinplastic with a kind of printed cir-cuit "coil" on each . This providesmany of the excellent qualities ofthe ribbon mike, while providingmuch higher inductance and out-put in the "coil."

In the Fostex system, the Mmike is a cardioid, and the S a fig-ure -eight. A matrix is part of thesystem. The appearance of thissystem can be regarded as evi-dence that M -S microphone tech-niques are here to stay. Profes-sionals in broadcast and record-ing, as well as the small studioshave found its flexibility and ac-curacy to be the solution to themissing link in the evolution ofstereo sound. BM/E

wired or wireless feed to the sports-caster for his cue phone.

But with the AT4462 and Modu-Comm, cue is fed through the an-nouncer's mike cable already in place.Add a small accessory decoder to theend and plug both the cue phone andthe microphone into the same cable.Cue can be program, an outside line, or"talk over" from the mixer. No extrawires, no crosstalk, and no change inaudio quality! Nothing could be simpleror more efficient.

Now, No -Fuss StereoActual stereo mixing is equally straight-forward. The sportscaster and the colorannouncer in our example appear onseparate pannable inputs so they canbe centered as desired in the soundfield. The stereo crowd pickup goes toa stereo input, with clutch -gangedcontrols for one -hand level control.And there's a second stereo inputfor another mike or line level source

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PSYCHO -

ACOUSTICS:The Science of

Sound Perception

Part IVCombination Tones and Harmony

Paul B. Christensen, Chief EngineerWIVY-FM, Jacksonville, R

In wrapping up this series, wewill focus our discussion onthe various effects that can oc-

cur when two or more tones reacheach other simultaneously. Wewill discuss: two tones with thesame frequency, and then proceedto two pure tones of different fre-quency, and, finally, complextones and chords.

Linear combinationA linear system is one in which

doubling the driving force doublesthe response. If two driving forcesare applied to a linear systemsimultaneously the response willbe the sum of the responses to thedriving forces individually (i.e.,the response of the system to onedriving force is not affected by thepresence of the second one).

The terms linear or linearity areoften applied to audio and radiofrequency amplifier systems. Aloudspeaker with a linear re-sponse, for example, will repro -

1

A sectioned schematic diagram of the outer. middle, and innerear For purposes of illu- _" ''` .ie

duce the sound of a flute and atthe same time, and quite indepen-dently, will reproduce a pianosound when presented with driv-ing forces characteristic of eachinstrument. If the loudspeakerwere not completely linear in itsresponse, one signal would influ-ence the other. This effect isknown as intermodulation distor-

tion. In order for a loudspeaker toradiate a pure tone, its conemoves in and out with a motionthat is essentially simple har-monic motion. How does a loud-speaker cone move when twotones are radiated? If its responseis linear, its motion at any timewill be the linear addition of twosimple harmonic motions.

Pure tones with slightlydifferent frequencies: beats

A pure tone is a sound wavewith one frequency. The superpo-sition (combination) of two puretones proceeds in the same way asthe superposition of two simpleharmonic motions. If the toneshave the same frequency, the re-sultant amplitude will be some-where betweeen x + y and x -y (ory -x, if y is greater than x), depend-ing on their phase difference. Weusually refer to a pure tone as asine wave.

If two pure tones have slightly


Figure 1 Waveform with beats due to pure toneswith frequences f, and f2 = f, + df.

different frequencies, f andf1+ df, the phase difference 0,-0xchanges continuously with time,and so the amplitude of the com-bined tones change also. The am-plitude of the resultant varies be-tween x +y and x -y at a frequency,df. These slow periodic variationsin amplitude at frequency df aretermed beats. If the amplitudes xand y are equal, the resultant am-plitude varies between 2x andzero.

In the case of two pure tones ofslightly different frequency, lin-ear superposition detected by ourears leads to a sensation of audi-ble beats at the difference fre-quency, df. These beats are heardas a pulsation in the loudness of atone at the average frequencyf= 1/2 (f, + f2). An example of beatsis shown in Figure 1.

As long as the frequency differ-ence, df, is less than approxi-mately 10 Hz, the beats are easilyheard. When df exceeds about 16Hz, the beat disappears and takeson a roughness. As df increasesstill further, a point is reached atwhich the "fused" tone at the av-erage frequency gives way to twotones, still with roughness. Therespective resonance regionsalong the basilar membrane arenow separated sufficiently to givetwo distinct pitch signals, but theexcitation corresponding to thetwo pitches still overlaps to givean effect of roughness. When dfexceeds the width of the criticalband (see "Psychoacoustics-PartIII: Loudness, Sound Pressure,and Power," BM/E, April 1987,p.49), the roughness disappears

F

"Fused tone"1/2(1+1,)

Rough"

Beats1

-IS 0 15 F c b. *' Af

(Hz)

(Variable)

(Fixed)

"Smooth"

Figure 2: Representation of frequencies heardwhen pure tones of frequencies f, and f2 arecombined.

and the two tones begin to blend(see Figure 2).

The limit of pitch discrimina-tion or "fusion frequency," thepoint at which the single fusedtone changes to two tones, varieswith the center frequency in amanner somewhat like the criti-cal band. It varies from about asemitone at 400 Hz to more than awhole tone (below 250 Hz andabove 3500 Hz), but is always lessthan the critical bandwidth. Atthe same time, it is five to 30

Figure 3: Most influential com-bination tones for a two-tonepresentation consisting of onefixed frequency f, and one of vari-able frequency f2.

times greater than the just-noticable difference (jnd) forfrequency.

Beats can also be heard whentones of slightly different frequen-cies are presented separately toour two ears; these are termedbinaural beats. These are quitedifficult to detect and are bestheard with f, around 400 Hz anddf in the range of 7 to 18 Hz. Whendf is less than 5 Hz, the beatchanges to a rotating tone, a tone

that seems to move around the in-side of the head.

Combination tonesWhen two tones are sounded to-

gether, a third lower tone is fre-quently heard. This undertone isusually called a difference tone orTartini tone, named after the Ital-ian violinist Tartini who discov-ered it around 1715. If the twotones have frequencies f, and f2,the difference tone, which is themost common example of a com-bination tone, occurs at a fre-quency f, -f2 or f2 -f

Other combination tones thatcan be heard have frequenciesgiven by 2f142 and 3f1 -2f2. The 2f, -f2 tone, called the cubic differencetone, may be detected at stimuluslevels as low as 15 dB, but is heardonly in a limited frequency rangebelow f,. Another member of thisclass of combination tone that canbe detected, although with somedifficulty, is 4f1 -3f2. It is interest-ing to note that these combina-tions are the same frequencygroups that manifest as inter -modulation distortion.

Various combination tones areshown in Figure 3. This graph issomewhat an extension of Figure2, for which the covered differencedf = f2 -f, was small.

Modulation of one toneby another

Closely related to combinationtones is amplitude modulation, aterm most of us are familiar with.To briefly review, when vibra-tions occur at two different fre-quencies in a nonlinear system,


Audio Engineering & ProductionPsychoacoustics

various sidebands are generatedhaving frequencies equal to thevarious difference tones and sum-mation tones as well. If one of thefrequencies is considerably lessthan the other, as in the case ofAM broadcast transmission, wedescribe the process as "modula-tion of the higher frequency bythe lower one" (see Figure 4). Ob-viously, the principal sidebandsoccur at f2 + f1 and f2 -f1, with muchsmaller sidebands at f2 -2f1, etc. Inthe case of pure tones, they are notusually heard as separate tonesbut as components of a complextone.

Consonance and dissonanceThe ancient Greek mathemeti-

cian Pythagorus is considered thediscoverer of the fact that thetones produced by a string vibrat-ing in two parts with simplelength ratios sound harmonious.These ratios are commonly knownas the "perfect" intervals of music,which are considered to have thegreatest consonance. In 1638,Galileo reported: "agreeableconsonances are pairs of toneswhich strike the ear with a cer-tain regularity; this regularityconsists in the fact that the pulsesdelivered by two tones in the sametime, shall be commensurable innumber, so as not to keep the ear-drum in perpetual torment, bend-ing in two different directions inorder to yield to the ever -discor-dant impulses." The most conso-nant music intervals are largelyconsidered to be the following:2:1 Octave (C/C)3:2 Perfect Fifth (G/C)4:3 Perfect Fourth (F/C)5:3 Major Sixth (A/C)5:4 Major Third (E/C)8:5 Minor Sixth (A'/C)6:5 Minor Third (E'/C)

In 1877, Helmholtz explainedconsonance by referring to Ohm'sacoustical law (see "Psychoacous-tics-Part III: Pitch and Timbre,"BM/E, July 1987, p.29), whichstated that the ear performs aFourier analysis of sound, divid-ing a complex sound into variouspartials. Helmholtz concludedthat dissonance occurs whenpartials of two tones produce 30 to40 beats per second. The morepartials of one tone coincide withpartials of another tone, the lesschance of beats will occur in thisrange that produce roughness.This explains why simple ratiosdefine the most consonant inter-vals.

Recent studies have revealedthat in the case of two pure tones,the frequency differences, whichdetermine consonance and disso-nance vary with frequency:1. If the frequency difference be-tween two pure tones is greaterthan the critical band, they soundconsonant. If it is less than thecritical band, they sound dis-sonant.2. The frequency difference thatgives maximum dissonance is ap-proximately one-fourth the criti-cal bandwidth at that frequency.

In the case of musical tones,roughness can occur between theharmonics of the tones as well asbetween fundamentals. This isthe reason why certain intervalsare inherently more consonantthan others. Fewer harmonics ofthe more consonant intervalshave frequency differences withinthe roughness range.

Figure 5 shows the expecteddissonance between two tones,each having six harmonics, mak-ing the assumption that disso-nance between various harmonicsare additive.

Ar11111.111IffNonlinear element

(Modulatedwaveform)

1.-11 4+1. (Spectrum)

_id 11,724

Freque eY

Figure 4: Amplitude modulation of one vibration by another in a ncn-inear element.

It should not be implied, how-ever, that consonant intervals aregood and dissonant intervals bad.Music would be extremely dullwithout dissonance; musicianscan make a concise distinction be-tween pleasantness and conso-nance. Sixths (5:3,8:5) and thirds(5:4,6:5), are usually pleasant in-tervals as are fourths (5:4), eventhough some of these intervals arenot very consonant.

f1111.11111111[1111

4

3

2

Third Fifth

4:5

3:4

Octave

!Unison

1:1 1:2

Figure 5: Dissonance expectedfrom tone A with f=250 HZ andtone B with varying frequency.

The effect of phase on timbreEven though Helmholtz felt the

influence of phase between har-monics to be very small, he didrealize exceptions in the case of"musical" sounds. Experimentsby R. Konig using siren discs, in-dicated that timbre has some de-pendence on phase. Using an elec-tronic function generator, J.Licklider noted that changing thephase of a high -frequency compo-nent has more effect on timbrethan changing the phase of a low-frequency component.

In 1970, R. Plomp summarizedthe most important results of hisexperiments conducted with H.Steeken on phase and timbre:1. The maximum effect of phaseon timbre is the difference be-tween a complex tone in which theharmonics are in phase and one inwhich alternate harmonics differin phase by 90 degrees.2. The effect of lowering each suc-cessive harmonic by 2 dB isgreater than the maximum phaseeffect described above.3. The effect of phase on timbreappears to be independent ofthe sound pressure level and


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Audio Engineering & ProductionPsychoacoustics

spectrum.Figure 6 shows how changes in

the relative phases of the compo-nents can change a waveform.The components in this case, areharmonics 5 to 10 of a 200 Hz fun-damental, and pronounced peaksresult when they are all in phase.These peaks contribute a sense ofharshness to the sound.

The mechanism for phase per-ception is not clearly understoodat this time. J. Goldstein con-structed a theory that explainscertain experiments on phase per-ception on the basis of the ear'slimited frequency resolution.When two or more spectral compo-nents lie within a critical band,the ear is not able to resolve them,

so it finds clues from the timeenvelope.

Whereas the effect of phase ontimbre is small for steady tones,the ear is very sensitive tochanges in phase, especially if ittakes place at a regular rate. Thisphenomenon is known as second-order beats.

Beats of mistunedconsonances

Many researchers, includingHelmholtz and Plomp have dis-cussed the pheomenon of second-order beats. They are described asvariations in timbre, changes inloudness of one or both constitu-ent tones, and they are quiteprominent even at low sound lev-

Figure 6: Changes in relative phases of components can change thewaveform itself.

els. Second -order beats betweenmistuned consonances can beheard up to about 1500 Hz, de-pending on the sound level.

In the case of a mistuned oc-tave, envelope changes as large as13 percent occur that correspondto variations in sound level of ap-proximately 1.5 dB, too small toaccount for the prominent beatsthat are heard. Presumably, thebeats of mistuned consonances arerelated to periodic vibrations ofthe waveform. With the philoso-phy of modern auditory theory, itwould appear that the beats aredue to the periodicity of nerve im-pulses. Nerve impulses are gener-ated when the displacement of thebasilar membrane passes a cer-tain critical value, and therefore,slow variations in the time pat-tern of the impulses.

Beats of mistuned consonanceshave been used by piano tuners totune fifths and fourths on thepiano.

When the two interacting tonesinclude harmonics, ordinary first -

order beats can occur betweenvarious harmonics.

Autocorrelation andcross -correlation

The foundation of the physicaland psychological interpretationsof sound rests in the nervous sys-tem. The basic building block ofthe nervous system is the neuronor nerve cell, which transmits andprocesses neural impulses. Theneuron has receptors called den-drites, which receive informationand axons, which transmit in-formation to other neurons. The"schematic" among our more thansix billion neurons, which deter-mines which neurons receivepulses from which others, is thekey to human intelligence. Eventhough much of this scheme isfixed in the cerebral cortex, theinterconnecting of neurons is theresult of repeated stimulation pat-terns, which leads to learning.

It is possible to attach smallelectrodes to nerve fibers and ob-serve the rate of neural impulses.Some neurons generate pulsesspontaneously at a certain ratethat can be either increased or de-creased in accordance with the


Bibliography

Bever, T.G., and R.J. Chiarello (1974). "CerebralDominance in Muscians and Non -Musicians,"Science 185: 536.

Clack, T.D. (1977). "Growth of the Second andThird Aural Harmonics of 500 Hz," Journal of theAcoustical Society of America 62:1060

Galileo Galilei (1638). Dialogues Concerning TwoNew Sciences, Trans., H. Crew and A. de SalviaNew York: McGraw-Hill.

Goldstein, J.L. (1967). "Auditory Nonlinearity,"Journal of the Acoustical Society of America41:676.

Helmholtz, H. Von (1877). On the Sensation ofTone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of

Music, 4th ed. Trans., A.J. Ellis New York: Dover,1954.

Licklider, J.C. (1959). "Three Auditory Theories," inPsychology: A Study in Science, Vol. 1. Ed., S.Koch. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Plomp, R. (1967)."Beats of MistunedConsonances," Journal of the Acoustical Society42:460

Olson, H. (1969). "Home Entertainment: Audio1988," Journal of the Audio Engineering Society17:390

Terhardt, Je. (1974)."Pitch Consonance and Har-mony," Journal of the Acoustical Society ofAmerica 55:1061

pulses received from otherneurons.

A given auditory nerve fibercarries two types of data:1. The fact that the nerve is firingat all indicates that the basilarmembrane has been excited at aparticular place (place theory).2. The time distribution of im-pulses carries data on the repe-tition rate (periodicity theory),and possibly on the vibration pat-tern itself; this is true only forlower frequencies.

Two important nervous systemprocessing functions are autocor-relation and cross -correlation.A utocorrelation is the comparisonof a pulse train with previouspulse trains in order to pick outrepetitive features. Cross -correla-tion is described as a comparisonbetween signals on two differentnerve fibers. This could accountfor the localization of sound at lowfrequencies by measuring thetime delay between signals fromour two ears.

Cerebral dominanceInformation from our left earpasses to the right side of thebrain and information from theright ear to the left side. This isconsistent with the bilateral sym-metry exhibited in nearly all oursensory and motor functions. Ofcourse, there are pathways fromthe left ear to left cortex and verystrong ties between the right andleft cortexes, so that both sides of

the brain receive processed in-formation from both ears.

Clinical evidence has shownthat the dominant hemisphere forthe brain (left cortex) for 98 per-cent of the population is special-ized for speech processing and theminor hemisphere for nonlinguis-tic functions.

Recognition of melodies re-quires the use of both hemi-spheres. It has been discoveredthat musically experienced listen-ers recognize melodies better intheir right ear than the left, whilethe reverse is true for non -musicians. Patients with severetraumatic speech impedimentsare sometimes able to sing a songthat had been learned before thetrauma occurred, even thoughthey could not speak the samewords.

Trust your ears"Nature," said the ancient

Greek philosopher Zeno, "hasgiven man one tongue, but twoears, that we might hear twice asmuch as we speak." Most of ustake for granted the unique audi-tory abilities that we possess andmany of us could benefit from thisadvice.

The final judgement as towhether or not sound reproduc-tion is high-fidelity must be con-ducted by the trained ear itself.We say "trained" ear because weintend to judge sound by what weare accustomed to hearing. A lis-

tener who regularly hears goodmusic n a concert hall will detectshortcomings in a sound reproduc-ing system that elude a personwho listens mostly to reproducedsound. Most of us in the broadcastindustry have so tuned our ears toomnipresent stereophonic soundin small studios, that live perfor-mances sound strange to us.

In 1969, H. Olson emphasizedthe physiological and psychologi-cal aspects of sound reproduction,which he divided in two parts: thesensorial process the syntheticemotional process. Both are sub-ject to musical training, especiallythe emotional process. The emo-tional process depends on currenttastes in music.

Efforts to reproduce the spacialcharacter of the sound and to pro-vide ambience in the listeningarea have led to stereophonic,quadraphonic, and other multi-channel techniques for sound re-production. Obstacles have pre-vented quadraphonic sound frombecoming a factor in the high fi-delity industry, but indicatorsstill reflect increasing interest inmultichannel sound. BM/E

Editor's note: This concludes ourseries on psychoacoustics. We hopeit has been informative as we striveto provide information on all as-pects of the broadcaster's experi-ence. Please let us hear from youon this and other (future) series.


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TV Engineering & Production

SomeA,B,C's

OrrTBC's

andFrameSyncs Editel Chicago's Mary Frisoli adjusts settings on one of four Sony BVT

800 time base correctors matched to BVU 800 VCRs in the interformatsuite.

Perhaps the most critical aspect of video processing liesin keeping the video signal in proper shape throughout the plant.

Video from tape and outside sourcesare two areas needing specific treatment.

The maxim that timing is ev-erything is especially truein the case of video signals.

A complex serial stream of analogdata, video is comprised not onlyof several basic picture param-eters, but also of horizontal, verti-cal, and color timing information.The time base of the video signalrequires ultra precision for accu-rate processing, and for display ata scanning rate of more than15,000 lines each second.

By Brian McKernan

Throughout the history of tele-vision there has been a continualquest for timing accuracy and theelimination of synchronization ar-tifacts. As television technologyevolved, solutions to various tim-ing problems included the syn-chronizing of cameras, the devel-opment of vertical intervalswitching, and of genlock.

Two of the most significantdevelopments in television in thepast decade have been the intro-

duction of small -format VTRs andthe growth in use of terrestrialand satellite microwave. Thesetechnologies create their ownproblems of time base instability,however, and video output fromthem must be processed to main-tain RS -170 standards within thevideo plant.

Such processing is performed bytime base correctors (TBCs) andframe synchronizers, a category ofproducts that are among today's


TV Engineering & ProductionVideo Processing

most important "black boxes."Common to TV stations andteleproduction houses for over adecade, both TBCs and frame syn-chronizers continue to improveyearly with increasing numbers offeatures, decreasing cost, and insome cases integration into sin-gle, multifunction units.

Time base correctors and framesynchronizers are both designedto stabilize and synchronize videosignals, but they differ in func-tion. Time base correctors handlesmall, rapid instabilities inherentin the videotape recording andplayback process. Frame syn-chronizers remove slow, driftingerrors of transmission delay instable video from outside sources,and then sync that video to thelocal house sync source, permit-ting clean transitions to and fromin-house video.

The trouble with tapeMaintaining stability in any

plant where video production isdone means, of course, locking allequipment (including TBCs andframe synchronizers) to a mastersync pulse generator. Pumpingout black burst, the master syncsource genlocks, times, andphases all video -processing equip-ment together so that synchroni-zation artifacts-jitter, bumps,rolls, shifts, and color distor-tions-do not occur duringswitches, edits, and mixes be-tween VTRs, cameras, or othervideo sources.

The weak link, however, is theVTR/VCR. There the virtual per-fection of timing integrity is lostbecause of the mechanical record-ing/playback process. Even thebest VTRs and tape are not im-mune to these problems. Changesin temperature, humidity, drag,and tension can alter the physicalsize or shape of a tape between thetime of recording and playback. Avariation as small as only onethousandth of an inch in tape size

Outside video sources at WBNS-TVare synched soon after they enterthe building. Dan Black, mainte-nance technician, surveys the sta-tion's Microtime and Harris framesynchronizers.


or shape can be seen on a monitoras picture distortion. Time baseerror is also created by the VTR,and can be caused by the size,shape, and condition of the tapepath, and by mechanical or elec-trical gyrations in the tape trans-port.

There are few television orteleproduction professionals whohaven't seen, on at least one occa-sion, what time base error lookslike in a displayed picture. Itshows up as geometric distortionin playback, appearing as imagebending or fluttering most notice-able at the top of vertical lines,and also as picture tearing, colorbreakup, and phase shifts. If notcorrected, such problems multiplywhen tapes are duplicated. Timebase error greatly limits the util-ity of video equipment; time baseincorrect video cannot be edited ormixed with other video, correct orotherwise. Video must also betime base correct to meet theFCC -mandated tolerances of tele-vision transmitters.

TBCs to the rescueTime base correction is nearly

as old as the VTR itself. Ampex

introduced electromechanical ser-vomechanisms and voltage -vari-able video delay lines for timebase correction as part of theirevolution of quadruplex ma-chines. Early one -inch VTRs wereoriginally time base correctedwith analog techniques similar tothose invented for quad.

The lesser mechanical toler-ances of still smaller format heli-cal scan VTRs introduced newproblems of time base instability.Half- and % -inch VTRs were suit-able for industrial use, but not forbroadcast. In the early 1970s,television news departments sawthe potential use of small formatsfor ENG. Before that was to occura solution was needed to make thesmaller VTRs meet broadcaststandards.

Working on such a solution atthat time were companies such asConsolidated Video Systems(CVS) and the ADDA Corpo-ration. Harris Video Systems' RonFrillman, an original member ofthe CVS research team, recallsthe challenge they confronted:

"With the early U-matics, wewere faced with machines that,instead of having a capstan servo

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motor, had one motor in the sys-tem with drive belts going off topower all the other parts. Theonly constants we could count onfrom a picture coming off such amachine were horizontal sync, be-cause it relates to the speed of thehead drum, and burst, which is al-ways on the back porch of the sig-nal. So we designed a clocking fre-quency derived from burst, whichis today a Harris patent." CVS istoday part of Harris Video Sys-tems.

"The next trick was the need formore than one line of memory. Ananalog delay line was only goodfor one line-plus or minus half aline-and there was too much er-ror in the cheaper VTRs. You hadto go to digital to get any kind ofmemory capacity, so CVS devel-oped a converter for analog to dig-ital. We had three lines of mem-ory in the original box. The nicething about digital is if you havegreater than a line of video erroryou can afford to cut it off andthrow it away."

Live from spaceThe development of the frame

synchronizer was also ongoingduring this time period, at CVS,NEC, and other companies.

"Synchronizers were a falloutfrom TBC research," explainsFrillman. "Same technique, ex-cept you needed to handle a large,slow, drifting error. We originallydesigned the synchronizer forNASA's live video from mannedlunar missions. That microwavesignal being beamed back to earthhad a large and slow drift to it. NoTBC had a large enough windowto handle it. So we built sufficientmemory so that we could write ina field, and constantly refresh thememory so that it would neverrun out.

"If that slow -drifting signalwere fed [unsynchronized], allthe television transmitters in theworld reading it would have goneout of lock. TV transmitter toler-ances are very unforgiving. In or-der for the world to see the menwalking on the moon we had togive them a stable signal. Veryfew people know that the historiclive video from the moon was pro -

Editor Chris Hengeveld at the controls of a Fortel Y-688 TBC in aninterformat suite at National Video, in New York.

cessed on a CVS frame synchron-izer."

Bits and windowsTime base corrector and frame

synchronizer technology has ben-efitted from the growth of thecomputer industry, which is theimpetus behind the developmentand decreasing cost of A to Dchips. Most digital TBCs andsyncs on the market are 8 -bit sys-tems because of the wide avail-ability of 8 -bit A to D converters.

The memory capacity that aTBC or frame synchronizer hasfor holding video signals needingcorrection is known as its window.The window specifies the maxi-mum timing error that can be cor-rected. In a TBC, a 16 -line win-dow will permit correction oftiming errors of up to plus or mi-nus 8 lines, which is usually ade-quate for timing errors encoun-tered in typical applications.Advanced sync must, however, befed back to the VTR to control itsoutput so it falls within the win-dow.

TBCs described as having an in-finite window can store a com-plete frame of video in memory,enabling correction of any amountof timing error. Advanced sync,therefore, is unnecessary with in-finite window TBCs, which can be

used with machines that cannotaccept advanced sync, such asVHS and Beta. Infinite windowdesign also permits capture of acomplete field or frame for freez-ing, a popular feature.

Frame synchronizers also storea complete frame of memory, butdiffer from TBCs in that they canhot switch in the event of signalloss, freezing on the last goodframe until video is restored.Additionally, the bandwidth thata frame synchronizer can handleis usually greater than that of aTBC. Such capabilities vary, how-ever, depending on the manufac-turer, model, and price. Manycombination TBC/frame syn-chronizers are on the market to-day, with more introduced everyyear.

The buyer has a wealth ofchoices today among TBC andframe synchronizer products, andcompanies offering them includeAlta, Ampex, Apert-Herzog,Crosspoint Latch, For -A, Fortel,GML, Harris, Hotronics,Grunder, Leitch, Lenco, Micro -

time, NEC, Nova, Panasonic,Prime Image, Quantel, ScientificAtlanta Digital Video Systems,Shintron, Sony, Tektronix, andToshiba.

Simply stated, the typical de-sign of both TBCs and frame syn-


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chronizers involves conversion ofinput analog video to digital form,and then the storage of that in-formation just long enough tooutput it-converted back to ana-log-so that the video is syn-chronous to the master house syncsource.

TBCs use a sampling frequencyof four times the color subcarrier,or 14.32 MHz. Each sample isthen converted to an 8 -bit binaryword, which yields 256 levels ofresolution for each cycle of 14.32MHz.

Sync and burst, occurring in theblanking portion of the signal, aredeleted in the time base correctionprocess. Prior to output the videois passed through a processingamplifier, which adds new syncand burst, correcting for errors oftiming, color, and phase. A clean,time base correct signal is the endproduct.

Nipped in the budSatellite and ENG microwave

use in broadcasting has made theframe synchronizer a vital tool inthe modern television station. Agood example of this situation isillustrated by WBNS-TV, the CBSaffiliate in Columbus, OH. Thestation operates an SNV, twoENG trucks, three portable ENGunits, an ENG helicopter, andalso takes feeds from six satelliteantennas.

"With all of this microwavecoming in we try to make our sta-tion synchronous as far upstreamas possible," explains mainte-nance technician Dan Black. "Youcannot afford to genlock to an out-

side source any more, because ofthe roll a hot switch causes on theair, and the glitch it creates in thehouse reference. A separate synchsystem for production or mastercontrol is one solution, but it justadds another level of complexity.

"Because those outside signalshave to be synchronous to thehouse standard, we synch them assoon as they come into the build-ing," Black says. "There's one DAjust for monitoring the raw net-work signal, and from there itgoes right into a frame synchro-nizer. Then it's synchronous forthe whole plant. We do the samething for other satellite feeds andfor all the ENG. By the way, wealways have provisions for moni-toring the signals before they gointo the syncs. That lets us isolateproblems.

"It's rare when you're not doingsomething with the incoming sig-nals -p e r h ap s passing themthrough a keyer or on to mastercontrol directly-and by synchingthem right where they come in weonly have to sync them once. Thenwe can patch them around and notworry about it. We can treat thatvideo as if it was the output of acamera or tape machine.

"We have ten synchronizers inall, and they all have proc ampsbuilt in, so the incoming video isalso cleaned up. We have fourHarris 690s, four Microtime S -130s, and two Microtime S-230combination frame sync/TBCs.The S-230 is handy for when fieldequipment is running off fre-quency, and for the surprisingnumber of instances where satel-

lite feeds originate from non -timebase corrected VCRs. The S-230senses the type of signal cominginto it and automatically timebase corrects unphased color."

U-matic utilityTime base correction is required

for all video processing formatsemployed by VTRs, and there areTBCs designed to handle eachtype. These include: the directcolor composite recording processof one -inch Type C; the hetero-dyne-or color-under-process ofU-matic; and the component Y, R-Y, B -Y signals of Beta and M -II. Afurther variation is dub process-ing, which uses the wider band-width of the unencoded luma/chroma output on U-matic ma-chines. With dub processing,TBCs can retrieve higher qualitysignals than are normally possi-ble from the composite output of aU-matic VCR.

"Three -quarter -inch is a verypopular format that continues toget better," observes HerbOhlandt, vice president and direc-tor of engineering at NationalVideo, in New York. "Two of ourseven edit suites are interformatsuites. Both regularly use two orthree Sony BVU 800 series ma-chines in addition to two BVW40s. We're most interested in thehighest quality for our % -inchcustomers, who are just as impor-tant to us as our one -inchcustomers.

"We studied several models ofTBC, and chose the Fortel Y-688and Turbo 2 for their componentdub feature and ability to handleweak to poor tapes, which is cru-cial for us. They're super. We alsolike the Turbo's quietness of pic-ture, frequency response, andchroma noise."

The Fortel Turbo 2 is compat-ible with both % -inch dub andhalf -inch component formats, partof a trend in which TBC architec-

The Zaxcom multiple time basecorrector remote control systeminstalled at New York's BroadwayVideo includes control panels inthe machine room (seen here)and in the edit suites.

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tures are designed to process morethan one VTR signal format. Thisflexibility is matched by a trendin which TBCs are not only com-bined with frame synchronizers inthe same box, but also in whichsuch extra features are offered asdrop out compensation, noise re-duction, frame/field freeze, andthe ability to produce recog-nizable pictures in dynamic track-ing and high-speed shuttle VTRmodes.

TBC FXAnother significant feature of

the newer TBCs is the ability toalter the sequence in which thedigital codes of picture informa-tion are read from memory, andthereby generate special effects.For -A, Crosspoint Latch, andPrime Image are three manufac-turers offering TBCs with effects.For the user, this can be an eco-nomical alternative to more ex-pensive digital video effects sys-tems-or even a way to extendtheir capabilities.

"We have the Prime ImageTBC-Sync Plus, as well as a Digi-tal Services Corporation Eclipsevideo effects unit," explains BobChesney, president of ChesneyProductions, in Newport Beach,CA. The company produces Win-dows on Wall Street, which isshown on the Financial NewsNetwork, and they also produce90 -minute instructional videosaimed at the business market.

"We use most of the TBC-SyncPlus effects, such as mosaic,posterization, sepia, and freezeframe, and even though we havethose same effects on the Eclipse,doing them on the Prime Imagelets us free up the Eclipse forother things. You can even com-bine effects on the TBC-Sync Plus,and that's ironic because you can'tdo that on our Eclipse. We also usethe TBC-Sync Plus freeze frameand freeze field as a quick stillstore."

A pioneer in using TBC technol-ogy for more than time base cor-rection is The Alta Group, whichmakes three products-Cygnus,Pyxis, and Centaurus-that col-lectively offer quality digital ef-fects, A/B roll editing, and still

storage at prices geared to thelow -end producer.

Crossing boundariesYet another TBC-related spe-

cial effect common today is thedisappearing act, especially wherehalf -inch component formats areconcerned. Compactness is one ofthe key features of Beta, Beta SP,and M -II, and in keeping withthis, TBCs for these VCRs are be-ing designed as integral plug-inboards that vanish inside thehousing of the tape machine itself.

This is partially a consequenceof the compressed time -divisionmultiplexed signal processing ofcomponent formats, which elimi-nates some of the jitter needingcorrection. Users acknowledgethey have little need for outboardTBCs with half -inch componentVCRs unless they're transmittingdirect from small field units. Inte-gral TBCs have the advantage ofbeing specifically designed for theVCR they're part of, and they savespace. Sony, Panasonic, Ampex,BTS, and JVC all offer integralTBCs for their half -inch VCRs,and Sony has even introduced onefor its BVU-950 U-matic SPmachine.

Despite the tendency toward in-tegral TBCs, manufacturers areaware of the value of flexibility intheir equipment, and a TBC thatcan bridge several differentworlds is a hedge against a futurethat some feel may see one formatwin out over another. One suchproduct is Microtime's T-220 For-mat Interchange TBC, which isdesigned with the capacity to in-put and output composite, dub,and component simultaneously. Auniversal TBC that can processall of these signals essentiallymakes it a system transcoder.

TBCs for type CIn the world of one -inch, time

base correction has also gone theway of the system approach, withboth plug-in cards and outboardunits designed specifically forgiven VTRs. One reason users fre-quently cite for going the integralroute is satisfaction with having aTBC perfectly suited for the spe-cialized tricks of Type C.

"We're done purchasing TBCsas standalones," comments ScottJacobs, president of IPA, TheEditing House, in Chicago. "We'rebuilding a new edit suite that in-cludes three Sony BVH-3000s,which have slow-motion capabil-ity. We chose the top -of -the -lineplug-in Sony TBCs for them be-cause it makes the slow-mo lookterrific."

At nearby Editel Chicago, chiefengineer Mark Adler agrees withJacobs that it's best to go withsame -manufacturer TBCs when itcomes to one -inch. Editel Chica-go's newer Ampex and Sony VTRsare outfitted with matchingTBCs. One of these models in par-ticular, the Ampex TBC 6, is notonly designed for such specialfunctions as rendering clear pic-tures in the variable -speed andshuttle modes of Ampex one -inch,but it can also be used with U-matic VCRs. Both the AmpexTBC 6 and the TBC 40 have het-erodyne processing built in, whichis handy for those blocks of timewhen the one -inch is idle and theU-matic is in use, or when dub-bing up from that format to one-inch.

Remote controlTelevision stations, and-espe-

cially-post-production facilities,for whom time base correction iscrucial because of its necessity inediting, vary when it comes toplacement of TBCs. At NewYork's National Video, one -inchVTRs and TBCs are co -locatedand both are the responsibility ofthe playback person.

"We don't remote -control ourTBCs; that would give the editorsomething new to do, and editorsare busy enough as it is with suchequipment as the Abekas, ADO,and Kaleidoscope," says Nation-al's Ohlandt. "On the other hand,in our interformat suites the edi-tor does playback himself, he's aone-man band, and it's cheaperthat way." Fortel Y-688 andTurbo 2 TBCs are mounted di-rectly beneath the U-matics atNational Video's two interformatsuites.

"We remote all our TBCs," ex-plains IPA The Editing House's


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Jacobs, "and each of our editingrooms is equipped with a ZaxcomVideo TBC control system. It's avery smart little remote controlthat allows you to preset param-eters for each different tape. Wejust installed a Zaxcom multipleTBC control system, which con-trols eight TBCs.

"With our one -inch machineswe used to have to reset the TBCevery time we changed reels, andif you put the same tape back uplater, you'd have to reset for itagain. But with the Zaxcom youjust press the button for, say,VPR3 and setup position four, andyou're back in business. We'revery concerned about cutting theediting time for the client, and ifyou can cut an hour off an editingsession by being able to automati-cally set up machines, then you'realso saving that client somemoney," Jacobs says.

Future generationsA major new processing product

for one -inch Type C video attract-ing much attention lately is one inwhich time base correction is onlypart of the picture. "We're mull-ing over getting an Ampex Zeus,"says Editel Chicago's Adler. "Welike it because of its ability to han-dle Varispeed; you can shrink a32 -second spot to 30 seconds andZeus will do a great job of gettingrid of the artifacts that normallyoccur in such a procedure."

Described as an advanced videoprocessor, Zeus features 9 -bitsampling and totally digital veloc-ity compensation, which greatlyenhances the multigenerationalperformance of Type C. Twenty-third generation NTSC video pro-duced on Zeus has been demon-strated with virtually no picturedegradation.

Zeus' other features includemultigeneration setup mode toshow what initial setup levels willlook like in ten generations to op-timize adjustments; a decodemode to correct for non -color -

framed edits and to allow edits tobe made every two-instead offour-NTSC fields; full band-width frame store; serial remotecontrol capability; ability to han-dle heterodyne VCRs on a secondinput; and compatibility witholder Ampex VTRs, such as theVPR2 and VPR2B.

The development of the Zeusadvanced video processor hasbeen attributed by some as one-inch Type C's response to thegradual encroachment of digitalvideo recording technologies,which are free of the multigenera-tional degradation of analog for-mats. Ironically, however, it's dig-ital technology-including TBCsand frame synchronizers-that istoday optimizing the quality andflexibility of analog video. Inbroadcast, at least, it will be anNTSC world for quite some timeto come, and the good news is thattoday's video processing productsoffer a wide array of choices thatjust keep on getting better.BM/E

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The Museum of Broadcastmg contains one of tie largest colle-2tionsof television shows in the world, shows that are an important part ofAmerican culture. But we re missing a few, ard you might have them.

If you know the «hereabouts of any of the eleven shows below, callus. Or write to us for a complete list of missing programs.

It's all part of the Museum of Broadcasting Search for lost Shows,brought to you by Fuji Professional Videotape, the people who believethat the good stuff belongs in a museum.

The Tonight Show Sept 27 1°54 and Oct 1,1962 I love Lucy Pilot, Early 1951Actors Studio, 1948-1950 Three to Get Ready,1950-1951

Texaco Star Theatre,Juni-Dec 1948 Toast of tie Town June 20,1948All in the Family 1st P lot Jan 1969 Supe- Bowl I Jan 15.1967

Opening Nights at the Me-opolitan Opera, Nc-v 29,1948 and Nov 6,1950Small Fry Club 1947-1951 The Sto-m 1950-1953

THE MLSEUM OF BROADCASTING SEARCH FOR LOST SHOWS

SPONSORED BY FUJI VIDEOTAPE

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© 1987 Fuji Photo Film U S.A. nc. Photographer, Eric Meola

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Transmission/Distribution Engineering

SatelliteProtectionSystems

Bonneville Satellite maintains satellite networksystems through intelligent technical

planning and use of uninterruptable power systems.

Denise Fowler checks information at the Los Angeles technical operations cen-ter of Bonneville Satellite Corp.

Los Angeles may be recog-nized as the home of manytelevision and film stars, but

different types of stars play a vitalrole in the operations of a telecom-munications company with one ofits technical operations centers

there. This firm, which utilizessatellites revolving thousands ofmiles above the earth to relay andtransmit broadcasting signalsacross the United States, includesas one of its major clients CableNews Network (CNN). Because

CNN frequently broadcasts liveprogramming, the slightest powerproblem, not to mention blackout,would cause an embarrassinginterruption for millions of itsviewers.

Consequently, the telecommu-


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nications company selected itsfirst uninterruptable power sys-tem (UPS) to provide not only thepower conditioning capabilities ofthe line conditioners used at othercompany sites, but also no -breakpower in the event of a blackout.

Headquartered in Salt LakeCity, the company is BonnevilleSatellite Corp., and it also oper-ates technical operations centers(TOCs) in San Diego, Salt LakeCity, and Washington, DC.

Bonneville Satellite Corp. wasfounded in 1978 as a part of Bon-neville International Corp., whichcomprises a group of AM, FM, andtelevision stations, as well as aproduction company for televisionprogramming and advertising.

"We were founded becausethere was a need for the deliveryof network programs from onepoint to another via microwave orsatellite uplink," explains Ray

Hutchinson, Los Angeles areamanager. "Much like commoncarriers in other businesses, wedon't build or create anything, wehave responsibility for transport-ing somebody else's products anddistributing them."

Because Bonneville is en-trusted by its clients to transmitthese signals clearly and quickly,the firm cannot afford to lose asignal for even the briefest mo-ment of time due to a powerproblem.

Bonneville's list of clients is in-deed impressive, ranging fromnews and scheduled daily pro-grams to sports, entertainment,and special events. Besides CNN'sLos Angeles news bureau, currentclients include Hospital SatelliteNetwork, the CBS West Coast re-gional news, ABC Sports, ESPN,the NCAA, and a variety of pro-fessional baseball, basketball,

ideotek's ne"no -frills" wave-form monitorkeeps value -minded enginhappy.

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and hockey teams. Bonnevillealso has handled transmissionof such prestigious events asthe 1984 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles and the AcademyAwards.

Los Angeles operationsWhile each of Bonnevile's five

TOCs has different capabilities tomeet a broad range of client re-quirements, the Los Angeles TOCis one of the most complete. Lo-cated in an office building onfamed Sunset Blvd., the Centerfeatures a studio complete with astage; two cameras and lighting;teleconference facilities; video-tape editing machines; a confer-ence room with a large -screenprojection system for video con-ferences; and a rooftop view thatclearly identifies the well-known"HOLLYWOOD" sign or the LosAngeles skyline for use as broad-casting backgrounds.

Bonneville transmits both liveand taped programs for distribu-tion to radio, television, cable sys-tems, or closed-circuit audiences,and also can provide signalpickup, coordination, camerasand crew, remote vans, switchingequipment, videotape, and a pro-duction staff trained in broadcast-ing operations. Transmissionsoriginating from Southern Cali-fornia generally are sent southvia several microwave relay sitesto Bonneville's San Diego satelliteuplinks. These twin 10 -meter Sci-entific-Atlanta uplinks, whichalso are utilized at Bonneville'sSalt Lake City and WashingtonTOCs, have the capability oftransmitting both horizontallyand vertically polarized signals toa satellite.

In the case of CNN transmis-sions, the telecommunicationsprocess differs slightly from theother Bonneville clients becauseit involves a relay site specificallydedicated to CNN.

This relay site is located at Sad-dle Peak, situated at the top of thecanyons in Malibu, a relativelyisolated suburb of Los Angeles ap-proximately 20 miles from Bonne-ville's downtown TOC. CNN'screw covers southern California



ATTENTION USERS OF PROCESSING EQUIPMENT

IMO

MIN

Please take a moment to complete the form below so we can better anticipate yourprocessing and transmission needs for the coming year.

1. Please indicate the current equipment situation in your facility as applicable:INTEND TO BUY

AUDIO PROCESSINGALC-AGC AmpsAM Compressor/LimitersFM Compressor/LimitersEqualizersDigital DelayReverbSynchronizersNoise Reduction Equipment

VIDEO PROCESSINGTBC'sFrame SynchronizersFrame StoresNoise ReducersColor CorrectorsSync DelaysFilters

TRANSMISSION/TV OPERATIONSUHF TransmittersVHF TransmittersUHF ExciterVHF ExciterMTS

ON WITHIN WITHINORDER 6 MOS. 12 MOS.

RADIO OPERATIONSTransmitterAM StereoStereo Generators

2. To what extent does audio processing influence your business? Very Important Somewhat Important Not Important

3. What areas of audio/video processing are of greatest concern to you at this time?

4. If TV Station-do you plan to convert to Stereo within the next: 6 months 12 months No plan

5. What best describes your organization? TV station H Radio network TV network Production company Radio station Post production facility

Other (specify)

6. What is your function? Chief Engineer Engineer General manager News Director Production manager Operations manager Other (specify)

NAME TITLE

STATION OR COMPANY

ADDRESS

CITY STATE ZIP

PHONE( )

MAIL BEFORE OCTOBER 15, 1987

Fold here and staple closed. Thank you for your cooperation.

1131/BROADCAST MANAGEMENT ENGINEERING

PROCESSING

EQUIPMENT

SURVEYMAIL BEFORE OCTOBER 15, 1987

Fold here and staple bottom

BUSINESS REPLY MAILFIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 6377 NEW YORK, N.Y.

113111EBROADCAST MANAGEMENT ENGINEERING295 Madison AvenueNew York, New York 10164-0008

NO POSTAGENECESSARY

IF MAILEDIN THE

UNITED STATES

1111 11I .11...I..1.11...1

stories with its own news truckequipped with microwave equip-ment, and the transmission issent via microwave to SaddlePeak. At Saddle Peak, the signalis recieved by a MA/COM receiverand sent via a MA/COM control-ler and antenna system to the LosAngeles TOC. The transmissionthen could be routed locally to an-other carrier or sent to San Diego,up to the satellite, and down toCNN's headquarters in Atlanta.

Once the signal reaches the SanDiego uplink, it is converted to afrequency of 6 GHz and beamedby an MCL 3.35 kW high -poweramplifier to one of the satelliteson which Bonneville leases tran-sponders. There, the signal is con-verted by the transponder to a fre-quency of 4 GHz and transmittedto one or more downlinks at what-ever location or locations the cli-ent desires. No matter how thesignal is routed to the satellite,the entire process takes less thanone-half second from the time ofthe initial transmission from themobile unit is made to its beingreceived at the downlink.

UPS safeguards CNNbroadcasts

When CNN's Los Angeles newsbureau became a Bonneville cli-ent during the summer of 1985,its contract with Bonneville re-quired that an uninterruptablepower system protect the equip-ment at Saddle Peak. "CNNwanted to be assured we wouldhave power for their live trans-missions in the event of an out-age," says Hutchinson. "If CNNwere broadcasting live and apower failure occurred, it wouldbe disastrous. We simply cannotafford any power failures at all."

Another reason for purchase ofthe UPS relates to the location ofthe relay site at Saddle Peak andthe fact that if a power outage oc-curred, nobody would be on handto immediately rectify the situa-tion before an emergency genera-tor kicked in. This generator, a 20kW model located inside the mainbuilding on the site and connectedto a transfer panel, is linked toother buildings in the same com-

Hutchinson points out the Sala 1.5 kVA UPS installed at the relay site.

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Bonneville's TOC in Los Angeles includes a fully equipped studio.

pound in which Boneville leasesspace.

The generator is powered bypropane, and has the ability torun nearly indefinitely. However,the unit takes up to 10 seconds toprovide power, an unnacceptabledelay when CNN is broadcastinglive programming. In the event ofa power failure, even with thegenerator operating properly, thetransmitter at Saddle Peak or thereciever at Bonneville's Los Ange-

les TOC could still take up to 30seconds to recover, an eternity inthe world of radio and televisionbroadcasting, notes Hutchinson.

To prevent these potential prob-lems, Gary Horrocks, director ofengineering for Bonneville, pur-chased a 1.5 kVA rack -mountedUPS manufactured by Sola, a unitof General Signal. Horrocks knewhe would need an on-line UPSrather than an off-line standbypower source (SPS) because the

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5,000 watts FMContinental's NEW 815A FMtransmitter is totally solid-state,except for a 4CX3500A in the finalamplifier. An 802A exciter is onboard to deliver a clean, crisp

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latter's four- to 10 -millisecond de-lay in switching from AC linepower to battery inverter power inthe event of a blackout would beunacceptable for the microwaveequipment at Saddle Peak.

The 1.5 kVA UPS operatescontinuously during normal line-

power conditions to provide volt-age regulation plus isolation fromnoise and transients. During nor-mal power conditions, commercialAC power is delivered to the unit'srectifier/charger, where it is con-verted to DC to charge the batteryand power the inverter. This tran-sistor -switching, multiple -pulsewidth inverter converts the DCpower to regulated, noise -free AC,which powers the load. It holdsoutput voltage to within ± 2 per-cent despite line voltage flucu-ations ranging from + 10 to - 15percent.

Any drop in the AC line powercauses the rectifier/charger's DCoutput to decrease, but the bat-tery automatically compensatesand continues to supply DC powerto the inverter for up to 10 min-utes. The battery also serves as ashock absorber for any AC linedisturbances and helps to isolatethe DC inverter from these dis-turbances.

The UPS, which is only 8%inches high with a separate 5 % -

inch battery pack, has two metersthat show output voltage and cur-rent, and also features a primaryAC breaker, battery breaker, andbypass fuse. Red, amber, andgreen LED indicators arranged ina power flow diagram continu-ously display the status of the sys-tem, and an audible alarm soundsif any fault conditions occur. The


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BROADCASTENGINEERING -

May 1986 Transmission

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"

battery pack is a sealed, 48 -celllead/acid unit that requires nomaintenance.

This particular Sola model wasselected, says Horrocks, becauseof its regulation features, meters,and rack mount capabilities. Dueto the amount of the equipmentrequired to fit into the six- byeight -foot building Bonnevilleleases at Saddle Peak, the rackmounting capability was an im-portant consideration. "We had alot of confidence in Sola productsas a result of Bonneville's experi-ence with Sola line conditioners atthe Salt Lake City TOC," saysHorrocks, and the 1.5 kVA modelwas specified after he calculatedthat the equipment at Saddle

_

INN

Peak draws about 750 watts,enough power to safely provide forfuture upgrading of equipment atSaddle Peak.

Because the power in Los Ange-les is generally very stable, Bon-neville has not experienced anypower problems at Saddle Peakduring the time the UPS has beeninstalled there. However, the costof the UPS is minimal whenweighed against the cost of apower problem that could affectservice to CNN and harm Bonne-ville's excellent reputation. Infact, points out Horrocks, theunit's presence at Saddle Peak isso reassuring that he is consider-ing adding additional UPS modelsat other sites. BM/E

; BONNEVILLETELEcommumcanoNs

Los Angeles area manager Ray Hutchinson stands alongside one of thecampany's mobile vans at a microwave relay point for CNN, located atthe top of the canyons at Malibu-Saddle Peak.


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See

Broadcast Management

Undeclared War?:The GM and CE

RelationshipOperating today's radio station is a complex task of balancing

the financial and programming concerns of the generalmanager and the technical and operational duties of the chief engineer.

Is there a common ground on which to build aworking professional relationship?

By Tim Wetmore

0 it and water don't mix. Thechemical characteristics ofeach is so different from

the other that they repel eachother, unable to accomplish ablending of the attributes thateach element might bring to thecombined result. Are we talkingabout the chief and the GM in thesame way?

There are those who maintainthis is a good analogy for the fun-damental differences between thetwo disciplines, the two most criti-cal guiding forces for any station.The reasoning for this position:the general manager usuallygrows up through the sales orga-nization and is revenue/cost ori-ented. He is trained throughouthis career to think that withoutsales there would be no stationand this becomes his essential op-erating philosophy when he grad-uates into the ranks of generalmanager.

The chief engineer, on the otherhand, is schooled in the technicalnature of the station and is hard-ware/performance oriented. He istrained to think that the bestquality plant, equipment, and

personnel are required to get aquality signal on the air and keepit there. He is told that withoutthe signal carrying the programsto the audience there would benothing to sell.

This, quite naturally, sets up aconfrontational basis for workingtogether right from the beginningof one's career. Along with thethorough training in the basics ofone's profession, future chiefs andGMs seem also to be receiving asolid grounding in suspicion. Asthe respective career paths beginto converge, the problems reallybegin to show up. It's difficult tocreate a harmonious atmospherein which to work when the onlyoccasions for discussion revolvearound failed equipment andspending money. Instead it wouldseem necessary to build a founda-tion of trust and common interest.But how likely is this? Is it evenpossible?

The answer, of course, is that itis possible. The way to do it isthrough better communication.Though this is an over used andmisused term, it nevertheless ap-plies here. And what most needs

to be communicated are the com-mon goals of the station, the man-ager, and the chief. On top of thisthere i s the matter of how to goabout achieving these goals.

Perhaps a beginning point is todetermine what each party is at-tempting to do. From this point itmay be possible to determinewhere the paths will converge,thus arriving at the commonground so desperately sought. Itshould be kept in mind throughthe discussion that market sizemay be an important factor inrelationships. If it is a large mar-ket and a healthy station, obvi-ously the GM is more likely to pro-vide a larger budget with whichthe chief can operate.

The manager, then, is trying tooptimize the efficiency of the sta-tion and thus increase profitabil-ity. In light of this, the manager isusually looking to do two things,one of which is further his career.The other is to lower costs whileincreasing revenue. The engineerenters this picture in a negativemanner, as an expense to the sta-tion, especially in small opera-tions where you have a one- or


Broadcast ManagementGM/CE Relationship

two -man engineering shop. Theengineer, on the other hand is alsotrying to further his career and istrying to build a good sound forthe station. He often sees themanager as a stumbling block inboth regards since the managerwon't give him the money he feelshe needs to keep operating thephysical plant in a professionalmanner.

Lines of communicationBarry Mishkind, the chief engi-

neer and VP of operations atKKPW/KFXX, an AM/FM comboin Tucson, AZ, has previously en-countered the obstacles separat-ing the two disciplines. "What'sneeded most is to develop a properbudget, and I stress proper, realiz-ing the limits of what can bespent. You must understand cashflow and the professional engineershould be able to work within theconstraints of a properly preparedbudget. Yet the managers need torethink their positions on engi-neering as simply another ex-pense. They need to commit to acertain level of performance, andthat shows up in the properly pre-pared budget."

Again, communication wouldseem to be the basis for each un-derstanding the plight of theother and coming up with a "prop-erly" prepared budget. Compro-mise is a word that fits in here andis a common denominator to allsuccessful professionals in all dis-ciplines. It has a negative con-notation, but for all that, it is theglue that binds almost everyagreement. Each side wants to seeevidence that the other is willingto give a little (sometimes a lot) intheir direction.

As Mishkind relates, "There isa need for communication andagreement on common goals thatwill fulfill the goals of the station.Together the chief engineer andgeneral manager should be able tosit down and prioritize the top fiverequirements. One way to keepthe communication open is to letthe manager know about the posi-tive side of engineering. Don't letthe communication channel lapseuntil something goes wrong andyou are forced to sit down with the

manager. The topic is always neg-ative with this approach. If you letthe manager know about positiveperformances, that gives a differ-ent slant to the relationship."

Naturally, each market, not tomention every individual and ev-ery station, has its unique charac-teristics. According to Mishkind,"Of course, there is a distinct dif-ference between small and largemarkets. The problem is worse insmall to small/medium marketswhere reverse pressures of de-regulation provide no incentive tohave the best plant. Also in the

"The manager, then, istrying to optimize the

efficiency of thestation and thus

increase profitability."

smaller markets there is either noor very little competition, in addi-tion to which many small opera-tions refuse to acknowledge thatthey are part of a larger radiocommunity with its attendantstandards."

Further, technology itself im-pacts the decision making process.With many of the products in thetechnical plant having reached avery high level of performance,perhaps even the pinnacle of prac-tical application, the old saying ofspending money now to savemoney later holds true. It isMishkind's contention that, "cer-tain facets of the engineeringsphere have stabilized. Processingmay have reached its peak interms of being clean and loud. It isalso evident that the quality oftransmitters is reaching its peak.Now that the level of the technicalstate of the art is so high, there isa level that most stations can as-pire to if they will only commit areasonable part of their engineer-ing budget to the technology. Ofcourse, in the long run this savesthem money on maintenance and

replacement parts."

Lines of definitionAndy Butler, director of engi-

neering for Emmis Broadcasting'sWFAN/WQHT, an AM/FM comboin New York, sees the problem asa shift in the industry, a shift sodramatic in nature that the nor-mal definitions of who does whathave been upset. The old rulesdon't seem to apply anymore, andthat leaves both general manag-ers and chief engineers searchingfor a clear explanation of theirboundaries within the context ofthe "new" industry.

"The relationship between thegeneral manager and the chief en-gineer has deteriorated by thesituation in engineering when, inthe past 30 years, the industry re-defined the engineering function.Formerly the task involved de-sign, engineering, construction,and maintanence, whereas now alot of people cannot define whatengineering is within the contextof the modern station. This in-cludes engineers. I feel if we can'tdefine the profession for ourselvesthen we should not hold anygrudge against the other branchesof management."

It is important to note, however,that the burden of defining one'sposition and the communicatingof problems should not be left toengineering alone. As Butlerpoints out, "There are a lot ofthings at work here and it variesby station. Depending on thestructure, the responsibilitiesmay change. It now seems thatthe engineer is a single person op-erating in a station environmentwith no support group aroundhim, like an engineering depart-ment, and he thus becomes defen-sive and reactionary. This is afault of his isolation and generallypoor realization of his value byothers in the station environment,rather than being something en-tirely of his own making."

There are those who also claimthat the engineering function inthe station is going through amaturation process as the indus-try goes through its changes. Thisschool contends that good engi-neers were driven out of the pro -


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Broadcast ManagementGM/CE Relationship

fession by the treatment, pres-sure, and low pay. "Still," allowsButler, "there are many very goodpeople left, out of love for the pro-fession, and we must make the in-dustry understand why it reallyneeds us and how engineering it-self nurtures the industry."

Lines of educationThen, of course, there is the pro-

cess of the engineer educating themanager in the value of engineer-ing to the station. This may seemto put all of the burden on the en-gineer, but in the harsh reality oftoday's industry, the engineer ismost vulnerable and must fightfor his survival. This is not to sug-gest, however, that there is noresponsibility on the part of thegeneral manager.

Mike Harris, general managerat the Poughkeepsie, NY AM/FMcombination WELK/WPDH madethe necessary leap in order tohave open lines of communicationwith his chief engineer. He took itupon himself to learn as much aspossible about the technical sideof the radio station so that an opendialog, based on understandingand respect, could take place. "Iwanted to be able to have an intel-ligent conversation with the chiefengineer and to be able to under-stand what he does, what his con-cerns are. Thus, I believe, ourrelationship is very good. It's obvi-ous that the more you know aboutall aspects of a station operation,the better you can run thestation."

Harris seems to have overcomethe lack of common backgroundwith his chief by educating him-self, by taking the time and effortto teach himself and to seek outthe advice of the engineer until hefelt comfortable with the technol-ogy. Beyond respect, this gener-ates a kind of synergy on which allfacets of the operation can feed."We feel," continues Harris, "thatprogramming, engineering, andsales are all equally important el-ements of a successful operation.We have recently updated manypieces of expensive equipment be-cause we understand that thetechnical side is an integral partof our success and not just an ex-

pense. We are aware that in manysmall markets, stations are put-ting the engineering departmenton contract so that they do onlythe absolute minimum amount re-quired to stay on the air and nomore." This obviously relegatesengineering to inferior status, rel-egates it in fact to not being partof the operation. Engineering isthen just an outside functionary,and this almost completely elimi-nates any rapport or understand-ing a GM/CE relationship mightgenerate.

Similarly, in understanding themanager, the engineer must em-ploy some of the skills the generalmanager has already learned,namely salesmanship. The engi-neer must make the GM under-stand, must be able to define forhim, the value of the engineer interms of the priorities of the gen-eral manager. Due to deregula-tion fully -staffed engineering de-partments are no longer required.Butler tersely explains, "The daysare gone when engineering existsbecause it has to. You no longerhave to maintain a certain com-plement of engineering, you nowonly have to make the station op-erate within legal minimums."

When the FCC requirementswent out of existence, the engi-

"Technology itselfimpacts the decision

making process."

neer was left to prove his worthbecause there is no longer a regu-lation that mandates his pres-ence. There is no inherent worth,so it must be demonstrated with-in the new context of how themodern station operates that theengineering people fit in withmanagement plans and, indeed,are part of management.

Returning to the issue of com-munication, then, what will forcethe hand of the GM to assume hishalf of the responsibility andmake his gesture toward the engi-

neer. Soon enough each side willlearn the real value of the other.In the process there will be con-flict. Strangely enough, many ofthe actions on both sides of theconflict may have caused the cur-rent dilemma.

Having pushed many engineersout of the industry, managementis now faced with learning thatgood engineering talent is gettingto be rare. Now if a good, conscien-tious broadcaster wants a compet-itive, highly motivated chief, hewill have to steal him from some-body else because of the dearthcreated at the entry level bymanagement. Consequently, themanager will have to pay more toattract people and get to the levelwhere he can cycle people backinto business from the places towhich they fled earlier. Also, newtalent will have to be brought intothe business.

All types of management, bothsales and engineering types, maywant to consider making con-tributions to programs, startingintern training for broadcast engi-neers, or funding courses fortraining of new talent. "It shouldnow be considered a necessarycost of doing business if you aregoing to get the talent and survivein today's competitive broadcastworld," claims Butler.

Likewise, engineers will haveto realize there is a necessarychange in the skills required ofthem. Management skills such asbudgeting and revenue genera-tion will become second nature tothe surviving engineers of the fu-ture. Businesslike attitudes, con-duct, and responsibilities will alsobe required if the engineers of to-day want to become the engineer-ing managers of tomorrow.

Perhaps it's ironic that one ofthe things that drove engineersout and hardened their perspec-tive was how the modern, effi-cient, automated plant (whichthey designed and nurtured) re-placed many functions formerlyexecuted by the engineer. Ironictoo, is the way in which manage-ment, once happy to eliminate theexpense represented by engineer-ing, now goes begging for qualityengineering talent. BM/E


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With a full frame of memory, you can use framefreeze for maximum resolution on stills, orflicker -free interpolated field freeze on movilgpictures. You can even synchronize out -of -housefeeds.

EBU/SMPTE standard 13.5 MHz samplingensures wideband processing, and when usingthe dub input, performance is improved withup to 5 dB of luminance noise -eduction, andchroma comb filtering. The component outputslet you interface to a component studio.

VARI-TRAKTm provides stable pictures from -1to +3x play speed with DYNAMIC TRACKING®VTR's, and in pause mode, Tx2 turns on theinterpolator for optimum playoack of the singlefield output. In shuttle, you can view the pic-tures at up to ±40x for rapid searching.

The built-in sync generator conforms to RS -170A(EBU standard in PAL) and lets you achievematcied frame edits with ease. If a reference isunavailable, the Tx2 automatically selects stand-alone mode and the arithmetically correct sync-to-sulocarrier relatiorship will be maintained.The Tx2 output provides a color -field identifierpulse for edit systems interface. Drop -out com-pensator is standard, as are proc-amp presets.

So, when you are planning to buy your nextTBC, call us for more information on the Tx2,the ideal choice.

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Broadcast Management

Anaheim, California Sept. 9-12

This year's gathering in Anaheim promises"Engineering Plus" . . . and more.

By Steven Schwartz

Following the course set bylast year's NAB Radio Con-vention, engineering topics

are expected to dominate the tech-nical sessions and seminars at theupcoming Radio '87 conference.The show will run September 9 to12 in Anaheim and will be held inconjunction with NAB's popularDirectional Antenna Seminar,which begins on September 8. Or-ganized by noted antenna expertCarl Smith of Smith Electronics,this year's DA seminar will coverthe theoretical aspects of direc-tional antennas, as well as the lat-est updates on feeder and moni-toring systems, operation,adjustment, maintenance, and ap-plicable FCC rulings.

Other engineering highlightsinclude a four-hour seminar onthe NRSC standard, scheduled forSeptember 11, with experts fromthe Committee who will examinethe history of the standard andthe reasons behind its adoption.

The NRSC will also discuss itsnew "RF mask" technology de-signed to cut down spurious AMemissions. The RF RadiationRegulation Compliance Seminaron September 12 should also be ofspecial interest to engineers. Theseminar will feature presenta-tions by six speakers who havehad considerable experience indealing with FCC regulations andwill provide attendees with in-formation needed to conduct theirown on -premise evaluations tocomply with the FCC code.

Radio '87 officially begins onThursday, September 10, with Ra-dio America, an audio-visual sa-lute to American radio stationshighlighted by the presentation ofa new series of awards, The Crys-tal Radio Awards for Excellencein Local Achievement. Last year'sRadio Award winner Gary Owenswill host the festivities andpresent the awards to ten stationswith outstanding records of local

identification.More than 130 companies will

be on hand in the "Celebration ofRadio" Exhibit Hall, displayingthe latest in radio hardware, soft-ware, and services. Likewise,there will be no shortage of work-shops and sessions for radio man-agement, programming, and salespersonnel. Nearly 80 events arescheduled, covering a wide selec-tion of topics-including Negoti-ating Skills, New Cart MachineTechnology, How to Wring Hi-Fifrom Ma's Bell, Show Prep, Pro-gramming Music for Diverse Au-diences, New FM Technology, Fu-ture Trends in Computerization,and an FCC Town Meeting withmembers of the Commission.

Keeping with tradition, a num-ber of familiar names and celebri-ties will also be in attendance.Rock 'n' roll personality DickClark will emcee the Radio Awardluncheon on Friday, which willalso feature an address by the1987 Radio Award Recipient, vet-eran CBS News correspondentDouglas Edwards. You can alsofind Mutual's popular talk showhost Larry King moderating apanel of well-known radio colum-nists as they discuss trends in ra-dio programming in a special ses-sion titled "What's Hot-What'sNot" on Saturday morning. Last-ly, the show will end on a highnote Sunday evening when thepopular country -rock group Ala-bama performs at the FarewellGala Dinner Celebration at theHilton. BM/E

Radio '87 AgendaThe following schedule highlights some of the events at Radio '87. For a complete list of sessions

and workshops consult the NAB schedule at the show.

Tuesday, September 82:00-7:00 p.m. Engineers' Registration

5:00-9:00 p.m. Directional Antenna Seminar

Wednesday, September 97:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Directional Antenna Seminar (cont.)

1 2:00-8:00 p.m. Registration1:00-5:00 p.m. Directional Antenna Seminar (cont.)

6:00-8:00 p.m. Welcome Reception8:00 -midnight Hospitality Suites Open

Thursday, September 107:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Registration

7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Directional Antenna Seminar (cont.)9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Radio America & Opening Session

10:15 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Exhibits Open11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Negotiating Skills

Ratings & Research UpdateFuture Trends in Computerization

A Manger's Guide to "People Law"-Employees' & Stations' Rights & Wrongs


Radio '87 ExhibitorsAccu-WeatherThe Ad TeamAdvanced Broadcast Mgmt., Inc.Aircraft Music LibraryAlden Elec./Zephyr Info. Svcs.All Star RadioAM Media ConsultantsAmerican Image ProductionsAmerican Medical Assn.Aribtron Ratings Co.,Associated Press Broadcast Svcs.ATI-Audio Technologies, Inc.Automated Business ConceptsBarrett Associates, Inc.BMIBPME Broadcast Audio Corp.Broadcast Electronics, Inc.Broadcast Supply WestCablewave Systems, Div. CelwaveCal Switch CBSI/Custom Business Sys., Inc.Century 21 Programming, Inc.Charles Michelson Inc.Clayton Webster Corp.CMICNA InsuranceColumbine Systems, Inc.Communication Graphics, Inc.CompusonicsConcept ProductionsContinental ElectronicsCRN InternationalDatacount Inc.DataworldDecision Data SystemsDielectric CommunicationsDrake-Chenault Radio Consultants

Eventide, Inc.Federal Emergency Mgmt. AgencyFidelipacFilm House, Inc.Fireworks by Grucci, Inc.FirstCom Broadcast Svcs.Gentner EngineeringGiant Boom BoxHLCHarris Corp.Harte-Honks Broadcast Dir. Mktg.Hazel's Fantasy FactoryHoladay Industries, Inc.Howe Audio Productions, Inc.IDB Communications Group, Inc.IGM CommunicationsInternational Tapetronics/3MJefferson -Pilot Data Svcs.Jim West Co.KalamusicKavouras, Inc.KeepersLDL Communications, Inc.LeaseAmerca Corp.LPB Inc.Media General Broadcast Svcs.Media Touch Systems, IncMetro Traffic ControlModulation Sciences Inc.Motorola Inc. AM StereoMulti Ad Svcs.Music Director Programming Svce.NAB Public Svce.NAB/ScienceNational Humanities Ctr.Nautel

NPR Satellite Svcs.Programming PlusRadio Advertising Bureau, Inc.Radio Computing Svcs.RadioMailRegister Data SystemsRiviera Broadcast LeasingRSN romotions Inc.Sacred Heart Program, Inc.Satellite Music NetworkScarborough ResearchSchafer InternationalShively LabsShure Brothers, Inc.Spanish Coast to CoastSpecialized Business SystemsStarmagic RadioStrata MarketingSysternationTapscan, Inc.Telacast, Inc.Tennaplex Systems Ltd.TM Communications, Inc.TTC/Wilkinson Radio2B System Corp.United States Advertising Svce.United Video, Inc.U.S. Air ForceU.S. Army ReserveU.S. Tape & LabelWeather Services Corp.Western TowersWFMT/Beethoven Satellite Net.Wheatstone Corp.WNTR RadioZambelli Internationale Firew.

Radio's Newest FormatsAM Success Stories12:15-1:45 p.m. Exhibit Hall Lunch1:45-3:00 p.m. Town Meeting with FCC StaffRF Maintenance for AM/FMBullpen for Program DirectorsPower Marketing for the '90s3:15-4:30 p.m. Audio Processing for AM & FMThe Amazing Invisible Market, 35-64Search for Executive Excellence4:45-6:00 p.m. Cart Machine TechnologyRemoving Electrical Interference6:00 -midnight Hospitality Suites Open

Friday, September 117:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Registration8:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. NRSC Seminar9:00-10:15 a.m. RAB General SessionNew & Improved Radio Stations-A Guide to FCC Radio Allocations OpportunitiesProgram SourcesShow Prep9:00 a.m. Exhibits Open10:00 -11:00 a.m. Exhibit Hall Coffee Break11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. SRA SessionProgramming Music for Diverse AudiencesHow to Make $100 Million in Broadcasting12:30-2:15 p.m. Radio Award Luncheon

2:45-4:00 p.m. Using AM Synchronous TransmittersHow to Wring Hi-Fi from Ma's Bell4:00-6:00 p.m. Syndication Show & Reception4:00 -midnight Hospitality Suites Open

Saturday, September 127:30-10:15 a.m. RF Seminar7:30 a.m.-noon Registration9:00 a.m. Exhibits Open9:00-10:15 a.m. Government Relations SessionsWhat's Hot, What's Not: The Press Looks at RadioHow to Produce Your Radio Station10:15-11:15 a.m. Exhibit Hall Brunch11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Effective Public Service PromotionsProgramming for Small MarketsProducing Promotional Radio Material11:15 a.m.-2:00 p.m. RF Seminar (cont.)1:00-2:15 p.m. Emerging Ho- New Sales CategoriesAM Quality: Does It Matter?2:30 p.m. -3:45 p.m. Writing/Speaking Workshop forEngineersPower Radio-Radio News & Information4:00-5:15 p.m. Research tha' MattersNew FM TechnologyMaintaining Towers: The Lowdown on the HighupConnection6:30 p.m. Farewell Dinner with Alabama

71

FCC Rules & Regulations

Comparative RenewalBy Harry Cole, Bechtel & Cole, FCC Counsel

Those of you who follow the intricate ballet of theFederal legislative process have probably beennoticing the recent increase in discussions of the"comparative renewal" process. These discussionshave been cropping up in the trade press in con-nection with several proposed amendments to theCommunications Act of 1934 that are presentlyunder consideration in the House and Senate.

The Communications Act, as interpreted by the1945 Supreme Court in the case of AshbackerBroadcasting Corp. v. FCC, requires that theCommission give reasonably equal considerationto applications that seek the right to utilize a par-ticular frequency. Thus, where two or more appli-cants both apply for the same FM channel in thesame town, the FCC must hold a comparativehearing before it can award the license to eitherapplicant. By the same reasoning, each time anexisting licensee files a renewal application, it isin effect asking for authorization to use, or to con-tinue to use, its channel. Under the Ashbackerdoctrine, the Commission must therefore provideothers who might want to use that channel a rea-sonable opportunity to apply for it. When suchapplications are filed, they are entitled to a com-parative hearing along with the renewal applica-tion-hence the term "comparative renewal."

The comparative renewal process has not beeneasy to implement by any means. However, theCommission-whether rightly or wrongly-hashistorically been extremely sensitive to the prob-lems of incumbents caught in the comparative re-newal process. In fact, in recent memory only twocases come to mind in which an incumbent lost itslicense as a result of that process, and one of thosecases (Simon Geller) has since been reversed.

The way the Commission has usually placed itsthumb on the scale of the comparative renewalprocess is the device of "renewal expectancy."This is an approach by which the FCC attempts toconvert a comparsion of apples and oranges (i.e., acomparison of the incumbent's actual past pro-gramming with the challenger's proposed futureprogramming) to a comparison of more equivalentfactors. Also, it is intended both to assure thatexisting licensees are rewarded for subtantialpast performance and to prevent, or at least re-duce the risk of, any massive instability in theownership of broadcast licenses.

The difficulty, of course, has come in definingexactly what level of "solid" or "substantial" per-formance is to be sufficient to warrant the grant ofa renewal expectancy. The Commission has beenunable to articulate any hard and fast standardalong these lines, despite the fact that it has had arulemaking proceeding underway for some sixyears to explore precisely that question. Instead,the FCC has historically muddled from one case tothe next, reviewing the particular facts and cir-cumstances of each case and, in virtually everyone, concluding that a renewal expectancy waswarranted.

If past is prologue, then, broadcasters have lit-tle to fear from the comparative renewal process.The FCC's demonstrated reluctance to take awaylicenses has, if anything, become more pro-nounced in recent years. The odds of losing a li-cense in this kind of proceeding are thus ex-tremely small.

Why the fuss?Why, then, are industry representatives mak-

ing such a big fuss about changing the Communi-cations Act to eliminate the comparative renewalprocess? It appears that, notwithstanding theodds in favor of incumbent renewal applicants,there is a feeling in some segments of the industrythat an even greater degree of certainty is desir-able; that licenses should not be subject to risk ofloss in any but the most egregious cases.

The comparative renewal process, however, hasbeen in place for more than 50 years, and therewas clearly some reason for Congress to adopt it inthe first place and to refuse to change it since.That reason, of course, is Congress' (and thecourts') perception that the risk of a potentialchallenge will prod broadcasters into providingtheir audiences with substantial programming.This, in turn, goes back to the fundamental theorythat the airwaves are a national asset belongingto "the people" and licensees based on the licens-ees' promises to provide substantial service. Con-gress is just interested in maintaining some lever-age over broadcasters. If the process is eliminated,Congress will substitute some alternate means ofaccomplishing the same legislative goal.

And that is where broadcasters seem to come upshort in their efforts to abolish the comparative


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FCC Rules & Regulations

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renewal process. As of this writing it appears thatthe industry's lobbying effort is disintegratingover the question of what alternative provision(s)might be acceptable in return for the abolition ofthe current process. An obvious choice would bethe inclusion, in the Communications Act, ofspe-cific programming performance criteria, which, ifsatisfied, would guarantee renewal. But such aprovision would require each licensee to maintaindetailed records of its programming in order to beable to demonstrate that it had complied with thestatutory criteria. Also, it would require that theCommission involve itself in the review of pro-gramming to the extent that the FCC would haveto doublecheck each licensee's program showingto satisfy itself that the criteria had been met.

Before you start to bemoan your continued exis-tence in an industry plagued by the comparativerenewal process, you may wish to stop and reflecta bit. As things stand, incumbent licensees al-ready enjoy a substantial advantage in any com-parative renewal proceeding since the FCCclearly prefers not to take licenses away. It thusremains for the licensee only to be able to satisfythe Commission that the station's past perfor-mance has been reasonably strong: that it aired,at times reasonably calculated to attract an audi-ence, substantial nonentertainment program-ming directed to the peculiar problems and needsof the station's audience.

Keeping good bookMost broadcasters probably already provide

programming sufficient to meet that standard. Tothe extent that a licensee does so, it is almosthome free. The only remaining problem would bethe ability to document that programming. Withthe elimination of the FCC's program log require-ments, it is possible that many stations do notkeep the kind of detailed program records thatthey used to. That could present a problem downthe line because, in a comparative renewal pro-ceeding, the Commission will be looking for hardevidence of the station's performance. Simply tooffer vague general descriptions of program con-tent and scheduling is unlikely to be persuasive.As you may recall, the Commission (at the prod-ding of the Court of Appeals) has dealt with thissomewhat in connection with the obligation tomaintain quarterly "issues/programs" lists set-ting forth in reasonable detail each station's is-sue -related programming. Again, though, the"issues/programs" list obligation is not one whichis enforced stringently or frequently by the Com-mission, and it could be easy to neglect it until it istoo late. To the extent that maintaining program-ming records is viewed as an inconvenience (orworse), it should be tolerated in much the sameway that the cost of insurance is tolerated.

All of this is not to say that the comparativerenewal process does not entail some continuingdownside for incumbent licensees. Even if you

have the best programming in the world, if a com-peting application is filed against your renewalyou will still have to pay the litigation costs ofdefending your license. Those costs would not beinsubstantial. Of course, you are permitted to con-tinue to operate the station while the proceedinggrinds on, but it would still represent a significantdrain on your finances. You could cut things shortby offering to settle the proceeding (usually bypaying the challenger cash for dismissing itsapplication). This smacks of paying ransommoney and is, therefore, not wholly palatable,even though at times it appears to be the only wayto take care of things.

Unfortunately, there is no effective way to pre-vent a comparative renewal challenge by a chal-lenger interested primarily in settling out forcash. The law forbids the filing of applications forthe purpose of achieving such a settlement, but itis invariably difficult, if not impossible, to provewith any precision what an applicant's real mo-tives for filing might have been. Responsiblebroadcasters can take some comfort in the knowl-edge that they are not likely to be the target of arenewal challenge simply because the challengerwill know that its challenge is likely to be success-ful if pressed through the FCC. The residual riskthat a challenger might nevertheless file adoomed -from -the -start application is just onemore risk which is inherent in the licensingsystem.

Proof in the programmingThe bottomline here is that broadcasters pro-

bably do not need to fear a comparative renewalchallenge as long as they are providing solid, is-sue -responsive programming and can prove it.Further, the better a licensee's programming per-formance, the less likely it is that the licensee willbe the subject of a competing application to beginwith. It could easily be argued that this is not aparticularly difficult system with which to live.The alternative-i.e., complete freedom from thethreat of a comparative renewal proceeding-maybe cosmetically appealing. But the practical reali-ties of the legislative process dictate that suchfreedom would almost certainly involve sometrade-offs, including substantially greater gov-ernmental involvement in the day-to-day pro-gramming decisions of licenses. After all, if Con-gress wishes to assure substantial broadcastperformance and if licensees are unwilling to livewith the comparative renewal approach, which ineffect allows licensees to regulate their own pro-gramming, Congress will have to take other stepsto get what it wants. The question reduces towhether the industry is happier with the devil itknows, or the devil it doesn't know.

If you have any questions about the compara-tive renewal process (and steps you can take tominimize the risks of that process), you shouldcontact your communications counsel. BM/E

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GVG Unveils Video/AudioFiber SystemNew from The Grass Valley Group is a low-costfiber optic transmission system designed for thedistribution of audio and video signals. The Series87 EZ-LINK features both LED and laser trans-mitters for distribution up to 8 kilometers. Otherfeatures include an FM square wave carrier toeliminate distortion due to nonlinearity, S/N per-formance of 60 dB, 10 MHz frequency response,and NTSC and PAL baseband compatibility.

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CD Rings from SimsSims Vibration Dynamics has introduced a simplebut effective device for reducing surface flutter ofCDs-The CD Ring. Each ring is made of a rub-ber -like compound and attaches easily to the backside of a CD. Centrifugal force during the turnta-ble rotation "pulls" at the ring and flattens out thedisc, allowing the laser to read more bits of in-formation. According to the company, heliumneon laser tests revealed that the laser headtracks 30 percent better with the rings. Retailprice is $19.95 for a pack of 15 rings.Circle #202 on Reader Service Card

Adams -Smith Boots AudioEdit Control SoftwareAdams -Smith has announced the availability of anew software package that allows all audio trans-port functions, including record -in and record -out,to be controlled from a CMX-style video editor.

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Eckel Offers AcousticPanelsNow available from Eckel Industries are texturedfunctional panels (TFPs), which provide a conve-nient cost-effective method for muffling unwantednoise and upgrading the acoustic environment inthe workplace, broadcast facility, or studio.

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Otari Intros New Tech LineOtari Corp. has announced the creation of a newproduct line--Otaritech-targeted at the broad-cast and recording markets. The premiere productof the line, the TC-50 center -channel time-code/FM processor is an inexpensive method of addingtime code capabilities to an audio tape machine.The unit retrofits to Otari two -track machines

like the BII, MKIII-2, and MX -5050, and allowsV4 -inch two -tracks to be synched to a videotape orfilm machine with stereo audio.Circle #205 on Reader Service Card

Hipotronics Debuts VoltageRegulator OptionHipotronics, Inc., is now providing optional indi-vidual output phase control to within ± 1 percenton the Peschel automatic voltage regulator(PAVR) unit. The regulator utilizes the patentedPeschel variable transformer and is available inmedium- to high -power models for a variety ofbroadcast and video applications.Circle #206 on Reader Service Card

Microtime TBC Adds BetaCompatibilityNow users of BVW series VTRs can use theMicrotime T-220 to time base correct the compo-nent output of VTRs that do not have a built-inTBC. All current BVW-20, -25, and -35 VTRshave Y, R -Y, B -Y outputs that are directly com-patible with the T-220.

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After a two-year absence from thebroadcast marketplace, the once -bankrupt McMartin Industriesis being resurrected by PollutionResearch Control Corp. The newmanagement has assumed owner-ship of all assets and productlines, including the Super S tech-nology. Company representativeshave also reported that many ofthe past employees are back attheir old jobs.

It was announced at a jointSIGGRAPH press conference thatCubicomp Corp. has signed aletter of intent to purchase theproduct line and assets of VertigoSystems International, Inc.,manufacturers of the V-2000 fam-ily of 3-D animation Systems.Cubicomp president Harry M.Taxin listed the fusing both of thecompanies' product lines as wellas its engineering and creativestaffs as key advantages of the ac-quisition, and added that "by com-bining the experience of our twocompanies, we are offering the in-dustry a line of systems that is un-precedented in its breadth andcreative potential." All this on topof the news of yet another revisionof the sales agreement betweenCubicomp and Ampex concerningthe PictureMaker. Ampex's salesforce will now provide a broadbase of prospects for the 3-D sys-tem to be turned over toCubicomp's specialized salesteam. Previously, the companiesshared the marketing of thePictureMaker.

Another Ampex agreement,this one a pack -out bundling pro-gram with Studer-Revox, hasbeen expanded to include the new1/4 -inch Studer A807 analogrecoder. Every V4-, half-, and one -

inch A80 and A800 family re-corder now comes bundled with areel of Ampex Grand Master 456tape.

Panasonic Broadcast SystemsCo., the recently formed wing ofMatsushita that handles salesand support of the company's M -IIproducts, is undergoing an inter-nal restructuring program toenhance the momentum of theproduct line. Essentially, the re-organization divides the companyinto four major divisions: sales;

A unique stock graphics library service is now being of-fered to television stations and production facilities fromFlightspeed Graphics of Santa Clara, CA. The Stillstock-1 service,demonstrated at the BPME/BDA convention in Atlanta, is a tapelibrary of 300 numbered and timecoded stock -house qualityimages of sunsets, scenic views, cities, sports, and more. SteveMatson, paintbox artist for Positive Video in San Carlos, CA, hasused the Stillstock-1 images in conjunction with his own elec-tronic paint system to produce high -quality graphics. The im-age pictured was photographed directly off a 13 -inch RGBmonitor from an original image mastered onto one -inch video-tape. "The quality of the images," says Matson, "along with theease of locating the specific image I'm looking for, saves me alot of time and allows me to concentrate on creating the graphicrather than searching for the image." Available in any tape for-mat, Stillstock-1 retails for $1200, or about $4 per image.

marketing, planning, and admin-istration; product development,engineering, and service; and fi-nance. All divisions will report di-rectly to Stan Basara, PanasonicBroadcast Systems president andCEO.

Ten companies, eight U.S. firmsand one firm each from Japan andthe U.K., have become sustainingmembers of the Society of MotionPicture and Television Engineers(SMPTE). According to SMPTESustaining Members Committeechairman Edmund M. DiGiulio,The Alta Group, manufacturers ofdigital video production equip-ment; cassette duplicator manu-facturers Dwight Cavendish;Christie Electric Corp., a power -related product supplier; cameraaccessory company Geocam Corp.;Montage Group, Ltd., manufac-

turers of a random access editor;and North American PhilipsLighting Corp. are among the tennew members who, along with240 other firms, provide financialsupport for the varied programsand objectives of the SMPTE.

Back to school: A variety ofpublications, from handbooks toproduct catalogs, have becomeavailable in recent months. Pro-duction facility professionals willbe interested in getting a look atthe new expanded version of theI.T.S. (International Teleproduc-tion Society) Handbook of Recom-mendations and Procedures. This350 -page volume, edited by DougWeiss of the D.C.-based AndrePerry Group, attempts to stan-dardize operating practices indus-try -wide. According to Weiss,"The handbook is a tool designed


Business Briefsfor use by I.T.S. members andtheir clients . . . it helps clientsmake their way through the videomaze, establishes uniform stan-dards for incoming personnel,standardizes industry procedures,and expedites the movement oftapes between facilities." Thehandbook will be distributed freeto Society members. Additionalcopies can be obtained throughthe International TeleproductionSociety, Suite 21E, 990 Avenue ofthe Americas, New York, NY10018; (212) 629-3266.

A new publication from audioequipment manufacturer Tascam,Understanding Synchronization,explores one of the hottest yetmost misunderstood topics in proaudio-synchronized recording.The book attempts to serve as aconcise reference for time -codeoriented production, which growsas video and audio recording con-tinue to merge. For a free copy,write to Understanding Syn-chronization, Tascam, 7733 Tele-graph Rd., Montebello, CA 90640

Focal Press, publishers oftechnical books for video, broad-casting, and cinematography pro-fessionals, has just issued itsFall 1987 catalog, replete withbook descriptions and pricing in-formation. New titles includepublications on radio and tele-vision programming, documen-tary direction, and televisionnews technique. Contact KevinKopp, Focal Press, 80 MontvaleAve., Stoneham, MA 02180; (617)438-8464.

Four recent equipment catalogs:Rohde & Schwarz-Polarad'sInstrumentation Catalog featuresspecs grouped by application foreasy reference . . . Winsted's lat-est product listing features newediting consoles, tape storage sys-tems, A/V carts, and Beta"TapeCube" units . . . The newmini -catalog from For -A detailsits entire line of pro video prod-ucts . . . And Multiplier's "Bat-teries for Communications" cata-log showcases over 400 power -re-lated products, with 65 new unitsadded this year. Consult BM/E'sAugust issue ("The Source") foraddresses and phone numbers.

Microwave Techniques, man-

ufacturer of high -power micro-wave equipment, has become awholly -owned subsidiary of How-ell Laboratories. The two Mainefirms will join product lines in thebroadcast coaxial and waveguidefields. Shively Labs, FM antennamanufacturer, is another broad-cast -oriented division of Howell.

Satellite Information Sys-tems Company (Siscom) has ex-ecuted a newsroom software de-velopment contract with NBCNews. The three-phase agree-ment includes development, eval-uation, and licensing of the spe-cialized software . . . A leasingprogram for the K40 charactergenerator was announced re-cently by Philip K. Edwards, pres-ident of Knox Video. Accordingto Edwards, the 58 -key, 2.5 -fontmachine will be available for one -to five-year terms.

Movers: Agfa-Gevaert re-cently opened a new U.S. office:100 Challenger Road, RidgefieldPark, NJ . . . Also in Jersey, CMX

Corp. has relocated its East Coastsales office to 2460 Lemoine Ave.,3rd floor, Fort Lee, NJ 07024 . . .

Pinnacle Systems, Inc.'s new of-fice: 2380 Walsh Ave., SantaClara, CA 95051 . . . CorporateHQ for Sennheiser Electronicshas moved from Manhattan to 6Old Vista Rd., Old Lyme, CN . . .

Winsted has moved its offices andwarehouse facilities to 10901Hampshire Ave. South, Minne-apolis, MN 55438.

And shakers: Wulf Gray is thenew chairman of Amber Tech-nology. Previously Gray was as-sociated with Simon Gray, Inc.,which was bought by Rank Indus-tries, Australia . . . Charles A.Steinberg succeeds the retiringArthur H. Hausman as Ampexchairman of the board. Steinberghad been president and CEO ofthe company; Max Mitchell willtake over those duties . . .

Kenneth Simmons moves up fromVP and GM to president ofColorgraphics Systems.

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Advertisers Index

ManufacturerPage CircleNo. No.

AGFA Gevaert 39 123Alpha Audio 74 142Alta Group 75 144ANT Telecommunications 28 119ART - Applied Research &

Technology 14 111Audio Technica U.S.... 34-35 122

BTS Broadcast TelevisionSystems 47 126

Camera Mart, Inc., The. 52 129Canon U.S.A. 11 108Comark Communications,

Div. of Thomson-CSF . 62-63 137Continental Electronics/

Division of Varian 60 135Current Technology 27 118

Datatek Corporation 23 116Dielectric

Communications 61 136Digital Video Systems 52 130

EEV 64 138

Fidel i pac Corporation 1 101Fujinon 51 128Fuji Photo Film U.S.A 53 131

Grass Valley Group, Inc.,The 6 106

Hubbard CommunicationsCorp./HUBCOM 54 132

Page Circle Page CircleManufacturer No. No. Manufacturer No. No.

Ikegami Electronics 16 113 Philips Test &Ikegami Electronics 67 139 Measuring

Instruments 25 117

Leader Instruments 5 104-105 Shibasoku 77 145

Leitch Video Ltd 49 127 Shively Labs 74 143Log itek 12 109 Shure Bros 33 121

Solid State Logic 31

Sony Pro Audio Div 2-3 102Sony Pro Video Div. 45 125Sony Magnetic Products

Co. 13 110

Microtime 69 140 Specialty Vehicles 81 146

Midwest Communications Studer Revox

Corp. 15 112 America Cov II 100SWR, Inc. 59 134

NEC America, BroadcastEquipment Div. 79 148 Tamron Industries 42 124

Nurad 73 141 Telex Communications 4 103

Videotek Inc. 56 133Otari Corporation 9 107

Ward -Beck Systems .. Coy. IVPaco Electronics U.S.A 17 114 WheatstonePanasonic Broadcast .. 18-19 115 Corporation Cov. III 150

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