Studio

...But the equipment documentation says the sample rate is 44.1KHz? (Testing reveals the true sample rate status!)

So what's a broadcast studio?

Regardless of the size of a broadcast station, the physical studios are the traditional hub where most of programming, advertising and news content is produced including emergency messages via EAS.

Plant reliability:
At the end of the day, if there is no signal or stream, there is not a station or web presence, The public goes uninformed while the broadcast station sits on rapidly expiring content.

For the general public, the often most invisible department in a broadcast facility is the engineering department. Except, when there is a problem. There is seemingly no in between.

The signal or connectivity, when taken for granted, will be the first thing to go. This can be realized when a traditional STL fails, or a fiber is cut. One of many "invisible" parts can fail.

Automation and Decentralization:
In a modern broadcast facility production of the main content, talent voice tracking can all be done on site or off. The economics of this practice really depends on what programming is broadcast and the level of quality and up-time desired. Off site production can be a cost saving practice to allow a station to leverage talent from other markets.

On the flip side, when content is produced elsewhere and ever increasing burden is placed on reliable connections and system security. If the content is produced far enough in advance, a link failure can be repaired before the content actually runs out on the air.

Regardless of which practice is used in the broadcast industry, the presence of experienced real-time on-site operators continues to decrease. At the same time, an increasing reliance on this practice has one constant: A 24/7/365 support staff with a substantial working knowledge of the facility regardless of its physical location.

Current IP technology allows for programing to be delivered by many methods. Automation and cloud decentralization are options to consider very carefully.

Any path chosen will have a degree of administrative complexity. This in turn effects recovery times from equipment failure, human error or deliberate sabotage by a security breach, either internally or externally.

The best choice is a simple system with visual diagrams of the system communications paths, work flows with a back up plan. This can be both off-site cloud and on-site with customized sheduleing and security provisions.

McGuire Broadcast, Inc. 2022