Barix Audio Over IP Devices In Various Radio Broadcast Applications at Austrian Broadcaster ORF

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Audio over IP technology by Barix finds its way into classical Broadcast installations

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, September 8, 2009 — Barix AG, a pioneer in IP-based audio, intercom, control, and monitoring, announces that Austrian public broadcaster ORF has installed Barix Audio over IP hardware and software to improve broadcast monitoring at one of its radio stations and to support online audio streams for its website. To date, the broadcaster has installed several Barix Instreamer 100 encoders for online streams, as well as a software-based Audio over IP playback solution that provides digital audio networking for approximately 35 journalists at FM4, a multilingual radio station broadcasting in English, French and German.

The IP Audio configuration for broadcast monitoring includes Instreamer 100 devices, third-party audio streams delivered as MPEG-TS Multicast, and Barix UDPlay, a software-based multiformat player, to enable journalists quick and convenient access to all sources. UDPlay is purely a software solution that provides a diverse feature set and the rapid operation essential in the broadcast environment.

The Instreamer 100 encodes audio sources into MP3 Multicast streams in real time.  UDPlay, installed on all editorial PCs, subscribes to one of the many offered streams, automatically switching formats and transmission methods.  FM4 journalists can independently access any of the provided streams, and network load and latency are very low compared to traditional or standard streaming solutions.
ORF initially installed a single Barix Instreamer to multicast FM4’s on-air broadcast signal as an MP3 stream within the station’s intranet.  Impressed with its price-to-performance ratio and high reliability, ORF later specified the Barix UDPlay software to decode the Instreamer-provided live signal and third-party streams available to journalists on the same PCs.  

Barix also added features to UDPlay to meet specific requirements at FM4, including MPEG-TS support for third-party audio streams.  ORF notes that the customized UDPlay application has improved reliability and reduced costs at the station since commissioning the software earlier this summer.

ORF has since deployed four additional Barix Instreamer 100s across multiple ORF radio broadcast channels to encode audio streams into MP3 for the broadcaster’s web presence.

“Barix has been commissioned for three different ORF projects within the span of only a few months,” said Karl Petermichl, Technical Manager for ORF Radio Services.  “Barix technology addresses the ongoing conversion to computer and network technology in the broadcast facility and the cost sensitivity in the public broadcasting landscape.  The reliability of Barix hardware also eliminates additional expenses related to software licenses, PC hardware and special soundcards that might otherwise be required, while still allowing ORF to maintain its high broadcast standards.”

ORF is one of the most recent European broadcasters to install Barix Audio over IP technology, following peers that include Hessischer Rundfunk (hr) and Hitradio MSOne in Germany as well as many other public broadcasters across the continent, in addition to thousands of installations in the United States.