R & L LPTV NEWS
 
March 4, 2015
  
 
  Back From NRB
  Back from the National Religious Broadcasters Convention where I met a lot of great folks. I was thinking, we, as LPTV operators, should create our own convention in the fall, say first of October. NAB is nice, but it is only once a year and it really doesn't have a lot of seminars needed for LPTV operators. We will talk about the over the next few months and see if we cannot put something together. My vote is for Walt Disney World.
  If you are new to the newsletter, welcome. R & L Media Systems is a broadcast consulting company whose main focus is Low Power TV or LPTV. We have been involved with LPTV since the late 80's. We are one of the few companies if not the only company that handles all aspects of LPTV, from FCC Application (with an almost perfect record due to checking all applications with the same software the FCC uses), through equipment quotation and sales, installation, training, and even helping with finding the right match in programming. You will find us super friendly and easy to get along with. And we can save you money compared to other sources due to the volume we purchase. It cost you nothing to have us bid on your package and I feel you will be pleasantly surprised.
  So settle back, relax, and on with the show.
  Trade-In Translator
  Anywave knows budgets are tight for broadcasters. Many need to replace their old analog translators with newer digital ones that will reclock the incoming digital signal and allow for remapping of PSIP information, not just a re-channel conversion.
   Thus, Anywave has created the "Limited Time Translator Trade-In program". You simply send them back your old translator minus the output filter and Anywave will send you a new 30 watt for $5,750.00 or a 100 Watt for $7,950.00. The new translator will include a digital exciter with RF input front-end, RF Amplifier, standard set of cables and two directional couplers for auto correction feedback. Quality measurement package included for remote monitoring of incoming RF Level and SNR, plus output SNR and IMD. Additional cables, couplers, and connectors are not included. Existing FCC mask filter must be used. Optional PSIP editing function available at an extra charge, however, please email me at rickg@rlmediasystems.com for a special R & L price for this. Existing translator must be shipped to Anywave. Offer valid until April 10, 2015. Hurry as April will be upon us very soon.
  A use for TV translators that a lot of folks do not take advantage of is a TV Relay station. If you have a cable system that you meet the must-carry requirements but their "main headend" is in another location and your signal strength is not strong enough, you could use a TV Relay station. FCC rule 74.631(f) says: "A TV broadcast pickup, STL, or TV relay station may be used for the transmission of material to be used by others, including but not limited to other broadcast stations, cable television systems, and educational institutions." FCC Rule 74.602(h) says: "TV STL, TV relay stations, and TV translator relay stations may be authorized to operate fixed point-to-point service on the UHF TV channels 14-51 on a secondary basis" and
March
ONLY
Specials

Anywave
Translator
With Trade-in

30 Watts
$5,750

100 Watts
$7,950


Low-Cost
News
Server

$2,195

 
 
  "(i)Maximum EIRP is limited to 35 dBW;" In ERP, that's 35 - 2.15 = 32.85 dBw = 1,925 watts. (ii) Transmitting antenna beamwidth is limited to 25 degrees (measured at the 3 dB points); this means a Scala PR-TV antenna and (iii) Vertical polarization is used. Not a big issue as polarity goes out the window a few feet from the antenna at UHF. So not only can you use this to feed a cable company, every viewer in the path will pick it up.
  A final thought here is this falls under the jurisdiction of the Wireless branch of the FCC so you do not have to wait for a window. You can apply now and build and when we get an LPTV window opens, convert it.
  Low-Cost News Part II
  Last issue we talked about what Low-Cost Local News would look like. Now we are going to look at the steps on how to do it. I would like to point out this is all audio tracks and pictures, no video, so it can be done from anywhere in the world and folks with lots of stations could do it from one location fast. I suggest creating the stories in a computer seperate from the automation. If not, the automation may try to air a story before you are finished with it.
  On your "Edit" computer, create a "News" folder. Inside that create folders to match what you have on the automation, like "Headline", Sports", "Obituary", etc.
  Step 1 is to get the news audio ready. Most stations will get their audio from the local radio station in an email once or twice a day. The first piece of software you will need is an audio editor. I am going to use Goldwave for this example but you can use whatever you are comfortable with. You can purchase a one year Goldwave license for $19.95 or a Lifetime License for $59.95. Load it and read the instructions. It is pretty easy to work with, however, we will have a YouTube video on how to do all of this in the next week or two. Stay tuned.
  Load the audio file and you will see a waveform presentation of the newscast. Click the "Zoom In" key at the top till the time line across the bottom of the waveform is at one second intervals. This makes it easy to see the places where the announcer stopped talking. Push the GREEN play key on the left side to hear the audio begin. If you want to jump around, move your cursor on the waveform to the time you want to start, right click and choose "Play From Here". The audio will begin to play from that point.
  When you find the point where the stories break, hold down the "Ctrl" key and push "Q". This will place a "Cue" mark right above the time line. You can click on the "Cue" arrow and move it left or right to the exact point you want it. Once you have all of the stories break points marked, click the "Cues" button next to the Help icon at the top.
  You will be presented with the list of the cue points you chose. Now click "Split Files" on the right side of the Cue List. Next choose the destination folder, such as "D:\News\Headlines\". Under "File Format" at the bottom, choose "Use Default Save Format" and click "Set". Under "set" click on the "Default Save Format" tab, set "File Type" for "Wave". The program selected "PCM signed 16 bit Stereo" for me and that was fine. Click OK twice. You will see it quickly cut the files up and When you go to the destination folder you chose, you will see the cut up audio tracks.
  If the radio newscast consist of 5 stories, and you cut them up that way, you will see "Track001.wav", Track002.wav" , etc. In the destination folder create "01" - "05". Move your cursor to Track001.wav", hold down your left mouse button and drag it into the folder for that audio track. Normally, Track001.wav would be put in folder "01". Then find pictures to go with your stories. If you do not have a local picture to go with it, turn to the internet. Build up a portfolio of pictures to use with the news. There are also collection of "royalty free" clipart and pictures you can purchase at any office supply store to get you started. One that I have is made by Broderbund that is 1.5 million images for under $40.00.
  The final touch is the Character Generation or "CG" to go at the bottom of the picture. Inside each folder "01"-"05" create a folder called "CG". Inside it, create a simple text file of what you want to be printed across the bottom of the picture, such as "Mayor Garry Fuller". When the story airs, Masterplay will read this and insert the CG for you.
  Your new stories are now ready to upload. Put them in the "New Story" folder on the automation. You want to upload it before the automation looks in the "New Story" folder. These files are small so it should not take long, but a good rule of thumb would be to upload whatever segment is on the air. So if "Headlines" are on the air, upload headline stories. That way, you know it will be a half-hour before the automation looks for the new stuff you are loading.

 

   That's it for this week. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me at rickg@rlmediasystems.com. Talk to you next week.