To minimize the aforementioned effects, there
are several key fundamentals to check for and maintain. Some of the
chief areas of concern are:
No. 1 — Implement and maintain optimum system levels, including a standard reference level, headroom and signal-to-noise ratios.
Whether a station has an all-digital
infrastructure or one comprised of analog and digital components,
implementing and maintaining optimum system levels greatly reduces the
possibilities of audible errors. There should be a system-wide
established reference level, headroom, signal-to-noise ratio and
unified clip level of the system. One standard practice for
professional digital and analog equipment is shown in Table 1.
With the proliferation of less expensive
professional equipment (e.g. prosumer), it is becoming more common to
have equipment that is unable to achieve a +24dBu analog output.
Therefore, some accommodations to the audio level standards may be
necessary. Regardless, if you do not have established reference levels,
not only will the broadcast of surround content be in question, the
quality of stereo/mono content will be reduced as well.
No. 2 — Minimizing use of digital audio codecs/prevent use of multiple audio codecs.
Most digital audio codecs utilized, such as
AAC or MP3, are lossy. Passing audio through more than one codec
creates generation loss, degrading the audio quality. If one or more
codecs are used, set the data rate of the available codec at the
highest setting feasible to minimize the effects that audio codec will
have to the audio. If possible, remove unnecessary use of an audio
No. 3 — Appropriate selection of HD Radio data bit-rates.
Currently, the maximum data bit-rate for HD
Radio is 96kb/s. When choosing the data bit-rate on HD Radio for the
surround content, make the choice wisely and with careful
consideration. The integrity of the surround playback field will be
reduced as a lower codec data rate is used. Using 64kb/s or more and no
less than 48kb/s is suggested.
No. 4 — Minimizing distortion, including inter-modulation distortion (IMD).
Distortion can occur in a variety of ways.
Among others, inadequate headroom in a system component can result in
the clipping of audio, producing distortion. One simplistic method to
minimize distortion is to avoid reaching the last 2 or 3dB before full
scale of an A-to-D converter. With the increased quality of storage and
transport protocols, the need to reach digital zero to maximize audio
quality is no longer necessary.
Increased distortion also occurs with
heavy/aggressive use of broadcast audio processors. In surround, the
more aggressive the approach, the more distortion that may have been
previously masked in stereo now becomes apparent in surround. A few
rules of thumb will assist in reducing IMD and processing artifacts:
Choose a less aggressive limiter/clipper type.
Minimize the use of the limiting/clipping section of the processor.
6; Use look-ahead whenever possible.
Utilize slower release times of the compressor/limiters as much as possible.
No. 5 — Maintain equal balance of all audio channels.
Maintaining equal balance of the audio
channels is required for surround. In addition, maintaining phase
relationships and unified frequency response of the audio channels is
also imperative. An imbalance or improper phase relationship and/or
frequency loss of even one channel can result in a dramatic shift in
the integrity of surround content.
Now that we have addressed these basic
infrastructure requirements, we can move to the other end of the
surround broadcast spectrum, choosing and creating the surround content
There are many sources of pre-recorded
surround content available. It is possible to pass the surround content
through one of the surround sound broadcast technologies and likely
have a pleasant result. However, it is unlikely the result will be
pleasant at all times. This is where one of the advantages of using
prerecorded content comes into play.
With each selection, either the surround
content and/or the technology employed can be optimized for optimum
playback performance. Much like content provided to many radio stations
today, it is possible for prerecorded content to be pre-encoded
appropriately in surround in an ideal production environment. Then this
content can be shipped and placed on digital audio delivery systems for
playback. This is the case for those who are successfully broadcasting
surround content heard today on satellite and on several FM radio
stations. Other advantages of utilizing prerecorded content include
adding metadata for various automation systems, audio processing and/or
to provide content information to listeners.
With live content, there are several other
variables involved. The variables include how the live content will be
captured and delivered to the broadcast station from remote locations
and maintain quality. Standard ISDN connections or 128kb/s are barely
enough simply due to the limited data bandwidth available as well as
the utilization of another digital audio codec in the broadcast chain.
Luckily, there is an ongoing development of new technologies and
connectivity to assist in this process providing higher data bandwidth
and advanced audio codecs to optimize the expanded data throughput.
Data rates of 256kb/s begin to permit enough data throughput for
surround content with some systems reaching near linear digital audio
data throughput, which is the ideal scenario.