I'm very glad I found this thread, and am happy to share some insight. Since I don't have knowledge of how much experience you have, let me just give you an overview of the Ball State Radio Network situation. First off, we rebuilt the network from a technical standpoint from basically the ground up this summer. One of the primary upgrades was the switch to ISDN as the primary connection platform for both home and away games. Using ISDN for road games requires specific elements that cannot be deviated from.
I'm not certain if you are aware of how universities order telephone service, but here is the gist of the issues that have arisen. The best and really ONLY way to connect ISDN reliably over long distance is via AT&T toll free accesses or dialing directly, which for obvious reasons these stadiums will not allow. Ball State's telephone department mistakenly ordered the toll free accesses from Qwest because the university has a relationship with them. As a result, after two flawless home broadcasts, the Qwest service failed at two road games and the switch to AT&T was subsequently made. I take it that you must not have heard the Toledo game because it was done on ISDN and was crystal clear. The more recent Western Kentucky game was a different challenge for a couple reasons. 1.ISDN is not available at Western, and 2. The primary individual who handles connection and mixing the game was not available that night because of unexpected personal reasons. Hence, the game was connected via a hybrid as were the earlier two road games I alluded to. I will submit that the sound quality, even over the hybrid, is a significant upgrade over what they used as their primary gear prior to this year.
As the architect of this new setup, I won't deny that there have been these hiccups as the continuing upgrade proceeds. I will tell you however, that we have solved these problems and do not anticipate having further ones that compromise the sound quality.
From here forward, the broadcasts will be delivered over ISDN, or in rare cases where it isn't available, digital POTS, and in VERY rare cases where both fail, then the hybrid.
Bottom line, when you rebuild a network from the ground up, there are challenges that arise and bugs to be worked out. I experienced similar issues when I rebuilt an entire MLB radio network (80 stations) a couple years ago. I urge that you continue to tune in to the broadcasts and believe you'll be very happy with the quality going forward.
Once again, even though I was fully aware of these issues, I'm thankful that you posted your feelings so that I could shed some light for you and others that wondered what the sources of the issues were. I'm happy to tell you we've solved them and am confident you'll be pleased with the sound quality going forward.
Thank You,
Brian Giffin
President
Big Play Radio Sports
