-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Do radio stations use CD's, MP3's or CARTS?
- Thread starter e-dawg
- Start date
K
KMRichards
Guest
> I haven't worked in a radio station before, so I was just
> courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts to
> play music and commerical?
The industry evolved from records to carts in the 70s and 80s. As the 90s progressed, digitizing music, spots, etc. and playing back from PCs became the norm.
Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations have their audio encoded in .WAV format.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
> courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts to
> play music and commerical?
The industry evolved from records to carts in the 70s and 80s. As the 90s progressed, digitizing music, spots, etc. and playing back from PCs became the norm.
Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations have their audio encoded in .WAV format.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
T
TANK
Guest
> >
>
> The industry evolved from records to carts in the 70s and
> 80s. As the 90s progressed, digitizing music, spots, etc.
> and playing back from PCs became the norm.
>
> Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts
> from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations
> have their audio encoded in .WAV format.
>
All the stations in my cluster run off of computer, but have c.d. players and a complete music library on c.d. in the studios in case of a computer crash. Many stations I know of in my area also have c.d. players and at least a partial library at the transmitter site for back-up in case of natural or man made disasters at the studio sites.
>
> The industry evolved from records to carts in the 70s and
> 80s. As the 90s progressed, digitizing music, spots, etc.
> and playing back from PCs became the norm.
>
> Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts
> from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations
> have their audio encoded in .WAV format.
>
All the stations in my cluster run off of computer, but have c.d. players and a complete music library on c.d. in the studios in case of a computer crash. Many stations I know of in my area also have c.d. players and at least a partial library at the transmitter site for back-up in case of natural or man made disasters at the studio sites.
E
Ed_Walker
Guest
> Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts
> from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations
> have their audio encoded in .WAV format.
>
I've got to tell you that Clear Channel's CCADS (Clear Channel Audio
Distribution Center) that is the central music library for most if not
all CC stations running on Prophet are using music on hard drive recorded
as MP2 files. Not quite as extreme a compression ratio as MP3 - with
less loss and artifacts - but not as pure as uncompressed WAV....
> from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations
> have their audio encoded in .WAV format.
>
I've got to tell you that Clear Channel's CCADS (Clear Channel Audio
Distribution Center) that is the central music library for most if not
all CC stations running on Prophet are using music on hard drive recorded
as MP2 files. Not quite as extreme a compression ratio as MP3 - with
less loss and artifacts - but not as pure as uncompressed WAV....
> > I haven't worked in a radio station before, so I was just
> > courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> > back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> > about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts
> to
> > play music and commerical?
>
> The industry evolved from records to carts in the 70s and
> 80s. As the 90s progressed, digitizing music, spots, etc.
> and playing back from PCs became the norm.
>
> Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts
> from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations
> have their audio encoded in .WAV format.
>
Do they not use 320k bitrate? Any time I'm transfering music to Live365, I always use that bitrate when pulling from a CD even though the downconversion for the streams I have is to a much lower bitrate.
I actually have a cart machine at home, and a few dozen carts in good shape, it just sits there though.
> > courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> > back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> > about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts
> to
> > play music and commerical?
>
> The industry evolved from records to carts in the 70s and
> 80s. As the 90s progressed, digitizing music, spots, etc.
> and playing back from PCs became the norm.
>
> Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts
> from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations
> have their audio encoded in .WAV format.
>
Do they not use 320k bitrate? Any time I'm transfering music to Live365, I always use that bitrate when pulling from a CD even though the downconversion for the streams I have is to a much lower bitrate.
I actually have a cart machine at home, and a few dozen carts in good shape, it just sits there though.
> > >
> >
> > The industry evolved from records to carts in the 70s and
> > 80s. As the 90s progressed, digitizing music, spots, etc.
>
> > and playing back from PCs became the norm.
> >
> > Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts
>
> > from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations
> > have their audio encoded in .WAV format.
> >
> All the stations in my cluster run off of computer, but have
> c.d. players and a complete music library on c.d. in the
> studios in case of a computer crash. Many stations I know
> of in my area also have c.d. players and at least a partial
> library at the transmitter site for back-up in case of
> natural or man made disasters at the studio sites.
>
WLRK in Wausau runs 128kbps MP3s. They sound just fine on the air. I guess it all depends on the encoder.
<P ID="signature">______________
AIM: JeremyA1069</P>
> >
> > The industry evolved from records to carts in the 70s and
> > 80s. As the 90s progressed, digitizing music, spots, etc.
>
> > and playing back from PCs became the norm.
> >
> > Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts
>
> > from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations
> > have their audio encoded in .WAV format.
> >
> All the stations in my cluster run off of computer, but have
> c.d. players and a complete music library on c.d. in the
> studios in case of a computer crash. Many stations I know
> of in my area also have c.d. players and at least a partial
> library at the transmitter site for back-up in case of
> natural or man made disasters at the studio sites.
>
WLRK in Wausau runs 128kbps MP3s. They sound just fine on the air. I guess it all depends on the encoder.
<P ID="signature">______________
AIM: JeremyA1069</P>
>
> WLRK in Wausau runs 128kbps MP3s. They sound just fine on
> the air. I guess it all depends on the encoder.
>
FM is limited to 15 kHz respones, so high bitrates like 256 or 320 are overkill.
Lower bitrates, like 160 and 128, will sound awful over time on AM, as the low sampling rate and compression will "fight" with other digial systems in most audio chains.
> WLRK in Wausau runs 128kbps MP3s. They sound just fine on
> the air. I guess it all depends on the encoder.
>
FM is limited to 15 kHz respones, so high bitrates like 256 or 320 are overkill.
Lower bitrates, like 160 and 128, will sound awful over time on AM, as the low sampling rate and compression will "fight" with other digial systems in most audio chains.
I was just going to mention that.
The other problem you face with compression is anti-aliasing. Too much digital compression from too many sources that don't match up. Basically compression of an MP3 doesn't match the compression of the digital audio processor or digital STL, etc...
>
> Lower bitrates, like 160 and 128, will sound awful over time
> on AM, as the low sampling rate and compression will "fight"
> with other digial systems in most audio chains.
>
The other problem you face with compression is anti-aliasing. Too much digital compression from too many sources that don't match up. Basically compression of an MP3 doesn't match the compression of the digital audio processor or digital STL, etc...
>
> Lower bitrates, like 160 and 128, will sound awful over time
> on AM, as the low sampling rate and compression will "fight"
> with other digial systems in most audio chains.
>
> > I haven't worked in a radio station before, so I was just
> > courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> > back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> > about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts
> to
> > play music and commerical?
>
> The industry evolved from records to carts in the 70s and
> 80s. As the 90s progressed, digitizing music, spots, etc.
> and playing back from PCs became the norm.
>
> Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts
> from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations
> have their audio encoded in .WAV format.
>
A local non-commercial station in Gary Indiana, WGVE, operated by the Gary School System, which has studios both at the main office, but is mostly automated there, and their transmitter is on the site of the main office, and the other studios are inside the Gary Area Career Center, where students learn radio first hand. Before they got an upgrade in equipment for their career center studios, I heard they were still running off of 8 tracks & audio cassettes. They got a grant to upgrade their equipment and now operate with a computer and a CD player (for backup). I don't remember what else they got, but I do know their equipment was older than what most stations used 10 years ago.
> > courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> > back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> > about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts
> to
> > play music and commerical?
>
> The industry evolved from records to carts in the 70s and
> 80s. As the 90s progressed, digitizing music, spots, etc.
> and playing back from PCs became the norm.
>
> Most engineers I know don't like the compression artifacts
> from broadcasting MP3s, so the vast majority of stations
> have their audio encoded in .WAV format.
>
A local non-commercial station in Gary Indiana, WGVE, operated by the Gary School System, which has studios both at the main office, but is mostly automated there, and their transmitter is on the site of the main office, and the other studios are inside the Gary Area Career Center, where students learn radio first hand. Before they got an upgrade in equipment for their career center studios, I heard they were still running off of 8 tracks & audio cassettes. They got a grant to upgrade their equipment and now operate with a computer and a CD player (for backup). I don't remember what else they got, but I do know their equipment was older than what most stations used 10 years ago.
Re: Some stations in our market...
> I haven't worked in a radio station before, so I was just
> courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts to
> play music and commerical?
>
..Believe it or not, there are a couple of stations in our market that
still use carts and..turntables!!
I worked for a station that still used a combination of carts, a turntable,
CD players, and a couple of cassette players along with a satellite feed for some programs and national news. The absentee owner "didn't see the need" to upgrade to anything more. Not a computer in the building..
In addition to that station, two others still use carts, mainly for commercials.
My internet station has the capability (not that I use all of these everyday!)
to play from turntables, cassettes, CDs, carts and reel-to-reel. I have a computer and am burning some programming to it, but have not been able to match the computer to the audio board with satisfactory results.<P ID="signature">______________
Proudly remembering the days of the hometown "country giant" radio stations now at
http://www.live365.com/stations/alanmccall</P>
> I haven't worked in a radio station before, so I was just
> courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts to
> play music and commerical?
>
..Believe it or not, there are a couple of stations in our market that
still use carts and..turntables!!
I worked for a station that still used a combination of carts, a turntable,
CD players, and a couple of cassette players along with a satellite feed for some programs and national news. The absentee owner "didn't see the need" to upgrade to anything more. Not a computer in the building..
In addition to that station, two others still use carts, mainly for commercials.
My internet station has the capability (not that I use all of these everyday!)
to play from turntables, cassettes, CDs, carts and reel-to-reel. I have a computer and am burning some programming to it, but have not been able to match the computer to the audio board with satisfactory results.<P ID="signature">______________
Proudly remembering the days of the hometown "country giant" radio stations now at
http://www.live365.com/stations/alanmccall</P>
Re: Some stations in our market...
KFTX in Corpus Christi still uses carts for spots and promos. They still play CDs AND they use a reel to reel to record call-ins.
> > I haven't worked in a radio station before, so I was just
> > courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> > back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> > about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts
> to
> > play music and commerical?
> >
>
>
> ..Believe it or not, there are a couple of stations in our
> market that
> still use carts and..turntables!!
>
> I worked for a station that still used a combination of
> carts, a turntable,
> CD players, and a couple of cassette players along with a
> satellite feed for some programs and national news. The
> absentee owner "didn't see the need" to upgrade to anything
> more. Not a computer in the building..
>
> In addition to that station, two others still use carts,
> mainly for commercials.
>
> My internet station has the capability (not that I use all
> of these everyday!)
> to play from turntables, cassettes, CDs, carts and
> reel-to-reel. I have a computer and am burning some
> programming to it, but have not been able to match the
> computer to the audio board with satisfactory results.
>
KFTX in Corpus Christi still uses carts for spots and promos. They still play CDs AND they use a reel to reel to record call-ins.
> > I haven't worked in a radio station before, so I was just
> > courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> > back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> > about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts
> to
> > play music and commerical?
> >
>
>
> ..Believe it or not, there are a couple of stations in our
> market that
> still use carts and..turntables!!
>
> I worked for a station that still used a combination of
> carts, a turntable,
> CD players, and a couple of cassette players along with a
> satellite feed for some programs and national news. The
> absentee owner "didn't see the need" to upgrade to anything
> more. Not a computer in the building..
>
> In addition to that station, two others still use carts,
> mainly for commercials.
>
> My internet station has the capability (not that I use all
> of these everyday!)
> to play from turntables, cassettes, CDs, carts and
> reel-to-reel. I have a computer and am burning some
> programming to it, but have not been able to match the
> computer to the audio board with satisfactory results.
>
> I haven't worked in a radio station before, so I was just
> courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts to
> play music and commerical?
>
At the station I work for:
During locally programmed hours (we run satellite programming evenings and overnights), 100% of the music is on CD and 100% of the spots/promos/psas play out of the digital automation system. We still have some jingles on carts that are used regualarly, and reel-to-reel capabilities still exist in the air studio (though the r2r hasn't seen much, if any, recent use). Not a working turntable to be found in the building, though an impressive library of vinyl still holds up a good number of out-of-the-way shelves. News actualities are either mp3s or played off minidisc. It's probably one of the last stations in this area that has no provisions to voicetrack local shifts, and perhaps one of the last commercial stations anywhere that still allows jocks to have complete control over musical selection (within format, of course).
> courious what do radio station use to play music? I know
> back then they use Records in the 50's and 60's, but what
> about today? Do they use CD's, MP3's, Computers, or Carts to
> play music and commerical?
>
At the station I work for:
During locally programmed hours (we run satellite programming evenings and overnights), 100% of the music is on CD and 100% of the spots/promos/psas play out of the digital automation system. We still have some jingles on carts that are used regualarly, and reel-to-reel capabilities still exist in the air studio (though the r2r hasn't seen much, if any, recent use). Not a working turntable to be found in the building, though an impressive library of vinyl still holds up a good number of out-of-the-way shelves. News actualities are either mp3s or played off minidisc. It's probably one of the last stations in this area that has no provisions to voicetrack local shifts, and perhaps one of the last commercial stations anywhere that still allows jocks to have complete control over musical selection (within format, of course).
- Status