• 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

FM Processing during ratings season

whit979

whit979

Spring Arbitron ratings are starting up in a few days, and I want to make sure that my Optimod 8400 sounds as good as it can. Our music format is AC, and I typically try to compare us to the major-market AC stations around us (Atlanta/Birmingham). I'm not looking to be the loudest station. Can anyone offer any starting points, tips or tricks with AC processing on Optimod 8400s? What should I do??? Help! :p
 
This may strike ya strange, but unless there's some compelling reason, why do a dam' thing to it? If you have a sound competitive with the surrunding cities, you're where you ought to be. Your localization and programming are what is going to attract listreners away from the folks who basically ignore your market. Determine >if< there's need for cvhange, and then if there is, make minor adjustments.
This way, should there be a slide in listenership, and the programmer decide it's all your fault (None of us have ever had this happen, but it's a possibility) tell him/her it's the same processing they did the 30 share on last book!
 
I was taught: choose the best sounding direct competitor. Get sounding as good as them, then improve on it. Warmer bass, sweeter treble highlights, less compression fatigue, etc.

And keep it legal. Find out what the modulation "speed limit" is in your market. As soon as you boost, it's likely that they'll begin a loudness war. Don't engage them. I was also taught: no one didn't listen to a station because it wasn't as loud as another.

It's content that counts. But, you don't want to sound anemic either.
 
You should be reviewing what is going on in your market and listening to what your processing is doing on a regular basis. But I agree with an earlier poster that you should not be making changes just for a ratings period.

Set the processing for a competitive level of loudness and quality and let it be. The audience surveys are all about content. Processing does not add to this equation. It can, however, subtract, if the station is unlistenable because of harshness or fatigue.

If you have a dayparting function, and I think the 8400 does, you might want to consider having a morning drive setting that backs off the clipping a bit so that cheap clock radios don't sound like crap when folks are getting up in the morning. Believe it or not, those cheap clock radios reveal a lot of ugliness that you might not hear in a better receiver.
 
I'm not an engineer or audio guy either, but I agree.. just changing your audio processing for ratings books is not the best idea.

"If it aint broke, don't fix it!"
 
WAVB?Re: FM Processing during ratings season

what the heck is wavb-am? The fcc doesn't know. The only reference I could find for that used to be in puerto rico... just curious..
 
And the point of posting that on here was what?

Recheck my signature, bub...
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom