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How many of you are still using RPU for remotes, etc???

Z

zachmorton

I am curious as to how much thought has been given to RPU broadcasts. How many of you still use them?
 
I've got the stuff in place to do it, but frankly, it's easier to use Skype. It usually sounds better too....
 
The reason I'm throwing it out there is simple. Our stations still have active Marti frequencies for a reason. Granted the “high tech” codecs work most of the time…and we use them for most of our broadcasts from client remotes. However, what happens when your local area (you know, the area you’re licensed to serve the public) has a major event where cell service and/or internet service is down. Don’t laugh…it will happen sooner or later somewhere (Hurricane Katrina and Sandy come to mind). Provided my stations still have utility power (and we have full gensets on studios plus transmitter sites if we lose power), and my tower is still standing, I can go anywhere within my service area and stick a magnetic mount rpu antenna on the roof of the truck and away we go. I had long been for doing away with the whole "Marti" concept and just dealing with the codecs/ip stream idea...but then I started thinking about "what if". Food for thought…if your town is crippled because of a cell/internet outage…and it will happen, there is no such animal as an HD portable battery operated tv, and RADIO is still viable for exactly this purpose! Hell even most tv stations are using the internet/cell as an ENG transmitter. Getting information out is going to be key, especially in smaller markets that don't have robust cell/internet capability. Even in Evansville, it can get quirky when alot of people get on there. Codec-based internet devices do have a place...especially if you have a good signal and want to do a broadcast from miles beyond what a Marti can cover, but "what if"...?
 
One of my clients still does Marti for the vast majority of their remotes, two or three times a week on average. 3G/4G service is awful where they are. They have used Skype, but only where a CAT5 cable is available. Most of the high school venues they visit have had permanent yagis mounted, some in place for over 30 years. Even in my medium-market city, we get burned trying to use bonded-4G gear for TV ENG. Available bandwidth is a fickle thing.
 
Hi Zach. Good point about having the RPU available in emergencies. We have fixed antennas at our high school--RPU much more reliable than any of the digital devices. Often difficult to get into wi-fi or even telephone lines on garden variety remotes. Of course we have to use pots or cell for a lot of sports, simply nothing else available if it is out of range of the RPU.
 
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