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ISDN Failure In PHX

R

RyanA

I am a young Engineer in PHX that is having extreme issues with my ISDN service being provided from Qwest. I have error reports as the day is long. A solid connection between Tucson and I that last 10 minutes is a triumph. Is anyone else out there having any ISDN connection issues? ???
 
I couldn't agree with you more. Last year I installed the Access and its great. And that was going to be my follow up question... How much longer do you see ISDN even playing a role in the market? Reason I ask is because summer of '11 i will be building out a new studio for a show that broadcast to KTAR, the last thing I want to do is invest in racks of Extremes that will be a paper weight in the next 2/3 years.....
 
Over a hard wired connection the Access codecs work great. Slightly more delay than ISDN but definitely still useable in a live situation. They have an added advantage over ISDN though and that is the ability to use them with a wireless data card from a carrier like Verizon or Sprint. Not necessarily useable for live situations because of the inherent latency of the connection but still really cool for live-to-tape (or should I say VoxPro) applications.

I even saw at NAB this year TieLine showing off an iPhone app that would directly interface with a codec back in the shop. If you thought the Comrex Portables were small, imagine getting audio out of the phone in your pocket that didn't SOUND like it came from your phone. Technology in this field is getting better and better.
 
I'm an air talent in Detroit and I have the comrex app for IP on my HTC EVO. We have not gone live with it yet but the tests with engineers here have worked remarkably well. I'm excited to try it sometime. Next step is to have a real mic blue tooth to the handset then IP back to the studio, probably coming.
 
Gotta chime in here guys..I use Source Connect on our studio and field computers and then use an ISDN bridging service when ISDN is needed..Costs about 40 bucks a half hour, but that way I can do a full duplex session from anywhere including a motorhome and the back seat of my wife's Jeep..Current Nutri System commercials on TV that I do are from Source Connect..Same with Dish Network..done from a hotel room in Vermont! Source Connect is a software based codec that uses AAC+ and can communicate with other SC equipped studios (1000's of them) and it's around 600 bucks!

I must say that the ACCESS rack unit with AAC coding is the best..A little pricey, but as soon as other studios move to that it will be the standard.

If need be, you can always find a used Zephyr on Ebay..our ISDN circuits in the mountains of NC are still pretty solid as Frontier Communications just bought Verizon here, and we just got touch-tone service last year :)

In Atlanta AT&T is standing behind ISDN for those that still need it.
 
It seems ISDN has always been a foreign language to Qwest. Whenever I came across someone who knew what I was talking about, I begged them for a direct number so I couldn find them again. I'd love to see the new technology take over, but the engineers in charge are married to ISDN and have given its successors a thumbs down so far. There is also the access issue- cell service and wifi can get overloaded in the most minor emergencies. If you're doing news or talk, relying on them is a big risk.
 
Ok I'm putting in my two cents worth. Yes I do have ISDN issues on new or temp circuits sometimes. I do have a specific number to call in the broadcast division for AZ and that helps. If you go to the website for Telos or any of the other gear they have or telos does with the specifics on what type of circuit to ask for and exactly how it's supposed to be configured, you can download that to send in with your request. Always order your ISDN or other circuits a few days before the broadcast goes on the air so if there's a problem it can usually be resolved and test it before your broadcast, not just for a few minutes but a couple of hours to be sure it's ok and even then they can fail. Some of the venues have horrible wiring in house, pay the extra fee to have the phone company run the line to the area of the broadcast loop and test it, they work hard to make sure it works but they are not responsible for the inside wiring. In so far as the Comrex Access yes there can be delay issues but the new ACC software download is worth the $$$ and if your hooked into a high speed internet coneection there is no real delay. You are at the mercy of the cell site and the number of people on that cell site as to the delay and it can increase as you are connected. It's easy disconnect and reconnect it's like a couple of seconds to do that during a spot break or song and that get's rid of the delay. The phone guys are getting better but it also depends on how much bandwidth you can get and it will vary and you cannot predict that.
 
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