Bridging the Distance with Bridge-IT
[November 2011] At one time, broadcasts from remote sites often suffered from poor phone lines or scratchy RPU signals. But, as Gary Mantz and Suzanne Mitchell found out, with the right codec, you literally can broadcast with confidence from anywhere. Glenn Davies and Mary Ann Seidler spoke with Gary and Suzanne about their experience.
Ghosts, UFOs, reincarnation, psychic phenomena, Bigfoot, the supernatural, the paranormal – Gary Mantz and Suzanne Mitchell cover it all in their weekly Seattle talk show. They have built up an enthusiastic audience of listeners eager to share and explore the whole realm of “bizarre experiences that defy a simple, mundane explanation.”
However, they recently faced a dilemma.
While continuing to delve into the dark and mysterious on their radio show, on a personal level Gary and Suzanne longed for a lifestyle of warmth and sunshine.
Changing the Location and the Technology
“We had a dream of moving to Sarasota on Florida’s sunny Gulf Coast,” said Gary, “but we didn’t want to leave our loyal listeners in Seattle, to whom we’d been broadcasting since 2007.
“We looked for a solution that allowed us to live where we want, be portable when we travel, and keep our show on the air,” he said.
Transporting their show to Florida took a bit more than mental telepathy – they got an assist from some down-to-earth Tieline technology.
“Tieline’s Mary Ann Seidler introduced us to the Bridge-IT IP audio codec and clearly explained how it would help us. We decided to buy a Bridge-IT, a mixing board, and three quality microphones, and made the move 3,300 miles to Florida,” said Gary.
“It was very easy to set up and is a breeze to operate,” said Suzanne. “To go live we simply press a button to connect our Bridge-IT to the codec at KKNW in Seattle. The sound is superb and 100% reliable,” she said. “Many listeners comment that it sounds like we’re still in Seattle because the audio is so clear.”
“We also use Bridge-IT to record radio spots, which is very convenient.”
Perhaps most exciting of all for Mantz and Mitchell, the Bridge-IT is helping them tap into the ever-growing market for programs on the 2 paranormal. “Currently we’re looking to syndiccate our programs, and Bridge-IT will allow us to send studio quality audio to other stations simultaneously with multi-unicasts. This will allow us to grow our listenership and establish a presence in other markets.”
Intrigued? Give them a listen. The couple broadcast two shows every Saturday on 1150AM Alternative Talk in Seattle and stream over the Internet via garymantz.com. They are on-air together between 10 to 11 AM Pacific Time with “Mantz & Mitchell in the Morning,” and then Gary continues with his own show between 11 AM and 1 PM.
Suzanne and Gary promise to “challenge your preconceptions and ignite your imagination in the pursuit of all things mysterious and metaphysical.”
Broadcast Techie Stats
- IP Sample frequencies: 16, 24, 32, 48 kHz Size: 8.5”X 5.9”X 1.75”Weight: 2.07 lbs.
- Power: 12 VDC at 400 mA.
- Point-to-point and multi-point (multiple unicast) IP connections over a variety of connection transports, including the Internet.
- EBU N/ACIP Tech 3326 compatibility over IP
- A suite of high quality broadcast algorithms as standard, plus optional Enhanced apt-X, LC-AAC, HE-AAC v.1 and HE-AAC v.2.
- Up to 22 kHz stereo audio quality with 20 ms coding delay at bit rates as low as 96 kbps using Tieline’s loss-tolerant MusicPLUS algorithm
- Up to 15 kHz FM quality mono audio at bit-rates as low as 24 kbps.
- Automatic jitter buffering, forward error correction and packet repair.
- Full hardware front panel interface including navigation, LCD display, PPM metering and dialing key pad.
- Web GUI for programming codec functionality and RS232 data connections.
- XLR connectors for analog and digital audio.
- Onboard SDHC card slot for automatic audio failover.
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Glenn Davies and Mary Ann Seidler are part of the Tieline team. You can contact them at: gcdavies@bigpond.net.au or maryann@tieline.com