TECHTALK

Around the clock, in nearly every country of the world, Telos equipment helps people make critical connections. The information on this page has been assembled to help make your connections as smooth as possible.

Technology White Papers

  1. April 2013 IP-Audio Connection Tests The Telos Z/IP ONE represents the state of the art in high quality, low­latency IP­audio transmission. Its Agile Connection Technology (ACT) works within user­set parameters to maintain the highest bit rate and the lowest latency possible over a given end­to­end IP path. That said, it’s still desirable to characterize each end of the IP connection prior to use, to see if there are any configuration issues or impairments to smooth packet transmission and reception. Read More
  2. April 2013 Audio Reliability over the Public Internet: Designing Robust IP-Streaming for Outside Broadcasts, STL, and Program Distribution One of the challenges in transferring audio programming over IP networks, especially over the Public Internet, is data loss caused by two factors: congestion-related packet loss and varying latency or jitter. IP links may drop packets for several reasons; though some transmission protocols are designed to mitigate or correct such losses, they require extra bandwidth and extra time to make these corrections. In this paper we examine several data transmission error mitigation techniques in the context of their application to real-time, low-latency IP-audio transport. We suggest how different techniques may be applied to different data loss or jitter scenarios. And, we assist the reader in analyzing his own data transmission path, characterizing any difficulties, then selecting the best technical solution to mitigate or eliminate any final effects on the delivered audio product. Read More
  3. January 2013 VoIP In The Real World: How I Quit Worrying And Learned To Live Without POTS What's the future of broadcast phones? Is POTS really going away? What about ISDN? Should I be thinking about VoIP?" Common questions for today's broadcast engineer. Happily, Telos' Joe Talbot is a broadcast engineer, too, with years of expertise in broadcast phone systems. In this White Paper, "VoIP in the Real World" (written and delivered at the 2012 NAB Broadcast Engineering Conference), Joe relates his real-world experiences with VoIP systems in broadcast studios, and explains why it's not only the future — it's a better future. Read More
  4. April 2012 Wire in the Broadcast Plant: Less WIre Means You're Doing It Right Wires - cables - represent one more collective item to plan, document, manage, and maintain in a broadcast facility. Considered in terms of equipment volume, capital expense, installation labor, or maintenance, a broadcaster’s wire plant is a significant investment and ongoing expense. And the larger the wire plant, the more these costs increase. Ethernet/IP-based infrastructure is changing this equation. This White Paper by Telos‘ Kirk Harnack examines the modern facility wiring infrastructure, with markedly less cable, lower cable volume, and far less initial and ongoing management and expense. Read More
  5. May 12 2010 Advanced Tech for IP Remotes IP networks are becoming the new way to get broadcast audio to here from there. A broadcast codec taking advantage of new technology and optimized for the real-world conditions on IP networks makes this a practical reality. Read More
  6. Apr 6 2010 VoIP In The Broadcast Studio Without much doubt, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol telephony) is coming to broadcast facilities. We explain why this is so, the benefits and downsides, and how the systems will work and integrate with studio audio equipment. Read More
  7. Jun 15 2007 ISDN vs. DSL Revisited – Making IP work for Remotes – While ISDN is a perfect fit for broadcast applications, IP is everywhere and ISDN is getting harder to get. Just what are the differences and what does it take to make IP a practical alternative for remote broadcasts. Are generic Internet connections like DSL or WiFi suitable for broadcasters to send high-quality audio over long distances in real time? Read this for the how the Zephyr/IP gives broadcasters a new tool in their toolbox! Read More
  8. Feb 2005 Quality, Clarity and Competitive On-Air Processing In this age of bigger, better, and who's louder, broadcasters need to realize that their audience now has many more choices of what to listen to. If they choose to process for the sake of loudness at all costs, the results might find listeners migrating to better-sounding alternatives. Processor design must raise the bar, yet again, with fresh innovations that yields clarity, quality, and competitive loudness. Read More
  9. Feb 2005 The Killer App for FM: 5.1 Surround Sound We need to inject life back into radio! For the first time since 1961, when FM implemented stereo, we have technology that will keep FM radio competitive with other existing mediums--the ability to broadcast distinct 5.1 multichannel audio. Read More
  10. Jan 25 2005 Studio Structures for Surround Broadcasting There is a growing interest among broadcasters to deliver a surround listening experience to their audiences. Surround is clearly the hot topic at audio, consumer electronics, and computer shops. A state-of-the-art networked studio facility supporting the creation of on-air product for these services presents an opportunity for both cost savings and operational flexibility. Read More
  11. Jun 16 2004 5.1 Surround: For Real On Radio? What programmers and Ops Managers need to know about 5.1-Channel for Broadcast. What is it, and why should you care? Written by Telos General Manager Denny Sanders, a former PD, this paper looks at 5.1 Surround from a perspective programming will relate to. Read More
  12. Apr 11 2004 What HD Radio Needs to WOW Today’s Radio Listeners You've probably been enjoying Multichannel 5.1 home theater audio for a while now. You might even have multichannel SACD or DVD-Audio music discs. So why not 5.1 radio broadcasts? Telos / Omnia partners Fraunhofer Labs have devised a way to deliver discrete 5.1 using HD Radio. Read our position paper to find out why we think that 5.1 may be HDFM radio's "killer app." Read More
  13. Feb 16 2003 A Network Enabled Radio Console Architecture The world around us has become increasingly networked -- why notbroadcast audio consoles? Michael Dosch outlines the advantages ofnetworking broadcast studios, and how it can be accomplished. Read More
  14. Feb 2 2003 Ethernet for Studio Audio Systems Steve Church details Livewire, new Telos technology that enablestransport of live, uncompressed broadcast audio usingstandards-based computernetworking. Read More
  15. Apr 29 2002 Multi-Channel Splitting Algorithm for AACand AAC-LD Encoded Audio Telos' Anton Thimet and Joseph Zolyak present an explanation of how Telos Zephyr Xstream ISDN transceivers split-and-recombine high-quality audio streams acrossmultiple digital connections. Read More
  16. Feb 6 2002 Troubleshooting The Public SwitchedTelephone Network, or, How do you tell the Telco the problem isin their network? Sooner or later, every broadcaster faces the inevitable: trying to fix Telco problems beyond their control. Evenwhen you know the answer, how do you tell the technician? Read RolfTaylor's informative (and entertaining) White Paper for some practicaltips. Read More
  17. Jul 13 2001 On Beer and Audio Coding: Why Something Called AAC is Cooler Than a Pilsner, and How It Got To Be That Way MPEG4 AAC, the newest ISO/IEC compression/decompression standard, is pretty astonishing. It achieves true CD quality at very lowbitrates, and the special AAC-LD (Low Delay) mode delivers quality comparable to MPEG Layer 3 with just 55ms transmission times! We've included AAC and AAC-LD into our Zephyr XStream codec; in this White Paper, Steve Church explains AAC's applications and benefits for broadcasters. Read More
  18. May 5 2001 Using T1, ISDN and DSL Telco Lines In Consolidated Radio Facilities Steve Church talks about how to get the most from digital phone lines in today's complex radio studios. Read More
  19. Apr 26 2001 ISDN for Studio Call-in Talk Systems ISDN for talkshows? Yes, and the upside is enormous. Read Steve Church's White Paper and see how your plant could benefit. Read More
  20. Feb 6 2000 Telephone Technology In The Digital Age: A Tutorial for Broadcasters Originally written as part of the TWOx12 manual, this paper is an easy-to-read, plain language tutorial for those looking to expand their knowledge of broadcast phone systems. Read More

Tech Tips

  1. Mar 3 2001 The Ins and Outs of Surge Suppression Tips on lightning-proofing your facilities. Read More
  2. Aug 9 2000 Zephyr compatible codecs A handy quick-reference list of other codecs that are Zephyr-compatible. Read More
  3. Aug 9 2000 Zephyr transmission modes A reference chart of Zephyr transmission modes. Read More

Audio Coding Papers by Telos Systems

  1. Apr 8 2008 MPEG AAC - The Best Codec Ever? Read what theCommunicationsResearch Centre has to say about MPEG AAC and it's performance versusother codecs in this White Paper entitled Subjective Evaluation of State-of-the-Art 2-Channel Codecs Read More
  2. Apr 8 2008 An introduction to MPEG AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) Read More
  3. Apr 8 2008 An introduction to ISO/MPEG Layer 3 and Layer 2 coding. Read More
  4. Aug 26 2003 So What's The Big Deal About aacPlus? Rolf Taylor explores the technology behind today's hottest newlow-bitrate audio coding method. Read More
  5. Feb 26 2003 aacPlus, SBR, MPEG AAC in the Zephyr Xport An overview of aacPlus the combination of SBR and MPEG AAC used in Zephyr Xport. Read More
  6. Apr 29 2001 Questions and answers about Audio Coding for sending audio over ISDN. Read More

Tech Papers by guest writers

  1. Aug 19 2003 How to Get the Best Service from the Manufacturer Presented by permission of RadioGuide magazine. Great tips for getting the best results from acall to customer support! Read More
  2. October 13 2003 A closer look into MPEG-4 High Efficiency AAC Also known by the trade name aacPlus, MP4 HE-AAC is the mostefficient coding algorithm ever. Coding Technologies' Martin Wolters explains. Read More
  3. Apr 2 2003 New MPEG-4 High-efficiency AAC Audio- Enabling new applications A high-level overview of aacPlus by Coding Technologies'David Frerichs. Read More
  4. Jul 28 1999 MP3 And AAC Explained An inside look at two industry-standard codecs, by developerFraunhofer IIS' Karlheinz Brandenburg. Read More

ISDN & Telco Resources:

  1. April 8 2002 How Can I Call An ISDN Codec With A POTS Phone Line? ZephyrXport Q&A: An overview ofthe ideas and technology behind the new Zephyr Xport POTS+ISDN Codec Read More
  2. June 30 2001 Ordering ISDN for use with Telos Talkshow Systems and Zephyr ISDN Transceivers Read More
  3. Feb 2001 ISDN Cause Codes Comprehensive list of Telco ISDN trouble codes and what they mean. Read More
  4. January 2001 Telco/ISDN Glossary of important terms Read More
  5. Apr 28 2001 A plain-English explanation of ISDN Read More
  6. Oct 30 2000 Mix-minus demystified Read More
  7. Apr 20 2000 Getting the best from analog telephone lines Read More
  8. Mar 10 2000 Telephone Network Interfacing Our founder Steve Church's definitive work on the ins and outs of connecting telephones with broadcast equipment. resented courtesy of the National Association of Broadcasters. Read More
  9. June 4 1989 Telephone Q&A The exhaustive Telos treatise on the ins and outs of the telephone system.Originally available as part of our product manuals, this classic cannow be downloaded on its own. Read More

Communications Protocols for Telos products:

  1. June 6 2002 Multi-Channel Splitting Algorithm for AACand AAC-LD Encoded Audio Telos' Anton Thimet and JosephZolyak present an explanation of how Telos Zephyr Xstream ISDN transceivers split-and-recombine high-quality audio streams acrossmultiple digital connections. Read More
  2. Oct 18 2007 TWOx12 communications specifications Protocol specification v2.0, covers TWOx12 software versions through 2.x. This protocol can also be used with TWOx12 software version 3.x in "Single Studio mode" only. This protocol is obsolete: for full support of the "Split Studio modes" in TWOx12 software version 3.x and later, the protocol documented below should be used. 158k self-extracting archive includes demonstration program. Series 2101 /TWOx12 Software Development Kit: TheSeries 2101 SDK is provided for third-party programmers who wish todevelop software that interfaces with Series 2101 and TWOx12 (version 3.x and higher) equipment. This is a two-part download:
    1. First, download this document outlining the Series 2101 API (Adobe Acrobat document; right-click on link to download).
    2. Second, download the SDK from our public FTP server (self-extracting archive, 820k).