TECH  TALK

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.

  • Our Links to reference sites with:

    • more information on ISDN, 

    • the names of other codec users with whom you can connect, 

    • vendors whose software and hardware work with Telos products.

Technology White Papers:

  • 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.
  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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. 

  • 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."

  • 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.

  • Ethernet for Studio Audio Systems Steve Church details Livewire, new Telos technology that enables transport of live, uncompressed  broadcast audio using standards-based computer networking.

  • A Network Enabled Radio Console Architecture The world around us has become increasingly networked -- why not broadcast audio consoles? Michael Dosch outlines the advantages of networking broadcast studios, and how it can be accomplished.

  • Troubleshooting The Public Switched Telephone Network, or, How do you tell the Telco the problem is in their network? Sooner or later, every broadcaster faces the inevitable: trying to fix Telco problems beyond their control. Even when you know the answer, how do you tell the technician? Read Rolf Taylor's informative (and entertaining) White Paper for some practical tips.

  • Multi-Channel Splitting Algorithm for AAC and 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 across multiple digital connections.

  • 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 low bitrates, 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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! 

  • 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. (Adobe Acrobat download, 175 kb)

Tech Tips:

Audio Coding Papers by Telos Systems:

Tech Papers by guest writers:

ISDN  & Telco Resources:

Communications Protocols for Telos products:

  • Multi-Channel Splitting Algorithm for AAC and 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 across multiple digital connections.

  • 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: The Series 2101 SDK is provided for third-party programmers who wish to develop 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).