Chapter 1 – FM BROADCASTING

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM)

GLANCE:

This chapter covers most common definitions and different terms of F.M broadcasting like terminology, broadcast bands, History of F.M broadcasting, distance covered by an F.M radio station, adoption of F.M radio technology, F.M broadcasting in Pakistan, Major F.M Channels in Pakistan. The history of F.M broadcasting is briefly discussed to give an idea of origin, adoption and innovation of technologies in advancing the present concepts of F.M radio station. Most of the countries expanded their use of FM through the 1990s. Because it takes a large number of FM transmitting stations to cover a geographically large country, particularly where there are terrain difficulties, FM is more suited to local broadcasting than for national networks. In such countries, particularly where there are economic or infrastructural problems, "rolling out" a national FM broadcast network to reach the majority of the population can be a slow and expensive process.

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) FM BROADCASTING

1.1 INTRODUCTION

FM broadcasting is a broadcast technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong that uses frequency modulation (FM) to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio.

1.2TERMINOLOGY

The term "FM band" is effectively shorthand for "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting". This term can upset purists because it conflates a modulation scheme with a range of frequencies.

1.3BROADCAST BANDS

Throughout the world, the broadcast band falls within the VHF part of the radio spectrum. Usually 87.5 to 108.0 MHz is used, or some portion thereof, with few exceptions:

• In the former Soviet republics, and some former Eastern Bloc countries, the older 65–74 MHz band is also used. Assigned frequencies are at intervals of 30 KHz. This band, sometimes referred to as the OIRT band, is slowly being phased out in many countries. In those countries the 87.5–108.0 MHz band is referred to as the CCIR band.

• In Japan, the band 76–90 MHz is used.

The frequency of an FM broadcast station (more strictly its assigned nominal centre frequency) is usually an exact multiple of 100 KHz. In most of the Americas and the Caribbean, only odd multiples are used. In some parts of Europe, Greenland and Africa, only even multiples are used. In Italy, multiples of 50 KHz are used. There are other unusual and obsolete standards in some countries, including 0.001, 0.01, 0.03, 0.074, 0.5, and 0.3 MHz.

1.4History of FM Broadcasting

Some aspects of radio history are open to debate, and may always be – was KDKA really the first station, or was it WWJ, or perhaps, 1XE/WGI?

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) But in the matter of early FM, this much is generally agreed upon: we owe its development in New England to two men – the inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong, and the business executive who believed in and supported his work – John Shepard 3rd. When Armstrong's former friend and colleague David Sarnoff turned away from a commitment to FM, it was Shepard who offered encouragement. Always quick to spot a trend, Shepard believed that FM could be beneficial and profitable; many station owners were threatened by FM, fearing it would hurt their AM operations, but Shepard had no hesitation in befriending Armstrong and investing in FM. Shepard put the power and prestige of the Yankee Network at Armstrong's disposal and planned to bring FM broadcasting to greater Boston.

In the spring of 1937, Shepard applied for a permit for a 50-kW FM station in Paxton. In an article he wrote for FM Magazine in March of 1941, Yankee Engineering Vice President Paul DeMars recalled that the plan was initially beset with problems: "Delays in obtaining a suitable site, held up construction for over a year, but in October of 1938, work was begun. When this project was planned, no 50-kW equipment had been built for the frequencies assigned to FM experimentation. Furthermore, no antenna system had been designed or constructed with radiating efficiency high enough to insure the desired performance." Undaunted, the construction team built a road through what had been woods and pastures, to the top of Asnebumskit Hill, and embarked on erecting what would become W1XOJ, the first FM station in Massachusetts. As DeMars mentioned in his article, since 50-kW transmitters for FM were still being perfected, the new station did not go on with full power. Its first broadcasts were at about 2 kW. (The Paxton site is still used for FM broadcasts, by an indirect descendant of that station, now WAAF. When the Worcester Telegram & Gazette decided to build their own FM station, W1XTG, they chose adjacent Little Asnebumskit Hill; that station is now WSRS and is still in the original location.)

The Boston media tried to explain what was going on, since the average person might be confused by so many new developments. The Boston Post noted in a May, 1939 article that within weeks, New England would hear "a radically new and different broadcasting service that may prove to be revolutionary... the new system not only requires a new type of transmitter but it also requires a new type of radio receiver. Transmission will not be in the regular broadcast band but on ultra high-frequency, 43 megacycles or seven metres approximately." The Post informed its readers that W1XOJ would have its transmitter "on top of a hill whose summit is 1375 feet above sea level. The antenna mast is 400 feet high and supports a special array called a 'turnstile'. The purpose of this array is to direct the radiation toward the horizon and to suppress skyward radiation". Unfortunately, buried in the glowing reports of the near completion of the Paxton site was the news that the Yankee Network programming Shepard wanted to broadcast from Boston was not able to reach Paxton; thus, a relay station 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) (called at first W1XOK, then WEOD) was built; it had 250 Watts, and was located at the Yankee Network studios on Brookline Avenue.

What the Boston media did not mention was that WBZ was not amused. Westinghouse and Shepard had long been in competition for advertising dollars. Now, the Westinghouse engineers felt they were being upstaged by Shepard's ability to get his name (and the names of all his engineers) in print as innovators in FM. I have copies of several letters sent back and forth between WBZ's chief engineer and Shepard's, with claims and counter-claims. WBZ wanted to enter into the FM area too, but clearly, Shepard was scoring a major publicity coup, and the Boston newspapers were giving him lots of ink. (In fairness, it should be pointed out that for a time during the early 1930's, during the 'Press-Radio War', the print media had been Shepard's bitter enemies; but the sudden arrival of a new and exciting technology plus the fact that Shepard was instant copy, always ready with an event or a quote, made even former rivals follow him around to see what FM could really do.)

Prior to W1XOJ's first broadcast, Shepard---in conjunction with the Institute of Radio Engineers---scheduled a demonstration of FM, to which he invited his competitors from other stations. The demonstration, which took place on May 26, 1939 at Northeastern University, was also attended by several hundred college professors, engineers, scientists, and technicians, as well as one very annoyed chief engineer from WBZ. In a letter to the home office several days after, WBZ Plant Manager Dwight Myer called the event basically a waste of time and claimed to be totally unimpressed. He closed his letter with these comments: "It is not frequency modulation itself that I am belittling but the meeting. The talks were non-technical, and in my opinion, it was engineered as a mutual publicity stunt for John Shepard and Major Armstrong."

Publicity stunt or not, the Boston media expressed great enthusiasm. The Post that Sunday headlined "Engineers Hail Noiseless Radio" and went on to describe how the audience listened with amazement to a variety of source material, all of which came through with incredible clarity. In the talk which Armstrong gave before the demonstration, he did in fact thank Shepard for his support, but he also explained that it had been Paul DeMars who had first come to believe in FM and who then persuaded Shepard to become involved.

On July 24, 1939, W1XOJ began a schedule of 16 hours a day on the air (8 AM to midnight). The power was soon boosted to 30 kW, but then in mid- January of 1940, a violent ice storm did serious damage to the transmitting antenna, and a temporary antenna was called into service. It would take another year before Shepard's dream of a 50-kW FM became a reality, on January 15, 1941. But Shepard had another dream too---an FM network for 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) New England. There was a 500-Watt Weather Service station (W1XOY) atop Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, and he hoped to convert it into his second FM. Broadcasting the Yankee Network programs just as W1XOJ did, this new station would be capable of reaching a very underserved area of Northern New England, an audience he estimated at nearly a million people.

And so it was, on December 18, 1940, that the next link in Shepard's plan went on the air---it was now known as W1XER, and while it was supposed to eventually be 5 kW, it went on the air with 1 kW. The engineering staff had been challenged by the severity of Mt. Washington weather, and Paul DeMars stated in another article for FM Magazine that at times he wondered if the team would be able to overcome the inhospitable atmosphere on the mountain: gale-force winds and monumental snow drifts made working especially difficult. He worried most about the new antenna---if one more antenna were to blow down, it would be a financial disaster for the Yankee Network. The new equipment for Paxton had cost $35,000, and converting the Mt. Washington station to FM cost more than $50,000; in 1939-40, these were not small sums.

The brutally cold temperatures and frequent high winds the engineers encountered while building W1XER delayed the project, such that it took three years to complete. At times, the engineers were stranded at the site, with only the provisions they had brought with them, until the bad weather diminished. One wonders if Shepard had realised that the new station would be so difficult for his engineers to build. They persevered, and their efforts finally paid off---but it was not exactly a camping trip. DeMars recalled, "During the last two months of the construction and testing period at W1XER, it was necessary for the Yankee engineers... to either ski or walk the eight miles of mountain road to the Summit, because snow made the road impassible even to a tractor. Some of the equipment was taken half way up the mountain by ski-mobile... It was back-packed by men the remainder of the way..."

As for John Shepard, he was busy selling---selling potential advertisers on the possibilities of FM. (On May 26, 1941, the first commercials exclusively for FM were broadcast over both stations---by now, these stations were known as W43B and W39B. The commercials that ran were bought by the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, today's Mobil.) He was also selling the FCC on permitting commercial FM broadcasts, and doing what he could to persuade them to allocate more and better FM frequencies. He was a tireless advocate for the new technology, and was quoted often in publications such as the New York Times, Broadcasting, and Variety, as well as the Boston newspapers. He mobilized other station owners to see FM's potential, and without neglecting his AM operation---he simply expanded it, using FM to get the Yankee Network out to an even larger audience. When 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) in March of 1942 he opened a new studio complex in Boston, he proudly showed the media an impressive display of state of the art equipment in the six new studios, several of which were exclusively for FM broadcasts.

It is difficult to say whether FM would have blossomed had not World War II intervened. Armstrong was preoccupied with the war effort, and many of the people involved in research were drafted. But Shepard continued to broadcast FM and continued to persuade other owners to give it a try. While today we take FM for granted, it is interesting to recall that not so long ago, the jury was still out: people agreed that the sound quality was wonderful, but few realized that one day FM would become dominant and AM would recede in importance. The people who live in New England are fortunate that they were on the cutting edge as FM grew; and no discussion of those formative years is complete without giving credit to John Shepard 3rd for his vision (and to his dedicated staff of engineers for their persistence in the face of overwhelming odds). While his detractors called him a publicity hound and criticized how aggressively he pursued what he wanted, it cannot be denied that in FM as in many other aspects of broadcasting, John Shepard was truly a man ahead of his time.

WILL-FM 1941-1991 The following is an excerpt of a brochure published by the station.

In the fall of 1941, the University of Illinois received the first educational FM license in the nation. And sometime that fall. . .no one remembers exactly when. . .a switch was flipped and a remarkable experiment in broadcasting began.

In those early years, WIUC, as WILL-FM was first known, simulcast with WILL-AM from 4 p. m. until AM's sign-off at sunset, then continued broadcasting classical music, news, sports and feature programs until 10 p.m.

It played, however, to a very small audience. Its signal did not reach beyond Champaign-Urbana and its audience numbered only 15 to 20 people. . .the total number of FM receivers in the area. "The station used to have about six small FM receivers we would loan out upon request," recalls Jean West, transmitter engineer in the early days. "Sometimes we would go to people's homes and convince them to take a receiver. We wanted people to try us. I think it did a lot of good, because people did go out and buy their own receivers."

At the start of World War II, both WILL stations moved to "temporary" quarters in Gregory Hall on the University of Illinois campus (they've occupied them every since) and dubbed themselves "The University of the Air." Remote microphone lines ran to every building on campus allowing 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) live broadcast of any classroom lecture. Russell Walsh, a former program director, described its impact. "Radio could bring the University's riches of talent and information directly to the people of the state. Broadcasting literally began in institutions like the University of Illinois where its pioneers envisioned radio as a great public service."

Today, WILL-FM's 105,000-watt signal is the most powerful FM signal in the state. It reaches, depending on the weather, up to 100 miles, serving an area with a population of more than two million people. It wasn't always that way.

The station first signed on with a 250-watt transmitter designed by Chief Engineer Jim Ebel and built by him and Ed Hamilton. But the University was, according to John Brugger, chief engineer from 1946-56, "anxious to install a larger station to provide programs to west central Illinois via FM."

Before stereo recording or broadcasting were invented, WILL engineers understood that a stereo effect was simply a matter of recording the left half of an orchestra on one audio channel and the right half on another. Squeezing the two channels into one FM signal wasn't yet possible but, after all, WILL had two stations.

John Brugger explains. "In conjunction with the University of Illinois School of Music, special musical events were recorded on a two-track audio recorder. The stereo tape was played back - one channel on FM and the other on AM. Listeners were informed when stereo concerts would be broadcast and how to position the FM-AM receivers to benefit from the stereo effect." True stereo did not arrive at WILL-FM until 1970.

Explaining exactly when WILL-FM became the station it is today is difficult. Some landmark dates are well known: ending daytime simulcast with WILL- AM and expanding the broadcast day to 18 hours in 1974, adding Classics by Request to FM in 1985, and beginning 24-hour operation in 1987.

But other program elements have evolved in more gradual ways. Local performance broadcasts have grown to become The Prairie Performance Series, weekly featuring the depth of talent residing in the area. The series includes monthly live broadcasts from Krannert Art Museum. And the WILL music library has grown since 1973 from less than 2,000 LPs, some of them pop music, many of them worn and scratched, to 20,000 LPs and more than 4,800 compact discs.

The changes, dramatic or gradual, have been guided by the people who have shaped WILL-FM. Nancy Stagg, FM program director, has been with the station since 1973. She remembers "staff members, their ideas, and their work. I remember Kathryn Bumpass and her thoughtfully produced 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) Soundings and Saturday Night at the Radio; Justin Kelly's program on Broadway musicals; Grace Babakhanian's wonderful Critic's Choice. There are so many, so fondly remembered by staff and listeners alike, that have made WILL-FM the station it is today."

1.5DISTANCE COVERED BY AN FM STEREO TRANSMISSION

The range of an FM mono transmission is related to the transmitter RF power, the antenna gain and antenna height. The FCC (USA) publishes curves that aid in calculation of this maximum distance as a function of signal strength at the receiving location.

For FM stereo, the maximum distance covered is significantly reduced. This is due to the presence of the 38 KHz subcarrier modulation. Vigorous audio processing improves the coverage area of an FM stereo station.

1.6 ADOPTION OF F.M RADIO

Most of the countries expanded their use of FM through the 1990s. Because it takes a large number of FM transmitting stations to cover a geographically large country, particularly where there are terrain difficulties, FM is more suited to local broadcasting than for national networks. In such countries, particularly where there are economic or infrastructural problems, "rolling out" a national FM broadcast network to reach the majority of the population can be a slow and expensive process.

1.7 F.M BROADCASTING IN PAKISTAN

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (formerly, RAMBO - Regulatory Authority for Media and Broadcast Organizations) was formed to gradually liberate the broadcasting sector in Pakistan. PEMRA has issued a number of licenses to Cable TV operations, FM Radio stations, and Satellite TV Channels.

As per the current rules, FM broadcast licenses are awarded to parties that commit to open FM broadcasting stations in at least one rural city along with the major city of their choice.

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1.8 Major F.M Radio Channels in Pakistan

• FM 95 Pakistan, Punjab Rung, Lahore • FM 93 Faisalabad, Radio Pakistan Faisalabad, film, music, folk music, Ghzal, Classical, semi-classical music, news and current affair programs • The Magic Radio, Pakistan's first High Definition radio station broadcasting online from around the world • Smile FM 88.6 Haripur KPK, is the project of M/s Northern Communication (Pvt.) a group of professionals and pioneers in the private radio field in Pakistan • City FM 89 , project of the Dawn Media Group • Radio one FM 91 • Chiltan FM 88 • FM 104, Punjab University • KUST-FM 98.2, Kohat University of Science and Technology • The Radio Mirchi • Power FM 99 • Radioactive 96, Catering to youth segment across the high-end class • Josh FM 99, catering to high-end Urdu and English speakers in Karachi, Lahore, and Hyderabad • FM100 , first FM broadcasting station with a large following, caters to all segments of society, started in 1995 • Mast FM (103) • HOT FM 105 • HUM FM (106.2) • FM Sunrise, Freq=95 in Jhelum, Freq=96 in Sargodha, Sahiwal, Freq=97 in Islamabad - Entertainment channel with different programs for youth, children, woman and armed forces • ZabFM 106.6, SZABIST, launched the first educational radio, a non- commercial radio broadcast station, exclusively to impart and disseminate education to the students 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) • Apna Karachi 107, focused on Karachi, famous for live traffic and city updates • FM 94, dedicated English Music channel launched by Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation • Radio Buraq 104 FM, focused on Mansehra • Super FM 90 Bahawal Nagar, the only station in BahawalPur region • FM 90.6, Karachi University campus Radio Station • Shalimar FM 94.6, Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and Peshawar. This is being operated by Shalimar Recording and Broadcasting Company Islamabad. • FM 91.0, Dera Ismail Khan • FM 99.0, Dera Ismail Khan • FM 98.6, Lahore Chamber of Commerce Radio Station

Chapter 2 – FM RADIO PROGRAMMING FORMAT

GLANCE:

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) radio technology, F.M broadcasting in Pakistan, Major F.M Channels in Pakistan. The history of F.M broadcasting is briefly discussed to give an idea of origin, adoption and innovation of technologies in advancing the present concepts of F.M radio station. Most of the countries expanded their use of FM through the 1990s. Because it takes a large number of FM transmitting stations to cover a geographically large country, particularly where there are terrain difficulties, FM is more suited to local broadcasting than for national networks. In such countries, particularly where there are economic or infrastructural problems, "rolling out" a national FM broadcast network to reach the majority of the population can be a slow and expensive process.

F.M RADIO PROGRAMMING FORMAT

A radio format or programming format describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve. Music radio; Old Time Radio, All-news radio; Sports radio; Talk radio and Weather radio describe the operation of different genres of radio format and each format can often be sub-divided into many specialty formats.

How it works

The radio station provides programming to attract listeners, and profits by selling advertising. Young people are targeted by advertisers because their product preferences can be changed more easily. Therefore, the most commercially successful stations target young audiences.

The programming usually cycles from the least attractive item, to most attractive, followed by commercials. The purpose of this plan is to build listener interest during the programming.

Because dead air does not attract listeners, the station tries to fill its broadcast day with sound. Audiences will only tolerate a certain number of commercials before tuning away. In some regions, government regulators specify how many commercials can be played in a given hour.

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) Music is the main program item. There are several standard ways of selecting the music, such as free-form, top-40, album-oriented rock, and Jack. These can be applied to all types of music.

Jingles are radio's equivalent of neon signs. Jingles are brief, bright pieces of choral music that promote the station's call letters, frequency and sometimes disc-jockey or program segment. Jingles are produced for radio stations by commercial specialty services such as JAM, in Texas.

Jingles are often replaced by recorded voice-overs (called "stingers").

In order to build station loyalty, the station announces time, station call letters and frequency as often as six times per hour. Jingles and stingers help give the station a branded sound in a pleasant, minimal amount of airtime. The legal requirement for station identification in the U.S. is once per hour, approximately at the top of the hour, or at the conclusion of a transmission.

News, time-checks, real-time travel advice and weather reports are often valuable to listeners. The news headlines and station identification are therefore given just before a commercial. Time, traffic and weather are given just after. The engineer typically sets the station clocks to standard local time each day, by listening to WWV or WWVH.

These segments are less valued by the most targeted market, young people, so many stations shorten or omit these segments in favor of music.

While most music stations that offer news reports simply "tear and read" news items (from the newswires or the Internet), larger stations (generally those affiliated with news/talk stations) may employ an editor to rewrite headlines, and provide summaries of local news. Summaries fit more news in less air-time. Some stations share news collection with TV or newspapers in the same media conglomerate. An emerging trend is to use the radio station's web site to provide in-depth coverage of news and advertisers headlined on the air. Many stations contract with agencies such as Smartraveler and AccuWeather for their weather and traffic reports instead of using in-house staff.

Most radio stations maintain a call-in telephone line for promotions and gags, or to take record requests. DJs generally answer the phone and edit the call during music plays. Some stations take requests by e-mail and online chat.

The value of a station's advertising is set by the number, age and wealth of its listeners. Arbitron, a commercial statistical service, historically used listener diaries to statistically measure the number of listeners. Arbitron 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) diaries were collected on Thursdays, and for this reason, most radio stations have run special promotions on Thursdays, hoping to persuade last-minute Arbitron diarists to give them a larger market-share. Arbitron contractually prevents mention of its name on the air.

Promotions are the on-air equivalent of lotteries for listeners. Promotional budgets usually run about $1 per listener per year. In a large market, a successful radio station can pay a full time director of promotions, and run several lotteries per month of vacations, automobiles and other prizes. Lottery items are often bartered from advertisers, allowing both companies to charge full prices at wholesale costs. For example, cruising companies often have unused capacity, and when given the choice, prefer to pay their bills by bartering cruise vacations. Since the ship will sail in any case, bartered vacations cost the cruise company little or nothing. The promotion itself advertises the company providing the prize.

Programming by time

Most music stations have DJs that play music from a playlist determined by the program director, arranged by blocks of time. Though practices differ by region and format, what follows is a typical arrangement in a North American urban commercial radio station.

The first block of the day is the "morning drive time" block in the early morning. Arbitron defines this block between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., though it can begin as early as 5 a.m. (though usually not later than 6), and end as early as 9 a.m. or as late as 11 a.m. This block usually includes news bulletins and traffic and weather advisories for commuters, as well as light comedy from the morning DJ team (many shock jocks started as or still work on drive-time radio). Some stations emphasize music, and reduce gags and call-ins in this period.

The midday block (defined by Arbitron as 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., though often extended later to about 5 p.m.) is mostly music, and in many places is at least partially voicetracked from another market. For a period around noon a station may play nonstop music or go to an all-request format for people eating lunch. This block is often occupied by a "no-repeat workday;" stations that offer this feature usually target captive audiences such as retail workers, who have to listen to the station for long periods of time and can become irritated by repetition.

In the early evening, or "afternoon drive" (defined by Arbitron as 3 to 7 p.m.), the evening rush-hour programming resembles the midday programming, but adds traffic and weather advisories for commuters. Some stations insert a short snippet of stand-up comedy ("5 O'Clock Funnies")

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) around 5 o'clock when commuters leave work, or play specifically selected "car tunes" ideal for listening while driving.

The evening block (defined by Arbitron as 7 p.m. to midnight), if present, returns to music. Syndicated programs such as Tom Kent or Delilah are popular in this shift.

The overnight programming, from midnight to the beginning of drive time, is generally low-key music with quiet, if any, announcing. Some stations play documentaries or even infomercials, while some others play syndicated or voicetracked DJs. Complete automation, with no jock, is very common in this day part. It is not uncommon to play more adventurous selections during late night programming blocks, since late night is generally not considered significant for ratings, and are not subject to federal restrictions as stringently as during the daytime.

Weekends, especially Sundays, often carry different programming. The countdown show, ranking the top songs of the previous week, has been a staple of weekend radio programming since 1970; current hosts of countdown shows in various formats include Rick Dees, Ryan Seacrest, Jeff Foxworthy, Kix Brooks, Bob Kingsley, Crook & Chase, Randy Jackson, Walt Love, Al Gross, Dick Bartley, and (via reruns) Casey Kasem. Other types of weekend programming include niche programming, retrospective shows and world music such as the Putumayo World Music Hour. Stations may carry shows with different genres of music such as blues or jazz. Community affairs and religious programming is often on Sunday mornings, generally one of the least listened-to periods of the week. In addition, weekend evenings are particularly specialized; a dance station might have a sponsored dance party at a local club, or a classical station may play an opera. Saturday nights are also similar to this; request shows, both local and national (e.g. Dick Bartley), are very popular on Saturday night. The longest running radio program in the country, the Grand Ole Opry, has aired on Saturday night since its inception in 1925.

Many music stations in the United States perform news and timechecks only sparingly, preferring to put more music on the air. News is often restricted to the talk-heavy commuting hours, though weather updates are still very common throughout the day, even on these stations. ABC FM News is an example of an American news network that is designed for music radio stations. The BBC and ABC take a different approach, with all of its stations giving news updates (BBC 1xtra produces its own news segments under the name TX.)

Music radio Music radio is a radio format in which music is the main broadcast content. After television replaced old time radio's dramatic content, music formats 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) became dominant in many countries. Radio drama and comedy continue, often on public radio.

Music drives radio technology, including wide-band FM and modern digital radio systems such as Digital Radio Mondiale.

Commercial Radio

Commercial stations charge advertisers for the estimated number of listeners. The larger the audience, the higher the stations' rate card can be for commercial advertising.

Commercial stations program the format of the station to gain as large a slice of the demographic audience as possible.

A station's value is usually measured as a percentage of market share in a market of a certain size. The measurement in U.S. markets has historically been by Arbitron, a commercial statistical service that uses listener diaries. Arbitron diaries were historically collected on Thursdays, and for this reason, most radio stations have run special promotions on Thursdays, hoping to persuade last-minute Arbitron diarists to give them a larger market-share. Stations are contractually prohibited from mentioning Arbitron on the air.

Market share is not always a consideration, because not all radio stations are commercial. Public radio is funded by government and private donors. Since most public broadcasting operations don't have to make a profit, no commercials are necessary.

Also, satellite radio either charges subscribers or is operated by a public broadcasting service. Therefore, satellite radio rarely carries commercials or tries to raise money from donors. The lack of commercial interruptions in satellite radio is an important advantage. Often the only breaks in a satellite music station's programming are for station identification and DJ introductions.

Internet radio stations exist that follow all of these plans.

Much early commercial radio was completely freeform; this changed drastically with the payola scandals of the 1950s. As a result, DJs seldom have complete programming freedom. Occasionally a special situation or highly respected, long established personality is given such freedom. Most programming is done by the program director. Program directors may work for the station or at a central location run by a corporate network. The DJ's function is generally reduced to introducing and playing songs. Many stations target younger listeners, because advertisers believe that 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) advertising can change a younger person's product choice. Older people are thought to be less easy to change. Music radio has several possible arrangements. Originally, it had blocks of sponsored airtime that played music from a live orchestra. In the 1930s, phonograph records, especially the single, let a disc jockey introduce individual songs, or introduce blocks of songs. Since then, the program has been arranged so that commercials are followed by the content that is most valuable to the audience.

Programming is different for non-traditional broadcasting. The Jack FM format eliminates DJs entirely, as do many internet radio stations. The music is simply played. If it is announced, it is by RDS (for FM broadcast) or ID3 tags (for Internet broadcast). Satellite radio usually uses DJs, but their programming blocks are longer and not distinguished much by the time of day. In addition, receivers usually display song titles, so announcing them is not needed.

Internet and satellite broadcasting are not considered public media, so treaties and statutes concerning obscenity, transmission of ciphers and public order do not apply to those formats. So, satellite and internet radio are free to provide sexually explicit, coarse and political material. Typical providers include Playboy Radio, uncensored rap and hard rock stations, and "outlaw" country music stations.

The wide reach and selective, non-broadcast usage of the internet allows programmers access to special interest audiences. As a result, both mainstream and narrow-interest webcasts flourish; in particular, electronic music stations are much more common on the Internet than they are in satellite or broadcast media.

Music formats

Some well-known music-radio formats are Top 40, Freeform Rock and AOR (Album Oriented Rock). It turns out that most other stations (such as Rhythm & Blues) use a variation of one of these formats with a different playlist. The way stations advertise themselves is not standardized. Some critical interpretation is needed to recognize classic formulas in the midst of the commercial glitz.

Please note that there is a great deal of format evolution as music tastes and commercial conditions change. For example, the Beautiful music format that developed into today's Easy listening and Soft rock formats is nearly extinct due to a lack of interest from younger generations, whereas classic rock has become popular over the last 20 years or so. The are many different popular format in different countries, but rock music sells the most.

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) Standard Programming Genres of F.M Radio

Standard programming genres of F.M Radio Station may cover three types of programming i.e. Entertainment (That covers music, shows, drama, etc), Information (That covers news, weather forecast, traffic updates, current affairs, etc) and Education (That covers religious & devotional programs, cooking and health talk shows, etc). These programming types are known as broadcast genres. While music, magazine shows, drama, comedy, news, weather forecast, current affairs, cooking, talk shows, etc are commonly known as the programming genres.

Most popular broadcast and their respective programming genres are listed in table 2.6.1.

ENTERTAINMENT INFORMATION EDUCATION Music Advertisement Cooking Drama Program Promo Health Talk Show Morning Show Channel ID Religious show Award Show News Devotional show Road Show Weather Forecast Traffic Updates Market Updates Current Affairs Interviews Speeches Talk show

Table 2.6.1: Most popular broadcast & their respective programming genres

Most programming genres are supposed to be the end level to their categories while some can be further subdivided because of their more generic title. Music is one of the major programming genres which can be subdivided into subcategory levels because of its vital use in a F.M radio channel. Table 2.6.2 shows music genres in the following:

Music Genres Hamd-o-Naat National Anthem Classical Devotional Light Classical POP Folk Rock Ghazals Jazz Filmi Etc, Etc…

Table 2.6.2: Most popular music genres

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) Despite the genres specification, music can be categorized into many different ways. Some most common used categorization patterns by different local/ national channels are briefly explained in the following.

2.1 Audience based sorting

Audience based categorization technique is used by many traditional and some modern radio stations. We many times learnt while listening any station that caller asks for playing certain singer’s, poet’s or music composer’s compositions. This categorization pattern is commonly known as audience based sorting.

2.2Segment based sorting

Most commonly used categorization technique by many F.M Radio stations. The 24HRS transmission of a F.M station is simply divided into many different segments. These segments are time based. F.M stations select a specific type of songs to play in some specific segment of the day. While listening any F.M station we have observed many times those changing their playlist from new or filmi songs to oldies especially at 1200HRS midnight. This is known as segment based music sorting.

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) Most F.M stations use mix of both sorting techniques to compile a weekly programming schedule. Following chart shows different weekly segments.

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) Chapter 3 – INTRODUCTION OF THE ORGANIZATION

GLANCE:

Shalimar F.M Radio Network 94.6MHz focuses on entertainment broadcasting genre just like other popular F.M station in the region. The major source of income from F.M radio network is through advertisement. The Company enjoys sound financial health. It has paid unprecedented dividends of 6597% in the corporate history of Pakistan since its inception. Shalimar Recording & Broadcasting Company Limited is formal organization, administratively comes under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Its Board of Directors is the final decision making body having 8No’s of total members headed by a Chairman. Each member of the BOD is a representative of its major shareholders.

halimar Recording & Broadcasting Company Limited is a semi-private organization. It Sstarted its business in 1976 with the production of gramophone records and pre-recorded audio and video cassettes were further included in its business activity, having twenty TV stations in major cities of Pakistan till 2004. Its TV channel “ATV” is a well known privately operated television channel throughout the country. Administratively comes under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Pakistan.

Shalimar Recording & Broadcasting Company Limited (SRBCL) has intended to establish a radio channels network to strengthen its business equity and finally set up six F.M radio stations in major cities of Pakistan by the end of year 2009 with the channel ID of “Shalimar F.M Radio Network 94.6 MHz”.

3.1SHORT INTRODUCTION Incorporation: 1974 3 5

S.M S.M S.M S.M S.M Lahore Karachi Faisalabad Peshawar RTA Islamabad RTA RTA RTA RTA Multan Peshawar Islamabad Lahore Faisalabad Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) Founders: Rashid Latif Ansari Major Shareholders: PTV, PBC Registered Office: Plot 36, Sector H-9, Islamabad Offices: 20 TV Stations in major cities of Pakistan. Management: Company’s executives and board of directors.

3.2CORPORATE INFORMATION Shalimar Recording Company (SRC) was originally perceived and formed as a recording company in 1974 with an objective to protect the interest of the Artists, poets, composers and others who were being deprived of their legitimate earnings and with the aim to release the recordings on cassettes and other mediums, which were in the national interest but not viable from the commercial point of view. It started the business with recording and manufacturing of the gramophone records in 1976.

Shalimar Recording Company is proud to be the first national organization to launch the manufacturing of audio and video records and pre-recorded cassettes.

The job nature i.e. cassette assembly line and recording of cassettes on sophisticated electronic equipment best suited to the women work force. It opened a gateway of jobs on the women of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad who comprised about 70% of the total work force during the period 1976 to 1990.

In 1989 it created a wholly owned Peoples Television Network (Pvt) Limited which was later amalgamated with SRBC with the new name of "STN, now called ATV ". SRBC is a national broadcaster like PTV. Although it generates its fund through commercial activities but the prime task is to maintain such an environment in the field of electronic media that bests in the national interest.

The Company has 20 TV stations covering all major cities and commercial centres of Pakistan. The stations are located at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Daska, Multan, Bahawalpur, Larkana, Hyderabad ,Sukkur, Peshawar, Mangora, Qalat, Batkhail, Khuzdar, Thandyani, Sahiwal, Sibi, Quetta 3 5

S.M S.M S.M S.M S.M Lahore Karachi Faisalabad Peshawar RTA Islamabad RTA RTA RTA RTA Multan Peshawar Islamabad Lahore Faisalabad Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) and Tando Allahyar covering over 53% of the population. The ATV signal is also available on AsiaSat-3S, one of the most popular satellites available. The signal covers more than 56 countries in South-Asia, Middle-East, Europe and Australia regions.

As SRBC is a formal organization so each employee is given specific job descriptions and all procedures are clearly written. Each employee is well informed with the office practice and procedures and may be dealt seriously in Board of Director case of deviation from the implemented procedures. Managing SRBC has simple organizational structureDirector to fulfill its business requirements. The Organogram is divided into three major sections i.e. Administration & Director Director Director Director (A Director Personnel, Finance and Engineering divisions. Each division is headed by a Marketing Finance Engineering & P) Program Director. There are different departments working under each division. Each S.M S.M S.M S.M S.M S.Mdepartment is headed by a Controller or General Manager. Different Managers Lahore Karachi Multan Faisalabad Peshawar come under each General Manager. Each manager is responsible for a sectionRTA Islamabad RTA RTAand has clearRTA instructions aboutRTA his/ her scope of work. ManyRTA supervisors are Multan Peshawar Islamabadworking under Lahore managers havingKarachi staff to do a specific job. Faisalabad Following is the RT RT RT RT RT RTgraphical presentation of organization. Engineers Engineers Engineers Engineers Engineers Engineers 3.3ORGANOGRAM OF SHALIMAR F.M RADIO NETWORK 94.6MHz Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant Assistant

Admin & Personal 3 Finance Department Department 5

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3.4Problem Definition The client is required to build a centralized F.M playback software system in consonance with the 21st Century. 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) 3.5Scope of Project The company is required to build a centrally administered playback software system for its six F.M stations in different cities of Pakistan i.e. Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Peshawar and Faisalabad.

The software should cover all related programming genres along with duration and timesheet controls.

The software should generate appropriate reporting to higher management for daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis for transmission queue sheets and commercial reporting. 3.6Broad based Objective Mandate to provide access to the complete audio archive library by collecting, preserving, managing and automating usable audio material for smooth operations and future enhancements of the system by employing the innovation of technology.

The broad based objective brings out the fact that there are a number of different inventions for creating and running a F.M Radio broadcast.  Collecting materials imply that the material will have to be accounted for and collected from all Shalimar F.M Radio Stations i.e. Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Multan and Faisalabad.  Preserving material, which encompasses activities and functions designed to produce a suitable and safe environment to enhance the life of collections.  Managing the material in the archive library include a system of cataloguing.  Automating the material, implying some criteria as regards to fast and easy access of archive material to local as well as countrywide network of F.M Stations, through emerging technologies. 3.7Specific Objectives

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM)  The primary objective of this project is to get rid over traditional manual playlist formation and selection of programs and to automate the above work environment of Shalimar F.M Radio 94.6MHz network in the consonance with the 21st century.  The other objectives include VPN based work environment and  Prompt reporting to the program and marketing management.

3.8Feasibility Report – Financial REQUIREMENT OF I.T EQUIPMENT FOR SHALIMAR F.M RADIO 3 5 Version: 1.0

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CAPITAL EXPENDITURE PER STATION

S/No ESTIMATED . DESCRIPTION QUANTITY COST

01. TRANSMISSION SERVER 1 250,000

02. SERVER BACKUP COMPUTER 1 85,000

03. OFF-AIR RECORDING COMPUTER 1 85,000

04. STUDIO COMPUETR 1 85,000

05. PROGRAM PRODUCTION SUITES 2 140,000

06. AUDIO/ SONGS EDITING SUITES 2 140,000

07. NEWS EDITING SUITES 2 140,000

08. INTERNET SUITES 2 140,000

09. OPERATING SYSTEM FOR SERVER 1 130,000

10. NETWORKING EQUIPMENT - 50,000

11. INTERNET FACILITY (FIBER & DSL) - 65,000

12. AUDIO EDITING SOFTWARE LICENSE 60,000

13. AUDIO/ SOUND PROCESSOR 1 200,000

14. TELEPHONE WITH DELAY DEVICE 1 400,000

15. SERVER PLAYBACK SOFTWARE DEV.

16. CONTIGENCY @ 5% - 98,500

COST OF EQUIPMENT PER STATION 2,068,500 (Excluding Development of Transmission Playback Software)

COST OF EQUIPMENT FOR 6 STATIONS: (2,068,500 x 6) 12,411,000 (Excluding Development of Transmission Playback Software)

REQUIREMENT OF I.T STAFF FOR SHALIMAR F.M RADIO (Incase Full Fledge I.T Equipment Installed)

STAFF REQUIREMENT PER STATION 3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) S/No DESIGNATION NO. OF NO. OF TOTAL . STAFF PER SHIFTS STAFF SHIFT

01. SERVER ADMINISTRATOR 01 4 4

02. SOFTWARE OPERATOR 01 4 4

03. PROGRAM EDITORS 02 2 4

04. AUDIO EDITORS 02 2 4

05. NEWS EDITORS 02 2 4

06. I.T SUPPORT ENGINEER 02 2 4

TOTAL NO’s OF STAFF REQUIRED PER STATION 24

TOTAL NO’s OF STAFF REQUIRED FOR 6 STATIONS (24 x 6) = 144

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Chapter 4 – EXISTING SYSTEM ANALYSIS

GLANCE:

Customer Requirements

Customer is required to build a centralized playback software application to control the playback of their F.M transmission.

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) Existing System

Presently the following process is going on manual system.

1. Programming department is responsible for creation/ maintaining of playlists.

2. These playlists are distributed on all six stations through facsimile/ email.

3. Every station prepare programs queue list according to received playlists.

4. Recorded programs are selected manually by the each RJ/ Playback assistants.

5. No. Post-Transmission reports (Queue-Sheet Reports) are generated.

6. The only source for reporting transmission playback is the playlists for management that are insufficient for verification purpose of transmission playback.

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Daily Programming Schedule of F.M 94.6MHz

FPC Weekdays For The Month of September 2011 Tim Statio Monda Tuesd Wednesd Thursd Saturd e n Nature y ay ay ay Friday ay Sunday 0400 - Localiz Religious 0600 ed Transmision Tilawat,Naatan,Qawalian 0600 - Localiz 0700 ed Arfina Kalam Soft Arfina Kalam(Abida Perveen,Hamid Ali Bala ,Pathaney Khan etc) 0700 - Localiz 0800 ed B2B Music Morning B2B Music Slow and Soft 080 0- Kuch Yadian Kuch Baten 110 Netwo Live Fresh Morning with Yasir with 0 rk Show(Karachi) Qazi (KHI Studio) B2B Music RJ Muzaffar (KHI Studio) 1100 - Localiz 1200 ed B2B Music B2B Music 1200 - Localiz 1500 ed B2B Music Lunch Time B2B Music Jumaha Namaz Weekend B2B Chit Chat & Tea 1500 With - Localiz Komal Tariq (ISB 1600 ed B2B Music B2B Fast Music Studio) B2B Fast Music 160 0- 180 Netwo Live Chit Chat & Tea Time With 0 rk Show(Islamabad) RJ Komal Tariq (ISB studio) Long Drive With RJ Khokar 180 0- Live 200 Netwo Show(Lahore,Isla Music On Demand with Tale da thala Ba ka (Puthorie Show ISB 0 rk mabad) Rabia (LHR Studio) Studio)

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200 0- 220 Netwo Live Indus Junction with RJ 0 rk Show(Islamabad) Bhatti Show Live ( ISB Studio) Yasir (KHI Studio) 220 0- Kuch Yadian Kuch 000 Netwo Live Music Feaver with 94.6 RJ Baten with RJ Gup Shup With 94.6 Rj 0 rk Show(Lahore) Rizwan (LHR Studio) Muzaffar Tamoor (LHR Studio) 0000 - Networ 0200 k Live Show(Multan) Rakhte Shab Rj Shafqat Bukhari (MUL Studio) B2B Music 0200 - Localiz 0400 ed B2B Music Blast From the Past (Soft and Slow Songs)

Advantages of Existing System 1. All F.M stations staff is trained of the manual system.

2. Separate queue-sheet copies are available for each station to get verified from the Playlists.

3. Control of F.M transmission is distributed over six stations.

4. Each station is responsible for its own playback system/ Schedule.

5. Each station is responsible for its own programming staff and RJ’s, etc.

6. Each F.M station is responsible for its own transmission issues.

Disadvantages of Existing System 1. All F.M stations are running on traditional manual system.

2. Programming control is not centralized.

3. It is hard to manage decentralized network of six stations.

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) 4. Huge workforce is required on each station to control programs playback.

5. Manual preparation of queue- sheets.

6. Manual selection of program Cassettes/ CD’s/ Medium, etc.

7. Program CD’s/ Cassettes are not a reliable data source and many Cassettes/ CD’s run-out during program playback.

8. No. Post-Transmission reports (Queue-Sheet Reports) are generated.

9. The only source for reporting transmission playback is the playlists for management that are insufficient for verification purpose of transmission playback.

Issues & Problems

Client “Shalimar Radio F.M 94.6MHz” is facing many problems in its present process as manual program selection is very hard and time consuming work and the medium i.e. audio cassettes and CD’s are not a reliable data source while Data Storage Servers are more reliable and efficient and are easily available in the market on very low cost.

The other major problems may include deployment of higher staff strength on programs selection, broadcasting reports and lack of transmission playback verification process due to decentralized network infrastructure.

Main System Diagram

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Advertisement details/ playback timing/ duration are finalized by the marketing department. These advertisement details are sent to programming department.

Process Flow Diagram

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Each F.M station employees Playlist’s are created by the DJ’s/ RJ’s for their live programs programming department. broadcast and program After finalizing, the playlists assistants for recorded are sent to each F.M station playback of music and for playback. programs according to the given playlists. .

Programs are recorded on Multiple queue sheet tapes and CD’s for creating reports are generated for queue sheet reports and for the senior management for archive purpose. future business development plans.

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Chapter 5 – PROPOSED SYSTEM

GLANCE:

The company is required to build a centrally administered playback software system for its six F.M stations in different cities of Pakistan i.e. Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Peshawar and Faisalabad. An automated F.M playback system is introduced in the organization to overcome the issues and problems in the transmission environment of Shalimar F.M Radio 94.6MHz. Playlist transition over Virtual Private Network (VPN) is also proposed. VPN would be required on both intranet/ internet medium. Transmission Storage Server would also be required in the solution to support centralization of broadcasting network. Each station will be required to deploy computer systems for RJ’s and Off-Air Radio transmission storage in their local areas/ city.

Project Background

The Client “Shalimar F.M 94.6MHz” has commenced his operations in December 2009 in five major cities of Pakistan i.e. Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Multan. Afterward Faisalabad station is added to its network. The company is broadcasting its F.M transmission by using traditional manual program selection system as shown in above process flow diagrams and now is proposed and accepted to build a centralized F.M playback software system in consonance with the 21st Century.

Problem Statement

The client is required to build a centralized F.M playback software system in consonance with the 21st Century.

Scope of Project

3 5 Version: 1.0

Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) The company is required to build a centrally administered playback software system for its six F.M stations in different cities of Pakistan i.e. Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Multan, Peshawar and Faisalabad.

The software should cover all related programming genres along with duration and timesheet controls.

The software should generate appropriate reporting to higher management for daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis for transmission queue sheets and commercial reporting. This operation is called transmission logging.

Purpose

The purpose of this software project is the fulfillment of clients requirements described in the scope of project.

Objectives

The primary objective of this project is to get rid over traditional manual playlist formation and selection of programs and to automate the above work environment of Shalimar F.M Radio 94.6MHz network in the consonance with the 21st century.

The other objectives include VPN based work environment and

Prompt reporting to the program and marketing management. PROPOSED SYSTEM

Technical Solution

An automated F.M playback system is introduced in the organization to overcome the issues and problems in the transmission environment of Shalimar F.M Radio 94.6MHz. Playlist transition over Virtual Private Network (VPN) is also proposed. VPN would be required on both intranet/ internet medium. Transmission Storage Server would also be required in the solution to support centralization of broadcasting network. Each station will be

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) required to deploy computer systems for RJ’s and Off-Air Radio transmission storage in their local areas/ city.

The job of transmission assistant would be modified as transmission support engineer. Transmission Support Engineer will operate to maintain playlist records, maintaining queue sheets and to provide VPN/ network/ system support.

Programming department will have to finalize a comprehensive playlist at central F.M transmission server that would be updated on other respective stations without implying any human effort.

Proposed system will support multiple playlists. This feature can be used to maintain playlists in advance for future playback.

Time counter would be available during creation of playlists to control each programming segment.

Comprehensive programming report to different management levels would also be automated. Each daily, weekly, monthly and annual report would be generated with single clicks.

Multiple user/ group roles will be introduced in the proposed system to support multi-user processes environment.

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• access Digitized asset Any media • creation to/from: Any format • manipulatio Solution Architecture Any time n Any where • query Proposed System Process • distribution

Shalimar F.M VPN Radio 94.6MHz Headquarters Islamabad Programming Playlist Department Creation Islamabad Station Lahore Station

STORAGE/ Karachi Station DATABASE Marketing Multan Station Department SolutionSERVER Architecture Executive Peshawar Management APPLICATI Station ON SERVER Faisalabad Station

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Data Injest Providing into Commercials/ Server Advertisement for Playback

Project Requirements 5.4.1 Hardware Requirements

Storage Server Intel Xeon Multiprocessor 3.0GHz with 2terrabytes ofQueue-Sheets storage space, & multimedia computer systems for RJ’s playback at eachReporting station, Application Server Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz with 320Gigabyte of storage space, computer systems for Data Entry Operators (DEO’s), computer system for programming department (for creating playlists), VPN connection along with networking hardware.

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Complete list of required hardware is given earlier in Chapter 3 at 3.8 under Feasibility Report – Financial.

5.4.2 Software Requirements

5.4.2.1. Software Execution Requirement

Microsoft Windows XP 2008 MS Access 2010 Microsoft DSN Support Microsoft Internet Information Services 5.0 (IIS 5.0)

MS Internet Explorer 8.0+/ Mozilla Firefox 5.0+

5.4.2.2. Software Development Environment

Microsoft Windows XP 2008 MS Access 2003/ 2010 Microsoft DSN Support Microsoft Internet Information Services 5.0 (IIS 5.0)

MS Word 2003/ 2010

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0+/ Mozilla Firefox 5.0+

5.4.2.3. Technologies & Tools

MS Active Server Pages 3.0

MS Access Database

ADOBE Dreamweaver MX

ADOBE Photoshop CS

ADOBE Flash MX

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) 5.4.3 Timeline

Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Module (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Structure Design

Interface Design

Business Logic

Database Logic

Coding & Development

Reporting

Testing & Implementation

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) 5.4.4 ISO 9001:2008 Requirements

Documentation as per ISO 9001:2008

Project Coding as per guidelines provided by ISO 9001:2008.

Main System Diagram

Storing Audio files into server Storage Server Data Entry Operator Storing Audio files information into server Database

Program Creating Playlists Producer for future Playback Playlist Creation

Controlling Playback RJ/ DJ of Playlist (Live/ Playlist/ Program Playback Recorded)

Top Managemen Viewing multiple periodic reports t Queue Sheet Reports

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Advantages of Proposed System 1. Centralized control of programming schedule.

2. Prompt and efficient reporting to different management levels.

3. Unique user/ group privileges to operate in F.M transmission.

4. Less human resources required in F.M transmission.

5. Automated time counter during playlist creation.

6. Support of multiple playlist.

7. Support of playlist creation in advance.

8. Implementation of centralized storage environment.

9. Less effort required on the part of technical support.

10. Support in decision making.

Disadvantages of Proposed System

Centralized network solution would be more technical than the existing environment. The available staff of different stations will require training to perform efficiently in the new environment. The communication between different stations on VPN will be based on internet that is not a reliable medium due to its intermittent connectivity and low bandwidth available in Pakistan and or otherwise on Intranet that is little bit expensive.

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1. OSR - Problem Definition and scope of project

1.1 Purpose

Currently student submits hardcopy of filled application form to the college/university, office staff enters all data into excel file and write same in manual register. Issue hall ticket / admit card to student and conduct test for student. Student comes to college and gives test for the specified date. Office staff check all the paper calculate results and type all the details for taking printout and display it in college premises. College inform student to check the result, student comes to college and view the results.

Proposed online student registration system will eliminate all the manual intervention and increase the speed of whole process. System will allow student to fill the form online, system has inbuilt validation system to validate the entered data. After successful submission, system will give unique registration no for each student. Student can login into system by using registration no and give online test. System will show the result after instantly and stored the results for further use.

Today internet become reality and usage of internet become very much popular and there is tremendous increase of internet in all over the world for education purpose. The Online Student Registration System is easy to use, full-featured and flexible Student Registration, Testing and Assessment web portal.

This project report describes the software functional and nonfunctional requirements for release 1.0 of the Online Student Registration system. This document is intended to be used by the members of the project team that will implement and verify the correct functioning of the system. Unless otherwise noted, all requirements specified here is high priority and committed for release 1.0. 3 8 Version: 1.0

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1.3 Project Scope

The Online Student Registration System will permit to register and take online examination and maintaining master information and generating various reports of test. The main users of the project are Student or Member and system Administrator.

From an end-user perspective, the Online Student Registration System Project consists of following functional elements: enhanced student registration module, giving examination, manage password.

OSRS-1: Home – It is the default page for the site. All links are available in this page.

OSRS -2: Login – Student need to login to view his old test result information and to give new test.

OSRS -3: Register – New Student need to register to give examination. Type all the details of the student like email id, name, address, contact details, course name and submit. System generates unique user id for each student and. Students need this user id to login into

OSRS -4: My Page – It shows the details of currently logged student details, previously saved test results can be viewed here and other links like New Test, Logout, and Change Password.

OSRS -5: Change Password – Student can change his password from this link. Student must type his old password to change the password with new password.

OSRS -6: Logout – By clicking this link user logged out from this site all user session reset to default value.

OSRS -7: Test – It display the test page, system randomly select questions from question bank and display one by one to the student. Student navigate the questions and select the right answer from available options, after complete the examination system display the results instantly and save the test details in system for future reference.

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM) Both of these areas of functionality will be delivered as the first version of the online student registration system is released. Functionality is described in more detail later in this document.

1.4 Technologies

1.4.1 Operating Environment

OE-1: The online student registration system web application will operate with the following Web Browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0, 6.0. 7.0

OE-2: The online student registration system web application shall operate on a server running the latest versions of IIS (Internet Information Server).

OE-3: The online student registration system web application shall permit user access from Internet connection

OE-4: Operating System: Windows 2000. XP

OE-5: Software requirements: MS Access, ASP.

OE-6: Languages used ASP Script and scripting is done using JavaScript.

OE-7: Hardware Requirements: 256(minimum)/512(recommended) MB RAM

OE-8: Hard disc- nGB depending upon the requirement to store data minimum of 25GB.

1.4.2 Deployment Environment

DE-1: Database Server

OS – Win 2003 Enterprise Server

SQL Server 2005

HDD – Min 10 GB, Recommended 25 GB

RAM – Min 2 GB, Recommended 4 GB

Processor - Pentium Dual Xenon Processor

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OS – Win 2003 Enterprise Server

IIS – Internet Information Server

HDD – Min 5 GB, Recommended 10 GB

RAM – Min 2 GB, Recommended 4 GB Recommended 4 GB Recommended 4 GB Recommended 4 GB Recommended 4 GB

Processor - Pentium Dual Xenon Processor

DE-3: The online student registration system web application will operate with the following Web Browsers: Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0, 6.0. 7.0.

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Data Flow Diagram (DFD):

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Process Flow Diagram:

User Authentication Module

Top Data Entry Program Managemen Operator Producers RJ/ DJ t

Interface 1.1 Interface 2.1 Interface 3.1 Interface 4.1

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Approval Solicitation

The above proposal is prepared and submitted for purely educational purpose and not meant for any commercial/ business sale. The organization selected as case study is in the business of electronic media & broadcasting industry. The purpose of developing above project is clearly expressed to the organization and the client is willing to develop the software application to give us the opportunity for smoothing his operation of Shalimar F.M Radio 94.6MHz network.

It is, therefore, required to solicit the approval of project sanctioning authority. So we could start working on the project as proposed above.

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Project Thesis Report – MBA (I.T) Date: 2011-10 (YYYY-MM)

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