BSI Op-X Is a Hit with Atlanta Fan by Rob Jenners

International Edition Reprinted from october 2011

The News Source for Radio Managers and Engineers www.radioworld.com BSI Op-X Is a Hit With Atlanta Fan By Rob Jenners

ATLANTA — The plan was to combine Dickey Broadcasting Co.’s three sports stations into a single facility with Cumulus Media Atlanta’s six stations. ◗userreport

We had seven months to plan, budget, design, purchase, receive, install, reconfig- ure and move the studios, programming, sales, traffic and business offices, but the A array of monitors atop the console help control programs at WCNN(AM), The Fan. implementation was only made possible by teamwork. the control room for the 680 The Fan talk to the server. These processes are much studio. We installed WheatNet IP Blades faster than systems that require “real-time” PLANNING in two of the production rooms and three dubs or bulky file conversion. After considering several floor plans for Blades in the Technical Operations Center. The Op-X Clock Builder is far more the consolidation, it was decided we were This IP audio network allows any of the intuitive than other comparable automation needed to construct one additional talk three Dickey Broadcasting stations to be programs and allows simple build-out and studio and to remodel five other studios to on the air from any of these three studios management of hourly clocks. For stations make it work. or, just run in the box out of TOC with that use automation, satellite shows can be The only way we could accomplish this ESPN or Fox Sports programming and built in the Clock Builder tool to manage was to have multipurpose studios. During Op-X. WheatNet-IP together with Op-X is a closures and relays from a network satellite the morning, most of the studios are used powerful solution for satellite-programmed receiver. for morning show production. In the late stations. This allows even complicated talk-for- morning, some of these studios change From a production standpoint, Op-X mat stations (like news or sports talk) to to commercial production, imaging and allows a much easier method of transferring switch between satellites while in automa- voice-tracking. In the evening, studios files to the server and building clocks for tion without the need for a board operator. could change to pregame or network stu- live and automated programming. The Op-X Import/Merge program allows dios for Atlanta Braves baseball, Atlanta The Op-X File Manager allows you to a quick, simple way to import commercial Thrashers hockey and/or Atlanta Hawks manage WAV files on your local PC and and music logs onto the Op-X fileserver. If basketball on one or all of the three Dickey spots on the fileserver at the same time. your station’s clocks match the traffic man- sports signals. Locally, you can assign spot titles, ISCI ager’s export file, your entire day is pushed Key to making this work was the installa- codes (if needed for commercial inventory), onto the server in just seconds. You also can tion of WheatNet-IP audio networking and set beginning and ending dates and times edit and modify the log once it is merged to Broadcast Software International’s Op-X and set segue tones. the fileserver. radio automation system. On the fileserver, you can edit the title We needed to repurpose Harris Pacific and dates of any audio file without having to Rob Jenners is production director for Research & Engineering RMX Radiomixers transfer it back to the local PC. You also can WCNN(AM) in Atlanta. from our old location. We were able to transfer large groups of files simultaneously For information, contact Marie Summers install a new Wheatstone Evolution 6 and assign audio directly into a designated at BSI in Oregon at telephone: +1-541- console with three WheatNet IP Blades in rotator (or “cart”) when files are transferred 338-8588, or visit www.bsiusa.com.