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Introduction to our Partners!

To a large extent this NewsLetter is dedicated to a number of our partners. These are companies with whom we co-operate closely in one way or the other. It could be that we are their partner because we are distributor of their products, or because together we see an opportunity to develop a new product. And then, of course, there is another kind of partner who represents us in his own country and does the sales and support of our products. In this Newsletter we have selected a few partners whom we would like to introduce to you.

TIELINE: You/Com’s partner for POTS/ISDN reporter codecs

The company Tieline, with its roots in Australia, is market leader in the field of POTS codecs. The unique coding technology developed by this company allows live contributions sent over analogue lines to sound absolutely perfect. In a number of European countries ISDN has expanded enormously. And yet, it would seem that thanks to the arrival of (A)DSL the growth of ISDN has stagnated, even world wide, and has resulted in the fact that the number of analogue telephone lines (POTS) still outnumber ISDN connections. On the other hand the need for up-to-the-minute live reports is ever increasing. Tieline has the perfect answer to this need. They supply reporter codecs, which can transmit 15 kHz audio quality both over ISDN as well as over analogue telephone lines. Their product portfolio consists of a few models: the Patriot (POTS only), Commander (ISDN and POTS) and the i-Mix (ISDN, POTS and 5 channel mixer). You/Com has been appointed by Tieline as partner of their communication products and is responsible for the distribution and support of this product line in a number of European countries. More information can be found on www.tieline.com.

HEADROOM, partner for the audio to DVB convertor: the XTS

The managing director of Headroom Broadcast, Klaus Feige, can be found in Berlin. During his entire career he has been working in the field of communication technology. At first with Wandel & Goltermann, then with Krone, and later with RE Technology of Denmark. In 1992 Klaus started his own company specialising in telecommunication systems particularly for the broadcast industry. See www.headroom.de. One of their products is an ASI multiplexer, which was the start of the co-operation between our companies following a remark from Belgacom “whether You/Com had a codec with an ASI interface”. The question led to the development of the XTS, a converter of MPEG audio to DVB/ASI. A unique product, which considering the interest being shown in it presently, certainly fulfills a need. The direct conversion of digital MPEG audio signals into a TS signal saves an additional codec, because the output of the XTS can be connected directly to the ASI interface of the DVB multiplexer. As cascading is avoided, this also results in greatly improved sound quality. Recently elaborate operational tests have been done and the XTS is now available. Quite a number of questions from the market has encouraged us to pursue the further development of a multi-channel system, MXTS. The MXTS can be deployed when there is a need to code audio signals locally as well as to feed audio signals that have already been coded, for example because they have been delivered in MPEG format via a digital connection. The MXTS can (pre-)multiplex both kinds of signals into a single TS signal, which is routed to the DVB multiplexer via an ASI interface. In this way up to 100 audio channels can be connected to a single ASI slot.

Christmas gift for RANO in Utrecht

This year we have once again opted to give a hospital radio station, namely RANO in Utrecht, a Christmas gift. The work of the many volunteers, who bring a note of amusement in their radio programmes to the sick every week, is particularly important at this time of the year. Despite the enormous appreciation for the work that these volunteers of hospital radio do, it is always a challenge to scrape together some funds to buy equipment. We know that the gift, a ReporterMate, is a dream come true to enable the reporters to do live reports from within the hospital itself or from another location.

ARD order for conference systems

At the beginning of December You/Com signed a contract with ARD for the supply and delivery of two conference systems for the ARD Sternpunkt in Frankfurt. It is about the replacement of existing systems which make use of fixed lines by modern systems using switched connections. The project concerns the communication between the radio and television switching and master control rooms of all the regional radio stations in Germany i.e. WDR, MDR, RBB, RB, SR, SWR, BR, HR, DLF and DW and the central exchange (Sternpunkt) in Frankfurt. The project encompasses a large number of StudioSets, special ISDN terminal adapters and a management system which greatly automates the setting-up of connections. One of the functions of the management system is to supervise these connections. At the same time it also checks whether all these connections are going through the ARD Corporate Network, because if not enough throughput capacity is available, then they are temporarily routed over the public switched network, which results in extra costs. In general, the re-routing of these connections is executed automatically. Furthermore, safety measures have been installed in the decentral equipment to ensure that unauthorised access to the system is prevented. This is based on “whitelisting”. We expect to have realised this project by the end of the first quarter of 2004.

StudioSet with Line Handling System for NRK

On a previous occasion we have already mentioned to you that RTV Noord-Holland (Amsterdam) has ordered StudioSets and a large Line Handling System to operate 16 telephone lines. Via our partner Soundware in Norway, NRK now also has ordered 2 large systems for its subsidiaries in Oslo and Frederikstadt. More broadcast stations recognise that our StudioSets in combination with the Line Handling System offer a number of applications which are lacking in “normal” telephone hybrids.

Did you know that...

• the PR departments of the Rabobank, University of Tilburg and the Provincial Offices of Leeuwarden have invested in a SET2?
• that ZDF/DLR in Cologne, the Saarländischer Rundfunk in Saarbrücken and the regional radio stations of Gelderland and Brabant have also acquired these smart ISDN reporter codecs?
• our direct mail campaign for the RS-110 and RS-130 GSM reporter interfaces have had an unusually high response?
• the most interest is being shown in the Bluetooth dongle?
• the audio to DVB converter, XTS, also supports APT-X?
• the XTS will also have a version which will convert Digital Dolby encoded 5.1 audio programmes to TS/ASI?
• the switching centre of NOB Cross Media Facilities has recently been equipped with Tieline equipment to accept Tieline POTS signals?
• a few more radio stations in Holland have decided to purchase POTS codecs now that this facility is available in Hilversum?
• more radio stations are discovering the comfort of Tieline POTS/ISDN codecs for their foreign correspondents?
• IGP in Naarden (Holland) can now offer cheaper audio connections via satellite, making use of audio-over-IP traffic?
• IGP use the CCS (MusicamUSA) NetStar in multicast mode?
• Veronica/Yorin also use NetStars for their programmes coming from outside the studio?
• Hecom’s reporter transmitter, the Diport, is fully compatible with the Sennheiser SER20 and comes at an attractive price?
• Hecom has developed a wireless (UHF) point-to-point system for the transmission of 4 audio or data channels which has no delay?