Getting an audio signal into another building

[PSi]

we have been asked to find out the most economical way of installing a small pa in a few different areas around a school. the main signal will come from the radio studio and will need to go to the PA in other areas (quite a long way as its a big school).

 

does any one know of any ways to do this with out having to use endless amounts of cable. e.g are there any good value products that work in a similar way to a radio mic but has a transmitter in place of the mic to transmit the audio signals. keeping in mind the distance from point to point is fairly far.

 

thanks.

[mervaka]

have you considered streaming the audio? if its not time critical or relies on high quality, you could send a multicast stream over your network (assuming you have one)

[PSi]

this could be an option don't think I know enough about it though to offer it. plus the quality needs to be fairly good.

 

how easy would it be and do you know where I can learn more about it.

 

anny other options?

[J Pearce]

VLC media player will do all you need to stream and receive audio at a decent resolution across a network (I use it to stream from my pc to the server in the lounge ;) )

 

If you're in a school speak to your network techs about this as they may have ports locked down, also they may be able to help you.

[foh_al]

I can't think of any 'traditional' wireless solutions that would be suitable for high-quality audio over a distance.

 

Ethernet was my immediate thought, and there are really two ways you can go about this:

 

1) A professional system, based around EtherSound for example. This would be easy, but expensive. (The Digigram ES8in transmitter, for example, is about £1500 inc. VAT, and you'd need one of these plus, for each location to be covered, an ES8out at about the same price.)

 

2) A 'hacked-together' system using standard PCs to perform the function of transmitter and receivers. In that case, you could use Shoutcast on your 'transmitter' (capable of very high quality MP3 streaming), and any streaming-MP3-compatible music player such as Winamp or ?Windows Media Player? on the receivers. I've used this method for individual gigs before (one venue I worked at had an upstairs 'gallery' with windows separating it from the main hall, so I used Wi-Fi and a small PA system upstairs where cables couldn't go to restore the lost highs). It worked perfectly well for the duration of the gig, but I'm not sure what reliability would be like if you're intending to leave it running for very long periods of time.

 

If necessary, you'd be able to use Wi-Fi wireless Ethernet bridges to get the signal somewhere cables don't go.

 

Good luck!

 

Edit: On second thoughts, VLC is probably easier to deal with than Shoutcast. Good idea Jon.

[mervaka]

the other problem with ethersound is that while it can use the existing ethernet infrastructure, its doesnt run on quite the same packet switching principles, so cannot coexist with the same hardware. at best you could just tee off the downstream signal using a simple hub.

 

as J Pearce has already mentioned VLC is a great way of doing this. its UDP based streaming is pretty good, and best of all, the program is free! the only downside is that you would need a PC set up at every entry and exit point in the network. I highly recommend this as the best way forward though, as there's little risk in investing into a dead end.

[foh_al]

its doesnt run on quite the same packet switching principles, so cannot coexist with the same hardware.

 

True. I didn't consider this in my reply. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

Edit: Double post.

[Andrew C]

If you are talking of distributing the output of the radio station....

 

Why not use a receiver in each satellite building to feed the PA? Or is that just too easy?

[benweblight]

Hmm, the OP does say 'studio' rather than a station with a license etc., I'm guessing this is merely for educational purposes without actual broadcasting capability....if not surely the OP would have thought of this already?

[Shez]

keeping in mind the distance from point to point is fairly far.

 

How far is "fairly far"?

[Andrew C]

Hmm, the OP does say 'studio' rather than a station with a license etc.,

Ahh... So he does... ;)

 

Still, it may be the best way.

[stu00c]

its doesnt run on quite the same packet switching principles, so cannot coexist with the same hardware.

 

True. I didn't consider this in my reply. Thanks for pointing it out.

 

Edit: Double post.

 

The reason EtherSound can't operate on the majority of existing Ethernet infrastructure is not really to do with EtherSound not using the same packet switching principles as Ethernet, but a bandwidth issue.

 

EtherSound 100 (the original EtherSound protocol) requires the full bandwidth of a 100BASE-TX network to operate. EtherSound will happily operate on its own dedicated network using standard Ethernet switches and other hardware.

 

EtherSound can also work on a vLAN using the existing Ethernet infrastructure in place in a building.

 

Anyway, EtherSound will be quite an expensive option, even if you can utilise a vLAN on the existing network.

 

Other options could be to use products from Barix www.barix.com if you want to go down the network route or, this may sound incredibly old fashioned - a 100V line speaker system.

 

That's my two penneth.

[mervaka]

I think some of us may be trying suggest using a sledgehammer to crack a nut here. from what I gather he only needs a stereo signal of a "fairly good" quality, not 64 channels of uncompressed, time critical PCM audio signals. I could be wrong though.

 

could I ask what budget it is, anyway? while I gather you want to go down the most economic route, this could still cover quite a large range of values ;)

[PSi]

VLC media player will do all you need to stream and receive audio at a decent resolution across a network (I use it to stream from my pc to the server in the lounge ;) ) If you're in a school speak to your network techs about this as they may have ports locked down, also they may be able to help you.

thanks for all the info off everone,I think the best thing to do wil to use the vlc media player. how easy is it to set up as I'm not to clued up on networks.they do have a few screens around the school in the areas they want the PA all linked to the network playing videos and showing info, does anyone think that I might be able to run a live audio signal with the video and use the outputs from the screens to run active speaker. I suppose this all depends on what software they use to send the video.

I think some of us may be trying suggest using a sledgehammer to crack a nut here. from what I gather he only needs a stereo signal of a "fairly good" quality, not 64 channels of uncompressed, time critical PCM audio signals. I could be wrong though.could I ask what budget it is, anyway? while I gather you want to go down the most economic route, this could still cover quite a large range of values :)

I don't know their budget yet around 1000 probably may be a bit more.

[J Pearce]

The VLC method needs only computers and some pc speakers, things that most schools have or can get very cheaply.

No complicated or expensive hardware to get stolen or broken, and it should be fixable by the inhouse IT techs. One stereo line won't trouble the network much.

 

I really don't see the need for ethersound or a small collection of IEM/radio mic receivers/txs.

 

Paul's suggestion of AM/FM radio is the next best solution IMHO, though we're getting into expensive equipment and licenses.

 

The uni radio station at derby went across to internet streaming when it restarted last year, having previously used AM, and it's cheaper (even taking into account renting server space and bandwidth), simpler and easier to fix.

 

[edit]

 

You beat me to replying...

 

VLC will stream video from a file or capture card as well as audio, so thats all doable. Its simple enough to set up a stream, read the instructions a few times and have a play.