The NRSC hopes soon to complete its procedural review of revised AM standards and guidelines and release the documents and two additional guidelines on its Web site.
That could happen as soon as next week, I’m told.
The group recently streamlined and updated the AM transmission standards to incorporate IBOC information. It revised NRSC-1 (AM preemphasis/deemphasis and broadcast audio bandwidth specifications) and NRSC-2 (emission limitation for AM broadcast transmission). It deleted NRSC-3 (audio bandwidth and distortion recommendations for AM broadcast receivers) and moved the receiver response curves, the most relevant portion of the standard, into NRSC-1.
Guidelines for AM transmission bandwidth and to make RDS and IBOC Program Service Data displays relate to each other during the receiver analog-digital “blending” process will also be released.
But the work is not over.
NRSC members are revising the IBOC standard (again) to account for technology updates like conditional access; and they are also working on a standard measurement guideline for HD Radio. The group working on NRSC-5-B, the IBOC standard, hopes to be done by year-end.
Why is the standard measurement guideline for IBOC needed? NRSC Chairman Milford Smith tells me, “It would be good to have a standard set of procedures, so everyone is measuring the same thing in the same way.” Its Web site is www.nrscstandards.org.
Tell me what you think about the NRSC’s current work, write to me at [email protected].
