The French network 100% Radio, which broadcasts a contemporary hits format with regionally focused content, operates 16 separate program feeds across 50 FM frequencies and 16 DAB+ frequencies, according to its website.
As the network expanded, challenges mounted as it tried to scale efficiently with hardware-heavy infrastructure. Each feed required dedicated audio processors at multiple locations. The network said it became harder to guarantee consistent audio quality across its locations.
Seeking a more agile and centralized approach, 100% Radio identified WorldCast Systems to adopt a virtualized MPX over IP transport from the studio to its multiple transmitter sites.
Now, the network said it uses a software-defined architecture powered by APT IP codecs and APTmpX technology.
Audio processing for each feed is handled in the 100% Radio studio using Omnia.9 software processors. Their MPX outputs are routed directly to the virtual APT IP codec in a containerized environment.
The virtual codecs perform MPX compression and transport using APTmpX. The three-format approach this offers allows sound integrity while reducing bandwidth usage at each site.
The network said it uses several kinds of transmitters. For legacy models, the MPX over IP stream is decoded by an APT Silver Decoder with a BNC output to feed the existing transmitter via analog MPX.
It has also transitioned several of its sites to WorldCast Systems Ecreso FM AiO Series, in which the APT IP decoder is already built-in as software.
Any packet loss, 100% Radio said, has been effectively mitigated by enabling APT SureStream’s built-in redundancy. It said that even with a single IP path, reliability improved significantly. It also cited the resilience within the APTmpX algorithm.
The setup is monitored through Kybio, WorldCast’s vendor-agnostic platform. As the French network looks to continue to expand throughout the country, it believes it has both simplified its infrastructure and future-proofed its operations without sacrificing quality.
