GatesAir will showcase new low-power FM and DAB radio solutions from its two flagship transmission product brands at IBC2023 that align with global radio broadcast trends. Highlights include an expansion of the award-winning Flexiva GX transmitter series to serve more low-to-medium FM power levels and the European debut of an ultra-compact, second-generation Maxiva family of DAB/DAB+ Radio transmission solutions to support a higher density of digital radio services in a single chassis.
“Working with broadcasters and partners worldwide continually brings new perspectives to our product development teams about evolving customer needs, which makes IBC an ideal launchpad for bringing our latest transmission solutions to global audiences,” said Ted Lantz, vice president of product line management for GatesAir. “Our new FM and DAB Radio solutions carry the core space and cost-reduction benefits of our Flexiva and Maxiva transmission solutions into the next generation, with some new innovations that further raise the bar for operational efficiency.”
Low-power FM
GatesAir’s Flexiva brand has become synonymous with both analog FM and digital radio transmission. At IBC, visitors to the GatesAir stand will see an extension of the pure analog Flexiva GX family unveiled last year. Introduced in 5 kW and 10 kW versions, GatesAir added 50 W and 1 kW models at this year’s NAB Show, bringing the benefits of Flexiva GX transmitters to low-power broadcasters. New for IBC this year, GatesAir will introduce a new 3.5 kW model to bridge the gap between its low and medium-power Flexiva GX solutions.
Flexiva GX provides radio customers with a strong power-to-size ratio for all five power levels by leveraging the latest LDMOS technology, packing exceptional power density into a compact chassis with overall efficiency ratings up to 76%. The engineering breakthroughs in power density, efficiency and footprint are made possible through the Flexiva GX’s design, enhanced by GatesAir’s third-generation PowerSmart high-efficiency transmitter architecture. Flexiva GX transmitters also support N+1 configurations, enabling large national network operators to build very flexible and consolidated transmission sites that meet stringent uptime requirements.
Options include GPS receivers for SFN support and GatesAir’s Intraplex IP Link 100e module. The latter integrates within Flexiva GX transmitters, enabling direct receipt of contributed FM content instead of requiring an external codec. This further reduces rack space requirements inside RF facilities with limited open real estate.
DAB radio networks
GatesAir has expanded the Maxiva brand unveiled nearly 20 years ago to bring high-efficiency solutions to DAB radio broadcasters. Chief among these solutions is the Maxiva MultiD Series of multichannel DAB/DAB+ radio transmitters; the second generation receives its European debut at IBC2023.
The GatesAir Europe engineering team first developed the MultiD series to reduce per-site multichannel DAB broadcasting costs and infrastructure. The latest MultiD system design serves four independent DAB/DAB+ channels within a single 1RU chassis instead of requiring a separate transmitter for each channel plus an external combiner and auxiliary hardware.
The new MultiD system also increases flexibility for broadcasters by making it possible to broadcast four independent DAB radio services across different channel frequencies. Power output per channel can also now be built to each customer’s specifications, allowing broadcasters to establish unique power levels for each service. With such power output flexibility, MultiD systems are now configurable to serve virtually any combination of power levels for up to four DAB services. The ability to divide system capacity is also useful for MultiD systems that share different tenants – a common occurrence in road tunnels where broadcasters can effectively consolidate resources to ensure consistent coverage of their most important broadcasts.
The company will separately announce two new Intraplex audio over IP solutions closer to the show, demonstrating its continued strengths in developing codecs and services for a broader diversity of networking applications.
GatesAir exhibits at Stand 8.C82 at IBC2023.