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PARIS — RAmiaudio has been developing its digital MPX solution for more than two years. It has dedicated extensive research to developing the resulting products, which aim to offer the highest quality and efficiency to broadcast professionals in France and beyond, the company says. Digital MPX currently helps M6 Group’s RTL, RTL2 and FUN Radio stations to manage their sound nationally with consistent quality and technical ease.
Developing the digital MPX solution
“We have been dedicated to the broadcasting sector for 35 years. Four people drive technical project developments within our SME company. We either work to order or via our catalog,” says Simon Bonnenfant, RAmiaudio’s technical director.
“We had checked the technical feasibility of the digital MPX solution, and after M6’s first order, we started creating a complete digital MPX range with specific components. We produced an initial batch of 25 units by September 2023 and then started producing around 50 units. Our complete digital MPX range now includes 10 devices, including monitors, demodulators, distributors and autofaders; a combination that brings radio stations undeniable convenience,” says Bonnenfant.
RAmiaudio/RTL preparatory work
Bonnenfant and Frédie Fricot, head of RTL’s broadcast networks, started working on the project six months before the 2020 pandemic crisis. After the lockdown, the shortage of components delayed product development.
“After more than a year dedicated to internally developing the digital MPX, we found the solution and carefully selected the components to achieve the most accurate input and output signal. Our teams were trained to ensure the most efficient card routing, ensuring the utmost input and output signal quality,” specifies Bonnenfant.
“M6 and RAmiaudio worked together, fully dedicated to achieving the best sending and output signal. Thanks to the engineering created by RAmiaudio, the two superposed audio curves are identical,” Fricot proudly says.
RAmiaudio digital MPX tool
“RAmiaudio was a pioneer,” adds Fricot, “Encompassing all the usual broadcast tools within a digital MPX makes it possible to eliminate sound processing devices at the broadcast sites.” The project was initiated to meet M6 Group’s specific demands to avoid exceeding the FM standard in each broadcasting location for RTL, RTL2 or FUN Radio and reduce network consumption and maintenance, with around 800 transmitters and 800 sound processors. M6 Group’s goal and challenge was to have only one device in Paris instead of one per location.
“Up to now, for satellite transmission, we used the current synchronizing and switching tools for local and national programs and had to adapt all these tools for new digital MPX technology. RAmiaudio’s technicians were the only ones to find this accurate solution, which is similar to expert watchmaking,” says Fricot.
Many benefits for RTL’s sound
M6 Group appreciates the digital MPX, accurately complying with FM standards — French stations have to respect the 75 kHz excursion in the FM band. Fricot explains, “We worked extensively with RAmiaudio to deliver a fully reliable solution to control the input and output signal. Because we are close to Europe 1’s frequency, we must ensure we neither overlap nor disrupt its sound.”
M6’s other requirement was to get the same sound processing across all its broadcast footprints within multiple cities and tuned differently by subcontractors. RAmiaudio’s digital MPX solution offers the same sound everywhere. “This digital MPX system also allows us to update the sound instantly throughout our network, whereas previously, it took us six months every four or five years! Furthermore, we can now adopt a sound profile dedicated to each broadcast, and the audio is now uniform across all our transmitters. This innovation is a major development for radio stations,” explains Fricot. “As a French manufacturer, RAmiaudio is happy to contribute to developing this promising technology for the future of radio and the FM band,” adds Bonnenfant.
Implementation and benefits
Once the digital MPX technology was adopted, the second phase was switching locally to digital MPX on the RTL2 and FUN Radio networks. “This implied mixing the local and national sounds, replacing the existing left-right switching, mixing, analog-digital conversion, and vice-versa, backup functions into digital MPX, and converting the MPX into left-right for local listening and the mixing desk,” explains Fricot.
This technology dramatically simplifies the maintenance of a radio network, whether at regional or national levels. Previously, sound processing on-site required sending a local team locally in case of a breakdown. “With the MPX technology, everything is now located within the studio, from where the final sound is sent to the transmitter, so it’s possible to benefit from technical support immediately in case of a technical failure,” adds Fricot.
M6 has installed and finalized all the satellite outputs for RTL, RTL2 and Fun Radio. By the end of May, devices had been installed on 800 sites. The group will deploy this technology throughout France. The monitoring created by RAmiaudio allows automatic switching between the primary and backup equipment without any disturbance for listeners.
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