EAS At The Edge℠ Modernizes Emergency Alert Workflows
LAS VEGAS, NAB Show — April 14, 2024 — Digital Alert Systems, Telos Alliance, and Nautel have joined forces to reimagine EAS alerting for radio’s increasingly virtual, IP-driven world. This fresh approach, called EAS At The Edge℠, will be demonstrated at the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas.
Unlike legacy EAS implementations that have gone unchanged since the 1990s, EAS At The Edge brings the emergency alert process into the interconnected AoIP world by leveraging modern IP-based content distribution and control to route alerts precisely to their required destinations.
Traditional EAS deployments dAepend upon cascading layers of hardware and multiple boxes — often one per transmitter, even when serving combined transmission sites in a single market. EAS At The Edge replaces stand-alone hardware centricity with an intelligent, one-to-many approach that places critical hardware at the edges of the air chain. Utilizing IP-based content distribution to control and insert emergency messages via the Livewire® AoIP protocol, EAS data can be geo-targeted for precise alert routing, with a single input node shared for insertion to multiple streams, resulting in significant cost savings through a streamlined, forward-thinking approach.
How It WorksThe EAS At The Edge concept is quite simple: EAS inputs are decoded and filtered at the closest possible point of reception. Forwarded messages are then encapsulated in an IP format containing audio, control, and alert metadata using Digital Alert Systems’ EAS-Net™ protocol to enable RDS alert text display and additional alert details. This information package is passed directly through the station’s IP network to the target device or devices on the opposite “edge” of the network — essentially, the last device in the air chain. Using this model, a broadcaster can geo-target EAS alerts to ensure they are correctly routed.
This efficient, easy-to-maintain, one-to-many distribution model provides both practical benefits and preserves critical public safety functions. The flexible nature of IP-based systems ensures that EAS At The Edge complies with current regulations and can address future FCC regulations as they evolve.
Similar edge-to-edge systems have been successfully deployed in video environments for years; applying this model to radio as well will cover even more broadcast use cases. With virtualized EAS device monitoring and compliance reporting leveraging the power of software-based air chains, content distributors can now provide critical local emergency information to their listeners with less hardware and expense.
Demonstrations at the 2024 NAB Show Two demonstrations of EAS At The Edge are showcased at the 2024 NAB Show. In booth W3920, Digital Alert Systems is showing a DASDEC™ emergency messaging platform networked to an Omnia.9 audio processor, which is typically the last step in the air chain before the transmitter. During an alert, the Omnia.9’s AoIP input is rerouted, processing parameters are automatically changed, and EAS data is sent to the Omnia.9’s RDS generator. When the alert terminates, programming is cleanly and instantly restored to normal. This unique LiveWire+/AES67 and EAS-Net combination is also supported using a Telos Alliance xNode target.
In the Nautel booth, W3042, a DASDEC is linked directly to a Nautel GV2 transmitter and virtual air chain, injecting EAS alerts directly into the transmitter and its internal Omnia For Nautel audio processor. When an EAS message is received, Nautel’s embedded processor instantly airs critical alerts on both the FM and the HD air chain. Additionally, Nautel is demonstrating a clever graphical presentation featuring the Visually Integrated Display Symbology (VIDS) images championed by the NextGen Video Information Systems Alliance (nvisa.org), where the presentation on the radio receiver matches the type of alert being aired.
“Omnia and Nautel have collaborated for years, and both companies recognize virtual air chains are the future,” said Telos Alliance Product Manager Geoff Steadman. “EAS integration has been a sticking point due to the constraints of legacy approaches, but with Digital Alert Systems’ deep knowledge of workflow and regulatory realities, and their adoption of the Livewire+/AES67 standard, EAS finally enters the radio IP ecosystem.”
“What we’re showing at NAB is our first integration, but we already see more ways to evolve this as it parallels many of the things we’ve been doing in the video space,” said Bill Robertson, vice president of business development for Digital Alert Systems. “Stay tuned, we are only getting started!”
Phillip Schmid, CTO of Nautel, said, “We’ve been working to solve this ‘last mile’ issue in various committees and initiatives for quite a while. Working with Telos Alliance and Digital Alert Systems puts the puzzle pieces together, allowing us to propel this important work forward for the benefit of our industry.”
EAS At The Edge and its underlying technology will be demonstrated live during the 2024 NAB Show at the Nautel booth, W3042, and at the Digital Alert Systems booth, W3920. Telos Alliance representatives will be available to discuss this innovative new approach in booth C1808.
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About Digital Alert SystemsDigital Alert Systems is the leading innovator of next-generation Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) and Emergency Alert Systems (EAS) for radio and television broadcasters. From its headquarters in Lyndonville, New York, Digital Alert Systems provides R&D, manufacturing, sales, and customer service for all Digital Alert Systems brands and maintains its hard-earned reputation for quality, reliability, and service to valued customers around the world.
More information is available at www.digitalalertsystems.com.
About Telos Alliance
Telos Alliance®, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, USA is a global leader in broadcast audio, delivering innovative and intuitive solutions that help inspire, excite and engage professionals and listeners alike. Broadcasters trust our well-known brands: Telos® Systems, Omnia® Audio, Axia® Audio, Linear Acoustic®, 25-Seven® Systems and Minnetonka Audio®; Telos Alliance is also the exclusive global distributor of Jünger Audio™ products. Visit www.telosalliance.com.
About Nautel
Nautel is the world’s largest manufacturer of AM and FM radio broadcast transmitters, with key contributions in the field of digital broadcasting. Focused on making transmission worry-free for users worldwide, Nautel transmitters employ advanced control, monitoring, and instrumentation tools which simplify management of transmitter sites, both locally and remotely via web access. More than 20,000 Nautel transmitters have been deployed in over 177 countries since 1970. For more information visit www.nautel.com.
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