The New Year has started off with a bang…stations are under the gun to create more content and generate additional revenue - but with less resources, as layoffs and budget trimming are becoming commonplace. At Musicam USA, we understand the difficult balancing act engineers are tasked with in order to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the dusty hat.

Don't worry - the broad picture doesn't have to be grim! We task ourselves everyday with generating new solutions to make all this happen for radio, television and voice-over talent. Musicam USA has been the world leader for IP solutions since 2000, when we introduced the first-ever IP codec. We pride ourselves on solid IP reliability and functionality of our units, which are designed to make your life a whole lot easier and cheaper.

While Ol' Man Winter has us hovering over our desks, rather than at outdoor remotes (outside of beach destinations, of course), now is the perfect time to set aside some time to contemplate where IP fits into your overall broadcasting landscape.

We speak to clients ranging from IP newbies to aficionados, so any question is a good question as far as we're concerned. And the more you know about IP, the more you can broaden your programming capabilities, while we customize answers to make your life easier.

Let's begin with the basics. Surprima acts as a home base codec and many of our clients use it as their STL. For those of you who are fans of ISDN, this transition is simple and swift, as you can choose to have Suprima function in IP, with ISDN failover. For those requiring multiple transmitter sites, one Suprima can act as the master codec, and using multicasting, you can have slave Suprimas as backup and main receivers. about IP, the more you can broaden your programming capabilities, while we customize answers to make your life easier.

Take advantage of the Suprima IP multicast feature with one Suprima at the station and transmit same audio to backup site and main site. If you are confident that your IP connectivity to your studio to your transmitter sites is robust, then a Suprima at the studio connecting to Suprima LCs can help save money, and provide you with high-quality audio. Below is a list of Suprima's unparalleled features:

Whether your station is a stand-alone or part of a network, or your company owns a conglomerate of stations - domestic or international, needs arise regularly for remotes all year round. Musicam USA's RoadWarrior, RoadWarrior LC and RoadWarrior XL carry our internationally recognized audio over IP technology in a portable form.

The RoadWarrior family of IP codecs has been to all major world events such as the Academy Awards, the Super Bowl, the World Cup, the U.S. Open, the Olympics and more. On a more micro scale, they've been at ringside seats at parades, concerts, high school games, press conferences, and car dealerships.

We hear from GM's, PD's and engineers about the endless possibilities of revenue generation by broadcasting more remotes. But who has time to set up ISDN lines and coordinate with the phone companies and then plan for the heavy-lifting of equipment, right? Actually, some of our clients broadcast hundreds - yes, hundreds (!) - of remotes every year because they are doing it over IP with our compact RoadWarriors. Likewise, many voice-over talent have found the portable units extremely handy for home-studio installations and minimizing travel and ISDN costs. Check out the series highlights below, and our newly added RoadWarrior XL, which supports 3G USB modems:

Make a resolution for 2010 to propel your station(s) into the IP frontier. Musicam USA's products pay for themselves in cost savings. Why not expand the number of remotes you broadcast or programs you carry, since all you'll need is a broadband connection? Plus we back every single one of our products with unparalleled technical support to help you get humming on the air - no matter where! Give us a call to see how easy it is to learn more about IP, upgrade your equipment or add to your arsenal: 732-739-5600. You have nothing to lose by exploring your options!