"Do more with less" is shaping up to be the theme of 2010. No one is popping the Krug corks over the economy these days, but instead of grumbling about it, why not embrace it? You might be thinking 'easy for you to say, but try incorporating cost-cutting solutions at our station, when we're told to add programming elements, remotes and sometimes affiliates and see just how fun that is!'

Bingo! This is our fun. At Musicam USA, we've been developing IP solutions since 2000 and have helped thousands of radio and television stations - and groups of stations - around the globe expand their programming horizons and save money with innovative IP solutions.

Mr. Kubasta, quoted above, coordinates 800 remotes every year for his station and its group of affiliates. You may not even break double digits for remotes, but what if you could double the amount of remotes you do and double your revenue? Or what if you and your sister station were covering the same remote and discovered ways to share codecs?

Maximizing IP resources among stations is an untapped spigot of funds saved from thinking outside the box. Sometimes all it takes is a little bud bug in the ear. Here are a few ways we're seeing clients share resources successfully and we wanted to share those solutions with you.

• STATION SYNERGY: If you have an AM/FM station combo or a TV affiliate, all you need is a shared LAN (or WAN) to make some magic happen. With Musicam USA's Suprima codec acting as the master (on each end), you can share talent for live anchor promos or voice over artists, time-sensitive reporter packages, real-time voice tracking or on-location multicasting. If you're worried about a full transition from ISDN to IP, don't - Suprima has ISDN failover, as well as a few other key characteristics such as: