NRSC adopts new guidelines on MDCL usage for AM, metadata distribution

USA: The National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC), jointly sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), adopted two new NRSC Guideline documents at Subcommittee meetings held in conjunction with the 2013 NAB Show.

NRSC Guidelines are informative documents developed to assist radio broadcasters, broadcast equipment manufacturers, and receiver manufacturers in the effective and efficient operation and implementation of local AM and FM radio systems.

The first new Guideline, NRSC-G101, AM Modulation-Dependent Carrier Level (MDCL) Usage Guideline, was adopted by the AM and FM Analog Broadcasting (AFAB) Subcommittee, co-chaired by Stan Salek, senior engineer, Hammett & Edison, Sonoma, CA, and Gary Kline, SVP corporate director of Engineering & IT, Cumulus Broadcasting, Atlanta, GA.

This document provides information on modulation-dependent carrier level (MDCL) technologies available for use by AM broadcasters as a means to reduce electrical power consumption of their facilities which, when used carefully, have little or no impact on the audio quality of AM transmissions.

Also adopted at the Show was NRSC-G301, Creation and Distribution Practices for Audio Program Metadata Guideline, adopted by the Radio Broadcasting Data System (RBDS) Subcommittee, chaired by Dan Mansergh, director of Engineering, KQED Public Radio, San Francisco, CA.

NRSC-G301 sets forth recommendations for creation, packaging, distribution and interpretation of metadata intended for delivery to listeners alongside radio programming, covering methods for managing metadata created both by local broadcasters and networks, independent producers, centralized production facilities or other program sources outside the broadcast station.