ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, April 4, 2011 — Barix announces that Total Star Network, a radio broadcast network comprising eight stations in England and Spain, has switched from leased line and ISDN transport to a more cost-efficient Barix Audio over IP distribution network. The broadcaster estimates it will save nearly $10,000 (6,000 British Pounds) annually on program distribution costs and in some cases improve the audio quality.

Total Star Network chose the Barix Reflector Service to simplify Audio over IP distribution from the network’s headquarters in Cheltenham, England, to seven regional transmitter sites. Barix Exstreamer 500 professional IP Audio hardware codecs provide the encode/decode points from headquarters to the local studios; and onward to the transmission sites. The network also uses the Barix Audio over IP solution to deliver OneGold Radio brand programming to an FM station on the Costa Blanca, a stretch of the Mediterranean coast in the Alicante Province of Spain. more

Barix comes to the 2011 NAB Show (April 11-14, Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth C8316) with new updates to its Reflector Service for STL, Syndication and Remote Contribution aimed at simplifying integration within existing broadcast infrastructures.

The Reflector Service simplifies the setup of audio transport connections by removing the need for specialist knowledge. Hosted by Barix partner StreamGuys, the application serves as an online center to configure and monitor the audio transport bridge while providing a straightforward relay of the audio feed. The Reflector Service is paired with Barix Audio over IP hardware at the send and receive points, creating a plug-and-play installation that can have broadcasters streaming audio over IP links within minutes. more

Barix AG announces that syndicated content provider Bell Media Group of Raleigh, North Carolina, has successfully deployed the Barix Reflector Service to distribute live North Carolina Central University football and basketball games to eight regional AM radio stations comprising the NCCU Sports Network.

Bell Media Group is among the earliest Reflector Service customers, establishing a reliable and cost-efficient Audio over IP distribution network for its syndicated college sports programming service. Barix introduced the Reflector Service last spring to help broadcasters with limited IT resources to establish IP links for single stations and broadcast networks with minimal effort and hassle.

“Satellite communications was very expensive, and ISDN was also out of my range,� said Jay Bell, president and chief engineer for Bell Media Group. “IP has saved me between $3,000-4,000 on distribution alone. I became familiar with Barix and beta-tested the Reflector Service for the 2010 college football season. All the tests went well and we will continue using the Barix Reflector service for sports, music and other remote broadcasts, with the goal of adding more radio affiliates.� more

Fighting Sioux Radio Network distributes live UND football and hockey games to 12 broadcast affiliates in two states

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, November 8, 2010 — Barix AG, a pioneer in IP-based audio, intercom, control, and monitoring, has partnered with streaming media provider StreamGuys to establish a low-latency IP distribution network for University of North Dakota football and hockey broadcasts.

Twelve radio stations across North Dakota and Minnesota comprise the Fighting Sioux Radio Network. The network, seeking to expand its broadcast footprint, selected IP distribution after comparing costs and automation capabilities with competitive distribution systems. The choice enabled a lower startup cost while ensuring uptime and smooth operation at unmanned facilities.

The network deployed Barix Exstreamer 1000 professional IP audio codecs across the distribution chain. The Exstreamer 1000 encodes and decodes program audio and relay signals, all delivered over the StreamGuys streaming platform. more

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, October 21, 2010 — Barix AG, a pioneer in IP-based audio, intercom, control, and monitoring, announces that more than 1000 Barix Audio over IP devices were used for contribution, distribution and monitoring of live broadcast audio for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games, held from October 3-14, were considered the largest multi-sport event staged in India. More than 6,000 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 disciplines. Host broadcaster Prasat Bharathi, India’s largest public broadcaster, produced the official “International Signal� live from 12 competition venues.

Prasat Bharathi contracted Mahanahar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), a telecom service provider and the largest provider of broadband services in Delhi, to install and operate a redundant fiber network from all 12 venues to the International Broadcast Center (IBC), transporting IP audio over MPLS. The IBC managed and delivered more than 40 contribution and 250 coordination feeds to and from the venues, and served as the origination point for broadcast signals delivered globally to rights holders. more

Instreamer 100 and Exstreamer 100 provide clear signals and improve audio quality for Ecuadorian Armed Forces Radio in four cities

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, September 21, 2010 — Barix AG, a pioneer in IP-based audio, intercom, control, and monitoring, announces that Radio Notimil, the official radio station for the Armed Forces of Ecuador, has deployed a Barix Audio over IP network to distribute programming to radio stations in four cities. Diseños Integrados y Telecomunicaciones (DIT), a design and integration telecommunications company specializing in providing networking solutions, designed and installed the system on behalf of Radio Notimil. more

Company ships latest Exstreamer device, introduces new firmware for IP Audio links

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, September 1, 2010 — Barix AG, a pioneer in IP-based audio, intercom, control, and monitoring, continues to innovate for the radio broadcast industry. The company will showcase its latest hardware and device firmware at IBC 2010 (Booth 8.B16, RAI Exhibition Center, Amsterdam, September 10-14), giving broadcasters more options in the way they use Barix for delivery of program audio between studios and transmission points.

Now shipping, Barix will display its Exstreamer 500 IP audio decoder to international audiences for the first time at IBC. The Exstreamer 500 is a professional Audio over IP hardware device designed specifically for radio broadcasters, offering a one-half, 19-inch rack mount solution with encoding and decoding capability. It is essentially a lower-cost version of its high-end device, the Exstreamer 1000, while retaining important features like balanced inputs and outputs and contact closure interfaces. Broadcasters can purchase the Exstreamer 500 through the Barix global network of established broadcast distributors, accessible at www.barix.com. more

World’s first VoIP Talkshow System will bow at NAB

Cleveland, OH —Telos Systems has announced that they will premier the world’s first VoIP Talkshow System for broadcasters, the multi-studio Telos VX, at the 2010 NAB Convention in Las Vegas.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology is the basis for the Telos VX system, which uses Ethernet as its network backbone — a powerful yet simple way to share phone lines among studios and connect system components. VX uses standard SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) protocols, so it works with VoIP-based PBX or SIP-trunking Telco service to direct up to 80 lines of phone traffic. more

Barionet 50 is latest Barix IP device for energy-efficient control, monitoring and automation in commercial and residential environments

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, December 14, 2009 — Barix AG, a pioneer in IP-based audio, intercom, control, and monitoring, introduces the Barionet 50, a low-cost IP automation controller, monitoring device and visualization system now shipping for professional and home applications. A fully programmable network controller, the Barionet 50 is ideal for interfacing devices and real world I/O via IP with open, standards based monitoring and control platforms.

The Barionet 50 is a modular component that can operate standalone or in concert with other units, web servers and control systems. Professional applications include access control, machine data collection and environmental monitoring of everything from temperature to water pressure. Barionet devices use very low power (typically 1.2W with inactive relays) and are well-positioned for “green� applications such as energy metering, smart grid control and intelligent building management. more

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, November 17, 2009 — Barix AG, a pioneer in IP-based audio, intercom, control, and monitoring, announces that the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) is using a Barix Audio over IP solution to monitor its highway traffic updates now being broadcast to interstate commuters around Iowa.

Iowa DOT operates “Highway Advisor Radio,” an information channel transmitted with eight low-power AM and FM transmitters distributed around the state. A Barix Instreamer 100 encoder is connected to a radio receiver at each remote broadcast location to capture the on-air signal and stream it over the DOT’s internal network. Iowa DOT employees can access the streams using their PCs to confirm that the broadcasts are going out over the air and commuters are receiving the broadcasts with clarity.

DataNab, an IP systems programmer and Barix reseller, provided concept, configuration services and technical assistance with the development of a central webpage to allow Iowa DOT staff to listen to the broadcasts. Employees can access any of the eight Instreamers by simply clicking on a link that triggers an embedded media player to pull the feed from the specified Instreamer. The feed is then played out in real time over the speakers of the employee’s workstation. more