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TSL's PAM Audio Monitoring Provides Critical Dolby Decoding for Timeline Television RF Truck

By Lee Wright
Senior Broadcast Engineer
Timeline TV
@sngengineer

Timeline TV have been using TSL products for a number of years across our whole fleet of outside broadcast vehicles and critical technical infrastructure so another PAM2 MK2 was the obvious choice.

We mostly monitor regular MPEG L2, Dolby 5.1 and Dolby on the PAM2. Line timing is absolutely critical for Dolby and the PAM2 allows us to decode the Dolby and check each component is as we would expect. Once Dolby audio is encoded at the OB it is not decoded until it arrives at consumers house. This has become especially pertinent with the dawn of HEVC encoders; as the technology is still relatively in its infancy some HEVC encoders can affect the line position during the video encoding process and if you have the line timing out of spec at the OB there will not be any audio at the other end. The PAM2 allows us to check a local decode of our encode and we can adjust the encoder from there to get it in spec.

As RF2 is designed to be more of an all-encompassing RF/comms vehicle this PAM2 will be operating more in an engineering environment than say, RF1’s PAM2. RF1’s unit has been used on many shows over the last year; ITV’s award winning Love Island, IAAF Athletics, BBC’s Live Lessons series and 80 other Sports events for various clients. In fact, the RF1 have just been awarded the contract to deliver RF facilities for ITV’s Love Island again this year. Read more here: https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/timeline-to-deliver-rf-facilities-for-itvs-love-island  

RF2’s first major assignment will be at the Champions League Final in Kiev but I will be running it alongside RF1 during the commissioning process to make sure we have everything right. Keep an eye out for it and if you do see it on the road come and say hello and we will gladly give you a tour!

Find out more about Timeline’s RF1 and RF2 Trucks here: http://www.timeline.tv/2018/01/16/timeline-launch-second-4k-uhd-rf-uplink-truck/