Al Jazeera, one of the world’s largest news organisations, has chosen Jünger Audio’s loudness management technology to control and regulate audio across four of its main television channels.
Based in Doha, Qatar, the broadcaster has installed 10 D*AP8 Slim Line Digital Audio Processors in a new central TX area that it has been constructed as part of the Al Jazeera Workplace Transformation Project (AJWT). The area incorporates five transmission booths – one for each channel (Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera Mubashir, Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Documentary) and one spare.
The DAP8 processors are housed in a Central Apparatus Room and are managed from the TX area by a Jünger Audio XAP RM1 remote panel, which gives operators immediate control of all 10 units.
Ali Elhusseini, Head of Network Operations Standards at Al Jazeera, said: “Redundancy is an important factor in the broadcast industry and when it comes to transmission you want to make sure you are well covered. To that end, the Jünger Audio units have been set-up as main and back-up, so each channel has main and back-up units in case of failure. Currently only Al Jazeera Arabic is broadcasting from the new TX area, but once the infrastructure for the other channels is completed they will all broadcast from there.”
“We chose Jünger Audio units for their audio quality and ease of use, but also for the features each unit delivers,” said Imad Ninaah, Head of Transmission at Al Jazeera (pictured with Ibrahim Alawin). “If you add licences, 1RU unit can deliver a range of features that negate the need for many different units. We have installed Level Magic, Dolby and Loudness licences – all of which are features that work for us.”
“Our audiences are one of our main concerns,” Elhusseini added, “and we always strive to ensure that we deliver the best quality video and audio content. Technology has developed so fast that viewers can now do a great deal with their home devices. We want to ensure that what we broadcast is appealing to all our viewers, and by installing loudness control we can ease the pain of having to adjust the volume between broadcasters or channel content.”
