Editing Broadcast automation (section)

==Modern digital systems==

Modern systems run on [[hard disk]], where all of the music, jingles, advertisements, [[voice track]]s, and other announcements are stored.  These audio files may be either [[data compression|compressed]] or uncompressed, or often with only minimal compression as a compromise between file size and quality.  For [[radio software]], these disks are usually in computers, sometimes running their own custom [[operating system]]s, but more often running as an [[Application software|application]] on a PC operating system.
 
[[Scheduling (broadcasting)|Scheduling]] was an important advance of these systems, allowing for exact timing.  Some systems use [[GPS]] satellite [[receiver (radio)|receivers]] to obtain exact [[atomic time]], for perfect [[synchronization]] with satellite-delivered [[radio programming|programming]].  Reasonably-accurate timekeeping can also be obtained with the use of [[Internet Protocol]]s (IP) like [[Network Time Protocol]] (NTP).

Automation systems are also more interactive than ever before with [[digital audio workstation]] (DAW) with [[console automation]] and can even record from a [[telephone hybrid]] to play back an edited conversation with a telephone caller.  This is part of a system's live-assist mode.

The use of automation software and [[voice track]]s to replace live DJs is a current trend in radio broadcasting, done by many [[Internet radio]] and [[adult hits]] stations.  Stations can even be voice-tracked from another city far away, now often delivering sound files over the Internet.  In the U.S., this is a common practice under controversy for making radio more generic and artificial.  Having local content is also touted as a way for traditional stations to compete with [[satellite radio]], where there may be no [[radio personality]] on the air at all.

[[Image:Placa-audioPC-925.jpg|100px|left|thumb|Solidyne 922: The first bit compression card for PC, 1990]]
A commercially available, for-sale product named [[Audicom]] was introduced by Oscar Bonello in 1989.<ref name="solidyne1">[http://www.lanacion.com.ar/Archivo/Nota.asp?nota_id=187775 LA NACION newspaper article about development of bit compression technology, Buenos Aires, February 5th, 2001]</ref> It is based on [[Audio compression (data)|psychoacoustic lossy compression]], the same principle being used in most modern lossy audio encoders such as [[MP3]] and [[Advanced Audio Coding]] (AAC), and it allowed both broadcast automation and recording to [[hard drives]].<ref name="solidyne2">[http://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=2384 New Improvements in Audio Signal Processing for AM Broadcasting by Bonello, Oscar]</ref><ref name="solidyne3">[http://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=6674 PC-Controlled Psychoacoustic Audio Processor by Bonello, Oscar Juan]</ref>

===Television===
In television, [[playout]] [[automation]] is also becoming more practical as the storage space of [[hard drive]]s increases. [[Television shows]] and [[television commercials]], as well as [[digital on-screen graphic]]s (DOG or BUG), can all be stored on [[video server]]s remotely controlled by computers utilizing the [[9-Pin Protocol]] and the [[Video Disk Control Protocol]] (VDCP).  These systems can be very extensive, tied-in with parts that allow the "ingest" (as it is called in the industry) of video from satellite networks and [[electronic news gathering]] (ENG) operations and management of the video library, including archival of [[footage]] for later use.  In [[ATSC]], [[Programming Metadata Communication Protocol]] (PMCP) is then used to pass information about the video through the airchain to [[Program and System Information Protocol]] (PSIP), which transmits the current [[electronic program guide]] (EPG) information over digital television to the viewer.