Nielsen has just released its PPM Audio Software Encoder for FM stations, allowing more broadcasters to move away from a hardware-based audio watermarking process.
“The release of the PPM Audio Software Encoder for FM stations follows the successful completion of a live field evaluation in the March and April measurement periods,” the company wrote in a note to clients.
It had already released the Audio Software encoder for AM stations earlier.
It says the software encoder allows a station to perform its PPM encoding in products from audio processor manufacturers, “enabling opportunities for cloud-based broadcast operations, reduction of rack space in your facilities and simplification of your station’s workflows.”
The company has published a list of certified vendors that includes Orban, Telos/Omnia and Wheatstone products.
In a recent commentary in Radio World, Nielsen Audio Director of Product Management Nick Mannion, wrote: “We took the PPM encoding algorithm (Enhanced CBET) out of the hardware that it lives in today and made it available in the form of a software development kit (SDK). This SDK is then made available to industry participants enabling them to integrate PPM encoding into their products.”
Once an integration is complete, he continued, Nielsen works with the manufacturer of the product to perform a certification process. “This … ensures that the PPM encoding generated by the manufacturer’s product meets all of Nielsen’s encoding quality standards.”
Nielsen plans to expand its PPM Audio Software Encoding to include digital streams later this year.
