Gateway Channel Upgrade Options

Featured Product: Gateway

Gateway 8 Offers Flexible Channel Upgrade Options

Many people are unaware that the Tieline Gateway 8 codec can be purchased and subsequently upgraded via software licenses to support a variety of higher channel density options. In this blog we explore some of the benefits this provides to engineers and station owners when planning station equipment upgrades and purchases.

How Many Channels Are Supported?

When you order a Gateway codec you can purchase a unit supporting 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16 channels. So basically it can be configured to support the number of channels you require. Every unit purchased has the same hardware configuration, in other words the same number of physical PPMs on the front panel and RJ45 ports for analog and digital I/Os. It is also possible to order an optional Dante or WheatNet-IP card for the unit. However, the number of channels supported in the codec is determined by software licensing. This means you can order the channel configuration that suits your unique needs. Channels licenses are sold in pairs, so you can upgrade from 8 channels to 10, 12, 14, or 16 as required.

Tieline Gateway Delivers Channel Upgrade Options

Front and rear panels of the Gateway IP codec

Front and rear panels of the Gateway IP codec

What Are The Benefits?

Pay as you grow: Broadcasters can start with the channels they need and add more as requirements increase, avoiding unnecessary upfront costs.

A Gateway 16 may not fit immediately into a station’s budget, but a Gateway 8 may fit perfectly. However, an engineer may also need to plan for the subsequent expansion of their network, requiring more streams and codec channels. By allowing the codec to be upgraded incrementally over time, station management and the engineering team can budget for channel license upgrades in subsequent years as required. This assists in planning and budgeting by deferring costs into the future, when additional advertising revenue from new station broadcasts can support these purchases. This means you only pay for capacity when it’s needed, maximizing the return on investment.

Future Proofing: Respond flexibly to new broadcast requirements.

Engineers can respond to new broadcast opportunities, such as special events, sports coverage, or new station launches. Additional channel capacity in the Gateway can be unlocked with a simple software license upgrade. This can be purchased from your favorite dealer.

Channel Licenses are updated using the Licensing panel in the Toolbox Web-GUI

Load Balancing: Additional channel capacity can be used for remotes.

Instead of a single unit carrying all broadcast signals, engineers often like to deploy a load balancing strategy that provides redundancy if needed. For example, if you have 4 FM stations and require 8 channels in total, engineers will often purchase two Gateway 8 codecs and use 8 channels on each codec for their main and backup IP transmission streams. This means there is potentially 8 channels of additional capacity on both codecs, that can be used for contribution streams like sports remotes or news gathering remotes. Additional Gateway channel capacity can be purchased and licensed without buying new hardware, which is great if you need to upgrade for any reason. E.g. new FM stations are acquired, or to support multiple concurrent remotes for a large event. It is also much faster to deploy additional capacity instead of installing additional hardware codecs.

So in summary, there are a number of reasons why engineers may choose to purchase a Gateway 8 codec, or a variant with fewer than 16 channels licensed. E.g. with 10, 12 or 14 channels licensed. All the previously outlined options provide additional channel capacity to an existing hardware codec through a simple license upgrade. This provides flexible pay as you grow options, while at the same time future proofing your network so it can respond flexibly to new broadcast requirements. In addition, load balancing strategies can incorporate fast deployment of additional capacity into future planning.

For more information on Tieline products and solutions visit https://tieline.com/product/, or contact Tieline sales:

• For USA, Canada & Latin America contact: sales@tieline.com

• For Australia and International: info@tieline.com