- Radio and Internet broadcasters who are serious about audio quality are the target audience of ProStream, the PC-free web-streaming appliance from Telos.
ProStream frees three essential Netcasting tools from the PC domain: genuine MPEG audio encoding, multi-band audio pre-processing, and delivery to stream replication services. These tools are housed in a fanless 1RU rackmount device with a front-panel interface (and web-based remote UI).
To make streaming content sound its best, ProStream conditions audio with processing from Omnia Audio. Functions include wideband AGC, 3-band combined compressor/limiter, high-frequency equalization, an adjustable-bandwidth low-pass filter, and a final Look-Ahead limiter. A variety of audio processing presets gets users started streaming quickly; full processing controls allow tweaking to achieve a "signature sound".
After processing, genuine MPEG encoding algorithms from FhG ensure the most artifact-free sound quality at the chosen bit-rate. ProStream can encode MP3 or MPEG-AAC (AAC-LC, HE-AAC or HE-AAC v2) streams at bit rates from 14 kbps to 320 kbps.
Finally, ProStream feeds streaming audio to any Shoutcast-compatible media server, ICECast server, or Wowza or Adobe Flash Media server for replication and delivery to Web users. ProSTREAM can also send streams directly to the Live365 streaming service.
ProStream is equipped with studio-grade analog and Livewire I/O; separate Ethernet ports for LAN and WAN connections help make sure that the studio network is isolated from the outside world.
At IBC 2013, Telos debuts new ProStream 2.1 software, a major update which adds a variety of new features and capabilities:
•New Content Contribution features. ProStream v2.1 can now send audio to LUCI Studio, and can output processed, encoded streams to an Axia Livewire network - allowing neat PC-free intake, processing and distribution of audio from on-site reporters and content creators.
•Dual encoder support, allowing users to process and encode two streams - for providing both high and low bitrate streams, or MP3 and AAC streams simultaneously.
•Adobe RTMP capability for enhanced support of Adobe Flash Media servers.
•Support for RTP streams, including RTP multicast.
•Upgraded Shoutcast support is now compatible with Shoutcast v2 servers.
•Expanded stream replication capabilities. ProStream v2.1 adds support for streaming to Live365, LimeLight, and Akamai streaming servers.
Setup is designed to be intuitive, via front-panel controls or any standard Web browser. The operator can choose an encoding algorithm and bitrate, choose an audio processing preset, assign an output destination, and start streaming audio. A built-in headphone jack and front-panel volume control allow real-time monitoring of on-the-fly changes.
