Nexus Go Live

The problem it addresses

Live voices make a station local, but getting a host on the air from anywhere but the studio usually means a remote codec, a tech on the other end, and a phone call to make sure someone at the studio pressed the right button. Most small stations don't have the gear or the people, so the remote doesn't happen and the station runs on automation alone.

Studio sound, not a phone call

Go Live is not a phone line. A phone call squeezes a voice down to a narrow, tinny band; Go Live sends the host's mic as full-bandwidth, 48 kHz audio at up to 128 kbps, so a host in the field sounds like a host in the studio. The phone's call processing — the echo cancelling, noise gating and automatic volume that make a voice sound like a phone — is switched off, so what goes out is the voice itself, room tone and all. If the connection drops a packet, the audio is repaired on the fly instead of breaking up.

What your hosts get

• An Android app, or the same screen in a web browser on a computer
• Go live after this song: the record finishes, then the station is theirs
• Go live now when it can't wait, and Back to automation when they're done
• A big ON AIR banner, a beep when they're on, and another at ten seconds to go
• A level meter showing their voice as the studio hears it, with a line to aim for
• Their own mic button, and in the app the screen stays awake while they're on

What the station controls

• Every host signs in with their own username and password
• Two kinds of account: Host, who runs the show, and Mic only, for a guest or co-host who just talks
• Disable an account, or change its password, and that person is signed out everywhere at once
• Up to four voices on the air together, mixed at the studio
• The host can mute or open any other voice in the show
• A window at the studio showing everyone connected, with a meter and a clip light for each

No accidents on the air

Every mic starts muted, and going live mutes everyone until they choose to talk, so nothing goes out by accident. The screen only says a mic is muted once the studio has actually muted it. When a host hands the station back to the music, their mic stays as they left it so they can talk over the intro — and the screen flashes MIC STILL OPEN until they close it. The music dips under the voice while a mic is open, by an amount the host picks, and comes back up on its own.

How it fits the station

Go Live works alongside the automation system the station already runs; nothing in the music library or the log changes. It takes the station live and hands it back through the automation system's own remote control, so it can work with most automation systems that can be controlled over the network — RadioDJ is supported out of the box, and others are added as stations bring them. Tell us what you run. A small piece of software goes on the studio PC, and Nexus Broadcast sets it up for you.

Proven on the air

Go Live is not a prototype. It is in use on the air right now, putting hosts on live from their phones, away from the studio. Nexus Go Live puts that same system to work for your station.