By Paul Mclane

Planning for the 2022 NAB Show  built for the Las Vegas Convention Center is ramping up, and  GARY LUHRMAN  tells Radio World about his company’s  plans and expectations.

Radio World: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trend for radio professionals at the show?

GARY LUHRMAN: There is a great deal of movement in AoIP applications for broadcast radio. I have spoken with many audio engineers who seem to be very happy with the audio quality and impressed with the ease of setting up AoIP connections, provided of course the cabling and switches are solid.

Inovonics has been incorporating Dante-based AoIP ports in all our latest models. This enables a simple connection with other Dante-equipped devices and gives AES67 AoIP interoperability among a wide range of pro-AV products. Dante is generally also compatible with proprietary systems from independent manufacturers of AoIP-enabled products.

In our world of radio broadcast, for example, this could mean incorporating our SOFIA 568 HD Radio SiteStreamer+ in a broadcaster’s Axia Livewire Network. We have a white paper explaining the setup procedure on our website.

RW: What will be your most important news or exhibit theme?

GL: We’re very excited to introduce our new 551 and 552 HD Radio Modulation Monitors to this year´s NAB. We’ve been working on these in the background for a good two years now and we are extremely proud of the finished products. We believe these mod monitors are truly compelling products for our industry.

Actually, we were going to present the 551 and 552 for the first time last year when the show was cancelled. The big advantage of presenting them now is that both are already in production and shipping. It has also given us more time to work with a valuable group of beta testers, who have provided excellent feedback to enhance the reliability of the firmware and functionality of the products.

So, interested customers can be confident that what they see on the show room floor at NAB is what they will get when they place their orders. And like most Inovonics products, we typically have product in stock for fast processing of customers’ orders.

RW: How is it different from what’s available on the market?

GL: The 551 HD Radio Modulation Monitor is unique to the market with a high-resolution 7-inch TFT Touch Screen that displays all the essential FM and HD Radio modulation data for accurate readings in a graphic format. The touch screen also displays HD Radio album artwork, station logos and similar visuals.

The Inovonics 551 HD Radio Modulation Monitor

In addition, all the essential information is remotely accessible from any web-enabled device through an interactive web interface. The 551 and 552 include a built-in BandScanner, a real-time clock and full SNMP functionality.

Full-time off-air programme audio is available simultaneously as L/R-analog, AES3-digital and Dante-based AES67 AoIP streaming, all with adjustable levels, plus a multi-listener Internet IP stream and front-panel headphone jack.

RW: How has the lack of physical trade shows affected your clients or your own business?

GL: The lack of physical trade shows and inability to safely meet in person with customers has required major adjustments for everyone. While we’re fortunate to have communications tools like Zoom, it is just not the same as shaking a hand and having a face-to-face conversation with a radio professional.

But we were all in the same boat and collectively have made business happen under the circumstances. I think Inovonics has managed pretty well by sticking to its core values and by anticipating some of the supply issues that have plagued many manufacturers. That is to say, we’ve managed to keep product on the shelf and broadcasters have responded to our fast deliveries, quality of our products, and excellent tech support.

• Luhrman is sales & marketing manager at Inovonics Inc.,.