Q. How do audio studios function?

All FM radios have some sort of studio system used for broadcasting and production of radio programming. The number of rooms, the type of equipment and the applications vary depending on needs and budgets.

Broadcasting refers to mixing sound from various sources like microphone or cassette and sending the sounds to the transmitter and the antenna elements to go out on FM to the listeners.

Production refers to mixing sound from various sources and putting them onto a format like cassette or minidisc for broadcast at a later time.

The most basic set-up is one studio that is used both for on-air broadcasting and also for off-air production. Within this basic set-up there are two options: 1) the studio can be all in one room; or 2) it can be separated into two separate rooms with a window in-between with one room, the control room housing the main studio equipment and the second room, the studio room, with only microphones and a talkback system used to communicate with the control room.

In more sophisticated set-ups, an FM radio will have separate studios for broadcasting and production.

Studio set-ups vary significantly. They can be very simple or very complex. Equipment also varies, ranging from inexpensive consumer products linked together in a very simple configuration or expensive professional equipment linked in a complex network.

With the advent of digital technologies, most studios use a combination of traditional analogue equipment and newer digital technologies. For example, most have at least some digital components, like a CD player, used in tandem with analaogue equipment like cassette player/recorders; others use a lot of digital equipment, including computers, minidisc and digital mixers. In general, analogue and digital equipment can be used together.

In many cases, digital components have replaced similar analogue equipment. For example, CD is replacing records, minidisc and to a lesser extent DAT, is replacing cassette and open 1/4 inch tape recorders, also known as spool. The most important addition of digital technologies is the computer, used primarily for digital editing and which can complement or replace many pieces of equipment.