NNBY Reaches Yukon's Widespread Audience with Digigram's IQOYA

NNBY, which has operated as a nonprofit organization for more than two decades, has 20 repeaters deployed throughout the Yukon, including one located above the Arctic Circle. Seeking an infrastructure upgrade to increase reliability and reduce operational costs, NNBY embarked on a two-year evaluation of the available technologies before deciding on the IQOYA solution.

Teams from Digigram and Point Source Audio, the company's master distributor for the Americas, worked closely with NNBY's technical staff to configure and customize the solution to the broadcaster's precise requirements and exacting operating environment.

"The IQOYAs have provided rock-solid performance and resilience, which was vital for us because reliability was the number one objective," said Director of Engineering at NNBY, Dennis Gerard. "The Digigram technology also gives us an extremely flexible solution with substantially reduced running costs."

The fact that the IQOYA IP audio codecs are able to transmit a high-quality stream at an extremely low bit rate made them an excellent option for transport over satellite. The small bit rate stream contributes greatly to the lower total cost of ownership, reducing monthly Internet service fees from nearly $2,000 per month to just a little more than $500 per month.

IQOYA's Livewire compatibility was a major advantage for NNBY, which plans future integration to bring the entire chain — from content creation to delivery — into the digital domain. The added SD card and analog input options give NNBY the ability to connect to a wide variety of existing studio equipment and maintain prerecorded content stored on an SD card.

"Every broadcaster has its own unique challenges and operating constraints, and NNBY must have some of the more demanding conditions in which to operate," said Christelle Nay, sales manager at Digigram. "That's why the approach we and our distributors take emphasizes close collaboration with the customer so that we build exactly the right tailored solution that they need to achieve outstanding results."

About NNBY
NNBY reaffirms and maintains First Nation culture, spiritual beliefs, language, traditional values, land, and animals. NNBY works for present and future generations, looking seven generations into the future. While we focus on First Nations, NNBY is for all people. NNBY protects traditional knowledge, empowers First Nations people, supports self determination of First Nations, and facilitates the development of a respectful relationship between First Nations and other people. Culture also includes stories and customs that improve quality of life, and fosters the development of positive social and economic partnerships.

About Point Source Audio
Point Source Audio manufactures and distributes worldwide a unique line of lightweight bendable boom earworn microphones — known as the "toughest" earworn microphones in the industry. As a result of its audio expertise and its admired reputation for sales and service support, the company was named Digigram's Master Distributor for the Americas. The world-renowned brand of Digigram sound cards, IP audio codecs, and Ethersound audio networking technology is now available from Point Source Audio. Founded in 2004, Point Source Audio is headquartered in Novato, Calif.

About Digigram
Digigram is at the convergence of professional audio and video with IT, inventing solutions that help its customers increase competitiveness through change. Digigram's IP audio codecs, sound cards, and network audio solutions are used by journalists, broadcasters, and audio engineers around the world, and the company delivers key technologies and OEM solutions to software vendors and manufacturers. Digigram's recently introduced all-IP video product lines offer advanced solutions for broadcast, IPTV, Web TV, and OTT operators.Through constant innovation and the development of fruitful partnerships, Digigram has become an influential player, helping to energize the industry, push forward technological development, and raise standards.