Free Software, Priceless Results: Essential Open Source Tools for Broadcast Engineers

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Dive into the world of free and open source software that's revolutionizing broadcast engineering! We're peeling back the curtain on the powerful tools that keep stations running without breaking the bank.

The humble Linux penguin (affectionately known as Tux) might be the unsung hero of broadcasting. As Kirk Harnack perfectly put it, "Linux is the air you breathe in broadcasting. You may not always see it, but without it nothing moves." From remote transmitter sites to complex playout systems, this open source powerhouse runs approximately 90% of cloud infrastructure and serves as the foundation for tech from industry giants like Grass Valley, Telos, and Evertz.

Monitoring doesn't have to cost a fortune either. We explore how LibreNMS, Grafana, and Zabbix provide enterprise-level visibility without the enterprise price tag. I share how these tools once helped me catch a transmitter cooling fan failure before catastrophe struck – saving thousands in potential equipment damage. For audio and video production, we delve into the surprising capabilities of Audacity, BUTT (Broadcast Using This Tool), OBS Studio, and the Jack Audio Connection Kit. These aren't just budget alternatives; they're powerful solutions that often outperform their expensive counterparts.

Ready to level up your broadcast engineering game? Check out the resources mentioned in this episode to build your open source skills. And don't miss our next show where we'll tackle how cloud services are transforming remote broadcasting – for better and worse. Subscribe now to keep your signals clean, your mind open, and your config files backed up!

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📚 Learn more!

• https://www.comptia.org/certifications/linux - CompTIA Linux+
• https://www.cbtnuggets.com/it-training/linux - CBT Nuggets Linux Courses

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💬 Get in touch! 

 🎙️ Need a voice tracker for your station? I’m Tyler — experienced in rock and classic hits, but open to other formats (no polka, thanks). Fast turnaround, easy to work with, and budget-friendly. Hit me up: [e-mail]

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Thank you.

(00:31):
Hey there, welcome back toFully Modulated, the show, where
we peel back the layers ofbroadcast engineering, media
tech and sometimes flat-outnerdy stuff you didn't even know
you needed out, nerdy stuff youdidn't even know you needed.
I'm Tyler Woodward and I'vespent the last decade bouncing
between transmitter sites,studios and server rooms trying

(00:51):
to keep the wheels from fallingoff, usually with an energy
drink in one hand and a networkcable in the other.
Now, today, we're digging intoa topic that's near and dear to
my heart Free and open sourcesoftware every tech and
broadcast engineer should knowabout.
Look, we all love shiny newgear and enterprise solutions,

(01:17):
but sometimes the best solutionis the one you can download for
free, tweak yourself andactually understand.
If you're ready to level upwithout blowing up your budget,
strap in.
We're going to get into thisone.
Alright, first things first.
Let's talk about the elephantin the server rack Linux.

(01:39):
The little penguin guy.
We like to call that little guyTux.
The little penguin guy we liketo call that little guy Tux.
Now, if you've ever managed aplayout server, a remote IP link
or even something as simple asa Raspberry Pi at a transmitter
site, chances are you're alreadyin the Linux land, whether you
realize it or not.

(02:00):
Operating systems like UbuntuServer, centos, stream, and even
tiny builds like Alpine Linux.
Let you roll out insanelypowerful systems for practically
nothing.
Need a site-to-site VPN for,let's say, a remote transmitter.
Linux is your guy.
Need a quick web interface foryour STL status?

(02:23):
Need a quick web interface foryour STL status?
Linux again.
Need a way to SSH into amisbehaving audio processor at
2am from your kitchen table?
You guessed it Linux, stillyour guy.
And it's not just fringe stuff.
According to the LinuxFoundation, about 90% of today's
cloud infrastructure runs onLinux.
Companies like Grass Valley,telos, everts they all either

(02:47):
use it under the hood orinteract with it in some way or
another.
It's the duct tape holding thebroadcast world together,
quietly and hopefully withoutany drama.
I heard Kirk Harnack, you knowfrom this Week in Radio Tech.
He once said, quote Linux isthe air you breathe in

(03:09):
broadcasting.
You may not always see it, butwithout it nothing moves unquote
.
And if that doesn't hit hardbecause that is the absolute
truth If you're not already alittle Linux fluent, there's no
shame in that.
But now's the time to dive in.
Trust me, the future you willthank you.

(03:31):
All right next up.
Let's talk about monitoring andinfrastructure, because if you
don't know what's broken, you'reprobably going to find out the
hard way, and it's usually goingto be at 3am when the general
manager calls screaming aboutdead air.
You don't need to drop fivefigures on an enterprise

(03:55):
monitoring dashboard to stayahead.
There are some absolutelykiller free tools out there,
like LibreNMS, grafana andZabbix, that do everything the
big boys do and sometimes awhole lot more.
Take LibreNMS it supports SNMPright out of the box, meaning
you can monitor your switches,your STL gear, your AOIP nodes,

(04:21):
heck, even your coffee machineif it has a network port and
SNMP support.
Pair it up with a little thingcalled Grafana and you get these
gorgeous dashboards that makeit super easy to spot problems
before they become disasters.
True story I once caught atransmitter site cooling fan

(04:41):
failure before the high tempalarm even went off, just
because I was watching a Grafanatrend line slowly creep up over
the last week on.
A trend line slowly creep upover the last week Saved the
final tube, saved a few grand,and nobody even knew it almost
melted down.
Chris Tarr, director ofengineering at Magna Media, put

(05:03):
it best when he said quotemonitoring doesn't have to mean
paying $50,000 for a dashboardyou barely understand.
Open source gives you controlback, and that's priceless and
honestly, having control overyour data, that's the real power
in the business.

(05:23):
Now let's get into the reallyfun stuff audio and video tools,
because free doesn't mean cheap.
Sometimes it means absolutely100%.
Brilliant Audacity, that's theobvious one.
It's not flashy, it's not thesexiest doll out there on the
market, but if you need a quickmulti-track edit, a live

(05:47):
recording cleanup or just a wayto slice up promos, it gets the
job done and it does it pretty,pretty well and pretty fast.
I still use it all the timewhen I'm working in the field.
Then there's but no, I'm notmaking that up it's B U T T, it
stands for broadcast.
Using this tool, it's alightweight, bulletproof way to

(06:10):
stream live audio to an Icecastor a Shoutcast server.
I've never I've even used it tobackhaul remote sports events
when the fancy equipment failed.
And we can't forget about OBSStudio.
Look, whether you're doing alive video podcast, a remote

(06:30):
newscast or even building adigital signage system even
building a digital signagesystem, obs gives you
production-level control with,again, zero licensing costs.
Zero licensing cost For youaudio nerds.

(06:55):
There's also Jack, the JackAudio Connection Kit for routing
low latency audio betweenprograms on Linux Think Dante
but open source and local.
Paul Rees-Mondell from CollegeRadio Foundation nailed it when
he said, quote, quote Audacitymight look simple, but in the
right hands it's like handing amaster carpenter a basic hammer.
It's what you do with it thatcounts.

(07:17):
Unquote.
These tools are ready.
You just have to pick them upand swing away.
And hey, if you're looking todive deeper into Linux or open
source tools like LibreNMS,zabbix and Grafana, there's a
lot of good stuff out there.
You might want to check outCompTIA's Linux Plus program if

(07:39):
you're thinking about gettingcertified or even just want to
gain a kind of foundation forsome Linux skills.
It's a solid way to build realfoundation.
Or if you're more into learn bydoing CBT, nuggets has some
great hands-on training that'llwalk you through real-world
setups.
And don't forget your local SBEchapter.

(08:02):
They're a goldmine ofinformation.
A lot of chapters offerworkshops, tech talks, and it's
just a great way to connect withother engineers who've been
there and done that.
I'll drop links to everythingin the episode description if
you want to check those out.
All right.
So let's land this thing.

(08:23):
Today we hit some of the bestfree and open source tools every
engineer should keep in theirback pocket Linux for servers,
remote links and everything inbetween.
Librenms, grafana and Zabbixfor affordable customized
monitoring Audacity, but an OBSstudio for top-shelf audio and

(08:44):
video workflows without thatcorporate markup.
Free and open-source isn't justa budget move.
It's about taking control ofyour infrastructure, your
content and your future.
Next time, on fully modulated,we're gonna dive into how cloud
services are changing remotebroadcast forever.
Spoiler it's not all sunshineand rainbows.

(09:06):
You're gonna want to be therefor that one.
Until then, keep your signalclean, your mind open and your
config files backed up.