Inbroadcast engineering, aremote broadcast (usually just called aremote or alive remote, or in news parlance, alive shot) isbroadcasting done from a location away from a formaltelevision orradio studio and is considered anelectronic field production (EFP). Aremote pickup unit (RPU) is usually used totransmit theaudio and/orvideo back to thebroadcast station, where it joins the normalairchain. Other methods includesatellite trucks,production trucks and evenregulartelephone lines if necessary.
The first airing of a remote broadcast came in 1924, whenLoew's Theater publicist and WHN (New York City) station managerNils Granlund leased telegraph lines fromWestern Union to provide the first link in what became called cabaret broadcasting."[1] By early 1925, Granlund had established remote lines between WHN and more than thirty New York City jazz nightclubs, including the Silver Slipper, The Parody Club, theCotton Club, the Strand Roof, and Club Moritz. Thesebig band remotes would become a staple of theold-time radio era, lasting well into the 1950s.
Nils T. Granlund cited the 1925 WHN airing of SenatorJames J. Walker's announcement of his New York City mayoral candidacy through a remote broadcast from the New York Press Club as the first such remote link for a political forum.[2]
In Latin America on 27 October 1920, Dr Sussini made the first remote transmission in Argentina from the theatre El Coliseo in Buenos Aires. In Mexico on 27 September 1921, Adolfo Gomez Fernandez made a transmission from the Teatro Ideal, Mexico DF[3]
The very first live remote broadcast to the nation was by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1938 when Frank Willis reported on the Moose River Gold Mine disaster in Nova Scotiahttp://archives.cbc.ca/economy_business/natural_resources/clips/3860/
On 11 June 1955, NBC, The National Broadcasting Company, provided the 1st live remote broadcast to the nation from Niagara Falls, New York.[4]
Inradio, remotes are often used for special events, such as concerts or sporting events, where either the entire event or advertisements for the event are broadcast on location. The cost of personnel and equipment is usually paid for by the host at each performance. However, if the event is recurring, such as a weekly broadcast from anightclub, then dedicated lines are usually installed by the local telephone company in order to save on costs. With low range radio stations, and at events with no telephone lines, several radio stations will call into the studio request line with a cell phone and microphone setup. From there, another DJ in the studio will put them on-location live on the air via the studio request line. Some stations use this method when doing live broadcasts in areas where the signal is weak.
Originally,analog audio broadcasts were sent throughtelephone hybrids, which, although low quality, were found to be acceptable for voice broadcasts. Later,frequency extenders were developed that used additional lines, shifting highertrebleaudio frequencies down on one end and back up on the other, providing a reasonable reproduction of the originalsound. Currently, digital lines, such asISDN orDSL, are used to sendcompresseddigital audio back to the studio. In addition, modern remote pickup units have become extremely portable and can transmit single-channelmonophonicFM-quality audio over regular telephone lines using built-in modems and advanced compression algorithms (MPEG-4, etc.). SeePOTS codec.
InTV,live television remotes are an almostdaily part oftelevision news broadcasts in the U.S. As a part ofelectronic news gathering (ENG), remotes are meant to bring theaudience to the scene of the action.
To get to the scene quickly, a live remote may be done from ahelicopter.
Live television remotes may often be used in a manner similar to radio remotes (and vice versa) as well.