What 'in the cloud' means
Nothing mysterious: the automation, the library and the transmitter run on a server in a data centre, and you operate them through the browser. The stream leaves from that server, so your own internet connection only has to be good enough to manage and to go live if you want. At NexRadio that is one server per station, not a shared pool.
What you gain
No PC running a Windows update at three in the morning. No power cut in the studio silencing the station. Management from anywhere: adjust a clock from your phone, approve a request from the beach. Backup arranged at a second location. Several presenters working on different hours at the same time. And for a network: all stations in one environment.
What you give up
The physical knob. Some presenters want a fader under their hand; that works with a mixing desk that sends the microphone to the server, but it is an extra step. And you depend on internet to go live: if the studio connection drops, the automation simply carries on, but the live voice does not. For most stations that is the right side of the dependency.
Sound: where the quality stays
Cloud does not mean worse sound. It means your source files go to the server untouched, that processing happens at one point, in the transmitter, and that the stream leaves at MP3 320 kbps. What you do have to ask: is anything converted to 16-bit on the way, is anything normalised at import, and where does the processing sit. Every extra processing point costs quality.
The microphone
Presenting live from the cloud works with a microphone path from the browser to the server, with a fixed, small delay. Our rule: the microphone is only audible when the presenter opens it and the studio is set to manual; on automatic it is never audible, even if audio comes in. That prevents a forgotten tab talking over an unattended broadcast.
When local is still better
If you have an FM transmitter with a studio that by regulation needs a local processor and a local emergency output, or if your internet connection is structurally unreliable and you do a lot of live. Then a hybrid works: automation in the cloud, with a local relay to the transmitter. Ask, instead of choosing on gut feeling.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if the data centre fails?
Every customer has their own server with a nightly backup of the database and a weekly one of the audio at a second location. Enterprise customers also have a failover server that takes over the broadcast.
Can I keep using my own mixing desk?
Yes, as a source for the microphone and external audio. The desk sends to the browser or to a small device that streams to the server.
How much bandwidth do I need in the studio?
Very little for management. For live presenting a stable connection of a few hundred kilobits per second upstream; the stream to listeners does not leave from your studio but from the server.