Digital audio system for radio stations

Abstract

A digital radio broadcast station which includes a common digital database having stored therein a plurality of at least several hundred (preferably at least 1800) different selections of music to be played and broadcast by the radio station. A processor system is provided for programming the operation of the digital radio broadcast station with a sequence of music selections, which are subsequently retrieved in order from the common digital database and played over the digital radio broadcast station. The processor system preferably includes a main computer system for operating the radio station, and also a backup computer system for operating the radio station in the event of a failure of the main computer system. The processor system is preferably based upon reduced instruction set computing architecture, and preferably comprises an IBM RS/6000 system with an AIX operating system. The common digital database comprises a disk array storage, preferably a dual port RAID disk array. The digital radio broadcast station also includes a plurality of work station consoles for use by personnel responsible for operating the radio station such as disc jockeys and engineers. A bridge network such as a modem is also provided for connecting the radio station to a further digital database for music selections not stored in the common digital database. The processor system is provided with a connection to a telephone network, such that radio station callers can communicate with the radio station by a touch tone telephone, and is also provided with a connection to an interactive cable television network, such that cable television viewers can communicate with the radio station over the interactive cable television network.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.