[EAS] Best and Worst of New CAP EAS Rules

[Donald Miller]

    * Page 13 para 26. Requires the use of CAP and the generation .....of the audio message contained in the CAP message IAW ECIG Implementation Guide. (see conflict below)

    * Page 17 para 38. FCC expressed concerns about varying audio qualities of TTS engines in EAS decoders and discussed use of server based TTS audio instead. They deferred a decision on this TTS issue at this time. (see conflict below)

    * Page 58 para 164 and footnote 496.  "We are incorporating conformance with the ECIG Implementation Guide into our existing certification process(para 164)" Then footnote 496 states" As detailed in other sections of this order, we will NOT allow EAS participants to use text-to-speech software configured in their EAS equipment to generate the audio portion of an EAS message....".  This directly contradicts their statement above (see page 17 para 38) to defer a decision at this time. 
    * Depending upon whether this footnote is correct or not....We could be required to send WAV and MP3 files only or do the audio TTS at the server. This will affect only the originators.  I elevated this conflict to the FCC.

Don MIller
SVP of Business Development
MyStateUSA, Inc. 

On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 7:54 AM, Tom Taggart <tpt at literock93r.com> wrote:
>"FCC prohibits text-to-voice" conversion?"

>So, in other words, there was no real point in my spending
>$2K for two boxes?

>Let's cut through the crap. NWS is what we need EAS for 99%
>of the time. The other 1% is to keep the FCC goons off our
>back. NWS is used to sending text to their system to be
>converted into voice by "perfect Paul."  NWS is not going to
>have someone cut a voice message--convert it to an MP3--and
>attach it to the CAP message.

>And having "Enhanced Text" on a TV crawl doesn't do much
>good if there is a storm approaching & you are driving 70
>miles an hour on the freeway towards it.
>Had that problem in the past with Pittsburgh NWS kicking the
>tones but not sending any voice message over their stations.

>I assume my Sage units have some means to do text to voice,
>haven't seen any way to test it.  But I assumed that was the
>point of the system.  As long as it is close to the same
>quality as the NWS that would be a start. Since these are
>computers, that can always be upgraded.

>We have our share of weird Indian names in both Ohio and WV.
>Tom Brokaw talki9ng about "KEN-awa county (charleston) comes
>to mind. Then there's Ashtabula and Conneaut, which are not
>ASH-TAB-ula or CON-Ute. But if the message gets out that
>there is a tornado going that way that's irrelevant. The
>folks in ASH-ta-beaulah and Connie-Ought will get the
>message.

>This is beginning to smell like another Beltway screw-up.

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