Troubleshooting at 2wcom: The Customer Support
In this article, we’d like to introduce you to our Customer Support and show you how easy it is to get in touch with us through our 2wcom Download Center and the 2wcom Support Center.
In hybrid radio, synchronization between FM and HD Radio® is critical. Even small timing differences can lead to audible artifacts and inconsistent listener experience. As distribution infrastructures move toward IP, maintaining this alignment becomes increasingly difficult, especially when FM and HD are transported separately.
2wcom addresses this challenge with a synchronized transport approach that combines both signals into a single stream, ensuring they remain aligned from headend to transmitter.
This capability, introduced with the MPX-2c and recognized with a Best of Show Award at NAB 2026, provides a practical and proven solution for modern hybrid radio distribution.
At the core of the solution is a simple but powerful concept: instead of transporting FM and HD separately, both are conveyed together in a shared MPEG Transport Stream.
An analog or digital MPX signal is packetized as RTP, while the HD Radio® E2X stream is delivered as IP/UDP. Both are encapsulated into the same transport stream using Multi Protocol Encapsulation (MPE), following established industry approaches for composite audio transport.
By sharing the same transport path, both signals experience identical network conditions. This eliminates one of the main sources of misalignment in hybrid radio systems: differing delays introduced by separate transport chains.
In HD Radio® systems, the E2X interface carries the digital program content and metadata from the Exporter to the transmission system. It is typically transported as IP packets and handled independently from the FM signal.
Any variation in transport delay between E2X and MPX directly affects alignment. By integrating E2X into the same transport stream as MPX, this dependency on parallel timing paths is fundamentally removed.
Transporting both signals together ensures they arrive together, but precise alignment still requires control of their relative timing.
To achieve this, 2wcom introduces a correlation-based measurement of the latency between MPX and E2X within the transport stream. By analyzing both signal components, the system continuously determines their timing offset and makes this information available for synchronization control.
This approach allows the system to actively align FM and HD Radio® under real operating conditions, rather than relying on static assumptions or manual adjustment.
In practical deployments, this results in synchronization accuracy within ±1 sample, effectively eliminating audible diversity delay and ensuring stable hybrid operation.
The same timing precision is essential when operating multiple transmitters in a Single Frequency Network. In this context, not only must FM and HD be aligned with each other, but all transmitters must also maintain consistent phase and timing.
With integrated delay measurement and support for GPS or 1PPS reference signals, the system provides the necessary timing accuracy for SFN scenarios. MPX output can be aligned across sites while maintaining synchronization with the HD Radio® signal, enabling coherent network-wide operation.
The solution is built for modern IP-based distribution environments, where reliability and flexibility are key. It supports established transport protocols such as SRT, RTP, and RIST, allowing adaptation to different network conditions and operational requirements.
E2X transport can be protected using mechanisms like forward error correction, redundancy schemes, or dual-path delivery. At the same time, broadcasters can choose between uncompressed MPX for maximum signal fidelity or compressed MPX using µMPX when bandwidth is limited.
A key requirement for broadcasters is compatibility with existing systems. The solution is designed to integrate without disrupting established workflows.
It works with any HD Radio® Exporter and interoperates with transmitter platforms such as GatesAir, where HD encoding (e.g. via Exgine) remains external. Existing Gen3 infrastructures can be maintained while benefiting from synchronized transport.
By keeping the system open and interoperable, 2wcom enables a gradual transition toward IP-based and synchronized distribution without requiring a complete redesign of the signal chain.
Combining FM and HD Radio® into a single synchronized stream fundamentally simplifies the distribution architecture. Instead of managing two independent signal paths and their timing relationship, broadcasters work with a unified transport that preserves alignment by design.
The result is a more robust and predictable system, reduced operational complexity, and improved reliability across diverse network conditions.
2wcom’s synchronized FM & HD Radio® transport solution provides a technically precise and practical foundation for modern hybrid radio networks, ensuring that FM and HD arrive together, in sync, every time.