Broadcast delay
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
A broadcast delay, profanity delay, or time delay is a means to provide a brief delay for review of a live broadcast to ensure it meets broadcast standards, and does not have any indecency or obscenity. This is most often done to ensure that profanity is not aired outside of overnight safe harbor hours, when children may be watching or listening. This is particularly important on talk shows, when callers may unexpectedly say inappropriate things. It may also be done, often with a shorter delay, in order to eliminate coughs or other noises not wanted on the air. Since a death happened on live television in 2004, it is now also used for broadcast remotes on TV if there is the risk of violence.
The delay can be provided through a special type of tape recording, or more recently, the use of computer memory to record and subsequently play back live audio and video after review by censors. Many audio mixing consoles and telephone hybrids are now digital and have such a feature built in. In television this is more difficult, as the audio and video must maintain proper synchronization, and uncompressed video takes an enormous amount of memory.
Digital delay units have a computer memory buffer, and typically have several buttons and a small display on the front, and are mounted in a single rack unit. Every delay has a "dump" button, which deletes all or part of the buffer. More advanced units include a timestretch feature, which allows the audio to be sped up or slowed down slightly without a change in pitch. This is in order to refill (rebuild) the buffer, or to empty the buffer (ramp-to-zero) at the end of a show or just before a break. This is turn allows for a "cough" or "sneeze" button to keep unwanted noises or comments in the studio and off the air, by keeping the delay unit from recording it.
Despite the delay, which is only a few seconds, a broadcast with such a delay is still considered to be live.
