Home > PRSS Forward > FAQ PRSS® Forward FAQ PRSS Forward Frequently Asked Questions Thank you to everyone who sent comments and questions in response to the initial editions of PRSS Forward. We appreciate the feedback we received, and we will do our best to provide answers to the questions that were raised. We don’t have answers to all of the queries we received – we’re still early in the planning process and many details are still to be decided. But our goal is to share with the system all of the details and information about the upgrade project as we confirm them. We will continue to update this page as we receive new questions. Check future issues of PRSS Forward for alerts (and a link) to the PRSS Forward FAQ.   What is the PRSS Forward project and what is the timeline? PRSS Forward is a system-wide project, which will run through 2013, to upgrade or replace certain hardware and software components of the system. Funded by Congress through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the project will involve significant improvements to equipment provided to PRSS Satellite Interconnected stations nationwide and to internal PRSS systems. We’ve broken the project down into four distinct parts, or blocks, based on the umbrella concept of MOVE. Block M – Receiver and PRSS NOC Upgrade (Sept. 2009 - May 2011) This initiative involves designing, developing and deploying new satellite receivers at 400+ interconnected stations. It also calls for upgrading the current PRSS Network Operations Center (NOC) and making extensive software changes to enable the new head-end equipment to support the new receivers. Block O – New NOC Build-Out (Jan. 2010 – June 2013) This block revolves around the design, construction and testing of a brand new NOC at NPR’s new headquarters. The requirements of this initiative include selecting and acquiring new hardware and developing software. Block V – Ground Equipment Upgrade (Jan. 2010 – June 2013) Block V refers to the effort to assess the condition of downlink-antenna systems at all PRSS satellite interconnected stations. To the pubradio community, this component began in January with the Ground Equipment Questionnaire sent to stations. Now that the questionnaires have been completed, we’re in the process of evaluating the results and will be following up with stations in the near future. Block E –Building Move (Sept. 2009 – June 2013) Block E is the overall effort to plan NPR’s move from 635 Massachusetts Ave. to 1111 N. Capitol Street, with a focus on preparing the new location for installation and activation of the new NOC. This is a far-reaching effort, involving the whole of NPR, and includes logistical plans for the PRSS NOC, the satellite depot, and other pieces of the PRSS infrastructure. Isn’t it too soon to be replacing equipment? Most of the equipment provided by PRSS was distributed in 2005. We anticipate that stations will begin actually receiving new equipment in 2010 or beyond, making it at least five years since the previous upgrade. Who does this project affect? PRSS satellite interconnected public radio stations. My station purchased extra SR2000pro receivers. Will the PRSS be providing us with replacements? Each satellite interconnected station will receive two new IDC SFX4104 Pro Audio receivers. Each of the new receivers will capture both streams and files in a single unit, and will have four completely independent audio outputs/ports – that’s double the number of outputs/ports on the SR2000pro. What kind of connectors will the new receivers have? The SFX4104s are still in the prototyping phase and several features – including connector types – have not been finalized. Will my station’s SR2000pro receivers work after the SFX4104s are activated? Yes, it’s expected that stations will run both their old and new receivers in a dual-operations mode for a period of time. The PRSS will provide stations with at least six months notice before turning off the delivery system for the old receivers. Does the PRSS plan to phase out use of MPEG Layer 2 codec? While the SFX4104s are capable of handling several different algorithms, we plan to continue using the MPEG Layer 2 codec for the foreseeable future. Will the sample rate for the SFX4104s playout be 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz? This is another feature of the new receivers that has not been finalized. Have a question about the PRSS Forward project that you'd like answered?  Send it to PRSSForward@npr.org.