Optimod-PC 1101e ~ Features

Optimod-quality digital audio processing on a PCIe sound card that pre-processes audio for consistency and loudness before it is transmitted or recorded.
Applications include netcasting, HD Radio^® (both primary and secondary digital channels), DAB and other dedicated digital radio services, FMExtra^™ and other digital subcarriers, mastering, audio production, and many others.
Supplied WAVE drivers allow Optimod-PC's processed output to pass through the PCIe bus to the CPU, driving standard PC applications like Orban's Opticodec-PC MPEG-4 HE-AAC, Microsoft, or Real streaming encoders. Optimod-PC's audio driver allows it to appear as two sound devices to the computer's operating system. The driver (with the aid of concurrently running third-party software) also allows Optimod-PC to receive audio over IP from the host computer's network connection. Drivers are available for 32 and 64-bit Windows XP, 32 and 64-bit Windows Vista, and 32 and 64-bit Windows 7.
Orban PreCode^™ technology manipulates several aspects of the audio to minimize artifacts caused by low bitrate codecs, ensuring consistent loudness and texture from one source to the next. PreCode includes special audio band detection algorithms that are energy and spectrum aware. This can improve codec performance on some codecs by reducing audio processing induced codec artifacts, even with program material that has been preprocessed by other processing than Optimod.
Two-Band automatic gain control with window gating and selectable L/R or sum/difference processing compensates for widely varying input levels.
Shelving bass equalizer and three-band parametric equalizer let you color the audio to your exact requirements.
Low-IM look-ahead limiter effectively limits peaks while ensuring that low-bit-rate codecs operate optimally without overload.
Precisely controls peak levels to prevent overmodulation or codec overload. The peak limiter can be set up to control "flat" transmission channels or channels preemphasized at 50µs or 75µs.
While primarily oriented toward "flat" media, Optimod-PC can also provide preemphasis limitingfor the two standard preemphasis curves of 50μs and 75μs. This allows it to protect preemphasized satellite uplinks and similar channels where protection limiting or light processing is required.
- Because its processing topology is most effective with "flat media," Optimod-PC cannot provide extreme loudness for preemphasized radio channels. Use one of Orban's Optimod-FM processors for this application. For analog television with FM aural carrier(s), use Optimod-TV 8382.
Optimod-PC's dual-mono architecture allows entirely separate mono programs to be processed in 5-band mode, facilitating dual-language operation.
- In this mode, both processing channels operate using the same processing parameters (like release time); you cannot adjust the two channels to provide different processing textures.
Balanced analog input with 24-bit A/D converter is always active, mixing with the two digital inputs.
Balanced analog monitor output with 24-bit D/A converter.
Two AES3 or SPDIF digital inputs with high-quality sample rate conversion allow two asynchronous digital sources to be mixed: Ideal for network operations using local commercial/announcement insertion.
The second digital input also accepts AES3 house sync, synchronizing the AES3 output sample rate to the sample rate of the sync input.
Digital inputs accept any sample rate from 32 to 96 kHz without manual configuration.
Two AES3 digital outputs at 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, or 96 kHz sample rate. In v1.0 software, these emit identical signals.
Two Wave inputs from any PC audio application (like a playout system) that can emit standard Wave audio. Audio from the Wave inputs can be mixed and switched with Optimod-PC's hardware inputs. Because there are two inputs, you can operate two PC applications simultaneously and mix and/or switch their Wave outputs inside Optimod-PC, such as content/commercial insertion systems.
Two Wave outputs to any PC audio application that can record or encode.
Optimod-PC controls the audio bandwidth as necessary to accommodate the transmitted sample frequency, obviating the need for extra, overshooting anti-aliasing filters in downstream equipment. Optimod-PC's high frequency bandwidth can be switched instantly (typically in 1 kHz increments) between 10.0 kHz and 20 kHz. 20 kHz is used for highest-quality systems. 15 kHz meets the requirements of the iBiquity^® HD-AM system that use 44.1 kHz system input sample frequency. (15 kHz codec bandwidth may also help low bitrate lossy codecs sound better than they do when fed full 20 kHz bandwidth audio.) 10 kHz bandwidth meets the requirements of auxiliary DAB transmissions using a 24 kHz sample frequency.
Internal processing occurs at 48 kHz sample rate and 20 kHz audio bandwidth.
Full PCIe bus-mastering with optimization.
I/O Mixer application permits versatile routing and switching of processed and unprocessed audio from and to Optimod-PC's inputs and outputs, and to and from the host computer's WAVE audio.
Terminal Control API for network or localhost control and automation of all I/O Mixer functions and Preset switching. Status is broadcast to all active clients.
Serial Control API allows Optimod-PC to be controlled either by ASCII serial commands or by a serial-to-contact-closure device such as a Broadcast Tools SRC-16.
MS Windows Mixer API support in parallel to the existing Orban Mixer allows standard Microsoft Windows audio applications to control Optimod PC's inputs and outputs.
MS Windows Metering API so Windows applications using this API will display audio levels. (Many broadcast playout systems use this.)
Freescale DSPs do all the audio processing—there is no extra DSP load on your computer's CPU, allowing more CPU for encoding of bit-reduced audio.
Full coprocessing (independent of the host computer's CPU) means that audio will ordinarily continue to pass through the card from its hardware inputs to its hardware outputs even if the host computer crashes. (Of course, Wave inputs and outputs will stop working because these are dependent on operating system services.)
Optimod-PC ships with over twenty standard presets, which correspond to different programming formats. These presets have already been tested and field-proven in major-market radio netcasting, digital radio, and direct satellite broadcasting applications (both radio and television) worldwide. There are also special-purpose presets for studio AGC, pure peak limiting, and low bitrate encoding applications.
An easy-to-use graphic control application runs on your PC and can act as a client to control any number of Optimod-PC cards, either locally or in other PCs on your network via TCP/IP. The Orban software offers a server function, allowing other computers on your network to address cards located in your PC. (This server software is installed automatically as part of the Optimod-PC installation process and runs as a Windows Service.)
The Control application allows you complete flexibility to create your own custom presets, to save as many as you want to your local hard drive, and to recall them at will.
Orban ClockLock^™ technology locks the 1101e's output sample rate to an external 10 MHz, word clock, or AES3/AES11 reference. Both AES3 outputs and WAV output can be locked, which prevents buffer underflows and overflows in downstream software and hardware. ClockLock uses a phase-locked loop with crystal VFO to ensure low jitter and will lock to 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, and 96 kHz sample rates.

Adaptability through Multiple Audio Processing Structures

A processing structure is a program that operates as a complete audio processing system. Only one processing structure can be active at a time. Just as there are many possible ways of configuring a processing system using analog components (such as equalizers, compressors, limiters, and clippers), there are many possible processing structures achievable by Optimod-PC. Optimod-PC realizes its processing structures as a series of high-speed mathematical computations made by Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chips.
Optimod-PC features two processing structures: Five-Band (or Multiband) for a consistent, "processed" sound, free from undesirable side effects and Two-Band for a tastefully controlled sound that preserves the frequency balance of the original program material.
The Two-Band structure can also be tuned to operate as a Protection Limiter, providing up to 25dB of safety limiting with minimal side effects.
Optimod-PC can increase the density and loudness of the program material by multiband compression and look-ahead limiting, improving the consistency of the station's sound and increasing loudness and definition remarkably, without producing unpleasant side effects.
Optimod-PC rides gain over an adjustable range of up to 25dB, compressing dynamic range and compensating for operator gain-riding errors and for gain inconsistencies in automated systems.
Optimod-PC's processing structures are all phase-linear to maximize audible transparency.
Optimod-PC can be changed from one processing structure to another with a smooth cross-fade.
The 1101e provides two different stereo enhancement algorithms. The first is based on Orban's patented analog 222 Stereo Enhancer, which increases the energy in the stereo difference signal (L-R) whenever a transient is detected in the stereo sum signal (L+R). The second stereo enhancement algorithm passes the L-R signal through a delay line and adds this decorrelated signal to the unenhanced L-R signal. Gating circuitry prevents over-enhancement and undesired enhancement on slightly unbalanced mono material.
Two-Band automatic gain control with window gating and selectable L/R or sum/difference processing compensates for widely varying input levels.
Shelving bass equalizer and three-band parametric equalizer let you color the audio to your exact requirements.
Two-band and five-band compressors with parametric soft-knee compression curves allow you to fine-tune the audio to your exact requirements and make Optimod-PC an excellent mastering processor.
The output of the two-band or five-band compressor can be routed directly to the card's outputs, facilitating creation of a low-delay monitoring path for talent headphones.
Low-IM look-ahead limiter effectively limits peaks while ensuring that low-bit-rate codecs operate optimally without overload.
CBS Loudness Controller^™ limits subjective loudness to a preset threshold , making the 1101e an ideal processor in sound-for-picture applications by taming loud commercials before they annoy and alienate the audience. The Loudness Controller uses the 1981 Jones & Torick algorithm developed at CBS Technology Center and further refined by Orban. This processing fully complies with the loudness control requirements in ATSC A/85:2011 and EBU R 128.
CBS Loudness Meter^™ measures the subjective loudness of the 1101e's output and is displayed in the 1101e's control application meter window. In dual-mono mode, there are two independent loudness controllers and two loudness meters available.
Transparently supports dialnorm metadata in Dolby Digital^® transmissions: If you tell the 1101e the dialnorm level you are sending to receivers and use a "TV" processing preset, your transmission will automatically have the same loudness as other properly aligned Dolby Digital sources. This makes the 1101e an excellent choice to process ATSC subchannels.
A pure peak limiting preset is available. It allows the 1101e to perform very high quality peak limiting in mastering applications.
Optimod-PC can be used as for automatic gain control, AGC (including peak limiting) to protect a studio-to-transmitter link (STL), optimally using the STL's native dynamic range.

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