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NewTek TriCaster 2 Elite (3 RU) User Manual

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Each input and output has its own control column with

Volume

slider(s), VU meter(s), and other convenient

features. An identifying label sits at the top of each control panel. Roll the mouse pointer over the label to
reveal a

Configuration button

(gear) at right which, when clicked, opens the

Configuration

panel for the input

(Figure 27).

In this latter panel, click the

Connection

menu to display options for an input. You will see the local hardware

inputs listed in the

Local

group

as “IN 1”, “IN 2”, etc

.

Local connections can be assigned to ‘listen’ to either an SDI embedded audio source connected to the

corresponding video input, or analog audio inputs provided on the unit.

Note: Analog audio levels conform to SMPTE RP-155. The maximum input/output level is +24 dBu and the
sample rate is 48 kHz.

Beyond this, you have the option of assigning the audio delivered over the network from any NDI or other
supported network aud

io source (such as Audinate’s Dante™ sources) available on the system.

Returning to the audio

Input Configuration

panel, note that it holds both basic and advanced audio features.

In the former category, volume

sliders are provided below

VU

meters

for each audio source and output. Source sliders

default to their 0dB gain setting on first launch. After adding
audio sources, adjust these sliders as required.

Hint: Most numeric controls in the interface can be reset to
their defaults using Shift + double-click on the control knob.
The default value for Gain sliders is 0dBVU.

A

UDIO

H

EADROOM

In digital audio systems, levels exceeding

‘legal’

values are

‘clipped’ (uniformly assigned the maximum value). This

results in audible issues that cannot be easily corrected later.

For this reason, it’s customary to configure normal operating

level

(also referred to as the ‘alignment level’, and sometime

s,

‘nominal level’)

well below the clipping limit

sufficiently so

that occasional excessively loud sounds (say, loud laughter or
applause) can be accommodated without risk.

This range above between nominal level and the highest

possible

level is common

ly referred to as ‘audio headroom’.

What is considered a suitable headroom allowance can vary
from one locale to another, in different industry applications,
and even in individual studios. NewTek systems follow well-
established audio conventions, providing 20dB of headroom
above nominal level (+4dBu at 0dB on the VU scale).

Hint: Confusion can sometimes arise because different calibration scales are common in various audio realms,
and even for different device types and software.

FIGURE 27