Omnia Audio Omnia 8x - Manual (Page 5)

Motivation
The worldwide broadcasting industry has over 15,000 radio stations. All of which employ some form of dynamics
audio processor in the transmission path. This does not even count the plethora of production utilities that require
some form of dynamics application. The digital workstation, audio console, and routing switchers have
revolutionized the broadcasting industry. It is now possible to completely operate an entire facility from a single
computer. Every function for on-air purposes is now in one digital form or another. The increasing ability of
software packages for the broadcaster to synergize between one-another continues to grow, and the future is looking
brighter with respect to an eventual single system solution where the entire facility will operate out of some form of
workstation-like system.
Development has now been done in the area of audio processing as well. We have reached that day when the box in
the rack can be replaced with a simple software (S/W) package on a machine. In some smaller applications, this has
begun already! Consider when everything will become S/W created from some single-ended system that has a low-
level RF output that is coupled into a transmitter, or remains in the digital realm as it is routed via the Internet. Part
of that system will include a processing function, as is performed today using hardware (H/W) devices.
Another barrier to adoption of the hardware processors is the signal path. With current audio processors, the
computer playing out the audio must send the audio via an analog sound card. Then the computer doing the
subsequent encoding must receive the audio again via a sound card. While this works well enough, many potential
customers perceive it as being awkward.
Livewire TM , the linear IP-Audio network solution, eliminates costly sound cards, and enables simple and easy
connection among peripherals. Not to mention that it provides backhaul for remote control and data.
Effective processing divides audio into multiple frequency bands and dynamically adjusts levels to be optimum. On
the surface, this is a simple function. But to get the sound appropriately optimized without adding undesirable
“artifacts” is a tricky blend of art and science involving many trade-offs. Expert ears coupled with audio design
expertise are required to get the engineering work accomplished – and these are rare combined skills.
Omnia 8x is multiple instances of a stand-alone software signal processor. It does not require a dedicated PC card to
operate as it utilizes Livewire
TM I/O and the dedicated resources of an engine. Omnia 8x incorporates multiple
instances of our Omnia A/X core, which is an applet for a production suite, mastering, Internet streaming, satellite
uplinks, HD Radio, or stored-file applications. The dynamics processing algorithms are based upon the highly
successful Omnia.3net, which is a hardware based DSP audio processor.
iii