Studio Technologies 76B 2012 - Manual (Page 34)

Issue 3, August 2012 Model 76B/77B User Guide
Page 34 Studio Technologies, Inc.
for Surround
the remote dim function being active. This
allows remote control equipment, such as
a talkback system, to reliably dim the moni-
tor outputs.
Dialnorm Enable
Enabling the dialnorm level function simply
requires pressing the dialnorm enable but-
ton. The button provides a “latching” function
so that the selected state is maintained. An
associated LED will light whenever the func-
tion is active. The dialnorm enable function
can only be activated when the selected
input source is a surround signal that has
been configured as having dialnorm as-
sociated with it. (This is because dialnorm
level data is available only for that specific
source.) When enabled, as the dialnorm
level changes the monitor output level will
automatically increase or decrease as
appropriate. During configuration of the
system a dialnorm reference level was
entered. This level, typically in the range of
–27 to –24 dB, is compared to the incoming
dialnorm level value. If the current dialnorm
level is less than the reference value the
output level is increased by the difference.
If the current dialnorm level is greater than
the reference value the output level is de-
creased, again by the difference. Note that
dialnorm levels are limited to a range of
–31 to –1 dB. This restricts the maximum
amount of level control to 30 dB.
The 4-digit display, when selected for out-
put level display mode, will display all level
changes as they occur, including level
changes due to dialnorm activity. The cur-
rent dialnorm level value can itself be
viewed by selecting the display dialnorm
mode.
In either display mode the decimal point
“dot” in the lower-right corner of the 4-digit
display will light whenever the current
dialnorm value matches the dialnorm ref-
erence value. This topic is described in
greater detail in the Display and Display
Mode section later on in this section. The
Technical Notes section of this guide also
will provide additional useful information
about dialnorm.
Rotary Level Control
The rotary level control is used to manually
adjust the surround monitor output level. It
is active whenever the reference level func-
tion is not active. The level control provides
the ability to adjust the monitor output level
over a 70 dB range. Technically the rotary
level control is a 24-step-per-revolution
mechanical encoder. The amount of level
change in dB per step (“click”) will depend
on how quickly the control is turned. When
changed slowly, each step represents a
0.5 dB change in level. In this case, to
traverse the entire level range would re-
quire rotating the control more than four full
turns. But the Model 77B’s software detects
when the control is rotated more quickly
and increases the amount of level change
in dB per step. A little experimentation will
allow the user to acquire a good “feel” for
how best to use the control. The reference
LED will flash when the rotary level control
sets the output level to be the same as the
stored reference level. Whenever the rotary
level control is used to set the output level
for minimum, the monitor output channels
will automatically mute. Technically, this
has the same effect as when the mute
all function is active.
Channel Solo
The channel solo function allows specific
channels to be selected for individual
or group “solo” monitoring. The function
takes place electrically “after” the input
source selection, downmix, and level