Grass Valley UniConfi NVISION Series v.2.1 - Manual (Page 52)

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Partitions and Signal Types
Partitions and Signal Types
Mono v. Stereo Audio
Most NVISION series routers that switch audio can switch the audio as stereo pairs or as indi-
vidual “mono” channels. NV8500 standard routers do not support mono audio. Nor do they
support analog audio.
Uniconfig can set up both stereo router partitions and mono partitions. NV9000 router control
systems configurations support stereo switching and mono switching. Third-party control
systems might or might not have support for stereo and mono.
Certain control system configuration problems arise when you want to route a signal as a stereo
pair at one time and then switch the same signal as mono channels at a another time.
How do you configure — in the control system — an input to be both stereo and mono? The
problems related to this question lie in making the control system conform to the routing
requirements of your facility and accommodating the expectations of control panel operators.
The creation of audio partitions in UniConfig is involved in the configuration task.
We provide two methods for creating devices that can be used as either stereo or mono devices.
To understand the methods better, please review the following definitions and concepts.
Definitions and Concepts
Audio signals arrive at, and depart from, the audio router as stereo pairs, whether they are AES,
MADI, or analog audio.
In NVISION series routers, in UniConfig, and in this document, the term “stereo” means two
audio signals combined into one. That is all it means. (The concept of left and right channels is
supported but is by no means necessary.)
In NVISION series routers, in UniConfig, and in this document, “mono” means one or the other of
the two parts of a “stereo” pair. That is all it means. We use the term “channel” for mono signals.
The NV9000 control system’s concept of breakaway is not possible for signals configured as
stereo. Breakaway is possible, however, for the 2 (or more) mono signals that are defined in a
level set. Third-party router control systems might differ.
On router backplanes, AES connectors are BNCs, DIN (1.0/2.3), or Phoenix 3-pin (shielded
twisted pair) quick-release connectors.
On router backplanes, analog audio connectors are DB25s. (Each DB25 assigns 3 pins to a
shielded twisted pair, and supports 8 channels or 4 “stereo” pairs.)
On router backplanes, MADI connectors can vary. (For the NV7512, the MADI input and output
cards have two 75
W BNCs for MADI (up to 64 channels). NV7512 configuration dictates how the
ports are used.)
Regardless of the external signal type, and regardless of the router, all audio signals are treated
uniformly as AES internally and are converted to AES (if necessary) at input and converted from
AES (if necessary) at output.
When you create a “mono” partition in UniConfig, the number of ‘Controller’ ports is double the
number of physical ports. That means the control system will recognize that there are two sepa-
rate channels on each connector and that the router will treat them separately.
The “mono” port numbers (L,R) for any stereo connector (S) are easy to calculate:
R = S × 2 L = R – 1
For example, connector 47 provides mono channels 93 and 94.