In Broadcast - February 2013 - 72

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 16 - FEBRUARY 2013

N E W S

InTEST
On The Level For Legitimate Sound Cont.

processor ranges. The company is
aiming at the very start of the audio
production chain with its On The
Move initiative to install loudness
control systems into OB vehicles.
Among the most recent to do this is
KTK in Kazakhstan, which is using
Jünger D*AP LM4 processors in its
latest DSNG van. The Level Magic
system complies with both 1770-2
and R128 but Managing Director
Peter Pörs feels a mixture of the
EBU format and A/85 “would be
something close to perfection”.
File-based loudness normalisation
systems are now being used later in
the production chain, particularly by
post-production houses that do not
have a sound department. Among
the leading programs is Emotion
Systems’ eFF, which is able to work
with AIFF, WAV, MOV, and MXF
files using either
16-bit or 24-bit
uncompressed
audio tracks. It
also supports
MPG files with
compressed
MP2 audio tracks,
works to the main
loudness formats
and is able to
test for multiple
loudness targets
in a single pass.
E m o t i o n
Systems Chief
Executive MC

4HM’s MADI-MON can inspect embedded audio

Patel says as well as facilities
companies, he is now talking to
archives about using eFF to check
old programmes that are being sold
for re-broadcast or DVD release.

QC Initiatives
The loudness discussion can
obscure the fact that
there are other, equally
important aspects of
audio that still need to be
monitored. As part of its
new initiative on quality
control (QC), the EBU
had created a series of
cards detailing a Top
20 of critical points
to check. In sound
these include audio
coding and clipping,
as well as loudness.
The big change in
TSL’s PAM Pico showing
the StarFish display

audio monitoring has been brought
about by the move away from using
Dolby E for distributing signals
round broadcast centres. While the
compressed format is still used for
carrying multiple channels from one
location to another, once inside a
building they will be processed to
produce either embedded audio in
the SDI stream or discrete signals.
Barry Revels of 4HM Broadcast,
which produces a range of monitors,
converters and processors, says
another change is the growing
number of broadcasters and facilities
using either MADI (Multichannel
Audio Digital Interface) or audio
over IP (AoIP) to carry feeds. While
the shift to IP is to be expected as
broadcasting adopts more IT-based
technologies, the resurgence of
MADI has taken many by surprise.
4HM produces the MADI-MON, a
MADI audio and status monitor
and Revels says there is now “big
demand for MADI monitoring”. The

MADI-MON is able to present 32
MADI pairs or 64-channels on a high
resolution stereo bargraph, with the
ability to analyse the MADI stream in
order to inspect the embedded audio.
During 2012 TSL PPL launched
the PAM2 precision monitor, which
Martin Dyster says takes the range
“to the next level”.
The unit features an external SDI
output, which patches into the main
video chain and routing system.
Dyster adds that there are now
many other components to monitor
today beyond sound, including
audio description channels,
Dolby metadata and down-mix
compatibility of 5.1 to stereo.
IMD uses Wohler and Tektronix
monitors as part of its QC process
but John Bolton observes there is
still a place for human experience
and judgment. “Everything we
do is QCed on headphones –
beyerdynamic DT100s – never
loudspeakers,” he says. Once
material has passed this rigorous
test it moves on to the machine room
for the final, automated QC, after
which it is processed according to
the loudness requirements of the
individual broadcaster.
Which is what this particular area
of technology comes down to. The
equipment is there, the formats are in
place, so people have the option to
develop monitoring procedures that
work for their individual needs.

The Simplicity Of The MADI Protocol Helps To Boost Savings
The MADI (AES-10) Multichannel Audio Distribution Interface, that was born in the early 1990s as a high
capacity link between audio consoles, has been enjoying new popularity in recent years…
By John Giordano
Director of Engineering
Wohler Technologies, Inc.

he simplicity of MADI’s point-topoint nature, its high capacity
digital audio, and its long distance
carrying capability via fibre are
making it the solution of choice for
sophisticated, yet cost-conscious
applications.
In both OBs and production
studios, SDI to MADI conversion
is allowing lower cost system
implementations for the distribution
of de-embedded audio, and new
low-cost multiple-channel MADI
monitors like Wohler’s AMP1-MADIe.
It allows operators to have instant
access to select, mix and monitor
either single or multiple MADI audio
channels, with simple operation that

mirrors today’s standard SDI and
analogue audio monitoring products.
In addition to metering and
monitoring audio programme feeds,
many production facilities are now
utilising these MADI audio monitors
to provide production personnel
with their own separate hot mic
channel, which can be monitored
along with other selected hot mic
channels as needed. This provides
much greater flexibility when
compared to conventional party-line
or dedicated channel intercoms in
fast-paced production environments.
Today’s television production
trucks are often equipped to handle
256 or more MADI channels. Routing

Wohler AMP1-MADIe

64 audio channels on a single wire
or fibre can save days of setup and
teardown in mobile applications
compared to AES cabling, not
to mention the cost savings in
transport and fuel costs resulting
from weight and space reduction.
MADI routers allow the flexibility
of quickly reconfiguring channels
within the MADI streams, and the
high channel capacity allows it
to become a valuable adjunct to
communication normally performed
with production intercom systems.
The ability to be routed using either
coaxial or fibre adds to its flexibility.
Conversion between coax and fibre
is straightforward, can be done with
simple devices, and is increasingly a
part of MADI monitoring equipment.
The broadcast production industry
continues to grow and expand with

the addition of new facilities and
mobile units rapidly expanding the
global footprint.
Lower cost alternatives for
managing and monitoring multichannel audio streams are
increasingly in demand, and
MADI provides an accepted
and established infrastructure
alternative that is being adopted
by broadcasters and their
service providers.
It presents an efficient and
economical solution to reduce
cost and complexity in the design
of modern facilities and outside
broadcast vehicles.
More information on the AMP1MADIe and other Wohler confidence
monitoring products is available at
www.wohler.com.

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In Broadcast - February 2013

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