In Broadcast - In Show Guide 2016 - 68

www.inbroadcast.com | IBC2016 InShow Guide | 9-13 September

Orban OPTIMOD
Audio Processing

Since the early '70s Orban with its renowned OPTIMOD Series has been the leading manufacturer
of AM, FM, DAB, television loudness controllers and streaming audio processors...

rban's engineering team based
in San Leandro, USA is headed by
Founder, Bob Orban. In 2009, Orban
successfully moved its manufacturing
and Global Sales to Orban Europe
GmbH in Germany.
Orban introduced the first FM Audio
Processor in the mid-'70s. In 1981
Orban introduced the very first TV
Loudness Controller, the OPTIMOD
TV 8180A, which was bought by
broadcasters around the globe.
Orban is proud to have been
successfully
engineering
and
manufacturing television loudness
controllers, AM, FM and DAB
processors for more than 40 years
in a market which is constantly
evolving. From the BBC to CNN many
broadcasters rely on the OPTIMOD
to ensure that their audio quality is
perfect.
Television Audio Processing
The OPTIMOD TV-8685 is Orban's
second-generation
surround/2.0
processor. In addition to the effective
automatic loudness control of its
predecessor, the TV-8685 offers new
input/output capabilities that include
support for SDI and HD-SDI and for
Dolby E.
The
built-in,
Orban-developed
Optimix® upmixer provides automatic
and completely convincing stereoto-surround upmixing, with a solid,
discrete centre channel. Unlike
technology derived from consumer
matrix decoders, there is no
programme-dependent
directional
pumping of sound sources. Unique to
this technology is extremely robust
centre channel phase/skew correction
that never causes negative side effects.
It is invaluable for older material that
was originally recorded on analogue
tape. Optimix's output downmixes
to stereo flawlessly, and the skew
correction often makes the downmix
sound better than the original stereo!
There are large, important subjective
differences between OPTIMOD and
competing processors. OPTIMOD has
a unique architecture that processes
the centre channel to correct spectral
and loudness balance problems that
compromise dialogue intelligibility

Orban's OPTIMOD TV-8685 second generation processor

in ill-considered mixes. We have
heard reports from broadcasters
who have suffered increased viewer
complaints
about
unintelligible
dialogue after installing the leading
competitive processor. The TV-8685
is exactly the opposite - in addition
to flawless loudness control, it also
improves dialogue intelligibility and
maintains a full, natural sound without
exaggerated "esses," hollowed-out
midrange, or obtrusive pumping of
ambient sound. Thanks to the Optimix
upmixer, which cleanly extracts
dialogue from stereo sources, the TV8685 can even improve dialogue from
these sources! These factors are why
the TV-8685's subjective audio quality
wins every serious shoot-out when
compared to its competition.
The TV-8685 is dialnorm-aware.
Loudness control is excellent when
measured by the ITU BS.1770-2 and
EBU R-128 standards or by the TV8685's built-in CBS Loudness Meters,
allowing stations to comply effortlessly
with the requirements of the CALM act.
An included logging application allows
time-stamped indications of the TV8685's built-in BS.1770-4 short-term
and integrated loudness meters to
be written to a Windows PC's local or
network storage.
Winning Strategy
OPTIMOD-FM 8600 is Orban's
flagship processor. Featuring versatile
five-band and two-band processing for
both analogue FM transmission and
digital media, the FM-8600 provides
the industry's most consistent sound,
track-to-track and source-to-source.
This consistency allows you to create

a sonic signature for your station with
the assurance that your signature will
stay locked in, uniquely branding your
sound.
Dramatically improved peak limiter
technology decreases distortion while
increasing transient punch and high
frequency power handling capacity.
Compared to the FM-channel peak
limiter in OPTIMOD-FM 8500, the new
peak limiter typically provides 2.5 to
3 dB more power at high frequencies,
which minimises audible HF loss
caused by pre-emphasis limiting.
Drums and percussion cut through
the mix. Highs are airy. "Problem
material" that used to cause audible
distortion is handled cleanly.
While this design offers about the
same loudness as FM-8500 processing,
its main goal is to make FM analogue
broadcasts more competitive with
the cleanliness, punch, and open
high frequencies of the digital
media against which FM analogue
transmissions now battle. The FM
loudness wars represent 20th-century
thinking; in the 21st century, the new
competition is digital media. Thanks
to its fresh, crisp sound, the FM-8600
helps level the playing field between
analogue FM and its ever more
aggressive digital-only competitors.
The FM-8600 offers FM-8500style processing too. This allows
broadcasters to run favourite FM8500 presets if they wish. Because the
input/output delay of the new peak
limiter is too long to permit talent to
monitor off-air on headphones, FM8500 processing is useful for remotes
and outside broadcasts where off-air
headphone monitoring is desired,

Sonic signature from OPTIMOD-FM 8600

and the FM-8600's low-delay monitor
output cannot be brought to the talent.
The FM-8600 provides stereo
enhancement, equalisation, AGC,
multiband
compression,
low-IM
peak limiting, stereo encoding, and
composite limiting - everything that
even the most competitive major
market station needs to stand out on
the dial.
Processing for digital media like
netcasts and HD Radio is supplied
as standard. The FM and digital
media processing paths split after
the FM-8600's stereo enhancer
and AGC. There are two equalisers,
multiband compressors and peak
limiters, allowing the analogue FM
and digital media processing to be
optimised separately. The bottom line?
Processing that optimises the sound
of your FM channel while punching
remarkably crisp, clean, CD-like
audio through to your digital channel
audience.
More than 20 excellent sounding,
format specific factory presets get you
started. You'll find all of your favourite
FM-8500 presets, plus new "MX"
presets designed by Bob Orban and
Greg Ogonowski, to exploit the exciting
possibilities inherent in the FM8600's new peak limiter technology.
Although the factory presets are fully
competent "out of the box", you can
customise them with easy one-knob
LESS-MORE control, or with more than
60 advanced controls whose versatility
will satisfy even the most finicky on-air
sound designer.
New for the FM-8600 is the ability to
apply MPX power gain reduction after
the clippers so that the texture of the
processing can include more "clipper
sound" when desired. Regardless
of how you adjust the multiplex
power controller, you can be sure
that you will always meet the BS 412
requirements flawlessly.
The 8600 includes a full-featured
RBS/RBDS generator at no additional
charge. The generator supports
dynamic PS. It can be controlled via
8600 presets and an ASCII terminal
server that can be connected to
automation to support displaying title
and artist. www.orban.com

http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.orban.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - In Show Guide 2016