TC Electronic LOUDNESS PILOT AES3ID UNBAL User Manual PDF

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Product Loudness Pilot Product firmware version Frame software 1.1.00 Document English Manual Document version / date 2014-10-07

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) a

Important safety instructions 1 Warning 2 Caution: 3 Service 3 EMC/EMI 4 For the customers in Canada: 4

About this manual 5 Getting support 6

Before you get started 7 Register your product 8 Stay up-to-date on loudness 8

Unpacking and setup 9 Package contents 10 Setup 10

Software: TC Icon and Loudness Pilot firmware 11 Finding and installing TC Icon software Microsoft Windows 13 Finding and installing TC Icon software OS X 15

Loudness Pilot: An introduction 17 Perfect loudness management for Stereo and Mono 18 Ultra-low latency ultra-high redundancy 18 Comply with loudness standards 18 Targeted On Your Tasks 18

Loudness Pilot Basic concepts and operation 19 Operating Loudness Pilot 20 Hardware versions 20 Expanding your Loudness Pilot 21 Loudness Pilot SDI: The Serial Digital Interface 21 Loudness Pilot AES 21 SDI vs. AES 22 Loudness Pilot presets 22

Loudness Pilot status indicators and ports 23 Front panel indicators 24 Front panel reset button 26 Back panel connectors 27

Setting up Loudness Pilot 31 Networking basics and troubleshooting 32 Quick Setup 35 Updating Loudness Pilot software 36

Basic operation 37 Introduction 38 Basic TC Icon operation 38 Faders 39 On-screen keyboard 41

Accessing Loudness Pilot 42 Operating multiple computers and / or TC HD devices in one network 43 Scanning / rescanning a network for devices 44

Obtaining Loudness Pilot status information 45 Clock section 46 Status section 46

Setting up audio and syncing 49 I/O Setup SDI 50 I/O Setup Loudness Pilot AES 53 Setting up audio dithering 55

Loudness Pilot remote control 56 Remote Master 57 Remote GPI 59 GP Input Calibration 63 Setting up GPO 64 Remote SDI 64

Recalling, storing and deleting settings 67 Scenes, Routings, Engines 68 The Library concept 69 Library Recall page 70 Library Store page 71 Library Delete page 73 Library Bank page 74

Updating Loudness Pilot firmware 75 Finding and installing Loudness Pilot firmware Microsoft Windows 77 Finding and installing Loudness Pilot firmware OS X 79

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) b

Icon Setup 81 Accessing the Icon Setup pages 82 Info page 82 Devices page 83 Security page 84 Joystick page 85 UI page 85 Color page 85

ALC2 87 An introduction to ALC2 88 Main page 89 ALC page 92 Limit page 94

LM2 (optional) 96 LM2 Introduction 97 LM2 Basic Use 99 LM2 Radar Page 101 LM2 Main page 104 LM2 Setup page 107 LM2 Stat(istic)s page 110 Level versus loudness 110 LM2 log files 113 Auto Logging 115

Appendix 1: Links and additional information 119 Support resources 120 TC Electronic on 120 TC HD resources 120 Product-related information 121 Extending your products capabilities with optional licenses 121

Appendix 2: Loudness Pilot GPI/O page 122 GPIO Technical specifications 123 GPI installation 123

Technical specifications 125 Loudness Pilot Frame 126 Transmission 3G Card 127

Important safety instructions

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 1

Important safety instructions

Important safety instructions

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 2

The lightning flash with an arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated dangerous voltage within the products enclosure that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.

The exclamation point within an equilat- eral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions in the literature accompanying the product.

1. Read these instructions.

2. Keep these instructions.

3. Heed all warnings.

4. Follow all instructions.

5. Do not use this apparatus near water.

6. Clean only with dry cloth.

7. Do not block any ventilation openings. In- stall in accordance with the manufacturers instructions.

8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other ap- paratus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.

9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the po- larized or grounding-type plug. A polarized

plug has two blades with one wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safe- ty. If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.

10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus.

11. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.

12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the man- ufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.

13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.

14. Refer all servicing to qualified service per- sonnel. Servicing is required when the ap- paratus has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not oper- ate normally, or has been dropped.

Warning To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock, do not expose this equipment to dripping or splashing and ensure that no objects filled with liquids, such as vases, are placed on the equipment.

Use a three wire grounding type line cord like the one supplied with the product.

Be advised that different operating voltages require the use of different types of line cord and attachment plugs.

Check the voltage in your area and use the correct type. See table below:

Voltage Line plug according to stan- dard

110-125 V UL817 and CSA C22.2 no 42. 220-230 V CEE 7 page VII, SR section 107-2-

D1/IEC 83 page C4. 240 V BS 1363 of 1984. Specification

for 13A fused plugs and switched and unswitched socket outlets.

This equipment should be installed near the socket outlet and disconnection of the device should be easily accessible.

Do not install in a confined space.

Do not open the unit risk of electric shock inside.

Important safety instructions

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 3

Mains ground must be connected.

Norwegian: Apparatet m tilkoples jordet stikkontakt.

Swedish: Apparaten skall anslutas till jordat uttag.

Finnish: Laite on liitettv suojakoskettimilla va- rus-tettuun pistorasiaan.

Caution: You are cautioned that any change or modi- fications not expressly approved in this man- ual could void your authority to operate this equipment.

To completely disconnect from AC mains, disconnect the power supply cord from the AC receptacle.

The mains plug of the power supply shall re- main readily operable.

Danger of explosion if battery is incorrect- ly replaced. Replace only with the same or equivalent type.

Ventilation should not be impeded by cover- ing the ventilation openings with items, such as newspapers, tablecloths, curtains, etc.

Only used at altitude not exceeding 2000 m.

Service There are no user-serviceable parts inside.

All service must be performed by qualified personnel.

Important safety instructions

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 4

EMC/EMI This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B Digital de- vice, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules.

These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a resi- dential installations.

This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communica- tions. However, there is no guarantee that inter- ference will not occur in a particular installation.

If this equipment does cause harmful interfer- ence to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

Increase the separation between the equip- ment and receiver.

Connect the equipment into an outlet on a cir- cuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/ TV technician for help.

The user may find the following booklet, pre- pared by the Federal Communications Com-

mission, helpful: How to identify and Resolve Radio/TV interference Problems. This booklet is available from the US. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, Stock No. 004- 000-0034-4.

For the customers in Canada: This Class B Digital apparatus meets all require- ments of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations ICES-003.

Cet appareil numrique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Rglement sur le mat- riel brouilleur du Canada ICES-003.

About this manual

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About this manual

About this manual

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 6

This manual will help you learn understanding and operating the TC Loudness Pilot.

To get the most from this manual, please read it from start to finish, or you may miss important information.

This manual is only available as a PDF download from the TC Electronic website.

Please do not operate Loudness Pilot before you have made all connections to external equip- ment as described in Setting up Loudness Pi- lot on page 31.

In the subsequent sections of the manual, we assume that all connections are made correctly and that you are familiar with the previous sec- tions.

To download the most current version of this manual, view the product warranty, and ac- cess the growing FAQ database for this product, please visit the web page

tcelectronic.com/support/

Getting support If you still have questions about the product af- ter reading this manual, please get in touch with TC Support:

tcelectronic.com/support/

Before you get started

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 7

Before you get started

Before you get started

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 8

Register your product Please register this product so we can inform you about updates and other product-related news. To register your product, please go to:

tcelectronic.com/support/ account-registration/registration/

Stay up-to-date on loudness There are many aspects to loudness, and keep- ing track of all of them can be a challenge. This is why TC Electronic has created a dedicated loudness website, where all of these aspects are outlined, explained and discussed. This site is an answer to the question:

What is loudness and why is it important?

Visit the Loudness website at:

tcelectronic.com/loudness/

Unpacking and setup

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Unpacking and setup

Unpacking and setup

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 10

Package contents Depending on the configuration you have pur- chased, the box should contain the following items:

1 Broadcast One unit running Loudness Pilot software

2 power cables

1 USB stick containing

the TC Icon software,

the Loudness Pilot software,

this manual in PDF format.

Setup For basic setup information, see Quick Setup on page 35.

Software: TC Icon and Loudness Pilot firmware

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 11

Software: TC Icon and Loudness Pilot firmware

Software: TC Icon and Loudness Pilot firmware

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 12

Operating Loudness Pilot requires a TC Icon remote (sold separately) or a computer run- ning the TC Icon software.

When you are working with a system involving one or multiple Loudness Pilot units, you are in- teracting with two types of software:

1. TC Icon software:

TC Icon is a software application that you in- stall on the computer(s) which you are using to access, configure, operate and update the Loudness Pilot unit(s).

TC Icon software is available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.

TC Icon software is free and can be in- stalled on multiple computers.

Downloading and installing TC Icon software is described in this section of the Loudness Pilot manual.

2. TC Loudness Pilot firmware:

Loudness Pilot firmware is the software in- stalled on every Loudness Pilot.

Every Loudness Pilot comes pre-installed with the most current firmware version avail- able at the time of production. You can down- load newer versions of Loudness Pilot firm- ware from the TC website. Firmware updates will contain bug fixes and/or new features.

Loudness Pilot firmware updates are free.

Use TC Icon software installed on your com- puter (see above) to transfer firmware to your Loudness Pilot unit(s).

Downloading and installing Loudness Pilot firmware updates is described in Updating Loudness Pilot firmware on page 75.

You should keep both the TC Icon software running on your computer and the software of your Loudness Pilot (the firmware) up to date. Using up-to-date software versions en- sures you benefit from bug fixes and the latest features.

Software: TC Icon and Loudness Pilot firmware

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 13

Finding and installing TC Icon software Microsoft Windows The most current version of TC Icon software for Microsoft Windows at the time of production is provided on the USB stick that came with your Loudness Pilot, but you may want to download the latest version from the TC Electronic website.

You can download the latest version of the TC Icon software for Microsoft Windows from:

tcelectronic.com/support/software/

On this page, locate the Loudness Pilot section.

In this section of the support page, look for TC Icon software and click the button rep- resenting the latest version of the TC Icon software for Microsoft Windows.

Depending on your browser type and con- figuration, a dialog may be shown asking you what you want to do with this file.

Choose Save.

The software will be downloaded to your browsers default download location. Usually, this is the Downloads folder for your user account.

Go to the folder containing the ZIP file you just downloaded.

Right-click the .ZIP file and choose Extract All from the context menu.

A dialog box will allow you to specify where the extracted files should be stored.

Accept the defaults or change the path.

After extracting the ZIP file, you will see a .CAB (Cabinet) file in Windows Explorer.

Software: TC Icon and Loudness Pilot firmware

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 14

Double-click the .CAB file.

An Icon application file will be shown.

Right-click the Icon application file and choose Extract from the context menu.

In the dialog box that is shown next (Select destination), select a folder where you can

easily find the application e.g., the Windows desktop.

Click Extract to extract the application to the selected destination.

Launch the TC Icon application that you just extracted by double-clicking its icon.

TC Icon will try to establish connections to all connected TC devices on a local network, in- cluding your Loudness Pilot.

If a connection cannot be established, please refer to Networking basics and trouble- shooting on page 32.

If you experience technical problems during software download or installation, please ask a person with administrator privileges on this com- puter for assistance.

Updating TC Icon software

To update the TC Icon software on your comput- er when a newer version is released,

quit the TC Icon software if it currently run- ning on your PC,

download and extract the newer version as described in this section and

replace the currently installed version by copying the newer version over it.

Software: TC Icon and Loudness Pilot firmware

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 15

Finding and installing TC Icon software OS X The most current version of TC Icon software for OS X at the time of production is provided on the USB stick that came with your Loudness Pilot, but you may want to download the latest version from the TC Electronic website.

You can download the latest version of the TC Icon software for OS X from:

tcelectronic.com/support/software/

On this page, locate the Loudness Pilot section.

In this section of the support page, look for TC Icon software and click the button rep- resenting the latest version of the TC Icon software for OS X.

Depending on your browser type and con- figuration, a dialog may be shown asking you what you want to do with this file. Choose Save.

The software will be downloaded to your browsers default download location. Usually, this is the Downloads folder for your user account.

Go to the folder containing the file you just downloaded.

If you are seeing a .ZIP file, double-click it to extract its contents. However, your browser

may already have extracted the contents from the .ZIP file automatically.

After the ZIP file has been extracted, you will see a .DMG (Disk Image) file in the Finder.

Double-click the .DMG file to mount this disk image.

An Icon disk image containing an Icon app will be shown.

Copy the TC Icon application from the disk image to your hard disk by dragging it to the Applications folder, or to another folder where you can easily find it.

You can now unmount (eject) the disk image by right-clicking it and selecting Eject from the context menu.

Software: TC Icon and Loudness Pilot firmware

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 16

Launch TC Icon by double-clicking the ap- plication.

TC Icon will try to establish connections to all connected TC devices on a local network, in- cluding your Loudness Pilot.

If a connection cannot be established, please refer to Networking basics and trouble- shooting on page 32.

If you experience technical problems during software download or installation, please ask a person with administrator privileges on this com- puter for assistance.

Updating TC Icon software

To update the TC Icon software on your comput- er when a newer version is released,

quit the TC Icon software if it currently run- ning on your Mac,

download and extract the newer version as described in this section and

replace the currently installed version by copying the newer version over it.

Loudness Pilot: An introduction

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Loudness Pilot: An introduction

Loudness Pilot: An introduction

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 18

Loudness Pilot will help you deliver great- sounding, loudness compliant audio experi- ences to your listeners.

Loudness Pilot is the perfect solution for broad- cast stations that need hassle-free mono and stereo loudness control. It can handle multiple TV channels or languages, or simultaneous de- livery to multiple independent platforms for in- stance TV and mobile.

In other words: Loudness Pilot is the loudness solution for local and regional broadcasters cost-effective, easy-to-use and tailored for ste- reo.

Perfect loudness management for Stereo and Mono Busy regional and local broadcasters will find peace of mind with this unit that is fully compli- ant with all major loudness and broadcast stan- dards. It even includes the option to add TC Electronics renowned Radar Meter as a sepa- rate license see LM2 (optional) on page 96 and Extending your products capabilities with optional licenses on page 121.

Loudness Pilot combines uncompromising au- dio processing with a competitive price that puts unparalleled audio quality within the reach of all users.

Ultra-low latency ultra-high redundancy Loudness Pilot is the very best loudness-cor- rection technology packed into an easy-to-use, dual-stereo or dual-mono form offering excep- tionally low latency and very flexible routing possibilities. And it comes packed with dual re- dundancy features. Your signal will never be in jeopardy with dual power inputs, dual fuses, dual fans and a Relay Bypass feature on both the SDI and AES versions.

Comply with loudness standards TC Electronic has been listened to by those ac- tively setting broadcast standards. We have even donated our technology to many of the same international bodies that impact your broadcast work.

Legislation on loudness in television is constant- ly evolving. However, with Loudness Pilot we will always help you remain compliant with the latest revision of the broadcast standards that impact your work.

Targeted On Your Tasks We have focused this unit on the areas most rel- evant to regional and local broadcast stations working with stereo SDI.

This means that you now have a single, fit-for- purpose tool ready to delivering either two lan- guages simultaneously or to two different plat- forms, such as TV and mobile.

Loudness Pilot Basic concepts and operation

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Loudness Pilot Basic concepts and operation

Loudness Pilot Basic concepts and operation

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 20

Operating Loudness Pilot Loudness Pilot is equipped with one or more sig- nal processing cards. Each card encompasses four so-called engines.

Two of these engines are running the ALC2 Loudness Correction algorithm (see Loudness Wizard on page 102), while the other two can run the optional LM2 metering algorithms (see LM2 (optional) on page 96).

As you can easily see, Loudness Pilot is a head- less system it has no front panel controls (with the exception of the Reset button).

Loudness Pilot is operated using the TC Icon software, which you can download from the TC Electronic website.

You can use the same version of the TC Icon software to operate Loudness Pilot and other professional broadcast products from TC Elec- tronic (e.g. DB4 and DB8 MKII).

Accordingly, a significant part of this manual covers operating Loudness Pilot using TC Icon software running on a standard computer, and the screen shots you see are taken from the OS X or Windows versions of this software.

Loudness Pilot offers a variety of ways to engage or disengage audio processing. Processing may be invoked automatically, depending on format, level, physical inputs etc., while remote control can be achieved via Ethernet, GPI, SDI metadata etc. When setting up the device, make sure to only engage the methods you wish to use. For

example, if GPI inputs are not used, make sure to make sure to disable the respective input.

Please invest some time in learning TC Icons basic concepts you will benefit from it when operating systems that may include many net- worked TC signal processors.

Hardware versions Loudness Pilot is available in five different hard- ware versions: Loudness Pilot SDI with one, two or three dual-engine processing cards installed, and Loudness Pilot AES in balanced and unbal- anced versions.

Loudness Pilot Basic concepts and operation

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 21

Expanding your Loudness Pilot Loudness Pilot offers considerable flexibility in routing and processing audio signals. To benefit from this flexibility, you need to understand the basic concepts and building blocks of the device as outlined in this section.

The audio processing capabilities of your device depend on the number of dual-engine cards/ processors (3G Transmission cards) installed.

Each 3G Transmission card

can process one SDI audio stream

holds two multichannel processors

is capable of running

two ALC2 algorithms

as well as

two LM2 Loudness Radar Meters (op- tional)

simultaneously.

Accordingly, a Loudness Pilot with three 3G Transmission cards can handle three indepen- dent streams.

Instructions on upgrading a base Loudness Pilot with one or two Transmission 3G cards are not part of this manual. They are provided in a separate document that comes with the 3G Transmission card.

Loudness Pilot SDI: The Serial Digital Interface With regards to inputs and outputs, Loudness Pilot SDI is based on the Serial digital interface (SDI) a family of audio and video interfaces standardized by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).

An SDI signal may contain up to sixteen audio channels (8 pairs) at 48 kHz sample rate and 24 bit resolution.

We assume that you have a good working knowl- edge of SDI. The standard as such is not dis- cussed in this manual.

Loudness Pilot AES For many years, TC Electronic has focused on developing highly intelligent clocking solutions. Loudness Pilot features one of the most com- plex and intelligent technologies we have ever made. It is based on the TC developed DICE core with its JET technology, which has been further refined to deliver important features spe- cifically for broadcast use.

Loudness Pilot locks really fast and artefact- free to clock sources.

It sends as good an audio signal as possible through at all times.

If the source is lost, Loudness Pilot keeps on running at the last good sync source rate.

Loudness Pilot keeps outgoing clock incon- sistencies (e.g. when the sync reference is lost or the sync source changes) to a mini- mum. This ensures that e.g. upstream source switching will affect downstream devices to the least possible extent.

Loudness Pilot reduces incoming jitter to a nearly unmeasurable level.

Loudness Pilot Basic concepts and operation

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 22

SDI vs. AES There are no versions of Loudness Pilot that provide SDI and AES inputs and outputs on the same unit.

Loudness Pilot presets Loudness Pilot comes with ready-to-use presets based on international standards. More presets will be made available as part of software up- dates from the TC website. These presets are based on information from broadcasters around the world.

If you feel that an important preset is missing or that a given preset does not work as it should, please get in touch with TC Electronic technical support:

tcelectronic.com/support/

Loudness Pilotstatus indicators and ports

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Loudness Pilot status indicators and ports

Loudness Pilotstatus indicators and ports

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 24

This section of the manual describes the de- vices status indicators and connectors.

Please note that the number of front panel sta- tus indicators and connectors on the device de- pends on the hardware version you have pur- chased.

Front panel indicators Loudness Pilot has the following front panel sta- tus indicators:

Fig. 15.: Front panel indicators on Loudness Pilot with three SDI cards

Additional status information can be displayed using TC Icon software see Obtaining Loud- ness Pilot status information on page 45.

PSU 1 and PSU 2 LEDs

The PSU 1 and PSU 2 LEDs indicate the status of the two built-in power supplies.

LED color / indication

Status

Green An external power is connect- ed and the power supply is ful- ly functioning.

Red There is a problem with the power supply. Either there is no external power connected, or there is a problem at cer- tain checkpoints in the relevant power supply.

Please refer to the descriptions of the PSU con- nectors in the Back panel connectors on page 27 section for more information.

Loudness Pilotstatus indicators and ports

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 25

Sync LED(s) SDI versions

Loudness Pilot has three Sync LEDs one for each of the up to three cards/engines in the de- vice. If only one card is installed, only the first LED will be used.

The Sync LEDs indicate if synchronization to the currently connected signal source has been achieved.

LED color / indication

Status

Off Startup no lock achieved. Green An SDI stream has been de-

tected at the corresponding input, and Loudness Pilot is locked to it.

Yellow There is an SDI anomaly. Red Loudness Pilot cannot lock to

the SDI audio stream.

Sync LED(s) AES versions

The Sync LED of Loudness Pilot AES (balanced/ unbalanced) indicates if synchronization to the signal source selected as Sync Source has been achieved.

For a description of all Sync states, see AES In- put State indicators on page 53.

LED color / indication

Status

Off Startup no lock achieved / lock status unknown.

Green A clock signal has been de- tected at the corresponding AES input, and Loudness Pilot is locked to it.

Yellow Loudness Pilot is following its internal clock or set to Bypass.

Red No lock or Freewheel status

Alert LED

Loudness Pilot has three Alert LEDs one for each of the up to three cards/engines in the de- vice. If only one card is installed, only the first LED will be used.

The Alert LEDs indicate problems either within the device or with the signal being processed.

LED color / indication

Status

Off Loudness Pilot is not connect- ed to a computer running the TC Icon software or a hard- ware TC Icon.

Green Loudness Pilot is connected to a computer running the TC Icon software or a hardware TC Icon. Normal operation, no problems detected.

Green blink- ing

Preset recall

Yellow There has been silence for more than five seconds, or the LM2/LM6 algorithm has detected a High Loudness state.

Loudness Pilotstatus indicators and ports

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 26

Signal LED

The Signal LEDs indicate if audio streams are re- ceived and processed by Loudness Pilot.

Detection for the Signal LEDs and GPO occurs at the input.

LED color / indication

Status

Off No audio signal (above -70 dBFS) has been detected.

Green An audio signal above -70 dBFS has been detected.

Yellow An audio signal above -1 dBFS has been detected.

Front panel reset button The Reset button on the front panel can be used to reset the IP address of a Loudness Pilot unit or to reset Ethernet communication between Loud- ness Pilot and a computer when a communica- tion error has occurred.

Resetting the IP address of a Loudness Pilot unit

It may be necessary to reset the IP address of a Loudness Pilot unit. To do so, proceed as fol- lows:

Switch off Loudness Pilot by disconnecting both power supplies.

Insert a straightened paper clip or a similar object into the Reset hole on the front panel until it touches the button behind the panel.

Boot the Loudness Pilot by connecting one or both power supplies while still holding the straightened paper clip onto the Reset but- ton.

Loudness Pilot will boot using its default IP address. The default IP address is 192.168.1.[xx], where [xx] is the last two digits of the devices serial number as printed on its back.

Loudness Pilotstatus indicators and ports

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 27

Resetting Ethernet communication

It may be necessary to reset Ethernet communi- cation between Loudness Pilot and a computer during operation. To do so, proceed as follows:

During operation, insert a straightened paper clip or a similar object into the Reset hole on the front panel until it touches the button behind the panel, and press the button for approximately 5 seconds until the LEDs start blinking.

This will reset Ethernet communication with- out interrupting audio streams.

Back panel connectors

Fig. 16.: Loudness Pilot back panel connectors (SDI version)

PSU (2 x)

Loudness Pilot has two C13 type power inlet sockets. The dual power inlets provide extended operational security and stability. They accept 100 to 230 Volts AC at 50/60 Hz.

If possible, connect these two power sockets to two independent power sources to minimize the risk of power loss.

Due to the redundant design, Loudness Pilot will still be fully operational when one of the two power supplies fails. However, to ensure maxi- mum security and stability, you should address the issue and investigate the cause of the error indication at the first given opportunity.

In case of complete power loss, the device is hardware-bypassed via relays, ensuring that no signal loss occurs.

Loudness Pilotstatus indicators and ports

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 28

Ethernet interface(s)

Loudness Pilot is equipped with 32 bit Eth- ernet interfaces fully compliant with the IEE 802.3u standard, supporting 10 and 100 Mbit/s (100Base-TX ports).

Loudness Pilot has either two, four or six Eth- ernet ports depending on the number of 3G Transmission cards installed.

Connect a computer running TC Icon software or a hardware TC Icon device to one of these ports using a straight-through cable with 8P8C modular connectors (RJ45). A crossover type cable is not required.

The Ethernet ports are used exclusively for con- necting a controller (namely a computer running TC Icon software). No audio signals are transmit- ted for processing over Ethernet ports.

SDI In Port(s)

Loudness Pilot has either one, two or three SDI In ports, depending on the number of 3G Trans- mission cards installed.

The AES versions of Loudness Pilot (balanced/ unbalanced) have no SDI In ports.

Connect the upstream SDI device to an SDI In socket on Loudness Pilot. Use a coaxial cable with BNC connectors with a nominal impedance of 75 Ohms.

Connecting multiple 3G cards If you are using a Loudness Pilot. with two or more 3G Transmission cards installed, daisy- chain the SDI cards as follows:

Connect your signal source to the SDI In port of the first card.

Connect the SDI Out port of the first card to the SDI In port of the second card.

Connect the SDI Out port of the second card to the SDI In port of the third card (if appli- cable).

Connect the SDI Out port of the third/last card to the next downstream device.

Connecting the Transmission cards as described here will have them show up as separate devices in TC Icon. Select and configure each card to as- sign and process SDI streams as required.

SDI Out Port(s)

Loudness Pilot has either one, two or three SDI Out ports, depending on the number of 3G Transmission cards installed.

The AES versions of Loudness Pilot (balanced/ unbalanced) have no SDI In ports.

Connect the downstream SDI device to an SDI Out socket on Loudness Pilot. Use a coaxial ca- ble with BNC connectors with a nominal imped- ance of 75 Ohms.

Loudness Pilotstatus indicators and ports

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 29

Unbalanced AES-3id In Ports

The Unbalanced AES version of Loudness Pilot has 8 AES-3id In ports on BNC connectors with one channel pair per connector.

The SDI versions of Loudness Pilot have no AES In ports.

Unbalanced AES-3id Out Ports

The Unbalanced AES version of Loudness Pilot has 8 AES-3id Out ports on BNC connectors with one channel pair per connector.

The SDI versions of Loudness Pilot have no AES Out ports.

Fig. 17.: Loudness Pilot AES (unbalanced version) back panel connectors

Balanced AES In/Out Ports

The Balanced AES version of Loudness Pilot have two Sub-D AES I/O connectors, with chan- nels 1-8 on the upper connector and channels 9-16 on the lower connector.

The SDI versions of Loudness Pilot have no AES I/O ports.

Fig. 18.: Loudness Pilot AES (balanced version) back panel connectors

Loudness Pilotstatus indicators and ports

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 30

About AES channels

Loudness Pilot AES (balanced/unbalanced) comes fully loaded with 16 channels of unbal- anced AES I/O, and by default the first 8 chan- nels are active.

Should you need even more channels, you can purchase a separate license for activating chan- nels 9-16. See Extending your products capa- bilities with optional licenses on page 121.

GPIO Port(s)

Connect a controller to this port to control vari- ous Loudness Pilot features remotely.

Setting up Loudness Pilot

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 31

Setting up Loudness Pilot

Setting up Loudness Pilot

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 32

Loudness Pilot can be used in a variety of configurations and setups. However, as all TC Broadcast processors in your system can be controlled from a single computer running TC Icon software, even large and complex setups are basically operated in the same manner as the basic setup described in this chapter.

Networking basics and troubleshooting You may setup and operate your Loudness Pi- lot in a simple networking environment where you can connect a computer and one Loudness Pilot directly using a standard Ethernet cable , or your system may be more complex, involving several computers, several Loudness Pilot and other TC devices.

Either way, you are operating a system based on TCP/IP the same protocol suite the Internet is built on. Accordingly, you need to follow basic networking procedures when setting up your system.

It is absolutely possible that a standard com- puter running the TC Icon software will detect a Loudness Pilot out of the box without prob- lems. However, if it doesnt, there is most likely a subnet issue or an IP address conflict. In this case, please refer to the following sections.

Subnet mask and TCP/IP addresses

The subnet mask is a number that defines a group of computers (or other devices) con- nected to a network. All units in this group must have the same subnet mask.

The default subnet mask of each Loudness Pi- lot is

255.255.255.0.

The TCP/IP address of each device connect- ed to a network has to be unique. An IP ad- dress consists of four decimal numbers (ranging from 0 to 255) separated by dots, e.g. 192.168.1.1

The first three numbers (e.g. 192.168.1) must be the same for each unit but the remaining number has to be unique in the subnet. I.e., no two units in the subnet can have the same last number.

The default IP address of each Loudness Pi- lot is

192.168.1.[nn],

where [nn] is identical to the last two digits in the Loudness Pilots serial number (you will find the serial number of Loudness Pilot on a label on the rear side of the device). This way, multiple Loudness Pilots can be setup directly out of the box without having to change their IP numbers.

Setting up Loudness Pilot

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 33

If your computer is using the same IP address as a Loudness Pilot on the same network, you have two options:

Alter the last octet (the last three numbers) of your computers IP address or

Alter the last octet of the Loudness Pilots IP address.

Changing your computers subnet mask and TCP/IP address

If and where you can change the subnet mask and IP address of your computer depends on

the operating system you are using and

your account privileges.

In case of doubt, please consult your companys network administrator.

To find and change the TCP/IP address and the subnet mask on a computer running Windows:

Go to Control Panel / Network Connec- tions / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

Set the TCP/IP address.

Fig. 19.: Windows Internet control panel

To find and change the TCP/ IP address and the subnet mask on a computer running OS X:

Go to System Preferences / Network.

Select Ethernet.

Under Configure IPv4, select Manually.

Set the TCP/IP address.

Setting up Loudness Pilot

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 34

Fig. 20.: OS X Network preferences

For further information, please refer to you oper- ating systems integrated help system.

Changing subnet mask and TCP/ IP address of a Loudness Pilot

To change the subnet mask and TCP/IP address of a Loudness Pilot, you need to access it using a computer running the TC Icon software. This means that in case of an IP address conflict that keeps you from accessing Loudness Pilot in the first place, you need to change your computers IP first as described in the previous section.

Launch the TC Icon software on your com- puter.

Select the particular Loudness Pilot you want to access.

Click on the Frame tab.

Select the System page.

Select the Setup subpage.

Select Net.

To change the IP address: Select the IP address parameter.

Enter the new IP address.

Confirm by clicking Enter.

To change the subnet mask: Select the IP Subnet Mask parameter.

Enter the new subnet mask.

Confirm by clicking Enter.

Setting up Loudness Pilot

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 35

Resetting the IP address of a Loudness Pilot

You may need to reset the IP address of a Loud- ness Pilot. This procedure is described in the section Front panel reset button on page 26.

If the serial number of a particular Loudness Pi- lot ends with 00, the default IP address for this device will be 192.168.1.100, as 00 is not a valid IP number in all networks.

There is a small risk that two Loudness Pilot (or other TC signal processors) on a network have the same last two digits in the serial number and thus will conflict after a reset. To resolve this is- sue, reset one Loudness Pilot first and change its IP address before connecting the second Loudness Pilot.

Quick Setup This guide applies for a simple setup as illus- trated below.

Ethernet connection

Requirements for this setup are:

A Loudness Pilot

A CAT5 Ethernet cable

A computer equipped with an Ethernet adapt- er, running Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X and the latest version of TC Icon software.

Proceed as follows:

Unpack Loudness Pilot and install it in a sta- ble, well-ventilated space.

Connect Loudness Pilot and your computer using an Ethernet cable.

Power up your computer and Loudness Pilot.

If you have not already done so, download and install the latest version of the TC Icon software editor on your computer.

Launch the TC Icon software on your com- puter.

The following screen will appear:

Click Assign. The network is scanned, and all connected and operational devices will be listed on the next screen.

Select the device you wish to access.

To have TC Icon detect more devices and assign them to one of up to eight slots, see Assigning devices to the available slots on page 83.

Setting up Loudness Pilot

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 36

If you cannot access Loudness Pilot, please refer to Networking basics and trouble- shooting on page 32.

Thats it you are now ready to configure and operate your Loudness Pilot.

Updating Loudness Pilot software The latest version of both the Loudness Pilot software and the TC Icon software editor avail- able at the time of production are supplied with your Loudness Pilot.

However, from time to time, software updates are made available by TC, containing both bug fixes and new features.

Please download and install the most current version of the TC Icon software from:

tcelectronic.com/support/software/

The TC Icon software is available for

Microsoft Windows and

Mac OS X.

Using TC Icon software, you can access your Loudness Pilot and update its built-in software (the firmware), which is provided as a separate download.

Updating Loudness Pilot firmware is described in Updating Loudness Pilot firmware on page 75.

Basic operation

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 37

Basic operation

Basic operation

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 38

Introduction This section of the manual is a general introduc- tion to operating Loudness Pilot using the TC Icon software.

In the following chapters we assume that you have connected Loudness Pilot and your com- puter directly or as part of a network as de- scribed in Setting up Loudness Pilot on page 31.

Several Loudness Pilot and other TC signal pro- cessors (e.g. DB4/DB8  MKII), and computers running the TC Icon software can be connected and operated at the same time as part of a stan- dard Local Area Network (LAN). The TC Icon software is used to detect, configure and oper- ate devices from your computer.

If you encounter communication errors or cannot detect or operate a device properly, please refer to Networking basics and troubleshooting on page 32.

Basic TC Icon operation The TC Icon software interface has been opti- mized for use in real-time situations in broadcast and post production environments (which usual- ly are very different from standard desktop com- puting tasks and environments). Accordingly, buttons are very prominent and clearly labelled to ensure proper operation even in stressful situ- ations. In addition, important parameters can be assigned to on-screen faders, allowing for pre- cise control and immediate visual feedback.

The interface can be customized. Customizable parameters include fader positions and user in- terface colors. For more information, please refer to the chapters UI page on page 85 and Color page on page 85 of this manual.

TC Icon interface: Tabs versus pages

Use the tab buttons on the upper edge of the TC Icon window to select a primary group of functions.

Use the page buttons on the left edge of the TC Icon window to select specific pages.

Basic operation

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 39

TC Icon modes: Base and Device operation

The TC Icon software has two operation modes: Base and Device operation.

Use Base mode to select devices and con- figure the network and the TC Icon software itself.

In Base mode, you will see the Select, Auto and Setup tabs on the upper edge of the TC Icon window. Most Base mode functions are described in the chapter Icon Setup on page 81.

Use Device operation mode to operate the currently selected device.

In Device Mode, you will see the specific tabs for operating the currently selected TC de- vice.

Switching between Base and Device operation modes:

To switch between Base and Device opera- tion modes, click the Icon symbol in the up- per left corner of the window.

Faders The TC Icon software has large on-screen fad- ers. They have several features that will help you operate your Loudness Pilot efficiently.

There are six on-screen faders.

You can change the position of the faders or hide them completely seeUI page on page 85.

The name of the parameter that a fader is currently assigned to is displayed above the fader.

When no label is shown above a fader, that fader is currently not assigned to a parameter.

Fader assignments and values will always re- flect the last Engine you have accessed.

Using Faders for fine adjustments

When a parameter is assigned to a fader, you can choose between Normal and Fine adjust- ment mode.

In Normal Adjustment mode, the fader range will cover the full parameter range e.g. -18 dB to 18 dB for the Center Trim parameter.

In Fine Adjustment mode, the fader range will be smaller, allowing you to fine-tune around the current value e.g. in 0.1 dB steps for a level parameter.

To switch a fader from Normal Adjustment mode to Fine Adjustment mode or back, click the label above that fader. Fine Adjust mode will be indi- cated by two triangles in the label field.

Fig. 21.: Fader label indicating Fine adjustment mode

Basic operation

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 40

Fader Groups

Loudness Pilot algorithms encompass many pa- rameters on several pages. For efficient opera- tion, the most important parameters can be as- signed to the on-screen faders in Fader Groups. Fader Groups allow you to access the most im- portant features immediately, no matter what particular page is currently being displayed.

Fig. 22.: Fader group 1 selected in the Fader Group selector

You can access predefined Fader Groups that cover typical applications, and you can define a User Fader Group with your own assignment for each fader.

You can select and customize Fader Groups per Engine meaning that you can use one group of fader assignments for Engine 1, and another one for Engine 2.

To select a Fader Group: Select the tab of an Engine (on the top edge of the TC Icon software window).

Use the arrow buttons on the Fader Group selector (on the left edge of the TC Icon soft- ware window) to select the desired Fader Group. The name of the currently selected Engine and Fader Group are displayed on the Fader Group selector. E.g., E1 Group 1 means that you have selected the predefined Fader Group 1 for Engine 1.

To set up the User Fader Group: Select the tab of an Engine (on the top edge of the TC Icon software window).

Use the arrow buttons on the Fader Group selector to select the User Fader Group.

Click the Fader Asgn button (on the left edge of the TC Icon software window).

Click the label of a fader that you want to as- sign to a parameter.

Click the name of the parameter that you want to assign to the previously selected fader.

Repeat the last two steps until you have made all desired assignments.

Click the Fader Asgn button again.

Assigning Fader 6 on the fly

Even when using one of the predefined Fader Groups for an Engine, you can always assign the sixth Fader to whatever parameter you want to control in a given situation. Like all other Fader- related settings, this is an Engine-specific set- ting: You can assign Fader 6 to one parameter when Engine 1 is selected and to another param- eter when Engine 2 is selected.

To assign a parameter to fader 6: To assign a parameter to the fader 6, simply click on a parameter field. That parameter will immediately be assigned to the sixth fader. If that parameter is also assigned to one of the other faders, you can now use both faders to control that parameter.

Basic operation

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 41

On-screen keyboard Loudness Pilot allows you to store and rename presets, assign labels to inputs and outputs and perform other functions where text input is re- quired. When you access one of these functions, an on-screen keyboard will be displayed.

Fig. 23.: TC Icon software On- screen keyboard

While they keyboard is being displayed, you can either click the letters shown on-screen or use your computers keyboard for character input. When you are done, click the large Enter button or press your computer keyboards Enter key.

Accessing Loudness Pilot

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 42

Accessing Loudness Pilot

Accessing Loudness Pilot

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 43

Connect your computer and Loudness Pilot as described in the Setting up Loudness Pi- lot chapter.

Power up your computer and your Loudness Pilot.

On your computer, launch the TC Icon soft- ware.

When you do this for the first time or the sys- tem configuration has been changed, the fol- lowing screen will appear:

Click Assign.

All currently connected TC signal processors that are supported by the TC Icon software should be detected and assigned to one of the eight on-screen slots/locations.

If a connected device is not detected, please refer to Networking basics and trouble- shooting on page 32.

Click the icon representing the Loudness Pi- lot to access it.

Operating multiple computers and / or TC HD devices in one network In a more complex setup with multiple TC Icon hardware remote controls and/or several net- worked computers running TC Icon software, each of these TC Icon units and computers can be used to connect to TC HD devices (System 6000 MKII, DB6, Loudness Pilot, UpCon) on this network.

If your setup contains multiple TC HD devices, you should name these devices unambiguously so you dont accidentally edit the settings of the wrong device.

Accessing Loudness Pilot

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 44

Scanning / rescanning a network for devices The scenario described above covers the first time you boot up your system or when no con- nected units are assigned.

When

you make changes to your setup,

when devices are powered up or down, or

if there are connection errors, these may not be detected immediately.

In this case, you should scan the network again.

To scan a network for devices:

In the TC Icon software, go to Setup / Devices

Click the Detect button.

For further information, see Devices page on page 83.

In the following sections of this manual, we as- sume that you are operating a basic system with only one Loudness Pilot connected.

Obtaining Loudness Pilot status information

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 45

Obtaining Loudness Pilot status information

Obtaining Loudness Pilot status information

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 46

Please note that the LEDs on the front of a Loud- ness Pilot will display basic status information as long as the device is powered see Front panel indicators on page 24.

Additional status information can be obtained using TC Icon, where you can also define how certain error states should be indicated on the device.

To display status information about Loudness Pi- lot, go to Frame / System / Status.

Fig. 24.: Loudness Pilot (SDI) Status page showing various issues (No Lock, Power supply 2 not connected, Sync error)

This page will display the following status infor- mation:

Clock section

Source indicator

Indicates the source of the clock signal Loud- ness Pilot is currently following.

Lock indicator

Indicates wether synchronization has been achieved. If no synchronization has been achieved, a red LED will be shown in this field.

Nominal Rate indicator

Shows the detected sample rate of the signal Loudness Pilot is synced to.

Status section

Power indicator

Displays the current state of the Loudness Pilot power supplies.

A power supply failure may be indicated as de- scribed under Power Warning parameter on page 46.

Power Warning parameter

A failing supply is always indicated by a red LED on the front panel of the device. TC Icon can also indicate a failing power supply, depending on the setting of the Power Warning parameter.

Off setting A failing power supply is not reported in the Icon remote app.

Warning setting A failing power supply is indicated by a yellow Power label in the respective Loudness Pilot Frame indicator, and a yellow LED will be shown on the Frame tab when it is selected.

Error setting A failing power supply is indicated by a red Power label in the respective Loudness Pilot Frame indicator, and a red LED will be shown on the Frame tab when it is selected.

Obtaining Loudness Pilot status information

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 47

Sync indicator

The states and color codes shown here are the same as those shown by the respective Loud- ness Pilot Sync LED on the front panel of the device see Sync LED(s) SDI versions on page 25.

Alert indicator

The states and color codes shown here are the same as those shown by the respective Loud- ness Pilot Alert LED on the front panel of the de- vice see Alert LED on page 25.

Frame Identification parameter

If you are operating a complex system with mul- tiple Loudness Pilot units, you may need to iden- tify one specific unit quickly. To do so, select the respective Frame using TC Icon software and then use the Frame Identification parameter to have that Frame identify itself with blinking Alert LEDs as follows:

Off setting This is the default setting. The Alert LED oper- ates as described in Alert LED on page 25.

Green/Off, Yellow/Off, Red/Off, Green/ Yellow, Green/Red, Yellow/Red The Alert LED on the front panel of the respec- tive Frame will blink in the chosen color/color combination, while the Alert indicator field will read LED blinking.

Signal indicator

The states and color codes shown here are the same as those shown by the respective Loud- ness Pilot Signal LED on the front panel of the device see Signal LED on page 26.

Obtaining Loudness Pilot status information

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 48

Temperature indicator

Shows the current internal temperature of Loud- ness Pilot in degrees Celsius.

Setting up audio and syncing

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 49

Setting up audio and syncing

Setting up audio and syncing

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 50

I/O Setup SDI To set up audio, go to Frame / System / I/O / SDI. Use this page to

display information about incoming audio,

select audio for processing and

change Advanced SDI settings.

Fig. 25.: I/O setup SDI page (Loudness Pilot SDI)

SDI Status indication section

Lock status indicator The Lock status field shows the top-level lock status of an incoming SDI stream.

When Loudness Pilot is locked to an accept- able SDI stream on the SDI input, Lock is shown.

When no acceptable SDI stream is available on the SDI input, No Lock and a red LED will be shown in this field.

Format indicator When the Loudness Pilot is locking to an incom- ing SDI stream, the Format indicator field will show the format e.g. 1080i59.94 HD. If the Loudness Pilot is not locking to any incoming SDI stream, the Format indicator field will read N/A.

Available Groups indicators SDI with embedded audio carries up to 16 chan- nels of audio, divided into four groups. Accord- ingly, each group carries four channels of audio. The four Available Groups indicators show which audio groups are available in the incoming SDI stream for metering and processing. The on- screen LED for each available group will light up in green. If the Loudness Pilot is not locking to an incoming SDI stream, all indicators are turned off.

Audio (In) Groups selector

Settings: Groups 1+2/Groups 3+4/Groups 1+3/Groups 1+4/Groups 2+3/Groups 2+4 Use the Audio Groups selector to select audio groups for metering and processing.

! Please note that Loudness Pilot always re- ceives two of the audio groups in the incom- ing stream. The unprocessed audio groups are bypassed bit-transparently, as well as all related SDI packets such as video time code, close captions etc.

Setting up audio and syncing

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 51

Advanced SDI Mode section

The Advanced SDI Mode section of the I/O SDI page contains SDI-related settings that you would normally not have to change.

Advanced settings switch To change Advanced SDI settings, click the Ad- vanced button in the Advanced SDI Mode sec- tion of this page.

! Please note that switching off access to Ad- vanced SDI settings will reset all parameters in this section to their default values.

Clock Mode parameter With SDI standards constantly evolving, chanc- es are that upstream equipment treat audio and video sync differently e.g., a device may only pay attention to one or the other. As this may cause occasional disruption of sound, picture or both, a problem may be difficult to trace without measurement equipment monitoring SDI traf- fic for weeks or months. To diagnose a poten- tial problem, Loudness Pilot offers a diagnostic mode, which may be tried after consulting TC support. To activate diagnostic mode, set the Clock Mode parameter to Diagnostic.

In Diagnostic mode, the Loudness Pilot will dis- regard the audio clock information included in the audio packets in the SDI stream and de- embed the audio based on the video clock only.

! Use the Diagnostic setting for diagnostic pur- poses only.

Audio Out Groups parameter Use the Audio Out Groups parameter to define if and how the group assignment of the processed audio signals should be changed.

Follow In Group setting The processed audio signals will be assigned to the same audio channel groups at the SDI out- put that were selected using the Audio Groups selector. This is the default setting which is also used when Advanced SDI mode has not been activated.

Settings: Groups 1+2/Groups 3+4/Groups 1+3/Groups 1+4/Groups 2+3/Groups 2+4 The processed audio signals will be assigned to the selected audio channel groups at the SDI output.

If you are using this parameter to reassign audio channels to other groups, make sure that you are processing the right audio groups downstream.

Rate Detect Mode parameter Use the Rate Detect Mode parameter to specify how Loudness Pilot should behave when receiv- ing SD, HD and 3G signals. By narrowing the range of formats acceptable to the Loudness Pi- lot, lock-up time may be optimized.

Automatic setting When you set the Rate Detect Mode param- eter to Automatic, Loudness Pilot will accept all SDI formats: SD, HD and 3G. This is the default setting which is also used when Advanced SDI mode has not been activated.

SD only setting When you set the Rate Detect Mode parameter to SD, Loudness Pilot will only accept the SD format and not consider locking to HD or 3G sig- nals. This results in optimal lock-up time for SD signals.

HD only setting When you set the Rate Detect Mode parameter to HD, Loudness Pilot will only accept the HD format and not consider locking to SD or 3G sig- nals. This results in optimal lock-up time for HD signals.

3G only setting When you set the Rate Detect Mode parameter to 3G, Loudness Pilot will only accept the 3G format and not consider locking to SD or HD signals. This results in optimal lock-up time for 3G signals.

Stream 3G LevelB selection parameter With 3G Level B SDI (SMPTE424M), 32 audio channels in 8 audio groups are available via two streams. Use the Stream 3G LevelB parameter

Setting up audio and syncing

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 52

to select the stream that Loudness Pilot should de-embed/embed audio from and to.

! Please note that when running 3G Level B, data stream 1 and data stream 2 need to have the same bit width so Loudness Pilot can de-embed and process audio. I.e., both data streams need to contain 8-bit data, or both data streams need contain 10-bit data). If the bit widths of the two data streams differ, Loudness Pilot will not be able to de-embed and process audio.

Stream 1 setting The Loudness Pilot will de-embed and embed two of the up to four available audio groups in stream 1. This is the default setting which is also used when Advanced SDI mode has not been activated.

Stream 2 setting The Loudness Pilot will de-embed and embed two of the up to four available audio groups in stream 2.

Bypass button

Settings: Enabled, Disabled Use the Bypass button to immediately activate a hardware bypass of the SDI signal, allowing it to pass through Loudness Pilot unprocessed.

Setting up audio and syncing

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 53

I/O Setup Loudness Pilot AES To set up audio, go to Frame / System / I/O / AES. Use this page to

display information about incoming audio,

set the sync signal source

change Advanced AES settings.

Fig. 26.: I/O setup AES page (Loudness Pilot AES)

AES section

Lock status indicator

Lock status states: Lock, No lock, Freewheel, Internal, Bypassed The Lock status indicator shows the overall ref- erence clock status. The colors of the LED in this field represent the Icon application warn- ing/error scheme, which is used for alarms on e.g. Icon, the Loudness Pilot front UI, GPO and SNMP.

Lock (green LED / OK): Loudness Pilot has obtained lock to the reference signal set in the Sync Source field.

No Lock (red LED / Error): No Lock is typi- cally displayed when there is no signal pres- ent on the Input that Loudness Pilot is set to lock to, or if the incoming sample rate is out- side the legal range (48 kHz +1.7  % / -1.3 %) and the Clock Fallback parameter is set to Halt.

Freewheel (red LED / Error): Freewheel is displayed when there is no signal present on the Input that Loudness Pilot is set to lock to, or if the incoming sample rate is outside the legal range (48 kHz +1.7 % / -1.3 %) and the Clock Fallback is set to Freewheel.

Internal (yellow LED / Warning): Internal is displayed when Loudness Pilot is set to sync to its internal referenced master clock at 48.000 kHz.

Bypassed (yellow LED / Warning): By- passed is displayed when the Loudness Pi- lot hardware bypass relay has been activated.

Sample Rate indicator The Sample Rate indicator field displays the sample rate of the sync source Loudness Pilot is currently following. Sample rate is measured and displayed with 1  Hz precision (21  PPM @ 48 kHz).

AES Input State indicators

Indicator states: Green, yellow, grey The AES Input State indicators show the status of the AES inputs. States are displayed as fol- lows:

Green: A green LED indicates that a signal is present and synchronous at the respective input.

Yellow: A yellow LED indicates that a sig- nal is present and running asynchronously relative to the sync source. This typically hap- pens when the upstream device is running at an internal master clock rate and is not locked to the house clock.

Grey: A grey LED indicates that no signal is present at the respective input or that the in- coming sample rate is outside the legal range (48 kHz 0.38 %).

Setting up audio and syncing

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 54

Sync Source

Settings: AES 1/2, AES 3/4, AES 5/6, AES 7/8, AES 9/10, AES 11/12, AES 13/14, AES 15/16* Use the Sync Source parameter to select the signal source that Loudness Pilot should sync to.

Please note that channel pairs from 9/10 to 15/16 are only available as Sync Sources when you have the optional AES 16ch license. For more information, see Extending your products ca- pabilities with optional licenses on page 121.

When the Clock Master parameter is set to In- ternal, the Sync Source setting is irrelevant. However, you should be aware that you can use this parameter to pre-select a sync source that will be used when you switch Loudness Pilot AES directly from Internal to External Sync.

Advanced Mode section (AES)

The Advanced AES Mode section contains ad- ditional AES-related settings.

Fig. 27.: I/O setup AES page (Loudness Pilot AES) with Advanced settings activated

Advanced settings switch To change advanced AES settings, click the Ad- vanced button in the Advanced Mode section of this page.

! Please note that switching off access to Ad- vanced AES settings will reset all parameters in this section to their default values.

Clock Master parameter

Settings: External (default), Intern. 48 kHz Use the Clock Master parameter to set whether Loudness Pilot should be referencing an incom-

ing external clock source or an internal crystal running at 48 kHz.

External reference is mandatory in a broad- cast installation and therefore the default set- ting.

Internal is typically only for test and labora- tory use.

Clock Fallback parameter

Settings: Freewheel (default), Halt Use the Clock Fallback parameter to set how the internal clock of Loudness Pilot should be ap- plied when the external sync source is not pres- ent.

Freewheel: When sync is lost and the Clock Fallback parameter is set to Freewheel, the Loudness Pilot will continue running on the last good rate. If possible, Loudness Pilot will run on a 96 bit precision version of the last good sample rate that the Loudness Pilot received. This will only generate few sample slips downstream and on the inputs (which may still receive audio) so the audio quality is not significantly reduced. In some border- line cases it may not be possible to calculate the last good incoming sample rate. In such a situation, the Loudness Pilot will revert to the internal 48 kHz clock and audio will still be sent through. Expect more sample slips in such a situation.

Setting up audio and syncing

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 55

Halt: When the sync source is not present and the Clock Fallback parameter is set to Halt, all AES outputs are turned off meaning no audio data and no AES carrier (no clock) are being sent out. Use this setting if you pre- fer to stop audio and clock output completely in a reference sync error situation. In this sit- uation, the input signals are also turned off, and accordingly, meter activity will cease.

With both settings, Loudness Pilot will revert to the reference input signal (as set with the Sync source parameter) once it becomes avail- able again. The changeover will be handled as smoothly as possible on both audio and clock.

Bypass button

Settings: Enabled, Disabled Use the Bypass button to immediately activate a hardware bypass of the SDI signal, allowing it to pass through Loudness Pilot unprocessed.

Setting up audio dithering To set up audio dithering, go to Frame / Sys- tem / I/O / Dither.

Fig. 28.: System I/O Dither page

Use the Dither page to set up if and how audio signals should be dithered.

Dither out parameters

Setting Off (no dithering applied), 24 bit, 20 bit, 18 bit , 16 bit Use the Dither out parameters to configure dith- ering for each pair of audio signals.

By default, the Dither Out parameters swill be shown for channel pairs 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, and 7/8. Please note that channel pairs from 9/10 to 15/16 are only available as Sync Sources when you have the optional AES 16ch license. For more information, see Extending your products ca- pabilities with optional licenses on page 121.

! If you are handling data-reduced formats, be sure to set these parameters to Off.

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Loudness Pilot remote control

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Loudness Pilot provides extensive remote con- trol features. GPI and SDI metadata allow you to tailor remote control to your stations demands.

Please note that remote control based on SDI metadata requires an optional license. For more information, see Extending your products ca- pabilities with optional licenses on page 121.

Remote Master

Fig. 29.: Loudness Pilot Remote Master page

The Remote Master page provides an overview of the current remote control setup. It also al- lows you to enable the remote control features (via GPI or SDI metadata) that you want to use.

Scene Recall section

GPI input 1 can be used for User Scene pre- set recall (see Library Recall page on page 70).

Please not that the Icon user interface is locked when GPI is used for control.

GPI button Use this button to enable GPI 1 input for User Scene Recall.

An Enable button that controls the same func- tion can be found on the Remote GPI page in the GPI 1 Scene Recall section.

Current Scene status field The Current Scene status field shows the name of the currently active Scene preset. The current- ly active Scene will be shown here wether it has been selected via GPI or not. The name shown here is identical to that shown on the Library Recall Scene page as Current and on top of the Frame Routing page. When GPI is disabled, - is shown.

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Processing section

Audio processing in your Loudness Pilot can be controlled via GPI or SDI metadata.

When GPI or SDI metadata are being used to control the device, a blue LED on the respective Engine pages will indicate that their features are remote-controlled.

GPI and SDI buttons Use these buttons to activate audio processing remote control via GPI 2 input or incoming SDI metadata.

Please note that this is a radio button set only one of them can be active at a time.

SDI is only available with the SDI Metadata li- cense loaded on a Loudness Pilot with SDI in- puts and outputs. See Extending your prod- ucts capabilities with optional licenses on page 121.

Enable buttons that control the same function can be found on the Remote GPI page (in the GPI 2 Processing Control section) and on the Remote SDI page.

Current Processing status field The Current Processing status field shows the current audio processing details no matter if GPI or SDI metadata is used for control.

Normal display If Normal is displayed, audio-processing is not remote-controlled, and the unit works as speci- fied by the current Engine preset.

N/A display N/A (not available) indicates that the currently selected function is not available/applicable to the algorithm currently loaded in the Engine.

N/A also indicates that the device is not re- mote-controlled, and the unit works as specified by the current Engine preset.

Other displays All other values shown in the Current Process- ing status field show which features are currently controlled via GPI or SDI. The possible values are a combination of the parameters Function, Engine and Status as set on the Remote SDI or Remote GPI page in the GPI 2 Processing Control section.

When using SDI, the same information is shown on the Remote SDI page in the Current Pro- cessing status field.

Resetting section

GPI can be used to reset audio processing his- tory, meter history, or both.

When GPI is enabled, blue LEDs on the Engine and Meter pages Reset buttons will indicate that this feature is remote-controlled.

GPI button Use this button to enable GPI 3 input for remote control of the Reset function.

An Enable button that activates the same feature can be found on the Remote GPI page in the GPI 3 Resetting.

Resetting status field The Resetting status field shows the current Re- set status, no matter wether if it is controlled by GPI or not.

Idle display The device is not remote-controlled, or it is wait- ing for a GPI pulse. See below for details regard- ing the control pulse.

Resetting xx display When the device receives a GPI pulse, this sta- tus is shown for one second. The xx value is a combination of Function (audio processing and meter) and Engine.

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Remote GPI

Fig. 30.: Loudness Pilot Remote GPI page

GPI 1: Scene Recall section

Enable button Use this button to enable GPI 1 input for User Scene Recall.

A GPI button that controls the same function can be found on the Remote Master page in the Scene Recall section.

Please note that the Icon user interface is locked when GPI is used for control.

Function parameter Use the Function parameter to define the scope of the GPI recall feature.

The available GPI recall modes that you can set using the Preset Recall Function parameter are:

Off setting No Preset Recall using GPI.

2 Presets setting Select one of two Presets using GPI1.

Select the Preset Bank using the Scene Bank parameter.

3 Presets setting Select one of three Presets using GPI1.

Select the Preset Bank using the Scene Bank parameter.

For a description of the Idle state, see Idle state on page 60.

4 Presets setting Select one of four Presets using GPI1.

Select the Preset Bank using the Scene Bank parameter.

7 Presets setting Select one of seven Presets using GPI1.

Select the Preset Bank using the Scene Bank parameter.

For a description of the Idle state, see Idle state on page 60.

8 Presets setting Select one of eight Presets using GPI1.

Select the Preset Bank using the Scene Bank parameter.

3 Presets DUAL setting Select one of three Presets using GPI1 and GPI2.

This mode uses simple binary inputs on GPI1 and GPI2 i.e. 00, 01, 10 and 11.

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For a description of the Idle state, see Idle state on page 60.

Select the Preset Bank using the Scene Bank parameter.

4 Presets DUAL setting Select one of four Presets using GPI1 and GPI2.

This mode uses simple binary inputs on GPI1 and GPI2 i.e. 00, 01, 10 and 11.

Select the Preset Bank using the Scene Bank parameter.

15 Presets DUAL setting Select one of fifteen Presets using GPI1 and GPI2.

This mode uses 8-state on GPI1 and binary on GPI2.

For a description of the Idle state, see Idle state on page 60.

In this mode, the Scene Presets are always re- called from two consecutive banks e.g. Bank 1 and Bank 2.

Select the Preset Bank pairs (1+2, 3+4 etc.) using the Scene Bank parameter.

16 Presets DUAL setting Select one of sixteen Presets using GPI1 and GPI2.

This mode uses 8-state on GPI1 and binary on GPI2.

In this mode, the Scene Presets are always re- called from two consecutive banks e.g. Bank 1 and Bank 2.

Select the Preset Bank pairs (1+2, 3+4 etc.) using the Scene Bank parameter.

Idle state Idle denotes GPI control being presently not active i.e. the unit can still be controlled as nor- mal, adjusting parameters and recalling presets via Icon. However, once a non-idle GPI state is chosen, the selected Scene preset is recalled, and normal functionality is blocked (which is also the case when GPI is engaged in general).

Scene Bank parameter If you have set the previously described Function parameter to any value other than Off, you can select the Bank (or Banks) that Presets should be chosen from using the Scene Bank param- eter. See the recall modes for a more thorough explanation.

Status field The status field is intended for diagnostics dur- ing the setup of GPI control.

- display GPI 1 is not enabled, or the incoming voltage is outside of valid windows. Check the devices GPI calibration, the incoming voltage and the general external GPI setup.

Idle display GPI is not controlling. The incoming GPI voltage may be at maximum or not connected while the current setting for the Scene Bank parameter in the same section includes the idle option.

1 (N/A) display No valid User preset is stored in that specific li- brary location, and therefore GPI is not control- ling. The behavior of the device is identical to Idle state.

1, 2 8 displays Incoming GPI voltage is within the valid window, and GPI is controlling Scene Recall. The TC Icon UI is locked.

Details regarding GPI signals GPI 1 is receiving fixed-state, latching signals. A validation process is performed when receiving a new GPI voltage. The incoming voltage needs to be within the specific valid window for 500 ms before the preset change is initiated.

The time required for performing a change de- pends on the scope of that change e.g., wether

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it only involves parameters changes or the rout- ing and algorithm change as well.

For information on voltage windows and GPI cir- cuits, see Appendix 2: Loudness Pilot GPI/O page on page 122.

GPI 2 Processing Control section

GPI (or SDI metadata) can be used to remote- control your Loudness Pilots audio processing feature.

When GPI (or SDI metadata) is used for remote control, blue LEDs on the respective Engine pages will highlight the affected signal process- ing parameters.

Enable button Use this button to enable GPI 2 input for Pro- cessing Control.

A GPI button that controls the same function can be found on the Remote Master page in the Processing section.

Note that SDI metadata can also control audio processing with the SDI Metadata license loaded on a Loudness Pilot with SDI input/output.

Function parameter Use the Function parameter to define the param- eters that should be remote-controlled.

Bypass Loudness Loudness processing can be bypassed.

GPI can control if the loudness processing should be bypassed as follows:

The signal is bypassed when the GPI input is min (0V)

Normal operation (as specified by the Engine preset) when the GPI input is max (3V3) or not connected.

On the respective Engine page (Main), the Loudn. Correct parameter will be greyed out, and a blue LED indicates that it is being remote-controlled.

Engine parameter

Settings: E1, E2, E1+E2 Use the Engine parameter to specify which En- gines should be remote-controlled.

Status field The status field is intended for diagnostics dur- ing the setup of GPI control.

Active display Displayed when the selected Function is active due to the GPI signal being at min. (0 V) and dif- ferent from default/unconnected (3V3).

Idle display Displayed when the selected Function is inactive due to the GPI signal being at max. (3V3) or un- connected. The devices behavior is defined by the currently active Engine preset.

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(N/A) display Displayed when the algorithm currently loaded in the Engine does not support the selected Func- tion and therefore GPI is not controlling it. The devices behavior is defined by the currently ac- tive Engine preset.

Details regarding GPI 2 signals GPI 2 is receiving fixed-state, latching signals. A validation process is performed when receiving a new GPI voltage. The incoming voltage needs to be at the new level for 40 ms before the pro- cessing change is initiated. The processing oc- curs nearly instantly.

For information on voltage windows and GPI cir- cuits, see Appendix 2: Loudness Pilot GPI/O page on page 122.

GPI 3 Resetting section

GPI can also be used to reset the history of the Loudness Pilot. When GPI is controlling the Loudness Pilot, blue LEDs on the affected Reset buttons on the respective Meter pages indicate that they are being remote-controlled.

As opposed to the GPI 1 and 2 inputs, the GPI 3 input is a momentary type, catching a pulse and not receiving fixed-state, latching signals.

Enable button Use this button to enable GPI 3 input for reset- ting metering history.

A GPI button that controls the same function can be found on the Remote Master page in the Resetting section.

Function parameter Use the Function parameter to define the history files that should be reset when a Reset is trig- gered.

Off setting No Reset will occur.

Metering setting GPI will reset the Loudness meter history and log file.

Engines parameter

Settings: M1, M2, M1 & M2 Use the Engine parameter to specify the Engines whose meters should be affected when a Reset is being performed.

Status field

- display GPI 3 is disabled.

Idle display Displayed when the device is waiting for a GPI reset pulse.

Reset display Reset  will be displayed for 1 second when a GPI pulse has been received. Simultaneously, the affected Reset buttons will light up yellow for 1 second on the respective Meters that are being remote-controlled.

Details regarding GPI 3 signals Other than the GPI 1 and 2 inputs, the GPI 3 in- put is a momentary type, catching a pulse and not receiving fixed-state, latching signals.

In Idle state (or when there is no connection to the GPI 3 input) the input will be at maximum voltage (3V3).

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When the input is pulled low to minimum volt- age (0V), Loudness Pilot will catch the pulse and reset.

Nothing will happen when the pulse returns from minimum to maximum.

The width of the incoming pulse should be at least 40 ms. It will take less than 200 ms from received reset pulse to the actual Reset.

For information on voltage windows and GPI cir- cuits, see Appendix 2: Loudness Pilot GPI/O page on page 122.

GP Input Calibration To calibrate GPI, go to the Frame / System / Re- mote / Cal page.

Fig. 31.: Loudness Pilot GPI calibration page

Each GPI may be used to switch between up to 8 states. GPI calibration should be performed when switching between more than two states (as it is required for preset recall).

Current section

The Current section of the GPI Calibration page provides live status information for the GP in- puts. Here, Vs denotes positive terminal on the respective GP connector, typically 3.3 V.

Limits section

The Limits section of the GPI Calibration page shows the lower (GPI Lo Threshold) and upper (GPI Hi Threshold) limits of the voltage win- dows for the four GP inputs.

To calibrate a GPI input, click the respective Cali- brate button and follow the on-screen instruc- tions.

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Setting up GPO To set up GPO, go to the Frame / System / Re- mote / GPO page.

Fig. 32.: Loudness Pilot GPO page

Two relay-based general-purpose outputs are available. Use this page to configure them.

GPO 1 and GPO 2 parameters Use the GPO 1 and GPO 2 parameters to spec- ify which status information should be transmit- ted to the GPO pins. Available settings are Off, Sync LED, Alert LED and Signal LED. If you select one of the three LED options, the selected GPO pin pair will communicate the status of the respective Loudness Pilot front panel LED.

Idle State 1 and Idle State 2 parameters Use the Idle State 1 and Idle State 2 parameters to specify which state of the respective GPO re-

lay (1 or 2) should represent the inactive state of the assigned LED/status information. Available settings are Open and Closed.

GPO setup example To signal Loudness Pilot Synchronization Status on GPO relay 1 see Sync LED(s) SDI versions on page 25 , set the GPO 1 parameter to Sync LED.

If you set Idle State 1 to Open, the GPO 1 relay

will be open as long as no synchroniza- tion has been achieved and

will close when synchronization has been achieved.

Remote SDI

Fig. 33.: Loudness Pilot Remote SDI page

Loudness Pilot can process SMPTE2020 meta- data in the incoming SDI stream.

The Any SMPTE2020 setting is a straightfor- ward way to control how Loudness Pilot should process audio using SDI metadata.

If any SMPTE2020 package is received, Loud- ness Pilot can be set to bypass specific parts of the audio processing. As an example: If the in- coming program audio content is already Loud- ness-normalized, using the Any SMPTE2020 approach is a good way of bypassing unneces- sary audio processing during transmission.

Enable button Use this button to enable device control using metadata from the SDI input.

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An SDI button that controls the same function can be found on the Remote Master page in the Processing section.

Detecting parameter Use this parameter to enable remote control of features using SDI metadata.

Off setting SDI remote control is disabled.

Any SMPTE2020 setting If a SMPTE2020 package is received, Loudness Pilot can be set to bypass specific parts of the processing algorithm as defined by the Process- ing Control parameter.

Processing Control parameter Use this parameter to specify how Loudness Pi- lot should process audio when SDI metadata are detected according to the Detecting parameters setting.

Off setting No audio processing based on SDI metadata occurs.

Bypass Loudn. setting This setting is only available when the Detect- ing parameter is set to Any SMPTE2020. When a SMPTE2020 package is present in the incoming

SDI stream, Loudness Pilot will bypass the Loud- ness processing specified by the Engine preset.

Engines parameter

Settings: E1, E2, E1+E2 Use this parameter to specify the Engines that should be remote-controlled.

SDID (DID:0x45) parameter

Settings: 0x01, 0x02 (Channels 1/2), 0x03 (Channels 3/4) 0x04 (Channels 5/6) 0x09 (Channels 15/16) Use this parameter to specify the audio chan- nel pair in the SDI stream from which metadata should be read.

SDID background information SMPTE2020 metadata are divided into audio programs that e.g. can consist of stereo and 5.1 audio signals. Only the first audio pair of an au- dio program carries metadata, and this will be the audio pair that the SDID parameter should be set to e.g. 0x04 for the channel pair on au- dio channels 5/6 (i.e., the first two channels in SDI Audio Group 2) in the SDI stream. Loudness Pilot only receives metadata from the first audio program in an SDI stream.

The SDID value of 0x01 is defined by the stan- dard to be used when there is only one audio program associated with the SDI stream, and there is no intended association between VANC

packets with an SDID value of 0x01 and a spe- cific audio channel pair.

Note that only data ID DID 0x45 is defined for SMPTE2020 metadata, and that is also the only one valid for Loudness Pilot.

Extraction Line parameter

Settings: Line 9..20 Use this parameter to specify the line in the in- coming SDI stream where Loudness Pilot should look for a SMPTE2020 package. All other lines are ignored.

Input status display This field displays the SDI signal and its meta- data.

License required display Displayed when no SDI Metadata license is avail- able.

To learn where to receive a demo or buy a per- manent license, go to tcelectronic.com/where-to-buy

N/A display Displayed when no valid metadata is received. Please check if the Extraction Line and SDID is set up as expected in both Loudness Pilot and the upstream products.

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SMPTE2020 Detected display Can only be displayed when the Detecting pa- rameter is set to Any SMPTE2020. Indicates that Loudness Pilot is receiving valid SMPTE2020 metadata packages.

Current Processing display This field display the status of the current audio processing in the Loudness Pilot. Remote/meta- data-triggered behavior is described here.

In the messages listed below, Ex specifies what Engines are affected by the remote control, and this relates to the Engines parameter see Engines parameter on page 65.

Normal display Loudness Pilot is processing audio according to the Engine preset.

Ex Loudn. Off display Can only be displayed when the Detecting pa- rameter is set to Any SMPTE2020. Indicates that valid metadata are being detected and have in- structed Loudness Pilot to bypass Loudness processing specified by the Engine preset.

SDI metadata on the SDI output

The Loudness Pilot does not change any meta- data on its output so incoming SDI metadata are bypassed to the SDI output.

More information about the SDI standard and how metadata are formatted can be found in standard SMPTE 2020.

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Recalling, storing and deleting settings

Recalling, storing and deleting settings

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Scenes, Routings, Engines To use Loudness Pilot effectively, you should make all required settings as described in this manual and then store them, so they can later be recalled. You may also want to name the set- tings you store and delete settings that are no longer required. All these features are described in this chapter.

You first need to understand the hierarchical structure of your Loudness Pilot.

Scenes

A Scene is the most extensive selection you can make when recalling, storing or deleting settings. A Scene includes

all settings for both Engines on a processor/ card

signal routings to and from these Engines.

Recalling a Scene is equivalent to a total recall.

All the settings that make up a Scene are called a Scene preset.

Recalling (Loading), storing (saving) and deleting Scene Presets is covered in the Recalling, stor- ing and deleting settings on page 67 section of this manual.

Engines

Instead of recalling or storing a full Scene as de- scribed in the previous section, you may want to edit, store or recall the settings for one particular Engine.

All the settings for one particular Engine are called an Engine preset.

Recalling (Loading), storing (saving) and deleting Engine Presets is covered in the Recalling, stor- ing and deleting settings on page 67 section of this manual.

Routings

All the settings that define how signals are rout- ed to and from the Engines on a processor/card are called a Routing preset.

Recalling (Loading), storing (saving) and delet- ing Routing Presets is covered in the Recalling, storing and deleting settings on page 67 sec- tion of this manual.

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The Library concept The Library gives you access to all settings of all parameters of the currently selected Loud- ness Pilot.

The highest organizational level of the Library is a Bank. A Bank will hold either

50 Scene presets or

50 Routing presets or

100 Engine presets or

100 Meter presets

Factory presets vs. user presets

When recalling presets, you will see that there are two categories of presets: Factory presets and User presets.

Factory presets can only be recalled, but not overwritten or deleted. If you change a Fac- tory preset and you want to keep it, you have to store it as a User preset.

User presets can be recalled, edited and stored, thereby overwriting the previous ver- sion.

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Library Recall page

Fig. 34.: Library Recall Scene page

Use the Library Recall page of the TC Icon soft- ware to recall (load) previously stored settings into the memory of the currently selected device.

All colored buttons and selected items on the Recall page are colored in green.

To access the Library Recall page: If it isnt already, select the device you want to control using the Select page see TC Icon modes: Base and Device operation on page 39.

Select the Library tab.

Select the Recall page.

Select the subpage for the setting type you want to access:

Scene to recall a Scene preset

Route to recall a Routing preset.

E(ngine) 1 or E(ngine) 2 to recall an En- gine preset and use it for the currently se- lected Engine.

M(eter) 1 or M(eter) 2 to recall a Meter preset and use it for the currently selected Loudness Meter.

Select between Factory and User preset groups by clicking the Factory or User button.

There are 8 Factory and 8 User preset groups, with each group holding up to 8 presets.

Select a preset you want to use.

Click the large Recall (Scene / Route / Engine) Preset button in the upper right corner to re- call (activate) the selected preset.

The selected preset will be recalled.

Preset information For many presets, additional information is stored as part of the preset. When you select such a preset, an inverted Info tag will appear at the bottom of the large Preset Recall button.

Fig. 35.: Info tag in the Preset Recall button

Click the Info tag to display additional infor- mation about this preset in a modal dialog.

Click the OK button do close the dialog.

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Library Store page

Fig. 36.: Library Scene Store page

Use the Library Store page of the TC Icon soft- ware to store (save) settings to a memory bank. You can only store settings as User presets. Fac- tory presets cannot be overwritten.

All colored buttons and selected items on the Store page are colored in red.

To access the Library Store page: Select the Library tab.

Select the Store page.

Select the subpage for the setting type you want to store:

Scene to store all settings (including Routing and all algorithm settings) as a Scene.

Route to store the current Routing.

E(ngine) 1 or E(ngine) 2 to store the set- tings of either Engine 1 or 2 as an Engine preset.

Select a User preset group.

There are 8 User preset groups, with each group holding up to 8 presets.

Select a preset slot in the currently selected group that you want to use.

Click the large Store (Scene / Route / Engine) Preset button to store (save) your settings as a preset.

The selected data type will be stored as a preset. You can then recall this preset see Library Recall page on page 70.

Naming Presets All user preset types can be (re)named.

To rename a preset: On the Store page, select the preset that you want to rename.

Click the Name button.

An on-screen keyboard will be shown.

Use the on-screen keys or the physical key- board of your computer to edit the name.

Click the large Enter button to confirm the new name.

! Please note that the preset itself is not stored when you click the Enter button! To store the preset with its new name, click the large Store (Scene / Route / Engine) Preset button.

Adding Preset Information You can add information to presets you have created or modified. When recalling such a pre- set later, an inverted Info tag will appear at the bottom of the large Preset Recall button, allow- ing the user to access this additional information see Preset information on page 70.

To add information to a preset: On the Store page, select the preset that you want to add information to.

Click the Info button.

An on-screen keyboard will be shown.

Use the on-screen keys or the physical key- board of your computer to edit the name.

Click Enter to confirm.

! Please note that the preset itself is not stored when you click the Enter button! To store the preset with the newly added information, click the large Store (Scene / Route / Engine) Pre- set button.

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Operating the unit while renaming presets Please note that even when renaming presets or adding information as described above, the faders for the previously accessed page are still available and operational. This means you can continue operating the faders even when the keyboard is shown on screen.

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Library Delete page

Fig. 37.: Library Engine Delete page

Use the Library Delete page of the TC Icon soft- ware to delete settings from a memory bank. You can only delete User presets. Factory presets cannot be deleted.

Please note that all colored buttons and selected items on the Delete page are colored in yellow.

To access the Library Delete page: Select the Library tab.

Select the Delete page.

Select the subpage for the setting type you want to delete:

Scene

Route

E(ngine) 1 or E(ngine) 2

M(eter) 1 or M(eter) 2

Select a User preset group.

There are 8 User preset groups, with each group holding up to 8 presets.

Select a preset in the currently selected group that you want to delete.

Click the large Delete (Scene / Route / En- gine / Meter) Preset button to delete the se- lected preset.

You will be asked to confirm this operation before the preset is actually deleted.

Operating the unit while deleting presets Please note that even when deleting presets, the faders for the previously accessed page are still available and operational. This means you can continue operating the faders even when the keyboard is shown on screen.

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Library Bank page

Fig. 38.: Library Engine Bank page

Use the Library Bank page of the TC Icon software to copy Scene / Routing / Engine / Meter Presets from one location to another.

You can copy Presets from and to Banks and files.

Files can be transferred to other computers, al- lowing you to easily reuse your presets.

To access the Library Bank page: If it isnt already selected, select the device you want to control using the Select page see TC Icon modes: Base and Device opera- tion on page 39.

Select the Library tab.

Select the Bank page.

Select the subpage for the setting type you want to copy:

Scene to copy Scene presets.

Route to copy Routing presets.

Engine to copy Engine presets.

Meter to copy Meter presets.

To copy from a Bank to a file on disk

Select From Bank in the first column. The second column will switch to To File ac- cordingly.

Specify the folder where the file should be written in the File Folder field.

If you want to overwrite an existing file, select it in the right column.

If you select New file instead, you will be prompted to specify the file name.

Click the Copy Bank button.

To copy from a file on disk to a Bank Select From File in the first column. The second column will switch to To Bank ac- cordingly.

Specify the folder from where the file should be read in the File Folder field.

Click the Copy Bank button.

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Updating Loudness Pilot firmware

Updating Loudness Pilot firmware

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You should keep both the TC Icon software running on your computer and the software of your Loudness Pilot (the firmware) up to date. Using up-to-date software versions en- sures you benefit from bug fixes and the latest features.

Updating the firmware of your Loudness Pilot requires a computer with the TC Icon soft- ware installed.

In TC  Icon, you can select a previously down- loaded Loudness Pilot firmware file (with a .tca suffix) and apply it to the currently selected Loudness Pilot.

For downloading, installing and updating TC Icon software, please refer to

Finding and installing TC Icon software Mi- crosoft Windows on page 13 or

Finding and installing TC  Icon software OS X on page 15.

This section describes downloading and install- ing the Loudness Pilot firmware.

Updating Loudness Pilot firmware

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Finding and installing Loudness Pilot firmware Microsoft Windows You can download the latest version of the Loud- ness Pilot firmware from:

tcelectronic.com/support/software/

On this page, locate the Loudness Pilot section.

In this section of the support page, look for Firmware and click the button represent- ing the latest version of the Loudness Pilot firmware.

Depending on your browser type and con- figuration, a dialog may be shown asking you what you want to do with this file.

Choose Save.

The software will be downloaded to your browsers default download location. Usually, this is the Downloads folder for your user account.

In Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder containing the ZIP file you just downloaded.

Right-click the ZIP file and choose Extract All from the context menu.

A dialog box will allow you to specify where the extracted files should be stored.

Accept the defaults or change the path. We suggest changing the path to C:\LP\. This will allow you to locate the file in TC Icon soft- ware more easily.

After extracting the ZIP file, you will see a .tca file in Windows Explorer.

In the next steps, you will select this .tca file in the TC Icon software to transfer it to Loudness

Updating Loudness Pilot firmware

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Pilot. We will assume that you have extracted the content of the ZIP archive to C:\LP\. If you have extracted it to another location, you will have to specify this in the Common Software Update Folder field accordingly (see below).

Connect your PC to the Loudness Pilot that you want to update using an Ethernet cable.

Launch the TC Icon software on your PC.

In the TC Icon software, select the Loudness Pilot that you want to update.

Go to the Frame / System / Setup / Version page.

Here, you will find the current software ver- sion of your Loudness Pilot (shown as Loud- ness Pilot SW Version). Note this version number.

Go to the Frame / System / Setup / Update page.

Click into the Common Software Update Folder field.

Enter the path to the folder where the down- loaded .tca file is located.

Example: Assuming that

your hard disk drive has the letter c:\

you extracted the downloaded .tca file to the folder LP on the drive root (see pre- vious steps)

the correct path would be:

C:\LP\

Click Enter. You will be returned to the previ- ous screen.

The name of the .tca file you downloaded should now be displayed right under the Common Software Update Folder field.

If you want to make sure you have selected the correct file before applying the update, you can select the downloaded software file and click the File Info button to display ad- ditional information.

To apply the update, select the downloaded .tca file and click the Update SW button.

Confirm that you want to perform the update by clicking the Yes button.

A confirmation message will be shown once the update has been applied.

Click OK.

Go to the Frame / System / Setup / Version page and note the updated software version.

! Please note that a folder may contain mul- tiple .tca files, which will be shown on the

Frame / System / Setup / Update page when that folder is selected. Be sure to select the correct file usually, the most current one.

! If you experience technical problems during software download or installation, please ask a person with administrator privileges on this PC for assistance.

Updating Loudness Pilot firmware

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Finding and installing Loudness Pilot firmware OS X You can download the latest version of the Loud- ness Pilot firmware from:

tcelectronic.com/support/software/

On this page, locate the Loudness Pilot section.

In this section of the support page, look for Firmware and click the button represent- ing the latest version of the Loudness Pilot firmware.

Depending on your browser type and con- figuration, a dialog may be shown asking you what you want to do with this file. Choose Save.

The software will be downloaded to your browsers default download location. Usually, this is the Downloads folder for your user account.

Go to the folder containing the file you just downloaded.

If you are seeing a .ZIP file, double-click it to extract its contents. However, your browser may already have extracted the contents from the .ZIP file automatically.

After the ZIP file has been extracted, you will see a .tca file in the Finder.

In the next steps, you will select this .tca file in the TC Icon software to transfer it to Loudness Pilot.

For the first example, we will assume that you have left the file at its default position (the Downloads folder).

If you have moved the downloaded .tca file somewhere else, or if you intend to use a .tca file on a network or USB drive, you will have to spec- ify the correct path in the Common Software Update Folder field of TC Icon software accord- ingly (see Locating the Loudness Pilot firmware file example 2 on page 80).

Connect your Mac to the Loudness Pilot that you want to update using an Ethernet cable.

Launch the TC Icon software on your Mac.

In the TC Icon software, select the Loudness Pilot that you want to update.

Go to the Frame / System / Setup / Version page.

Here, you will find the current software ver- sion of your Loudness Pilot (shown as Loud- ness Pilot SW Version). Note this version number.

Go to the Frame / System / Setup / Update page.

Click into the Common Software Update Folder field.

Enter the path to the folder where the down- loaded .tca file is located.

Updating Loudness Pilot firmware

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Locating and transferring the Loudness Pilot firmware file example 1

This is a simple default scenario where we as- sume that

your hard disk drive is called Macintosh HD

your (short) user account name in OS X is joe and

you have not moved the .tca file from its download location.

In this case, the correct path to enter in the Common Software Update Folder field is:

/ users / joe / downloads/

Click Enter. You will be returned to the previ- ous screen.

The name of the .tca file you downloaded should now be displayed right under the Common Software Update Folder field.

If you want to make sure you have selected the correct file before applying the update, you can select the downloaded software file and click the File Info button to display ad- ditional information.

To apply the update, select the downloaded .tca file and click the Update SW button.

Confirm that you want to perform the update by clicking the Yes button.

A confirmation message will be shown once the update has been applied.

Click OK.

Go to the Frame / System / Setup / Version page and note the updated software version.

Locating the Loudness Pilot firmware file example 2

If you have moved the .tca file to a folder called Loudness_Pilot_updates on an external hard disk called DAW2,the correct path to enter in Common Software Update Folder would be:

// Volumes / DAW2 / Loudness_Pilot_updates /

For the remaining steps, see Example 1.

! Please note that a folder may contain mul- tiple .tca files, which will be shown on the Frame / System / Setup / Update page when that folder is selected. Be sure to select the correct file usually, the most current one.

! If you experience technical problems during software download or installation, please ask a person with administrator privileges on this Mac for assistance.

Icon Setup

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Icon Setup

Icon Setup

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 82

This chapter covers screens and parameters of the TC Icon software not directly related to the day-to-day operation of your Loudness Pilot.

Accessing the Icon Setup pages

If it isnt already, switch the TC Icon software to Base mode by clicking the Icon symbol in the upper left corner of the window see TC Icon modes: Base and Device operation on page 39.

In Base Mode, you will see the Select, Auto and Setup tabs on the upper edge of the TC Icon window.

Select Setup.

Select one of the pages described in the fol- lowing sections of this manual.

Info page On this page, the version number of the currently installed TC Icon software is displayed.

To update the TC Icon software, please refer to the Updating Loudness Pilot software on page 36 section of this manual.

Icon Setup

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Devices page Use this page to detect, control and assign the devices in your local network.

Detect button

Click the Detect button to scan the network for connected devices. All detected devices will ap- pear in the list.

If you encounter problems when detecting con- nected devices, please refer to Networking ba- sics and troubleshooting on page 32.

Assigning devices to the available slots

You need to assign a device to a slot of the TC Icon software to control it. Each instance of the TC Icon software can control up to eight different devices.

Select a device from the list on the left side of the screen.

Click one of the eight slots on the right side of the screen to assign the selected device to this slot.

Icon Setup

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Security page On the security page, you can set several fea- tures regarding device readouts and operation.

Sticky Clip button

Click the Sticky Clip button to activate or deacti- vate the Sticky Clip feature.

When the Sticky Clip feature is activated (button highlighted) and clock errors or clippings are de- tected in a device, the red and yellow warning in- dicators will remain lit until the user presses Re- set Clip button. This feature ensures that clock errors or clippings do not go unnoticed.

Lock Device UI button

Click the Lock Device UI button to lock or unlock the user interfaces of the devices controlled by the TC Icon software.

When the Lock Device UI feature is activated (button highlighted), the user will be able to see the settings of the currently selected device, but he cannot change them. This will be indicated by a semi-transparent overlay and a Device UI is locked message on all device-related screens.

Icon Setup

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Joystick page The MIDI Joystick setup page of the TC Icon software is not required for operating Loudness Pilot and not described in this manual.

UI page

Fig. 39.: TC Icon software UI page

TC Icon Window parameter Use the TC Icon Window parameter to specify if and where faders should be shown. Three op- tions are available. Changes on this page will take effect next time you open the TC Icon soft- ware.

Faders at bottom setting Faders will be positioned right below the main interface. This is the default setting.

Fader at right side setting One fader will be positioned to the right of the main interface.

No faders setting No faders will be shown on screen.

Color page

Fig. 40.: TC Icon software Color page

Use the parameters on the Color page to define the TC Icon softwares interface colors.

Icon Setup

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Color Scheme parameter

Use the Color Scheme parameter to select a predefined color scheme. You can select a pre- defined color scheme from the list or define your own color scheme using one of the User scheme slots.

Color Element parameters

Use the Color Element parameters to customize the colors of the currently selected User scheme. You can change the colors used for:

Background

Icon Panel Front

Icon Panel Back

Device Panel Front

Device Panel Back

User Interface Text.

We suggest changing these colors under real- istic/typical lighting conditions to make sure the interface is readable during day-to-day use.

Changing User scheme colors To change the color, select a user interface component in the Color Element list (e.g. Background) and set the three R(ed) G(reen) B(lue) faders to the desired values.

To apply the new color scheme, click the Ap- ply User Scheme button.

ALC2

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ALC2

ALC2

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An introduction to ALC2 Subtle corrections to loudness can make a significant difference to your viewers/listeners. ALC2 is capable of doing just that: Apply sub- stantial corrections when needed, make subtle adjustments when appropriate and leave your audio absolutely untouched when it is already normalized.

ALC2 is the heart and soul of Loudness Pilot. Each signal processing card in a Loudness Pi- lot unit has two Engines capable of running the ALC2 algorithm; meaning one signal processing card can process two audio streams indepen- dently. You can also use two Engines to process the same (stereo or dual mono) signal and deliver e.g. one stereo signal for HDTV and another one for mobile applications in real-time.

ALC2

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Main page

Fig. 41.: Loudness Pilot Engine ALC2 Main page

Input section

In Gain parameters Use the In Gain parameters to apply a static gain to the currently processed signal. Parameter range is from -18 dB to +18 dB.

If Loudness Pilot is used for ingest, better results may be obtained by using the In Gain parameter to get the program roughly on Target before pro- cessing.

As Loudness Pilot has a high internal headroom, there is no risk of clipping when positive gain is applied.

Phase L + Phase R buttons Use the two Phase buttons to switch the phase of the left and or the right channel of the incom- ing Stereo signal.

Auto Switching section

Introduction to Auto Switching Loudness Pilot features Auto Input Switching, enabling seamless fallback switching to another signal source if the primary source is not avail- able.

This feature has several applications. It can be used to switch back to the primary language if a second language stream is not available any- more. It could also be used to switch to an emer- gency channel as soon as a signal is present on the respective input.

To configure and use this feature, connect the respective signal sources to an Engines input on the Frame Routing page.

Connect your Main (primary) signal source to channels 1 and 2 of the respective Loudness Pilot Engine.

Connect your Auxiliary (secondary) signal source to channels 3 and 4 of the respective engine.

ALC2

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Fig. 42.: Routing page, with channels 1 and 2 connected to Engine 1s Main inputs and channels 5 and 6 connected to Engine 1s Aux inputs

The basic assumption for Auto Switching is that your Main (primary) signal is the default. As long as this signal is available and valid as defined by the Auto parameters setting, it will be processed and sent to the Engines Stereo output as de- fined on the Frame Routing page.

As soon as the Main (primary) signal is not avail- able/valid anymore, the Engine should process the signal from the Auxiliary (secondary) input instead and send this signal to the Engines Ste- reo output.

The signal that is currently being processed and sent to the Engines output is indicated in the up- per right corner of the ALC2 window.

Fig. 43.: Input indicator for the currently selected Engine, with the Main (primary) input active/highlighted.

Auto parameter Use the Auto parameter to configure the condi- tion that will trigger a fallback from the Main to the Aux input as described above.

Off setting When the Auto parameter is set to off, no input switching/fallback will occur. Loudness Pilot will always process the Main signal.

-60 dB / -50 dB settings Use these settings to base Main signal availabil- ity detection on the Main signals level.

If the Main signals level falls below this level (-50 dB or -60 dB), the Engine will switch from the Main (primary) to the Auxiliary (secondary) in- put, process it and send it to the Engines output.

24 / 20 / 16 Bit settings Use these settings to base Main signal availabil- ity detection on the Main signals dithering.

For example, if you set the Auto parameter to 16 Bit, Loudness Pilot will monitor the signal on the Main (primary) signal input for a dither noise level at approximately -96 dBFS. If the noise level in a silent period for the Main channels is below -96 dBFS, the Engine will switch from the Main (pri- mary) to the Auxiliary (secondary) input, process it and send it to the Engines output.

Dissolve parameter

Range: 25 ms to 3 seconds Signal switching between Main and Aux signals occurs in a power-compensated fashion. Use the Dissolve parameter to set the cross-fade en- gage and disengage time.

ALC2

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Processing section

Loudness Correct parameter Use the Loudness Correct parameter to specify if Loudness adjustment should be applied.

On To switch on Loudness adjustment of the input signal, set the Loudness Correct parameter to On.

Off To switch off Loudness adjustment of the input signal, set the Loudness Correct parameter to Off.

Look-ahead and Lip- sync Delay section

Audio Delay parameter Use the Audio Delay parameter to adjust AV sync. You can change this parameter in real-time without introducing clicks or pitch changes.

Setting the Audio Delay parameter to 0 results in minimum latency (around 1 ms). The maxi- mum value for the Audio Delay parameter is 10 seconds delay for each channel in a stereo stem.

If Audio Delay is enabled, some or all of it may also serve as loudness control look-ahead.

Max Look-ahead parameter The loudness correction module of the Loudness Wizard algorithm may look ahead to evaluate the input signal thereby allowing adjustment to start e.g. before a loud commercial.

The actual look-ahead section can never be longer than the setting of the Audio Delay pa- rameter. However, you can use the Max Look- ahead parameter to use an even shorter section. This is useful if you dont want loudness adjust- ment to set in too early, even with a high Audio Delay setting (e.g. for Lip-Sync or for Profanity prevention).

Delay Unit parameter Use the Delay Unit parameter to set the display unit for the Audio Delay and Delay Unit param- eters.

ms setting To display the Audio Delay and Max Look-ahead parameters in milliseconds, set the Delay Unit parameter to ms.

Frames 24 setting To display the Audio Delay and Max Look-ahead parameters in frames based on 24 frames per second, set the Delay Unit parameter to Frames 24.

Frames 25 setting To display the Audio Delay and Max Look-ahead parameters in frames based on 25 frames per second, set the Delay Unit parameter to Frames 25.

Frames 30 setting To display the Audio Delay and Max Look-ahead parameters in frames based on 30 frames per second, set the Delay Unit parameter to Frames 30.

ALC2

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ALC page

Fig. 44.: ALC page

Loudness section

Target Level parameter Use the Target level parameter to set the tar- get level for Loudness adjustment. The unit is shown as LFS, which denotes LKFS as well as LUFS (the two are identical).

For normal broadcast, the value should typically be between -18 and -24 LFS. Note that the dis- tance between this value and Limit Threshold on the Limit page is a quality-defining factor i.e. the standard headroom of the station. To ensure decent audio quality, headroom should be 16 dB or higher.

In broadcast environments working with a fixed Dialnorm value, Target Level can be set 1 to 3 dB higher than the static Dialnorm value in order to prevent level jumps between channels, and to have the Dolby DRC system sound better, if in- voked.

Loudness Unit parameter

LUFS setting Use this settings to show all parameters in units of LUFS that is, in Loudness Units on the ab- solute scale. This is the normal setting for the Loudness Unit parameter, which we recommend for most applications.

LU setting Use this settings to show all parameters in units of LU that is, in Loudness Units on a relative scale.

Max Reduction parameter Use the Max Reduction to set the maximum number of dBs the processor is allowed to at- tenuate the signal.

If this parameter is set to 0.0 dB, level reduction is disabled regardless of other settings such as Correction.

Max Boost parameter Use the Max Boost parameter to set the maxi- mum number of dBs the processor is allowed to boost the signal. If this parameter is set to 0.0 dB, level boost is disabled regardless of oth- er settings such as Correction.

Avg. Rate parameter Use the Avg. Rate parameter to set the speed by which gain changes as a result of loudness variations.

The rate adapts to the signal, and it takes the Slow Window and Pre Process parameter set- tings into account, so this parameter indicates an average number.

ALC2

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Correction parameter Use the Correction parameter to set how much correction is applied when the actual loudness is different from the Target Level. For instance, if Correction is set at 40%, and loudness is 6 dB away from the Target Level, the processor will apply a correction of 2.4 dB.

Be careful when setting this parameter, as it may take a little time testing to arrive at the best val- ue, especially if you wish to cover within program level jumps and inter-program level jumps using one preset. Note that Stridency Reduction over- rides the Corrections parameter when the input level is higher than Target.

Stridency Reduct. parameter Stridency Reduction is an adaptive loudness control that only has effect for loud signal above Target Level.

As consumers, once we have adjusted the gain for a suitable sound pressure level, we are more tolerant of loudness dropping than of loudness going up see Loudness Descriptors to Char- acterize Wide Loudness-Range Material from the 127th AES conference, 2009.

Use the Stridency Reduct. parameter to deter- mine how programs are dealt with. This param- eter is influenced by the Pre Process parameter.

The Stridency Reduct. parameter is limited by the setting of the Max Reduction parameter on this page. Available settings are Off, Soft, Universal and Extra. When set to anything

but Off, Stridency Reduction overrides the general Correction setting for loud content.

Slow Window parameter The slow window is an area around the set Tar- get Level. Within the slow window, loudness is controlled only gently. When the signal exceeds the limits of the slow window, Loudness is treat- ed more radically. Use the Slow Window param- eter to define the size of this window.

Use the Slow Window parameter in combination with the Avg. Rate parameter. E.g., a setting of 10 dB means that the slow window is a range of 5  dB around the current setting of the Target parameter.

Freeze Level parameter Use the Freeze Level parameter to set a level below which a Gain Boost is gradually revoked. This parameter can be used to avoid boosting signals meant to remain below the noise floor of a certain broadcast platform. The Freeze Level parameter relates to the Target Level parameter on the ALC page. For instance, if Target Level is set at -21 LFS, and Freeze Level is set at -15 dB, positive gain (if enabled) will be gradually nulled when level falls below -36 LFS.

Freeze Hold parameter Use the Freeze Hold parameter to set the time (in seconds) before the processor resets to 0 dB gain change once the level falls below Freeze Level.

Pre Process parameter Use the Pre Process parameter to indicate the condition of the input program i.e., if it has al- ready been normalized to Target level or not.

As procedures in production and on the servers moves towards programs already having been normalized prior to transmission, the amount of processing should gradually be backed off.

Avoid quality-hampering sausage processing by setting this parameter to indicate the cor- rect state of the input signal. The Pre Process parameter is included with Presets, so it may consequently be altered based on GPI or SNMP commands.

ALC2

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Limit page

Fig. 45.: Loudness Pilot Limit page

The Limiter uses true-peak detection exceeding the oversampling requirements of BS.1770.

Loudness normalization based on perceived loudness can lead to peaks that might overload. Thats why Loudness Pilot employs True-Peak limiting. Your signal gets upsampled so that even inter-sample peaks are detected. True-Peak lim- iting handles these transient peaks seamlessly, keeping your audio at its finest.

Pre Limit Gain section

Gain Trim parameter

Range: -18 to +18 dB (Default: 0 dB) Use the Gain Trim parameter to gain trim for the left and right channels. This parameter can be used for true-peak protected level conversion.

True-Peak Limit section

Threshold parameter Threshold

Use the Threshold parameter to set the true- peak Limit Threshold for all limiters.

True-peak detection makes overload of down- stream devices, such as data reduction codecs, sample rate converters and DA converters, less likely. Though digital samples may go to full scale, it is recommended to use a conservative Limit Threshold, even in digital transmission. Re- serve the top of the digital scale for occasional peaks in wide range material (feature films, clas- sical music), so dont go above -6 dBFS in HDTV for normal broadcast programming. This way, down-mixing or bass management at the con- sumer will also not generate unexpected distor- tion.

The distance between the Target Level of the ALC section and the Limit Threshold is an impor- tant audio quality defining factor the so-called headroom. Analog TV only had around 10 dB of headroom, but DTV should have at least 15-16 dB of headroom for a chance of conveying audio of a decent quality.

Raising the headroom can be accomplished by moving down the Target Level and/or raising the Limit Threshold. The headroom in BS.1770- based standards is typically 22 dB significantly more than broadcast ever had before.

ALC2

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Link parameter The Link parameter defines how limiters work together.

Dual Mono setting If a threshold is exceeded in one channel, only that specific channel is limited.

Stereo setting If the threshold is exceeded in one of the channels, both channels are limited. This way, the stereo perspective of your signal is preserved.

Profile parameter Use the Profile parameter to optimize the adap- tive true-peak limiter based on content, or based on the output platform.

The available settings are:

Dynamic

AC3 Codec

Universal

Loud

Voice

For linear (baseband) delivery, and for most other codecs including AAC, use Dynamic for sensi-

tive content, Voice for predominantly speech or Universal for all-round adaptive settings.

For AC3 delivery, use the AC3 Codec Profile setting.

For all settings except for AC3 Codec, the true- peak threshold is the same for all channels. For AC3 Codec, however, AC3 downmix headroom is protected, while the dynamic properties are the same as Universal.

Output section

Output Fader parameter The Output Fader parameter is a post-limiter fader. Parameter range is from -100 dB to 12 dB.

LM2 (optional)

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LM2 (optional)

LM2 (optional)

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LM2 Introduction The LM2 Loudness Radar Meter algorithm can measure loudness at the input stage as well as the output stage of Loudness Pilot.

It shows the user the essence of the loudness landscape at a glance for a complete and in- stant overview, including:

Loudness History

Momentary Loudness

True-peak Level

Program Loudness and

Loudness Range

all this in a single view.

LM2 also features a detailed 24/7 logging func- tion that will generate a text file which you can use to document adherence to a specific broad- cast standard. In fact, you get two independent sets of log files one for each LM2 instance.

LM2 is an optional license. For more informa- tion, see Extending your products capabilities with optional licenses on page 121.

What is LM2?

LM2 represents a quantum leap away from sim- ply measuring audio level to measuring per- ceived loudness.

The old level method is responsible for unac- ceptable level jumps in television, for music CDs getting increasingly distorted, and for different audio formats and program genres becoming in- compatible: Pristine music tracks from the past dont coexist with new recordings, TV commer- cials dont fit drama, classical music or film and broadcast dont match. The most fundamental audio issue of all control of loudness makes millions of people adjust the volume control over and over again, every day.

LM2 is part of a universal and ITU standard- ized loudness control concept, whereby audio may easily and consistently be measured and controlled at various stages of production and distribution. LM2 works coherently together with other TC equipment, or with third-party equip- ment adhering to the same global standard. Fol- low the guidelines given to allow audio produced for different purposes to be mixed without low dynamic range material (such as commercials or pop CDs) always emerging as the loudest.

LM2 core features

Real-time loudness meter compliant with

EBU R128,

ATSC A/85,

TR-B32 and ITU-R BS.1770-3.

For legacy purposes, LM2 can also be switched to the ungated, original BS.1770 measure of Program Loudness.

Loudness History Radar display

True-peak bar graph display

Supports mono and stereo

Presets for use in broadcast, music, film and post production.

LM2 (optional)

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TCs Universal Database of Loudness

Since 1998, TC has performed listening tests and evaluation of loudness models. From these tests, TC has built an extensive Universal Data- base of loudness, based on tens of thousands of assessments. This database covers all sorts of broadcast material, music, commercials, fea- ture film and experimental sounds, and is verified against other independent studies.

The Universal Database is authoritative from an academic as well as a practical point of view. It has been indispensable when designing the LM2 meter, because it provided the missing link be- tween short-term and long-term loudness, and enabled the statistically founded Universal De- scriptors of LM2.

Fig. 46.: Fig. 1 Left: Dynamic Range Tolerance (DRT) for consumers in different listening situations Right: Peak level normalization means that material targeted at low dynamic ranges gets loud.

The chart of Dynamic Range Tolerance in Figure 1 is a side-effect of the studies mentioned: Con- sumers were found to have a distinct Dynamic Range Tolerance (DRT) specific to their listening environment. The DRT is defined as a Preferred Average window with a certain peak level Head- room above it. The average sound pressure level (which obviously is different from one listening condition to another) has to be kept within cer- tain boundaries in order to maintain speech intel- ligibility, and to avoid music or effects from get- ting annoyingly loud or soft.

Audio engineers instinctively target a certain Dy- namic Range Tolerance profile when mixing. But because level normalization in broadcast and music production is based on peak level mea-

sures, low dynamic range signatures end up the loudest as shown by the red line in Fig 1.

Audio production is therefore trapped in a down- ward spiral, going for ever decreasing dynamic range. By now, the pop music industry is to the right of In-flight entertainment as shown in the il- lustration.

LM2 offers a standardized option. The visualiza- tion of loudness history and DRT in combina- tion with long-term descriptors from production onwards is a transparent and well-sounding al- ternative to our current peak level obsession; not only for music, but also in production for broad- cast or film.

An engineer who may not be an audio expert should be able to identify and consciously work with loudness developments within the limits of a target distribution platform and with predict- able results when the program is transcoded to another platform.

LM2 therefore color-codes loudness, making it easy to identify

target level (green),

below-the-noise-floor level (blue) and

loud events (yellow).

See Fig 2:

LM2 (optional)

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Fig. 47.: Fig. 2: Target loudness based on a consumers Dynamic Range Tolerance

Fig. 2 shows target loudness for selected broad- cast platforms based on a consumers Dynamic Range Tolerance (DRT). The aim is to center dynamic range restriction around average loud- ness (in this case the -20 dB line), thereby avoid- ing washing out differences between foreground and background elements of a mix. Please note how different the broadcast requirements are from those of cinema.

When production engineers realize the bound- aries they should generally stay within, less dy- namics processing is automatically needed dur- ing distribution, and the requirement for main- taining time-consuming metadata at a broadcast station is minimized.

In broadcast, the goal is to use the same loud- ness measure for

Production,

Ingest,

Linking,

Master Control Processing and

Logging.

Using the same loudness measure for all these purposes ensures better audio quality not only in DTV audio, but across all broadcast platforms.

LM2 and TC processing can coexist with PPM meters, VU meters or Dolbys LM100 meter. LM2 greatly increases the usability of LM100 in pro- duction environments because it provides run- ning status, and gives a standardized and in- tuitive indication of both dialog and non-dialog program.

LM2 Basic Use LM2 can be used with mono and stereo material for any type of program material.

It visualizes

short-term loudness,

loudness history and

long-term statistical descriptors.

To bring up the Radar display:

Select the M1 (Meter 1) or the M2 (Meter 2) tab depending on which of the two Loudness meters you want to display.

Select the Edit page.

Select the Radar subpage.

During normal operation, you will be using this page most of the time. The basic functionality of the LM2 Radar page is shown in Fig 3.

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Reading the Radar display

Fig. 48.: Fig 3.: The LM2 Radar

Target Loudness is displayed at the 12 oclock position of the outer LED ring, and at the radar circle marking the transition from green to yel- low.

The yellow numbers in the lower part of the dis- play are the two descriptors Loudness Range and Program Loudness.

Pausing and resetting the Radar display

The Pause and Reset buttons to the left of the display are the transport controls of LM2. They are used to make the radar and descriptor mea- surements run, pause and reset.

Click the Reset button to reset the Radar display and the descriptors.

Setting up LM2

To change the current LM2 presets name and adjust basic parameters, click the Main button.

To configure what information is displayed, click the Setup button.

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Working with LM2 presets

LM2 presets define parameters such as target loudness, noise floor, and overload conditions. You can use TC Icons Library functions to re- name, store and recall presets see Recalling, storing and deleting settings on page 67.

LM2 Radar Page

Fig. 49.: Fig 3.: The LM2 Radar page

Outer Ring: Current Loudness

The segmented outer ring of the Radar page displays Momentary loudness. The 12 oclock position represents the 0  LU point (i.e. Target Loudness). Values above this point are shown in yellow. The LU Reference parameter can be found on the LM2 Main page.

The Low Level point is marked by the transition from green to blue. The Low Level Below pa- rameter can be found on the Setup page.

The user should be instructed to keep the out- er ring in the green area, and around the 12 oclock position on the average. Excursions into the blue or the yellow area should be balanced, and not only go in one direction.

The numbers associated with the outer ring may be referenced at either maximum loudness or have a zero point set at Target Level. You can set this on the LM2 Main page using the Loudness Unit parameter. Either way of looking at loud- ness is valid.

LUFS reading is in line with how peak level is typ- ically measured in a digital system, and compat- ible with Dolby AC3 and E metadata, while the LU approach calls for a certain Target Loudness to have been predetermined, like e.g. a VU meter.

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Long-term measurements

Universal descriptors may be used to make pro- gram-duration measurements, or you may spot- check regular dialog or individual scenes as re- quired. It is recommended not to measure pro- grams of a shorter duration than approximately 10 seconds, while the maximum duration may be 24 hours or longer.

Reset button

Before a new measurement, click the Reset but- ton. This will reset the descriptors, the radar and the true-peak meters.

Run the audio, and watch the Radar and the de- scriptor fields update accordingly.

While the Radar will update instantly, the de- scriptors will wait five seconds into the program before showing the first readings. This is normal. Even though the first five seconds of a program are not shown instantly, they are included in the descriptor calculations.

LM2 incorporates an intelligent gate which dis- criminates between foreground and background material of a program. Consequently, measuring wont start before audio has been identified. The intelligent gate also pauses measurements dur- ing periods that only contain background noise, and during fade-outs of music tracks.

Universal Descriptors and Dolby LM100

Unlike methods that measure dialog only, LM2 may be used with any type of audio, including dialog.

If you wish to measure dialog, it is recommended to do a manual spot check of a program or a film. Find 10-30 seconds of regular dialog and mea- sure it with LM2. Where dialog may be soft, regu- lar or loud, and shift by more than 15 dB inside a film, regular dialog tends to be less ambiguous and more consistent across a program.

For compatibility with a proprietary measure such as Dolby LM100, only some of these meters are updated to use ITU-R BS.1770 and Leq(K) while others are locked at Leq(A). The software version of LM100 should be 1.3.1.5 or higher in order for it to comply with BS.1770, and to have its average loudness reading be compatible with Program Loudness in LM2.

Even used just on speech, Leq(A) is not a precise approximation to perceived loudness, so please update the unit to BS.1770 to obtain similar read- ings and predictable results.

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Universal Descriptors and AC3 Metadata

The Dialnorm parameter in AC3 metadata should indicate the average loudness of a pro- gram. Basic dynamic range and level control that rely on this parameter may take place in the con- sumers receiver. Therefore, its value should not be far off target, or the consumer results become highly unpredictable.

Program Loudness in LM2 is directly compatible with dialnorm in AC3. Most broadcast stations work with a fixed dialnorm setting, for instance -23 LUFS. This would be the Program Loudness target level for any program.

If your station is more music- than speech-ori- ented, better inter-channel leveling may be ob- tained with dialnorm permanently set 1 or 2 LU below the Program Loudness target level.

True-peak meters

The peak meters of LM2 display true-peak as specified in ITU-R BS.1770. True-peak meters give a better indication of headroom and risk of distortion in downstream equipment such as sample rate converters, data reduction systems and consumer electronics than digital sample meters used e.g. in CD mastering. Note that the standard level meters in most digital worksta- tions and mixers are only sample peak (Final Cut, Avid, ProTools, Yamaha etc.) and should only be used as a rough headroom guideline.

Note that the meter scale is extended above 0  dBFS. Most consumer equipment distorts if you see readings above 0. Its not a problem to have true-peak level going to -1 dBFS in produc- tion, but legacy platforms (analog, NICAM etc.) and some data-reduction codecs may distort unless true-peak level is kept lower.

With Dolby AC3 and with low bit rate codecs, -3  dBFS should be considered the limit, while legacy platforms requiring emphasis may need even further restriction. As described in EBU R128, it is recommended to make full use of the headroom with true-peaks going to -1  dBFS in production, and to only restrict peak level further during distribution/transmission.

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LM2 Main page Descriptors section

Descriptor 1 / Descriptor 2 parameters

Range setting Loudness Range (standardized in EBU R128 and abbreviated LRA) displays the loudness range of a program, a film or a music track. The unit is LU, which can be thought of as dB on the av- erage.

The Loudness Range descriptor quantifies the variation of the loudness measurement of a pro- gram. It is based on the statistical distribution of loudness within a program, thereby excluding the extremes. Thus, for example, a single gun- shot is not able to bias the LRA number.

EBU R128 does not specify a maximum permit- ted LRA. R128 does, however, strongly encour- age the use of LRA to determine if dynamic treat- ment of an audio signal is needed and to match the signal with the requirements of a particular transmission channel or platform.

Consequently, if a program has LRA measured at 10  LU, you would need to move the master fader 5 dB to make loudness stay generally the same over the duration of the program (mot that you would want that).

In production, Loudness Range may serve as a guide to how well balancing has been per- formed, and if too much or too little compres- sion has been applied. If a journalist or video editor isnt capable of arriving at a suitable LRA,

he could be instructed to call an audio expert for help.

The following may be regarded as initial produc- tion guidelines:

HDTV and digital radio: Stay below LRA of 20 LU.

SDTV: Stay below LRA of 12 LU.

Mobile TV and car radio: Stay below LRA of 8 LU.

Remember to use LRA the other way around, too: If there is an ideal for a certain genre, check its LRA measure, and dont try go below it. LRA should not be used for Limbo.

Allow programs or music tracks the loudness range they need, but not more than they need.

Loudness Range may also be measured on a broadcast server to predict if a program is suit- able for broadcast without further processing. LRA is even a fingerprint of a program and stays the same downstream of production if no dy- namics processing has been applied. You may even check the number out of a consumers set- top box to verify that distribution processing and Dolby DRC has been disabled.

As with Program Loudness and Loudness Max, the meter should be reset before measuring LRA.

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Prog. Loudn. setting Program Loudness returns one loudness num- ber for an entire program, film or music track. Its unit is LUFS. Some vendors and countries use the unit LKFS or LUFS, but all three desig- nate the same: An absolute measure of loudness in the digital domain, where the region around 0 is overly loud and not relevant for measur- ing anything but test signals. Expect readings of broadcast programs in the range between -28 and -20 LUFS.

Program Loudness is used as a production guideline, for transparent normalizing of pro- grams and commercials, and to set loudness metadata in delivery if so required.

For delivery or transmission of AC3 format, the metadata parameter dialnorm should reflect Program Loudness.

The easiest way to handle multiple broadcast platforms is to normalize programs at the sta- tion to a certain value, thereby being able to take advantage of the normalization benefits across platforms, at the same time enabling static meta- data.

Loudness measurements in LM2 are all rooted in ITU-R BS.1770. However, subtle differences exist between different regions of the world. Therefore LM2 also includes the Loudness Standard pa- rameter. Be sure to set this parameter correctly for compliance in your region.

The Program Loudness target is more or less the same for broadcasters around the world, espe-

cially when taking the measurement differences into account. Target numbers range between -24 and -22 LUFS.

Like with Loudness Range and Loudness Max, the meter should be reset before measuring Pro- gram Loudness.

Sliding Loudn. setting Unlike Loudness Range, Program Loudness and Loudness Max, Sliding Loudness is a continu- ously updated measure that doesnt need to be reset. This type of descriptor is especially use- ful when mixing by numbers i.e. when there is no access to the extremely informative radar display.

When mixing by numbers, having Program Loud- ness as one descriptor and Sliding Loudness as the other displays simultaneous information about the full program side by side with the most recent loudness history.

Because the Sliding Loudness measurement is completely ungated, it may also be used to spot-check sections of a program complying to raw ITU-R BS.1770 and the first revision of ATSC A/85.

LM2 makes use of optimized statistics process- ing in order to display a sliding loudness value (a prognosis) as quickly as possible after a reset.

Loudness Max setting Loudness Max displays the maximum loudness registered since the meter was last reset. Loud- ness Max is an especially useful parameter when checking and normalizing short duration pro- grams such as promos and commercials.

BCAP rules from the UK is an example of us- ing Loudness Max as an efficient instrument to reduce listener complaints regarding loud com- mercials. While Program Loudness is adequate to normalize a consistent mix, Loudness Max may be used as a second line of transparent de- fense against overly short and loud event.

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Loudness section

Loudness Std. parameter The Program Loudness measure is always root- ed in the ITU-R BS.1770 loudness model. This parameter sets measurement gating. Note that the parameter only influences Program Loud- ness, and not Sliding Loudness or Loudness Max.

ITU BS.1770-3 setting This setting reflects the latest revision of ITU-R BS.1770. Relative gate at -10 LU, safety gate at -70 LUFS.

Leq(K) setting This setting reflects the original version of ITU- R BS.1770. No measurement gate besides from at safety gate at -70 LUFS, so the user doesnt need to precisely start and stop a measurement in order to avoid bias from complete silence.

Cnt of Grav. setting The standard setting from early versions of TC radar meters. Relative gate at -20 LU, safety gate at -70 LUFS.

LU Reference parameter The LU Reference parameter defines the loud- ness required to obtain a 12 oclock reading on the outer ring of the Radar display, which is the

same as the border between green and yellow on the Radar.

Loudness Unit parameter

LUFS setting All measurements of program loudness and slid- ing loudness are shown in units of LUFS that is, in Loudness Units on the absolute scale. This is the normal setting for the Loudness Unit pa- rameter, which we recommend for most applica- tions.

Loudness Range is always shown in units of LU, because it is basically a measurement of range or of the distance between a high and a low loudness level.

LU setting With this setting, measurements of program loudness and sliding loudness are shown in units of LU that is, in Loudness Units on a relative scale. The 0 LU is by definition the target loud- ness level, such as -23.0 LUFS. So by selecting LU, one can immediately see if a loudness level is above the target level (e.g. +1.2 LU) or below (e.g. -3.4 LU).

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LM2 Setup page

Fig. 50.: LM2 Setup page

Radar page section

Momentary Range parameter Settings: +9 Scale or +18 Scale

EBU mode meters can display two different mo- mentary displays:

+9 Scale setting The +9 Scale setting provides a narrow loudness range intended for normal broadcast. It gives a momentary meter range from -18 to +9 LU.

+18 Scale setting The +18 Scale setting provides a wide loudness range intended for film, drama and wide range music. The It gives a momentary range from -36 to 18 LU.

Radar Speed parameter Range: 1 minute to 24 hours

The Radar Speed parameter controls how long each revolution of the Radar display takes. You may zoom between the settings during run- time, as long as the history isnt reset.

Pressing the Reset button on the Radar page will reset meter and descriptor history.

Radar Resolution parameter Range: 3 to 12 dB/div

The Radar Resolution parameter sets the differ- ence in loudness between each concentric circle in the Radar display. Choose a low value when targeting a platform with a low dynamic range tolerance. You may zoom between the set- tings, as long as the history isnt reset.

Low Level Below parameter Range: -30 to -6 LU

The Low Level Below parameter determines where the transition between the green and blue range occurs in the outer ring. It indicates to the engineer that the signal level is now at risk of be- ing below the noise floor.

Alert Indicator parameter

M Over only setting When the Alert Indicator parameter is set to M Over only, the red Alert indicator on the Radar page will indicate when the signal level surpass- es the value set with the M Threshold parameter in the Loudness Alert section.

Stereo Integrity setting When the Alert Indicator parameter is set to Ste- reo Integrity, the red Alert indicator on the Radar page will indicate a lack of stereo integrity based on measuring the difference of left/right inputs. If there is a consistent difference between left and right over a prolonged time, the LED is lit.

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Peak Indicator parameter Range: -12 to +3 dBFS

Use the Peak Indicator parameter to specify the value that should trigger the Peak indicator in the upper right corner of the Radar display. E.g., if you set Peak Indicator to -1 dBFS, the PEAK indicator on the Radar page will be lit when the signal is -1 dBFS or above.

True Peak Meters section

TP Meters button Use the TP Meters button to switch the stereo True Peak meters on the right edge of the LM2 on or off.

Fig. 51.: True Peak Input meters

Preset View section

Preset View button Click the Preset View button to turn the Engine View display on the right hand side of the display on or off.

When Preset View is on, the two signal process- ing engines and the two LM2 instances are dis- played on the right hand of the display with the currently active presets. When Preset View is off, a larger part of the interface is available for the True Peak Meters.

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M Loudness Alert section

M Threshold parameter Range: -30 to 0 LUFS / Off

Use the M Threshold parameter to specify the value that should trigger a High Loudness alarm. This alarm will be sent through the GPO and shown on the LM2 Alert LED.

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LM2 Stat(istic)s page The Statistics page gives an overview of essen- tial descriptors:

Program Loudness

Loudness Max

Loudness Range

True-Peak Max

Sliding Loudness

PLR (Peak to Loudness Ratio)

About PLR (Peak to Loudness Ratio)

PLR (Peak to Loudness Ratio) measurements often correlate with audio quality be careful not to force it too low. Programs and tracks should be allowed to live.

! Important: Clicking the Reset button will reset the meters and the log file.

Level versus loudness When level normalization in audio distribution is based on a peak level measure, it favors low dy- namic range signatures as shown in Fig 1. This is what has happened to CD.

Quasi-peak level meters have this effect. They tell little about loudness and also require a head- room in order to stay clear of distortion. Using IEC 268-18 meters, the required headroom is typically 8-9 dB.

Sample-based meters are also widely used, but tell even less about loudness. Max sample de- tection is the general rule in digital mixers and DAWs. The side effect of using such a simplistic measure has become clear over the last decade, and CD music production stands as a monu- ment over its deficiency. In numerous TC papers, it has been demonstrated how sample-based peak meters require a headroom of at least 3 dB in order to prevent distortion and listener fatigue.

The only type of standard level instrument that does not display some sort of peak level is the VU meter. Although it has been developed for another era, this kind of meter is arguably bet- ter at presenting an audio segments center of gravity.

However, a VU meter is not perceptually opti- mized, or ideal for looking at audio with markedly different dynamic range signatures.

Unlike electrical level, loudness is subjective, and listeners weigh its most important aspects (SPL, frequency contents and duration) different-

ly. In search of an objective loudness measure, a certain Between Listener Variability (BLV) and Within Listener Variability (WLV) must be accepted meaning that even loudness assess- ments by the same person are only consistent to some extent, and depend on the time of day, the listeners mood etc. BLV adds ambiguity as cul- ture, age and other parameters are introduced as variables.

Because of the variations, a generic loudness measure is only meaningful when it is based on large subjective reference tests and solid statis- tics. Together with McGill University in Montreal, TC Electronic has undertaken extensive loud- ness model investigation and evaluation.

The results denounce a couple of Leq measures, namely A and M weighted, as generic loudness measures. In fact, a quasi-peak meter showed better judgement of loudness than Leq(A) or Leq(M). Even when used just for speech, Leq(A) is a poor choice, and it performs worse on music and effects.

An appropriate choice for a low complexity, ge- neric measurement algorithm, which works for listening levels used domestically, has been known as Leq(RLB).

Combined loudness and peak level meters exist already, for instance the ones from Dorroughs, but BS.1770 now offers a standardized way of measuring these parameters.

In 2006, ITU-R Working Party 6J drafted a new loudness and peak level measure, BS.1770, and

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the standard has subsequently come into ef- fect. It has been debated if the loudness part is robust enough, because it will obviously get exploited where possible. However, with a va- riety of program material, Leq(RLB) has been verified in independent studies to be a relatively accurate measure, and correlate well with hu- man test panels. It therefore seems justified to use Leq(RLB) as a baseline measure for loud- ness, especially because room for improvement is also built into the standard. The final BS.1770 standard included a multichannel annex with a revised weighting filter, R2LB now known as K weighting - and a channel weighting scheme. These two later additions have been less verified than the basic Leq(RLB) frequency weighting.

The other aspect of BS.1770, the algorithm to measure true-peak, is built on solid ground. In- consistent peak meter readings, unexpected overloads, distortion in data reduced delivery and conversion etc. have been extensively de- scribed, so in liaison with AES SC-02-01, an over-sampled true-peak level measure was in- cluded with BS.1770.

In conclusion, BS.1770 is an honorable attempt at specifying loudness and peak level separate- ly, instead of the simplistic (sample peak) and mixed up measures (quasi-peak) in use today. The loudness and peak level measurement en- gine of LM2 follows the standard precisely.

Possible updates to the ITU standard may be re- leased as LM2 updates, provided that process- ing requirements doesnt exhaust the system.

Technical papers from AES, SMPTE, NAB and DAFX conferences with more information about loudness measurement, evaluation of loudness models, true-peak detection, consequences of 0 dBFS+ signals etc., are available from the TC website. Visit the Tech Library at tcelectronic. com/tech-library/ for details.

Meter Calibration

Because of the frequency and channel weight- ing, and of the way channels sum, only specific tones and input channels should be used for calibration.

The most transparent results are obtained us- ing a 1 kHz sine tone for calibration. Other fre- quencies or types of signal may be used (square wave, noise etc.), but dont expect similar results. The beauty of the system lies in its RMS founda- tion, so this is a feature, not an error. The same feature enables the loudness measure to identify overly hot CDs or commercials, and to take out- of-phase signals into account just as much as signals that are in phase.

If we stick to standard methods for measuring peak audio level in a digital system, where a sine wave (asynchronous of the sample rate) with dig- ital peaks at 0 dBFS, is regarded a 0 dBFS tone, BS.1770 and LM2 output these results:

One front channel fed with a -20 dBFS, 1 kHz sine tone: Reading of -23,0 LUFS.

Two front channels fed with a -20  dBFS, 1 kHz sine tone: Reading of -20,0 LUFS.

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Display

LM2 may use either the measurement unit of LU (Loudness Units) or LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale).

LU and LUFS are measurements in dB, reflect- ing the estimated gain offset to arrive at a certain Reference Loudness (LU) or Maximum Loudness (LUFS) as defined in BS.1770. Since a common reference point for LU has not been agreed on at the time of writing, LUFS (or LKFS, point- ing specifically to the Leq(R2LB) weighting of BS.1770), might be favored initially to avoid am- biguous use of the term LU.

The effectiveness of any loudness meter de- pends on both the graphical appearance and dy- namic behavior of its display, as well as on its un- derlying measurement algorithms. A short-term loudness meter also relies on the measurement algorithms ability to output pertinent loudness information using different analysis windows, for instance, 200-800 ms for running real-time up- dates.

It should be noted how the optimum size of this window varies from study to study, possibly be- cause the objective of a running display hasnt been fully agreed upon.

Formal evaluation of a visualization system is challenging. First of all, one or more metrics must be defined by which the display should be evaluated. The correspondence between the sound heard and the picture seen is one aspect

to be evaluated. Another metric could character- ize the speed of reading the meter reliably.

In TC Electronic LM2, LM5 and LM6, short-term, mid-term and long-term of loudness measure- ments are tied together coherently, and dis- played in novel ways (angular reading and radar) that were preferred in its development and test phases. However, we remain open to sugges- tions for further improvement of the visualization of loudness.

Postscript

Control of loudness is probably the only audio is- sue that has made it to the political agenda. Po- litical regulation is currently being put into effect in Europe to prevent hearing damage and distur- bances from PA systems, and to avoid annoying level jumps during commercial breaks in televi- sion. In Australia, something similar may happen.

Many years of research into loudness of not only dialog, but also of loudness relating to any type of audio programming, has brought TC to the forefront of companies in the world to perform real-time loudness measurement and control. Therefore, TC has taken active part in loud- ness standardization efforts in Japan, the United States, Europe and other areas.

In broadcast, digitization is driving the number of AV channels and platforms up, while the total number of viewers remains roughly the same. On the sound production side, it is therefore impor- tant that delivery criteria can be easily specified and met, even by people not primarily concerned with audio: Journalists, musicians, video editors, marketing professionals etc.

Using only dialog based audio measurements in digital broadcast, has led to ambiguous level management, more level jumps between pro- grams, and extra time spent on audio produc- tion and management in general. Non-dialog based level jumps are currently creating havoc in digital TV, and LM2 helps correct that situa- tion. The LM2 Loudness Meter can be used to control level and improve sound, not only in Dol-

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by AC3 based transmissions, but also on other broadcast platforms, such as analog TV, mobile TV and IPTV.

In summary:

LM2 is part of a holistic and universal ap- proach to loudness control, starting at with the production or live engineer. When she re- alizes the dynamic range at her disposal, less processing is needed at later stages of a distri- bution chain. The chain ends with the capabil- ity of quality controlling everything upstream by applying the same loudness measure for logging purposes: a closed loop.

Welcome to a new, standardized world of audio leveling across genres, across formats, across the globe.

LM2 log files Loudness meter data is stored in the devices in- ternal memory and can be transferred to a com- puter using the TC Icon application (but not with the hardware TC Icon).

Log file resets

The meter log file is reset (along with the actual Loudness Meter)

when you turn off the device

when the Meter is reset manually

when the Meter is reset via GPI remote con- trol.

The log file is also reset along with the Loudness Meter if the measurement standard is changed manually, or by loading a preset based on a dif- ferent standard.

Log page

To access the log file-related functions, select your TC HD device/Frame in TC Icon software, switch to the tab of the respective loudness me- ter and select the Log page button on the left side of the main window.

Fig. 52.: Log page with two log files

Common Log File Folder Use the Common Log File Folder field to specify a folder on your computer where retrieved log files should be stored.

The folder you set here is a common folder for all the products controlled from this particular TC Icon software.

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Log File folder defaults The default log file folder for Microsoft Win- dows is: [C:] \users\ [your user name] \Documents\LM

The default log file folder for Apple OS X is: [Root] /users/ [your user name] / Documents/TC Electronic/

To specify the folder path, click in this field and type the path to the folder you want to use. Press the Enter key to confirm.

Dump log button This button is not available when Auto Logging has been enabled see Auto Logging on page 115.

Click this button to manually retrieve the log file from the selected device and Engine and store it on your computer in the Common Log File Folder.

You will be asked to confirm this operation, as the TC Icon software user interface will not be available during log file retrieval.

Show Log Header button This button is not available when Auto Logging has been enabled see Auto Logging on page 115.

Select a log file from the log file list and click this button to show its header information (see Log file header on page 115.

Delete Log button This button is not available when Auto Logging has been enabled see Auto Logging on page 115.

To delete a log file from your computers hard disk, select the respective log file from the log file list and click the Delete Log button. You will be asked to confirm this operation.

Device ID field The Device ID is used for naming log files. This applies to both manually and automatically re- trieved log files.

If you operate several TC HD devices, use the Device ID field to give each device a unique name. This might be the name of the TV chan- nel being measured with this device. By default, the Device ID corresponds to the product serial number.

Additional information when Auto Logging is enabled To learn how to set up Auto Logging, see Auto Logging on page 115.

When Auto Logging is enabled for this Engine, the following information will be displayed on the Log page:

Next log retrieval This field will display a countdown to the next log file retrieval (e.g. as 35 min. 54 sec.) or show Now while retrieving a log file.

Last log After successful log file retrieval, the path to the file is shown plus the file header with statistics summary.

Fig. 53.: Log page with Auto Logging enabled

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Log file format and structure

Each log file is a plain text file with the structure shown below. The header shows a summary of the log, followed by the actual, time-stamped values in tab-separated values format.

This file format can easily be imported into spreadsheet applications such as Microsoft Ex- cel or Apple Numbers for further analysis.

Log file header If the Loudness Meter preset being used has been edited, the Preset Name is followed by Ed- ited. The serial number, preset name and soft- ware version information for the logged device is also available.

The summary includes statistics, and the mea- surements are stored every second.

Time and date is added while dumping the log file. This information is derived from the com- puter that the TC Icon software is running on. Accordingly, you need to ensure that the com- puters clock is set correctly.

Log file name The log files name is composed from the Algo- rithm, the Device ID, the Meter Engine, the date (coming from the computer running the TC Icon software), plus a number starting with 0000 and increased for each log file retrieval on the same date.

Log file example

Header lines are indicated by a leading hash character.

# --- LM6 log file ------------------------- # # TC Electronic LM6 Loudness Meter # DB6 serial number 13508233 - Firmware 1.25.00 # Meter M1 # Preset: EBU R128 Radar (Edited) # # --- Overall Statistics ------------------- # # Start time: 2014-01-27 13:58:39 # End time: 2014-01-27 14:06:25 # # Program Loudness: -27.1 LUFS # Loudness Max 10s: -20.7LUFS # Loudness Range: 17.1 LUFS # True-Peak Max: -4.0 LUFS # --- Loudness log ------------------------- # Date Time Loudness (LUFS) 2014-07-27 13:58:39 -23.15 2014-07-27 13:58:40 -23.48 2014-07-27 13:58:41 -23.73 etc.

Working with log files You can delete, move and rename log files as required using Windows Explorer in Microsoft Windows, the Finder in OS X or a third-party file manager.

Auto Logging Using the free TC Icon software application (but not the hardware TC Icon), it is possible to spec- ify a fixed interval at which the computer will col- lect Loudness Meter log files from the Frames controlled by the Icon software.

Log file retrieval can be activated for a wide range of TC Electronic devices from TC Icon software.

LM2 (optional)

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 116

Log Select page

To activate Auto Logging,

switch TC Icon software to Base mode by clicking the Icon symbol in the upper left cor- ner of the window,

click the Auto tab on top of the window

click the Log Select page button on the left side of the window.

Fig. 54.: Auto Logging Log Select page

Use this page to select the Frame(s) and Engines in that Frame from which you want to collect log files.

Loudness Pilot meter log file retrieval On a Loudness Pilot, the Meter Engines M1 and M2 are always available. Enable Auto Logging from them by clicking the M1 and/or M2 buttons on the Log Select page.

Button LED states

Grey Indicates that this Engine holds a valid LM2 al- gorithm, but no log file has been retrieved yet.

Green Indicates that at least one log file has been re- trieved from this Engine.

Yellow Indicates that this Engine does not hold an LM2 algorithm.

Red Indicates that there was a problem retrieving the log file. Check that the connection to the Frame is working.

Blue blinking Indicates that the log file is currently being re- trieved from the specific Frame and Engine.

Auto log is not available from this device If a product controlled by the Icon application does not feature a Loudness Meter.

LM2 (optional)

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 117

Log Setup page

To configure Auto Logging,

switch TC Icon software to Base mode by clicking the Icon symbol in the upper left cor- ner of the window,

click the Auto tab on top of the window

click the Log Setup page button on the left side of the window.

Fig. 55.: Auto Logging Log Setup page

Use the parameters on this page to set up log file retrieval.

Auto log button Click this button to enable Auto Logging for all devices/Engines that have the respective Meter

button enabled on the Log Select page see Log Select page on page 116.

Log File Folder Use the Log File Folder field to specify a fold- er on your computer where retrieved log files should be stored.

The folder you set here is a common folder for all the products controlled from this particular TC Icon software.

Log File folder defaults The default log file folder for Microsoft Win- dows is: [C:] \users\ [your user name] \Documents\LM

The default log file folder for Apple OS X is: [Root] /users/ [your user name] / Documents/TC Electronic/

Interval field

Settings: 1 / 2 / 4 / 12 hours, 1 day, 1 week Use the arrow buttons in this section to define the interval for log file retrieval.

Day / Hour / Minute fields Use the Hour and Minute fields to set a specific time of day when the next log file should be re- trieved. The clock is set in 24 hours format.

Additional log files will be retrieved in the inter- vals specified using the Interval field.

E.g., if you set the Hour and Minute fields to 2 hours and 10 minutes and set the Interval field to 4 hours, log files will be retrieved at 2:10 am, 6:10 am, 10:10 am etc.

When you have set the Interval field to 1 Week, you can also set the day of the week when the log file should be retrieved.

For devices running 24/7, you would usually chose a time when log file retrieval does not in- terfere with other activities.

E.g., you could retrieve the log file every Mond- day at 01:05.

LM2 (optional)

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 118

Further info

When you have activated Auto Logging, addi- tional information is displayed on the Log Setup page:

Next Auto Log Retrieval display This is the time when the next log file retrieval will occur.

E.g., 2014-09-15 15:57 means that the next log file retrieval will occur on September 15, 2014, at 3:57 pm.

Countdown display This field shows a countdown to the next log file retrieval in hours, minutes and seconds.

Retrieving Log From display The name of the device and the Engine from which a log file is currently being retrieved, e.g. 7: Loudness Pilot No.87 M2

Appendix 1: Links and additional information

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 119

Appendix 1: Links and additional information

Appendix 1: Links and additional information

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 120

Support resources

TC Electronic service and warranty: tcelectronic.com/support/service-warranty/

TC Electronic Support: tcelectronic.com/support/

TC Electronic product software: tcelectronic.com/support/software/

TC Electronic all product manuals: tcelectronic.com/support/manuals/

TC Electronic user forum: forum.tcelectronic.com/

TC Electronic on

the web: tcelectronic.com/

Facebook: facebook.com/tcelectronic

Google Plus: plus.google.com/+tcelectronic/

Twitter: twitter.com/tcelectronic

YouTube: youtube.com/user/tcelectronic

TC HD resources

TC Electronic | Production: tcelectronic.com/production/

TC Electronic | Broadcast: tcelectronic.com/broadcast/

TC HD products on YouTube: youtube.com/user/tcelectronicHDaudio/

Appendix 1: Links and additional information

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 121

Product-related information

Loudness Pilot support page: tcelectronic.com/loudness-pilot/support/

Extending your products capabilities with optional licenses The capabilities of your Loudness Pilot can be extended by purchasing optional licenses listed below.

To learn where to obtain demo versions or buy licenses to extend your TC HD product, please go to

tcelectronic.com/where-to-buy

16 Channel AES

Extends the number of audio channels that can be processed with an AES version (balanced or unbalanced) of your device from 8 to 16.

LM2 Loudness Radar Meter for Loudness Pilot

LM2 gives you instant overview of Loudness History, Momentary Loudness, True-peak Level, Program Loudness and Loudness Range. For more information, see LM2 (optional) on page 96.

SDI Metadata

Allows signal processing control based on SDI Metadata. For more information, see Remote SDI on page 64.

SNMP Monitoring

Send out SNMP alerts (Silence Detector, PSU Error, Clock Errors etc.).

Appendix 2: Loudness Pilot GPI/O page

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 122

Appendix 2: Loudness Pilot GPI/O page

Appendix 2: Loudness Pilot GPI/O page

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 123

GPIO Technical specifications The General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) con- nector on the Loudness Pilot back panel is con- figured as follows:

Fig. 56.: Fig. 1: GPIO D-SUB connector

Pin No Function 1 GPO 1, contact 1 2 GPO 2, contact 1 3 GPI 2 4 GPI 4 5 3V3 output, 100 mA max 6 GPO 1, contact 2 7 GPO 2, contact 2 8 GPI 1 9 GPI 3 10 3V3 output, 100 mA max 11 Ground 12 Reserved 13 Ground 14 Ground 15 Reserved

Fig. 57.: Table 1: GPIO pin assignments

The 3V3 output (presented on 2 pins) can be used for external GPIO network as described be- low. It is currently limited to 100 mA.

Each of the two GPOs consist of a floating inter- nal relay than can either be set open (this is the default setting) or closed. Each relay can handle 200 mA / 24 V AC/DC max.

The four GPI inputs are DC coupled 0 to +3V3 inputs. Inside the processor, 100 kOhm resistors connect the GPI inputs to +3V3 power supply. When nothing is connected to the GPI input, the input voltage therefore is +3V3V. A resistor net- work can be used to pull down the voltage as suggested in Fig 3-4.

GPI installation Selection between up to 8 presets is achieved by feeding the processor a DC voltage to the GPIO D-SUB connector. The input voltage is com- pared against voltage windows that correspond to certain presets.

Between the valid voltage windows, invalid win- dows have been inserted to protect against er- ratic operation. The processor constantly moni- tors the GPI input, and only if several consecu- tive measurements point to the same, valid volt- age window, a recall is performed.

The voltage windows are chosen to enable easy binary relay encoding as shown in fig. 3-4. If long cable runs are required, HF decoupling us- ing a ceramic capacitor across the D-SUB GPI and GROUND pins may be needed.

For maximum detection precision and maxi- mum tolerance against cable induced noise/hum please use the calibration tool in the TC Icon ap- plication to set the HI and LO thresholds of the GPI voltage range.

Fig. 58.: Fig. 2: Setup: 1 of 2

Appendix 2: Loudness Pilot GPI/O page

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 124

Fig. 59.: Fig. 3: Setup 1 of 4. Use 1% precision resistors

Fig. 60.: Fig. 4: Setup 1 of 8. Use 1% precision resistors

In Table 2, voltages outside the limits mentioned are to be considered invalid. No action is taken if invalid measurements are made. GPI recall ac- tion resumes when a stable, valid measurement is detected again.

M o

d e

U ser P

reset N o

S caled

Targ et / V

s

M in typ

/ V

Targ et typ

/ V

M ax typ

/ V

R L3

R L

2

R L1

1 of 2 1 1.000 (idle)

2.67 3.30 3.30 open

2 0.000 0.00 0.00 0.51 clos.

1 of 4 1 1.000 (idle)

3.20 3.30 3.30 open open

2 0.689 2.18 2.28 2.38 clos. open

3 0.548 1.71 1.81 1.91 open clos.

4 0.439 0.00 1.45 1.55 clos. clos.

1 of 8 1 1.000 (idle)

3.20 3.30 3.30 open open open

2 0.826 2.63 2.73 2.83 clos. open open

3 0.689 2.18 2.28 2.38 open clos. open

4 0.602 1.93 1.99 2.05 clos. clos. open

5 0.548 1.75 1.81 1.87 open open clos.

6 0.491 1.56 1.62 1.68 clos. open clos.

7 0.439 1.40 1.45 1.50 open clos. clos.

8 0.402 0.00 1.33 1.38 clos. clos. clos.

Table 2: GPI voltage windows

Notes:

Idle refers to the state when no input is con- nected, or when the input is left floating.

Rather than absolute voltage measurements, the windows are defined as a fraction of the supply voltage. This voltage can be measured with a high impedance DMM on the D-SUB pin 5 or 10.

The table shows values as a fraction of the supply voltage, and, as a guideline, typi-

cal voltages when the supply is 3.30  V. (If the supply voltage is e.g. 3.315  V, the table should be corrected by multiplying these val- ues by 3.315/3.3).

Technical specifications

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 125

Technical specifications

Technical specifications

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 126

Loudness Pilot Frame

General Frame configuration Front indicators Status for: PSU 1, PSU 2, Sync, Alert, Signal Finish anodized aluminum face plate. Plated steel chassis Dimensions: 19 x 1.75 x 13.2 inches (483 x 44 x 334 mm), 1 RU Weight Mains voltage: 100 to 240 VAC, 50-60 Hz auto-select Power supply function: Dual Power Supply Redundancy Fan: Dual Fan Redundancy Power consumption: Warranty, parts and labor: 2 years (Extended Warranty program available) EMC Complies with: EN 55103-1 and EN 55103-2, FCC part 15 class B, CIS-

PR 22 class B Safety Certified to: IEC 60065, EN 60065, UL 6500 and CSA E65 Environment Operating temperature: 32 F to 122 F (0 C to 50 C) Storage temperature: -22 F to 167 F (-30 C to 70 C) Humidity: Max. 90 % non-condensing

Technical specifications

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 127

Transmission 3G Card

General

Number of Processors

Number of audio channels processed 8 in, 8 out (per card) 16 in, 16 out optional for AES

Audio format configuration 2, 5.1, 2+2, 5.1+2, 2+5.1, 5.1+5.1 Audio processing delay 0.15 ms Adjustable online delay 0-10 sec per audio channel Delay Resolution 32 bit Frequency Response DIO DC to 23.9 kHz +/- 0.01 dB Audio sample rate 48 kHz, fully synchronous Audio processing resolution 32 bit, bit-transparent

Technical specifications

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 128

Inputs and outputs Loudness Pilot SDI

Connectors 1 BNC In, 1 BNC Out. 75 Ohm Bypass relay Input to output while powered off and during boot-up Function Audio de-embed/embed, video thru SDI formats support SD 525i59.94, 625i50 SDI formats support HD 720p23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60

1080p23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30 1080i50, 59.94, 60

SDI formats support 3GA 720p23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60 1080i50, 59.94, 60 1080p23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60

SDI formats support 3GB (2 streams) 720p23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60 1080i50, 59.94, 60 1080p23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60

Complies with standards SMPTE 259M, 292M, 424M, 425M Audio input/output selection SDI group 1-2, 3-4, 3G stream 1, 3G stream 2 Interface function (de-embed/embed) Synchronous, bit transparent Input return loss Typ. 17 dB, < 1.5 GHz, typ. 12 dB, 1.5 to 3 GHz Output return loss Typ. 18 dB, < 1.5 GHz, typ. 12 dB , 1.5 to 3 GHz Relay bypass return loss Typ. 19 dB, < 1.5 GHz, typ. 14 dB , 1.5 to 3 GHz Adaptive cable equalization (input) 480 m @ SD, 250 m @ HD, 150 m @ 3G, Belden 1694A Jitter tolerance (input) timing > 10 UI Jitter tolerance (input) alignment > 0.7 UI Output jitter @ SD timing < 0.25 UI Output jitter @ SD alignment < 0.22 UI Output jitter @ HD timing < 0.5 UI Output jitter @ HD alignment < 0.1 UI Output jitter @ 3G timing < 1.0 UI Output jitter @ 3G alignment < 0.25 UI Signal Level (output) 800 mV +/- 5% DC offset (output) 0 V +/- 0.5 V Rise/fall time (output) < 700 ps @ SD, < 130 ps @ HD, < 120 ps @ 3G Overshoot (output) < 5% of amplitude

Technical specifications

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 129

Inputs and outputs Loudness Pilot AES unbalanced

Connectors BNC, 75 Ohm Bypass Relay Input to output while powered off and during boot-up Formats supported AES/EBU (24 bit), AES3-id in/out Status bits In: Accepts all, Out: Pro-status bits Complies with standards AES3-2009, SMPTE 276M Digital IO Engine TC developed DICE core Internal Sample Rates 48 kHz Internal Clock Precision 30 PPM External Sample Rates 48 kHz +1.7 % / -1.3 % Audio in-to-out delay 0.85 ms Number of audio channels processed 8 in, 8 out (16 in, 16 out) Interface function Synchronous, bit transparent Jitter Rejection Engine TC developed JET technology Jitter tolerance (input) > AES3-2009 (master and slave input) Jitter Rejection Filter < -3 dB @ 10 Hz, < -100 dB @ 600 Hz, 4th order Jitter gain (in-to-out) < 1 dB Output jitter (output @ clean source) < 1 ns peak, BW : 700 Hz to 100 kHz Digital output phase < 0.5 % of sample period Input variation before sample slip 49.9 % of sample period Input signal tolerance 0.2 to 5 Vpp Output signal Level 1 V 20%, terminated

Technical specifications

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 130

Inputs and outputs Loudness Pilot AES balanced

Connectors DSUB incl. cable for XLR, 110 Ohm Bypass Relay Input to output while powered off and during boot-up Formats supported AES/EBU (24 bit), AES3 Status bits In: Accepts all, Out: Pro-status bits Complies with standards AES3-2009 Digital IO Engine TC developed DICE core Internal Sample Rates 48 kHz Internal Clock Precision 30 PPM External Sample Rates 48 kHz +1.7 % / -1.3 % Audio in-to-out delay 0.85 ms Number of audio channels processed 8 in, 8 out (16 in, 16 out) Interface function Synchronous, bit transparent Jitter Rejection Engine TC developed JET technology Jitter tolerance (input) > AES3-2009 (master and slave input) Jitter Rejection Filter < -3 dB @ 10 Hz, < -100 dB @ 600 Hz, 4th order Jitter gain (in-to-out) < 1 dB Output jitter (output @ clean source) < 1 ns peak, BW : 700 Hz to 100 kHz Digital output phase < 0.5 % of sample period Input variation before sample slip 49.9 % of sample period Input signal tolerance 0.2 to 7 Vpp Output signal Level 3.3 Vpp 20%, terminated

Technical specifications

Loudness Pilot English Manual (2014-10-07) 131

Control Interface

GPI, control inputs (D-SUB) 4 multi-state, multi-function. 0 V to 3.3 V DC sensing GPO output (D-SUB) 2 relays, floating, 200 mA / 24 V AC/DC max Output voltage (D-SUB) 3.3 V DC, 100 mA current limited Ethernet and remote control 2 ports, 10/100 Mbits/s, Base-T, SNMP-enabled