CLEVELAND—Telos Alliance today announced a software update for its Linear Acoustic AERO series television audio processors supporting the most current Nielsen watermark encoding library.

Version 3.32.47 addresses a known issue for the NAES VI (NW/N6) encoder, which will reset its timestamp on Jan. 1, 2027, causing it to report incorrect information to Nielsen.

This update applies to sold and currently supported Linear Acoustic AERO products with the Nielsen watermarking option, including AERO.100, AERO.200, AERO.1000, AERO.2000, AERO.2400 and AERO.8000. Legacy AERO processors with Nielsen encoding, including AERO.air and AERO.asi, cannot be updated to this version.

“Linear Acoustic has enjoyed a close partnership with Nielsen for nearly twenty years, and many of our customers opt to perform their Nielsen watermark encoding for audience measurement as an integral part of their television loudness processing and upmixing within our AERO products,” said Larry Schindel, Linear Acoustic product manager.

“We have been working closely with Nielsen to ensure our mutual customers have access to their latest encoding library in plenty of time to update their AERO units before the end of the year and will be providing a separate update for our Linear Acoustic LA-5300 processor this summer.”

The V3.32.47 update is available at a cost of $599 per unit. AERO.200, AERO.2400 and AERO.8000 units still under factory warranty or covered by a Telos Alliance Extended Warranty or TelosCare PLUS service agreement can be updated at no charge.

The company is also offering a trade-in credit offer. For a limited time, customers can receive a $1,000 credit toward the purchase of a new AERO.200, AERO.2400 or AERO.8000 when they trade their existing Linear Acoustic AERO.100, AERO.1000, AERO.2000, AERO.air, AEROMAX DTV, AEROMAX 5.1, AERO.one or AERO.asi.

Customers seeking the updated software should inquire with their Linear Acoustic dealer or via email.

CLEVELAND—Telos Alliance has launched a new Media Solutions initiative, which it will present for the first time at IBC2024, Sept 13-16 at the RAI Amsterdam.

“In order for Telos Alliance to increase our presence and expand our influence in the Media & Entertainment markets, we have created Media Solutions as an initiative that will focus on delivering Jünger, Minnetonka Audio and Linear Acoustic into television & media markets outside of radio,” said Costa Nikol, Exec-Team Strategy Advisor, Media & Entertainment for Telos Alliance. “This includes having dedicated R&D, Sales, Marketing and Customer Services resources focused on the Television, Media and Entertainment customer base—along with dedicated management led by John Schur, President of Media Solutions on the executive level."

Although the company won’t be branding any of its products under the “Media Solutions” moniker, “having dedicated teams allows us to be better equipped to listen to market trends and demands, while maintaining the trusted brands that our customers already know,” Nikol added.

Scott Rothenberg, SVP of Technology and Capital Planning at global media solutions leader NEP Group, said: “Media companies are under more pressure to deliver unique, personalized experiences to audiences across new platforms and geographies. To achieve this level of customization at scale, content providers need to ensure Next Generation Audio is at the core of live production workflows. We share the same vision as Telos Alliance when it comes to championing audio that makes audiences feel more valued – and drives greater value.”

“Just ‘good enough’ audio doesn’t cut it in the competitive media landscape anymore — delivering exceptional audio quality is fundamental to engaging and retaining audiences,” said Telos Alliance CEO Scott Stiefel. “Despite rapid innovation in ultra-high quality video and immersive on-screen experiences, broadcast audio is overlooked far too often. Content providers need more support in seamlessly enabling Next Generation Audio technologies that transform auditory experiences. Our Media Solutions products empower brands to wow audiences and brings our business closer to established and new customers.”

Telos Alliance’s Media Solutions initiative will pioneer Next Generation Audio (NGA) technologies, enabling content providers to provide immersive, personalized audio that captivates and retains viewers. According to Telos, more than one billion consumer devices already support Next Generation Audio, a standard that enables personalized, accessible and interactive experiences by allowing individual viewer devices to engage with the playback system and customize the output based on user preferences, accessibility requirements, or changing listening environments.

Whether media is consumed via in-ear headphones, soundbars or multi-speaker setups, NGA enables intuitive, user-centric features such as enhanced dialogue and sound clarity, advanced volume customization for those with hearing impairments, and commentary and audio track selection for users to choose different commentators for sports events or select alternative language tracks for their favorite shows.

Telos Alliance will debut a range of pioneering Next Generation Audio advancements at IBC2024, introducing several new product lines and enhancements across Jünger and Linear Acoustic brands. The company will also showcase new AI modules within the Minnetonka AudioTools solution suite that drive production efficiencies and cleaner, richer audio experiences across live sports and entertainment programming.

Telos Alliance will be in Stand 8.D37. For more information, visit https://show.ibc.org/

CLEVELAND, Ohio—Telos Alliance is launching their latest series of television audio processors, the Linear Acoustic AERO.20, AERO.200, and AERO.2400. The new processors will  be featured at the company’s booth (C1808) at the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 14-17.

The processors represent the latest and most advanced offerings in the long-running Linear Acoustic AERO lineup and are the direct replacements for the AERO.10, AERO.100, and AERO.2000 products, which are being deprecated. 

AERO.20, AERO.200, and AERO.2400 offer the same trusted loudness control, upmixing, Nielsen and Verance Aspect audience measurement watermarking, Dolby coding, and flexible local audio insertion for EAS and text-to-speech as their predecessors, but introduce several new and important features, the company said. These include dual independent 3G SDI I/O paths to support 1080p signals, user-selectable metering and logging options for EBU R 128 or ATSC A/85, and an updated Windows 10 IoT operating system to provide additional security features.

“Television broadcasters around the world have trusted Linear Acoustic AERO processors for over twenty years to provide the best-sounding and compliant TV audio possible for their viewers, and their versatility, reliability, and audio quality is unmatched,” said Larry Schindel, Linear Acoustic Product Manager. “AERO.20, AERO.200, and AERO.2400 continue that legacy while adding more flexible and advanced I/O, routing options, and security.” 

The AERO.20, AERO.200, and AERO.2400 will be available through Linear Acoustic channel partners in Q2 2024.

CLEVELAND & SAN DIEGO—The Telos Alliance and Verance have announced Verance’s Aspect watermarking is now available in Linear Acoustic’s LA-5300 Broadcast Audio Processor, designed specifically for ATSC 3.0 broadcast use.

The LA-5300 provides loudness control, upmixing, Dolby AC-4 decoding and encoding, bitstream analysis and monitoring for NextGen TV audio applications.

“The transition to ATSC 3.0 is an exciting time for TV content creators, distributors and broadcasters, but as with any change of this magnitude, it will present challenges as well as opportunities,” says John Schur, president, Telos Alliance Solutions Group.

“By expanding our partnership with Verance beyond the Linear Acoustic AERO.100, 2000 and 8000 to include the LA-5300, our partners now have a full range of products for the delivery of compelling new consumer features.” 

The LA-5300 audio processor can handle up to four programs, which means it can provide unique encoded streams for the main program audio, SAP and video descriptive services in a 1RU form factor.

The Verance Aspect watermark works for both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 broadcast environments. It was selected as part of the 3.0 standard to maximize the reach of interactive TV services in broadcast television, the company said. 

The Hybrid Broadcast Broadband Television Association (HbbTV) adopted ATSC 3.0 watermarking into its Phase 2 Application Discovery over Broadband specification, which was published in September 2019.

The availability of Aspect in the LA-5300 processor allows programmers to activate interactive services, including addressable advertising, fantasy/predictive gaming and sports betting within Aspect-enabled smart televisions across all distribution paths, said Verance.

“Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to delivering innovative solutions that drive revenue and viewer engagement in today’s and tomorrow’s broadcast environments,” explained Nil Shah, CEO of Verance. “We have a longstanding and successful partnership with Telos Alliance and are pleased to expand our product suite and support our partners as they transition to NextGen TV.” 

For more information, visit www.telosalliance.com/linear.

Audio metering and monitoring can be described as the ability to determine certain characteristics of the audio signal either aurally or visually. For example loudness measurements are accumulated over a period of time and variations in the audio may be difficult for the sound mixer to detect by ear over the control room speakers, but variances obtained by a LKFS meter are obvious.

Metering and monitoring tools can be differentiated by their functions and features. As an audio mixer I am concerned about quantitative and qualitative evaluation/measurements of the sound throughout a broadcast while during the set up, the sound supervisor and EIC (engineer in charge) are more interested in a technical evaluation/measurements for signal continuity and routing.

VISUAL REFERENCE

A visual reference is an invaluable tool in a chaotic OB van because an experienced sound mixer learns how to visually associate an image or graphical reference with the sound they hear. The visual reference may alert the mixer that there is a problem that they need to address.

Equally difficult is troubleshooting the digital audio path without the tools that measure the technical aspects of a digital audio stream. I witnessed someone meter an audio signal and pass along the signal chain that the audio sounded fine without listening to the signal—seeing sound and hearing noise. In this article we will look at visual reference audio monitors for both live and post-production broadcast audio from an audio point of view.

The audio management tools (metering, monitoring and mastering) used by a live production mixer are certainly different than the needs and tools used by a post-production sound mixer. In 2019, most live productions and post-produced audio content is produced on different types of mixing platforms. Noteworthy is that there seems to be movement toward mix surfaces that can perform virtually all audio requirements—ingest, mix, route, record and be used for both live and post-production application.

Qualitative measurements like spatial imaging and phase are significant considerations for all audio production, but conforming to broadcasters’ deliverables specifications for loudness and true peak across all mix formats is critical and mandated by law.

There are a variety of loudness tools that can be applied to an edit session to meet a content provider service’s requirements. Nugen, a U.K.-based provider of audio monitoring tools, offers software plug-ins for monitoring, metering and mastering tools used by audio post houses for drama and factual content.

Nugen supports native 7.1.2 and 5.1.4 audio processing and loudness parameters for advanced loudness control and dialog consistency. Its DynApt plug-in now comes standard with its Loudness Toolkit and after trying it out, I would say this feature is essential.

“DynApt is an optional extension for LM-Correct, which allows corrections with dynamic adjustments, not just linear adjustments,” said Freddy Vinehill-Cliffe, product specialist for Nugen. “This means the user can correct multiple sets of parameters simultaneously, and gives the extra option of narrowing the LRA [loudness range]. DynApt has a unique algorithm, which uses volume-riding and scene-change recognition to make transparent-sounding adjustments.”

During rendering, the software conforms the mix to the required loudness specification and prepares the content for delivery over a wide array of audio formats from mono to various immersive formats supporting up to 7.1.2. Nugen’s software can also down-process audio signals with its Halo Downmix feature that gives the audio mastering process new ranges for downmix coefficients, and a Netflix preset as well.

The Nugen Visualizer is a metering and monitoring tool that can be used as a plug-in during mastering and as a standalone program on another computer. The Visualizer analyzes qualitative characteristics of your audio that impact the clarity and value of your sound. Phase and frequency correlation impact the dynamics and spatial imaging of a mix and sometimes it is what you do not hear, like low frequencies, that pass through unheard that ruin a great mix. (Fig. 1)

Nugen’s metering, monitoring and mastering is usually accomplished in post-production, while live compliance and adjustments of the audio is at the end of the mixer’s fingertips.

MONITORING FOR LOUDNESS

Since live loudness compliance is dynamic and often manual, live mixing desk manufacturers like Lawo and Calrec include many audio measuring options and capabilities directly into the console for easy viewing and screening by the operator.

Meter and monitoring of the audio signals needs to be at the source—in the control room or OB—while loudness management and monitoring is probably centralized down stream.

Linear Acoustic, part of the Telos Alliance TV Solutions Group, has designed and built standalone boxes for loudness control and management for more than a decade. Linear’s AERO system is unique because it can be inserted at different points and locations in the audio signal flow—all the way back to the network operations center to manage the audio signal for loudness compliance. Linear Acoustic has a series of AERO platforms to host the AEROMAX processing loudness management, along with the new ARC platform that hosts their latest loudness management technology, APTO.

“The AERO or ARC unit performs the loudness control in real time, and this unit is usually further downstream from the OB van and production,” said Larry Schindel, senior product manager at Linear Acoustic. “The AERO can be at the network or local affiliate who inserts local content or advertising, and their output [content] must be compliant with loudness legislation.

Before encoding the content into Dolby Digital for transmission, the broadcaster can use any of the series of AERO processors to adjust loudness control, select whether upmixing or downmixing is required and enable loudness logging of the output signal, according to Schindel.

“The AERO processors also provide separate processing control for local inputs, allowing local affiliates to process their locally generated programming or advertisements separately from the network programs,” he said.

I have known Linear Acoustic since its inception because of their close work with NBC. Linear has designed and continues to design processors and devices that can up-produce or enhance and spatialize audio signal for surround (and immersive) sound.

For immersive, Schindel recommends the company’s UPMAX, which can be used to maintain the sound field regardless of the channel configuration of the incoming content and can also be used creatively to enhance the surround (immersive) sound field.

“Parameters in the upmixer can be adjusted to help shape the sound for the user’s tastes, such as whether the center channel sounds are routed hard center or spread a bit into other channels, or how far back into the surrounds to steer up-mixed content,” Schindel said. “The UPMAX can monitor the input signal and auto-detect whether upmixing is needed and native surround content will pass through unprocessed.”

Upmixing can be done at the OB van or at the network because there will always be a mix of legacy material with mono or stereo sound and it is important to maintain a consistent sound field image all the way through the chain to the consumer/listener, Schindel added.

Linear Acoustic is developing a unit that provides immersive up-processing from stereo or 5.1-channel surround sound, according to Schindel. During the immersive sound migration, there will long be a need for up-producing mono, stereo and surround sound in the audio signal chain.

GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE

Beyond audio fidelity, proper evaluation of sound in the broadcast environment can be a difficult process because circuit continuity and signal routing can take precedence over sound fidelity in a chaotic broadcast situation. Sometimes the sound production process accumulates noise and distortion along the way, something a skilled sound mixer or tonemeister might hear but a transmission technician might not.

The ability to see and hear a variety of sources and formats from SDI, AES, MADI and even analog—including audio configurations from stereo to multiple multichannel audio formats at critical points in the processing chain—is critical for the live broadcasting continuity, and accurate visual tools are essential.

TSL has designed and built tools to monitor and meter the data stream and continues to support SDI, MADI and IP digital formats with its new SAM-Q platform introduced at the 2019 NAB Show. SAM-Q has channel analysis configurations for up to 128 channels and includes a selectable sound reference over headphones and a small speaker in the rack unit to confirm sound not noise. Ease of monitoring and troubleshooting the routing and signal integrity is an evaluating factor in choosing a device or tool.

Metering, monitoring and controlling audio signals is a critical responsibility of the engineers, audio operators and technicians. Metering, monitoring devices and software are valuable tools for quick troubleshooting, but always remember these programs and boxes can let you look at a visual representation of the audio, but can never guarantee the quality of audio content, only an ear.

Dennis Baxter has spent over 35 years in live broadcasting contributing to hundreds of live events, including sound design for nine Olympic Games. He is the author of “A Practical Guide to Television Sound Engineering,” published in both English and Chinese, and is currently working on a book about immersive sound practices and production. He can be reached atdbaxter@dennisbaxtersound.comor atwww.dennisbaxtersound.com.

CLEVELAND—Linear Acoustic is on the Olympic stage right now as part of the production infrastructure for NBC Olympics’ 2018 Winter Games coverage in PyeongChang, South Korea. Linear Acoustic is doing its part by providing audio upmixing and technical support.

More than 40 Linear Acoustic UPMAX v4 units, as well as the UPMAX algorithm, were delivered to NBC Olympics for its broadcasts. Linear Acoustic has also supplied another upmix algorithm that creates immersive audio for next generation audio formats, such as Dolby Atmos. The MT2000 Multichannel Bitstream analyzers and on-site technical support have also been provided.

The 2018 Winter Olympics are currently underway in PyeongChang.

For all our Olympics coverage, visit here.

CLEVELAND—Linear Acoustic has been tapped by NBC Olympics, a division of NBC Sports Group, to provide audio upmixing and technical support to its coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro from Aug. 5-21. The audio company has been brought on to help NBC Olympics deliver 5.1 channel surround sound for the broadcast.

More than 40 of Linear Acoustic’s Upmax v4 units, with remote controls, have been acquired by NBC Olympics, according to a press release. Linear is also supposed to provide MT2000 Multichannel Bitstream analyzers and on-site technical support.

Linear Acoustic is part of the Telos Alliance of companies and is based in Cleveland.

NEW YORK—Audio systems are being required to handle many more channels than 5.1 plus stereo. In the consumer world, Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos can support multiple channels for an immersive audio listening experience. For those who can’t add more loudspeakers to their listening rooms, solutions such as Yamaha Sound Bar, can provide a 3D-like sound field without the bulk. And major MSO Comcast will be supporting Dolby Atmos in its Xfinity X1 platform starting in 2016.

At the broadcast, production or origination end of the spectrum, we’ll need to rethink our audio systems to accommodate the growing requirements of next-generation audio, an umbrella term Tim Carroll, Linear Acoustic founder and Telos Alliance chief technology officer, prefers to use. This covers object-oriented audio, which can provide immersive audio, personalized audio, visual descriptions, multiple languages, headphone rendering and more.

MORE CHANNELS 

One of the big changes is the multitude of audio channels that will be required. Instead of BNC or XLR connections, multiple channels of audio will be carried on an RJ45 connector and interconnected through an AES67-based network using computer network switches. This will obviate the need for another audio system mainstay, the crosspoint-based routing switcher. No more determining matrix configurations or what sources need to be available to what destinations.

And maybe even more radical, now that most of us have gotten used to SDI where audio is carried along with the video, audio and video will need to once again go their separate—although synchronized—ways.

If you’re thinking of upgrading your plant or creating new, build in an AES67 network. Carroll said, “No matter what happens with audio, an [AES67 network] will be able to handle it. It will be more expensive to go SDI and SDI will probably not be able to handle it.”

The audio network shouldn’t be the same as that used for business computers and devices like printers, Carroll advised, but digital telephony could be carried on an audio network, and can have some advantages in tying in phone calls to an audio production system or server.

Certain off-the-shelf network switches can be used. Carroll said that Telos has tested and certified switches that they stand behind for broadcast-grade networks. The list can be found on the Telos Alliance website.

Reliability for an audio network is key. It must run 24/7 with no signal delays. This may not be something a business IT department is used to, and must be considered when determining who will maintain and monitor the system. Education on all sides can help the transition.

The audio network will need to be synchronized with video and other technical networks, but that has been made easier with the passage of two recent SMPTE standards, ST 2059-1 “Generation and Alignment of Interface Signals to the SMPTE Epoch,” and SMPTE ST 2059-2 “SMPTE Profile for Use of IEEE-1588 Precision Time Protocol in Professional Broadcast Applications.”

These standards are based on the IEEE 1588-2008 standard for Precision Time Protocol (PTP) and written to address sync requirements for professional audio and video systems.

Manufacturers of master sync generators are starting to make PTP available. An example is the Evertz 5601MSC, where PTP is an option.

While it looks like over-the-air broadcast of next-gen audio will need to wait until ATSC 3.0 is completed, streaming is an option today. Broadcasters don’t necessarily have to wait before upgrading their audio systems.

“AES67 can handle multiple audio channels in a single RJ45 connection using network cable,” said Ken Tankel, platform manager, TV Processing at Linear Acoustic. “This is much easier, more space-efficient and likely less expensive than placing multiple BNC connectors on the rear panel of a device. A user should consider what AES67 can offer. This includes audio contribution, audio monitoring, metering, and the ability to control source/destination connections anywhere an IP network can reach. All of these things can be done without needing a dedicated hardware audio router. We think that there are many places to start.”

One of them is the on-air chain. For example: “Linear Acoustic has the SDI x.Node that interfaces two HD/SD SDI I/O to 16 pairs of AES67 I/O. We also have separate audio processing and loudness control with AES67 I/O,” Tankel said.

Fig. 1 shows an example of how AES67-networked equipment can be incorporated in an on-air signal chain.

Fig. 1: An example of how AES67-networked equipment can be incorporated in an on-air signal chain

THE ADVANTAGES OF AES67

Production is a big area that can take advantage of AES67, not only for a single control room/studio complex, but especially across multiple studios and control rooms, as different control surfaces, stage boxes, IP servers and audio processing can all be easily linked, as well as the on-air devices. The same could be said of mobile trucks.

While audio over IP has been in use in radio facilities for over a decade, now that AES67 has been standardized, it should see more use for audio for TV or video. Production audio console systems from such manufacturers as Lawo, Studer, and Wheatstone offer AES67 capability, and Calrec has announced AES67 support with products out in the future.

“It is an ideal time to look at the equipment and manufacturers that you want to use and find out if AES67 interfaces are already available or planned for,” Tankel said. “The industry is in a transition and designing with AES67 in mind will become easier, and more common, as more manufacturers choose to include it in their products. Audio consoles, intercom, audio DAWs video editors, telephone, ISDN and IP-based audio transport, audio processors, loudness controllers and playout systems are just a few of the places that AES67 can find immediate application in the television facility.”

There could be an argument to wait a bit until AES67 becomes a feature in equipment you are interested in. And there are some things in flux. Still to be standardized are such functions as audio naming conventions, advertising and discovery, as well as carrying GPI control, and there is ongoing work in that direction.

No matter what one chooses to do now, it’s important to start becoming familiar with AES67 and networks in general.

Mary C. Gruszka is a systems design engineer, project manager, consultant and writer based in the New York metro area. She can be reached via TV Technology.

NEW YORK—At CCW next week, Linear Acoustic plans to showcase its latest products for audio processing and Audio over IP. Among the products the company plans to show are the AERO.soft enterprise class TV audio processor and AERO.10 DTV audio processor.

The AERO.soft features the same processing engines as Linear Acoustic’s AERO.100, 1000, and 2000, with an optional Dolby coding while also supporting the AoIP transition. It features customizable I/O, audio and loudness control and logging. The AERO.soft engine can host eight AEROMAX 5.1 or AEROMAX 2.0 processing instances.

AERO.10

Meanwhile, the AERO.10 is an audio processor supporting up to 10 channels of PCM audio via AES, SDI or stereo analog I/O. It also comes with the same AERO.100, 1000 and 2000 processing engine. Tools include AEROMAX loudness and dynamics control, UPMAX II automatic upmixing and downmixing algorithms, as well as ITU and EBU compliant loudness metering and logging. Downloadable 7.5 day rolling and event-based logs include multiple ITU-R BS.1770-3 loudness measurements, as well as true peak values.

The Linear booth, located at stand 1402, will also feature several AoIP products from Telos Alliance partners. This includes PathfinderPRO, the xNode product family, and xSelector. The IP-Audio Driver PC software, which allows multiple channels of stereo PC audio to be sent to and from Axia networks, and the iProbe Audio Network management software will also be on hand.

CCW will take place from Nov. 11-12 in New York. For more information, visit www.ccwexpo.com.

CLEVELAND—The Telos Alliance has announced that the Linear Acoustic SDI xNode is now shipping. The latest in the series of xNode Audio over IP interfaces is able to fully distribute /O and AoIP for HD/SD-SDI signals.

A SDI xNode system can de-embed multiple channels of audio from its dual SDI inputs, taking audio from standard-definition and HD SDI audio channels and translating them to real-time Livewire+/AES67 audio streams. Each SDI xNode manages dual, independent HD/SD-SDI paths, and can de-embed, shuffle and re-embed up to 16 channels of audio on each SDI path, with full routing channels between SDI and AoIP I/O on each SDI interface.

As part of the Telos Alliance xNode series, the SDI xNode also includes analog, AES/EBU, microphone, GPIO and mixed-signal versions from Axia Audio. It also comes with dual-redundant Ethernet ports and a redundant power plan.

LANCASTER, PA. – Linear Acoustic’s AERO platform heads into the clouds, as the company has announced its integration with the VersioCloud platform from Imagine Communications. With AERO, VersioCloud now includes integrated loudness control and processing.

The AERO is a software-based audio and loudness control engine made up of two parts, the AERO.stream and AERO.soft. AERO.stream is a real-time processor that features loudness and dynamic range control, upmixing, downmixing, and ITU-R BS.1770-3 loudness metering. AERO.soft is a faster than real-time CALM and EBU R128 compliant loudness correction and upmixing tool. The AERO range of products includes the AEROMAX and UPMAX technologies.

Linear Acoustic is the television section of the Telos Alliance, which is a radio and television audio technology company based in Cleveland.