Synapse, the modular infrastructure and communications system from Axon Digital Design, will be enhanced with DTV audio loudness management and stereo-to-5.1 upmix algorithms designed by Linear Acoustic.
Peter Schut of Axon and Tim Carroll of Linear Acoustic
Linear Acoustic developed the Aeromax 5.1 channel loudness and dynamic range control algorithm and the UPMAX upmixing algorithm with AutoMAX-II. Now, Axon will incorporate these functions into its Synapse modular system on two different platforms to fix the ongoing problem of variable audio loudness, sometimes called the “loud commercial” problem.
Axon will show this new module at the 2009 NAB Show in April.
Control of all parameters will be available through Axon’s free-of-charge monitoring and control software, Cortex.
The new unit will accept four pairs of PCM audio to handle two-channel to 5.1 channel audio programming and a bypass input. Multiband, multistage loudness control and selectable upmixing can be applied to the input audio resulting in smooth, consistent audio that can be 5.1 channels all the time.
Another Synapse card will perform the same features in the embedded SD, HD or 3 Gbps domain. A full-time LtRt or LoRo downmix version of the main program is provided as the fourth AES output pair. Metadata is accepted as a standard RS-485 serial input for control of upmixing and processing functions.
“We are very pleased with the opportunity to incorporate Linear Acoustic’s expertise into Synapse,” said Axon Chief Technology Officer Peter Schut. “These units will be a welcome expansion to Synapse’s audio for video handling. We have been very successful with incorporating Dolby functionality in our Synapse and we are sure that these new products will be beneficial to our customers DTV applications”.
