At the IBC2007 show in Amsterdam, OmniBus Systems is previewing integrated Dolby Digital audio encoding for its iTX broadcast automation and playout system. Unlike the pass-through Dolby Digital implementations, iTX contains a full encoding engine in its software that allows the processing of multiple Dolby Digital streams in real time and mixing between different surround and stereo sources and formats.
The iTX implementation of Dolby Digital will allow broadcasters to transmit a stereo soundtrack simultaneously alongside the surround-sound version, and to take content received as surround sound in six discrete tracks and encode those into a finished AC3 stream. This versatility will accommodate a variety of different methods for receiving surround sound and choosing among options for its transmission.
“For our high-end customers, dealing effectively with surround sound is one of the biggest challenges when implementing HD,” said Ian Fletcher, CTO of OmniBus Systems. “Broadcasters typically have to deal with multiple sound formats, including movie surround soundtracks, stereo for commercials and interstitials. Our solution makes it easy to mix and fade between different sources for tasks like adding a voiceover or adjusting for lip sync. This level of sophisticated surround-sound support within iTX shows how far it’s possible to take software-based technology and demonstrates our commitment to going beyond simple playout from IT hardware into all of the areas of broadcasting.”
Subject to satisfactory completion of Dolby’s approval process, OmniBus Systems anticipates the iTX’s implementation of Dolby Digital to be offered as an option for enterprise-class clients as early as Q4 2007.
The iTX system is a software-based broadcast production and transmission solution that uses standard IT hardware and advanced software technology. The system builds on OmniBus’ high-end automation expertise to deliver automation, ingest, editing and content management, and act as a video server, master controller, graphics device and logo inserter.
For more information, visit www.omnibus.tv.
