CLEVELAND, OH – 11 AUGUST 2016
The Telos Alliance®—parent company of 25-Seven®, makers of the Voltair® Watermark Monitor and Processor—announced today the launch of the Voltair version 2.3.2 software update, providing important new features and enhancements available to all Voltair units. Version 2.3.2—the first major field update since version 2.0 was released last year—is free, reinforcing 25-Seven’s commitment to customers seeking optimal watermarking system performance.
“Stations want to ensure that their watermark encoding is as good as it can be, and Voltair offers visibility and enhancement tools found nowhere else,” says Geoff Steadman, Founder of 25-Seven. “Voltair is still making a positive difference in registering meter count and overall watermarking performance, even in this post-eCBET world. Not only are we confident this is so, we see our users doing their own research and arriving at the same conclusion, while they continue to invest in Voltair technology.”
A major operator’s manual revision is part of the update, with new sections devoted to use of Voltair in conjunction with the Omnia.9 and Omnia.11 processor patch points for optimal processing performance. In addition to considerable “under the hood” improvements, Version 2.3.2 adds two significant new features: Encoder Distortion Testing and Display and Flexible Program Output.
Encoder Distortion Testing and Display
As part of its calibration process, Voltair has always measured the level of distortion generated by the attached watermarking encoder. Over the years, 25-Seven has discovered that some encoders, even when not actually adding watermark tones, may add noise or distortion to the audio signal. If this distortion is too high, Voltair will refuse to calibrate to the encoder. Since the calibration data in 25-Seven’s system logs provides information about signal health of individual encoders, the company decided to turn its field experience into a diagnostic feature. Firmware 2.3.2 adds a new “Calibration” section to the external web Information page that shows the results of this distortion testing, which can be useful for detecting encoders whose audio path may be distorting a station’s feed.
Flexible Program Output
Voltair is designed to be in the transmission chain, with its Program Output driving the “Output to Transmitter” connectors. For firmware up to and including Version 2.0, Voltair’s Program Output has always been fixed to a single point: standard Voltair-enhanced audio. Voltair firmware 2.3.2 adds “Flexible Program Output,” allowing users to choose any of four types of Program Output:
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Enhanced Audio: PPM®-encoded audio, enhanced by Voltair
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Encoded Audio: PPM®-encoded audio, straight from the encoder with no enhancement
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Studio Input: the “Input from Studio” audio stream, with no watermark codes
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Raw Tones: the PPM® encoding tones added by the encoder, with no source signal
These outputs allow users to easily listen to the difference between unmodified studio audio, encoded audio, and Voltair-enhanced audio, making it easier to make enhancement level and processing choices that balance encoding robustness against perceivable audio artifacts.
Visit the Voltair Product Page for more details.
Press contact: Krissy.Rushing@TelosAlliance.com.
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Voltair and 25-Seven are trademarks of TLS Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
About The Telos Alliance
For three decades, the brands of the Telos Alliance have revolutionized radio and television by pioneering disruptive, cutting-edge audio technology with the goal of helping global networks and local stations produce better programming, improve audience engagement, and bolster ratings. The Telos Alliance is made up of six brands—Telos® Systems, Omnia® Audio, Axia® Audio, Linear Acoustic®, 25-Seven® Systems, and Minnetonka™ Audio—that raise the bar for quality and innovation in the radio and television industries. The Telos Alliance invented Audio over IP for broadcast and contributed time and resources to the effort that led to the AES67 standard. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, with additional offices and dealers around the world, the Telos Alliance offers an industry-leading five-year warranty, and backs users’ critical on-air needs with worldwide 24/7 round-the-clock support for all customers.