Nautel (NAB booth W2843) and Omnia (NAB booth W3766) have announced a new ‘Omnia for Nautel’ processing platform that offers users a variety of options in implementation. This platform offers high-quality software audio processing for HD channels, using AoIP such as Livewire, without the need for additional hardware. Using the same audio processing engine found in the Omnia.9 hardware processor, Omnia for Nautel can provide individual processing controls for each station in an enterprise-wide setup.
Omnia for Nautel is offered in two modes:
- Processing cores for individual HD multicast channels (HD2-4), hosted in a Nautel HD MultiCast+ for legacy exgine based HD installations with external audio processing on the FM/HD1 audio;
- A complete suite integrated with Nautel’s new air chain architecture, which eliminates FM-HD blend drift issues by processing the FM/HD1 along with the optional HD2-4 audio.
“Our tests with Omnia have shown that locking FM/HD1 signals eliminates time alignment drift issues, which prevents audible artefacts and lost content, and we have also shown many other advantages to the combined platform,” said Philipp Schmid, Nautel CTO. “We can achieve graceful change over between main and backup air-chains that maintain HD Radio receiver lock, minimising HD Radio signal interruptions during air-chain disruption or maintenance. Eliminating the hardware requirements like an off-air receiver to adjust delay and physical audio capture, we have achieved a pure software implementation of HD Radio and audio processing.”
“The Omnia.9 hardware platform has been widely embraced by customers around the world who not only appreciate its pristine audio quality, but also its unique features like Undo, multiple processing cores, and audio confidence monitoring through its remote app,” said Marty Sacks, Telos Alliance EVP of Sales, Marketing, and Strategy. “The ‘Omnia for Nautel’ platform greatly extends its utility, addresses an important engineering need, and helps provide a better experience for listeners.”
The Omnia for Nautel option in the HD MultiCast+ may be licensed when purchasing the product, or may be added at a later date. Licensing is offered as a one-time purchase plus maintenance, or as a subscription.
The HD MultiCast+ is an all-in-one solution for HD Radio operation, providing an Importer and Exporter in one box. It is Exgine Gen 3 and Gen 4 compatible, offers Nautel Reliable HD Transport, and incorporates many extra features not normally found in importers or exporters.
The complete suite of processing plus Nautel’s air chain was demonstrated at the 2022 NAB show as an initial ‘proof of concept’, which also demonstrated robust cloud-based operation including multiple fail-over air-chains. Technical considerations were presented by Schmid in a paper at the Broadcast Engineering and IT Conference and is available for download.
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