Behringer DANALOG DDX3216 User manual

ENGLISH
Version 1.0 May 2003
SURROUND OPTION
Brief Instructions Set

1. INTRODUCTION…………...………………………………………………………..……1
2. INSTALLATION……………...………………………………………………………...…3
3. NEW FEATURES..…...............................................................................................3
4.SURROUND PARAMETERS................................................................................…4
5. ROUTING, TIPS & TRICKS (FAQ)...................…..…………………....................… 8
6. BRIEF SURROUND SUMMARY....……...............................…..............................11
1. INTRODUCTION
Once upon a time...
... in the year 1978, DOLBY®Laboratories developed a new cinema surround format
that was first featured in George Lucas’ space adventure Star Wars, causing an
uproar among audiences worldwide. After 25 years of continuous improvements,
surround formats DOLBY®Digital (or AC-3 as well) and the technically more
advanced DTS®(Digital Theater System) are nowadays standard-issue content of
cinema and DVD productions. More and more Hi-Fi amplifiers and receivers offer
corresponding decoders, while numerous Hi-Fi surround speaker sets support the
5+1 speaker configuration requirement.
Until now, only well-to-do studios with massive digital consoles could produce
“Professional Surround”. Today, all DDX3216 users can do it too!
The new surround update transforms the DDX3216 automated digital mixing console
into a full-fledged surround mixer with extensive control possibilities.
Surround-specific settings such as divergence, angle and listener-source distance
can be adjusted, you can implement circular movement through the room, and you
can record your sound mix using internal automation.
The only thing you will still need in case you wish to play your surround creations on
standard DVD players is an encoder that can encrypt data in the desired DOLBY®
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Digital or DTS®format, and you’ll also need a DVD burner. Alternatively, you can
connect your DDX3216 directly to your home surround unit or to 6 active
loudspeakers.
When you select surround mode on the DDX3216, busses 11 through 16 are used
for the 6 surround channels, giving you a true 5.1 mix.
You can alternate between the standard stereo and 5.1 surround mix at any time, or
you can use them both at the same time. Therefore, you don’t have to do without any
“old” functions; rather, think of it as if you simply got extra surround functions added
to your system.
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2. INSTALLATION
Uploading the update is very simple:
Either upload the update file the same way you would an operating system update
via the “DDX3216 File Exchange” PC software (WINDOWS®) or load it in using a PC
card.
The update procedure is described in detail in ch. 16.1 in the DDX3216 user’s
manual.
3. NEW FEATURES
The following new features are available upon installing the surround update:
Activating the SURROUND function on the display page SETUP/OSC >
PREFS (On/Off Select).
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Dialing in surround panning on the desired channel via a second PAN display
page labeled SURROUND.
Live “movements” of a selected sound source (channel) through the surround
space.
Saving surround pan/automating via SNAPSHOT and DYNAMIC
AUTOMATION possible (controlled using the PAN parameter).
New MIDI control possibilities using DIRECT PAR SYSEX for expanded
surround parameters on channels 1-32 and FX return channels 1-8. Activate
this function via display page MMC/MIDI > RX/TX > DIRECT PAR SYSEX as
well as > PAN (also see ch. 13.3).
SysEx #: Parameter:
o100 surround mute
o101 surround pre/post
o102 surround volume
o103 surround angle
o104 surround distance
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o105 surround divergence
o106 surround subwoofer pre/post
o107 surround subwoofer volume
If TX/RX is active, the DDX3216 sends the corresponding parameter or
receives it as a MIDI SysEx file.
additional new update features:•
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o100 markers (previously 10) as well as an EMPTY indicator in case
marker storage is empty. You can recall the marker menu via
MMC/MIDI > MACHINE CONTROL > LOCATE (also see ch. 13.2).
oTIME COUNTER RELATIVE (display page MMC/MIDI > SETUP, also
see ch 13.1) can now be activated at the MIDI setup page (on/off).
You’re dealing with an SMPTE timecode offset, i.e. there is no time
delay. If you for example have a continuous time code on an external
multitrack tape over several songs, you can set TIME COUNTER
RELATIVE to ON at the start position of the song (or song segment)
you wish to modify. This way, the actual current locator value is
assigned 00:00:00:00 on the DDX3216 as its new time position. All
locator operations such as forward, return, play etc. still remain in sync
with one another; it is only the time code display that is relative to the
actual tape position.
4. SURROUND PARAMETERS
Only a few (however effective) parameters are needed to control the surround option:
Send signal level in the selected channel (surround source) can be adjusted to
the surround outputs by using LEVEL (-∞to +12 dB).
You can use the PRE or POST switch to send the signal to the surround
outputs independently from the stereo mix (PRE), or you can additionally
control the signal’s volume via the channel fader (POST), together with the
signal portion for the conventional stereo mix.
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Use the SUBW LEV to adjust the level of the signal relayed to the subwoofer
output (bus 16). The PRE switch or the POST fader have the same function as
described above (see also ch. 4.1).
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The functioning (and the switch position) of these parameters is identical to
the ROUTING LEVEL and PRE/POST parameters in channel routing menu
(see ch 4.1).
Additionally, the display has a surround MUTE switch per channel, and is
active in the factory default (i.e. mute = on).
Even when MUTE is deactivated, the signal may still be inaudible. Either the
CHANNEL MUTE key is active or the CHANNEL MUTE AFTER FADER
function (see chapter 12.3.2) under Setup Preferences is not correctly set.
If the latter is active, POST fader signals (sends/busses) and non-PRE fader
signals are muted through the CHANNEL MUTE key.
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The actual positioning of the sound source and its movement throughout the
surround space take place in the circle with the positions of surround
speakers indicated.
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oThe “+” in the middle represents the central point, that is, the optimal
listening position.
oThe “x” indicates the current position of the sound source within the
surround space.
oThe positioning of the sound source is done using both the ANGLE
parameters (Angle, -180° 0° 180°) and DIST for
DISTANCE (distance from middle point, -100 0 100).
oIf you only change the ANGLE parameter, you can let the sound source
circle in the surround space. This is done with the distance from the
middle point that was set using DISTANCE.
oIf you want to move the sound source diagonally through the surround
space, you have to simultaneously modify the ANGLE and DISTANCE
parameters.
oIf the DISTANCE value is smaller than 100 (“100” corresponds to
100% front, that is, completely in front, when ANGLE = 0°), the channel
signal is emanated out of all speakers, corresponding to the selected
share according to the positioning in the surround space.
The DIVERG. parameter stands for “divergence” and controls stereo width on
all 3 front speakers.
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Divergence is dependent on both ANGLE and DISTANCE parameters and
only stands out when ANGLE = 0° and DIST = 100 (“100% in front in the
middle”)! In this case, the 3 DIVERG. corner values have the following
ramifications:
 When DIVERG. = 0, the signal only comes out of the center
speaker.
 When DIVERG. = 100, the signal only comes out of the left and
right speakers.
 When DIVERG. = 50, the signal comes from the front left, front
right and the center speaker simultaneously.
Divergence lets you for example widen the sound of the voice of a singer
whose voice comes from the front middle, thus leading to a much more
pleasant-sounding voice than the sound that is otherwise dominated by the
center-front speaker.
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5. ROUTING, TIPS & TRICKS (FAQ):
ROUTING•
If the SURROUND mode is activated, busses 11 to 16 are allocated as
follows:
oBus 11 = LF = Left Front
oBus 12 = RF = Right Front
oBus 13 = LS = Left Surround
oBus 14 = RS = Right Surround
oBus 15 = CF = Center Front
oBus 16 = SW = Sub Woofer
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PHYSICAL OUTPUTS•
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All physical outputs can be used for the surround option, ideally an 8-channel
or a multi-channel output module, or for example the 4 integrated multi-outputs
together with the control room out L/R.
OPTIMAL SPEAKER ARRANGEMENT
The optimal 5.1 surround speaker arrangement assumes an angle of 30° off
the 0° axis to the left/to the right for the front left and right speakers; for the
back surround speakers, this angle should be 110° to the left/to the right.
The subwoofer does not necessarily have to be in the middle; it can also be
placed halfway left or right in the front listening area, provided that the critical
frequency is not too high. The human ear can not physically locate low
frequencies (under 100 Hz); therefore, the position of the subwoofer is not so
critical.
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SURROUND & STEREO MIX•
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Surround mix and conventional mix can be run simultaneously.
MAIN OUTS for STEREO MIX
To create the most manageable surround/stereo setup, use the main outs L/R
for your stereo mix and an additional I/O module for the 5.1 surround
output/mix.
MAIN FADER
Warning: Controlling the master volume of the surround mix with proportional
balance of individual channels is not possible with the MAIN fader. Instead,
this fader can be used to control the additional stereo mix (in addition to the
5.1 surround mix) needed for DVDs. Usually, the 6 surround channels are
controlled with the 6 bus faders numbered 11 to 16.
SURROUND GROUPING/FADE OUT
Fading out a surround track is more complicated than fading out a
conventional stereo mix, where you basically only have to pull down the fader.
To achieve a proportional fade out while still keeping the individual signal level
balance of single surround tracks, you can simply group the surround
busses/faders (hit GROUP key > select faders with SELECT, also see chapter
7.1) and then use any one of the group faders to control the master volume.
The other faders will follow proportionally.
MONITOR ROUTING
Warning: Monitor Routing (Control Room Out) is not saved under Snapshots!
SAVING SNAPSHOTS
Warning: Surround settings referring to channels are all saved under
Snapshots, but it will not be saved if the SURROUND mode is universally ON
or OFF! PREFS (Preferences) or universal settings as well as monitor routing
(see above) can not be integrated into the presets.
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PC CARD ADVICE•
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If you need to toggle between stereo and multi-channel configuration, you can
store an entire surround project on a PC card. Since preferences are also
stored on the PC card, your DDX3216 will automatically go into surround
mode as soon as the surround project is uploaded from the PC card.
I/O-SETTING
The last in/out or bus setting active before powering up the SURROUND
function (display page SETUP > PREFS) is stored and can be recalled again
as soon as the surround option is switched off.
6. BRIEF SURROUND SUMMARY
 DOLBY®DIGITAL & DTS®IN THE DDX3216?
GOING FROM SURROUND MIX TO A CD/DVD
To avoid any confusion:
With the newest surround update, the DDX3216 offers the option to implement
the 5.1 surround mix live and also record it multi-channel, for example in an audio
sequencer software.
However, the DDX3216 has no internal encoder necessary for encrypting into
DOLBY®Digital or DTS®formats! Encoders are not exactly inexpensive, and you
can get them from various hardware and software suppliers. More information on
the subject can be found under www.dolby.com or www.dtsonline.com.
If you want to encrypt your own multitrack surround mixes in the above mentioned
standard formats, you need a DTS®or DOLBY®digital encoder. They are
available either as hardware or software solutions, for example as plug ins for
audio software such as Nuendo from STEINBERG®.
After encrypting your surround mix into the desired format using the encoder, you
can burn this file onto a CD-R/W or DVD. Then, you can play this CD/DVD on
most ordinary DVD players. In this case, the encrypted signal is decoded either in
the DVD unit itself or in the surround receiver/amplifier. Only then are separate
audio channels accessible again and are reproduced on the speakers, the same
way they were originally mixed on the DDX3216.
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 SURROUND SOUND WITHOUT AN ENCODER?
Of course, you can burn surround mixes onto CDs/DVDs even without special
encoders; you burn your mix as a multitrack file (or as individual audio tracks).
However, such CDs/DVDs can only be played in the respective computer drive so
you can import the file into the computer and play it on the (multi-track) software
you used to initially produce the surround mix.
A freeware encoder that supports the surround function is also available. You
can get the “WINDOWS®Media Encoder 9” at the MICROSOFT®homepage
(www.microsoft.com) under “WINDOWS®Media” (WMEncoder.exe, v. 9). Use
this encoder to produce surround recordings with data compression. The software
player decodes the surround signal correspondingly. This multi-channel surround
encoding/decoding is indeed available for free and accessible to anyone, but it is
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not compatible to DOLBY®Digital or DTS®. The WINDOWS®Media files can
also (still) not be reproduced on standard multi DVD players since they do not
support this WINDOWS®format.
 CONNECTING TO A SURROUND AMPLIFIER
At first sight, how to connect the DDX3216 to a 5.1 surround Hi-Fi amplifier and
Hi-Fi speakers seems self-explanatory. However, there are several precautions:
1. CONNECTING TO DIGITAL IN
Connecting a digital output of the DDX3216 to a digital input of an amplifier
does not let you control the mixed surround signal! Conventional Hi-Fi
surround amplifiers can only accept stereo signals in the S/PDIF format or
encoded DTS®or DOLBY®Digital signals, and the DDX3216 alone can not
output these. Similarly, connecting a multi-channel ADAT®signal does not
help the matter, as no Hi-Fi receiver/amplifier supports this format.
2. CONNECTING TO THE 6-CHANNEL ANALOG IN
Some high-end home cinema receivers/amplifiers have a separate 6-channel
analog input for connecting external decoders (e.g. those found in DVD
players).
You can use this 6-channel input for connecting 6 DDX3216 analog outputs or
for connecting 6 analog (return) surround signals from a sound card to which
the DDX3216 is connected (see above figures).
One possible way to wire your equipment:
DDX ADAT®Out to the ADAT®In of a sound card > mixing/recording on a
computer > 6 Analog Outs of the sound card to the 6-channel input of a
surround amplifier.
Alternatively, you can of course connect high-quality 5+1 speakers such as the
BEHRINGER TRUTH B2031 directly to the analog sound card outputs. This
way you avoid having to use a surround Hi-Fi amplifier in the studio, thus
achieving much better sound quality.
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 SURROUND VIA HEADPHONES
Please note that you cannot control a surround mix by using headphones. Firstly,
all channels fed to the headphone output would have to be mixed, which is not an
option that is available on conventional headphones. Secondly, no standardized
surround headphones that could produce a correct surround playback are
available on the market!
The so-called “surround” headphones create only a virtual surround sound space
generated from a single stereo source (!) and can not reproduce a true surround
signal!
Some systems such as AKG®“HEARO” do indeed offer additional DOLBY®
Prologic and DOLBY®Digital decoders, but they too convert the incoming
surround signal into a binaural (“two-ear”) audio signal to be played on
conventional headphones.
Even the YAMAHA®“Silent Cinema” technology found in their home cinema
receivers/amplifiers merely uses the internal DSP chip to generate virtual
surround effects for conventional headphones.
 “GAPS” WHICH MAY OCCUR DURING SURROUND PANNING
When you modify a sound source in a circle, “acoustic gaps” may occur, or
you may perceive acoustic jumps from one speaker to another. This is by no
means a defect of the surround option of the DDX3216, it is a normal
phenomenon that occurs on all 5.1 surround systems.
The reason is the fact that 5 (+1) loudspeakers can not perfectly cover any
one area. Theoretically, a more ideal solution with far greater uniformity of
coverage would be an 8 (+1) system. The current standard (supported by the
DDX3216) is a 5.1 surround system; you should be aware of the limitations of
“rotating”.
 SURROUND MUSIC
Surround sound in pure musical productions is still a relative novelty, aside
from the failed attempts at achieving quadraphonic sound. There are no
universally accepted guidelines for surround music productions. DVD audio is
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also in its infancy, and only time will tell which features delving into sound
esthetics will have a lasting impact. Having a pioneering spirit is nowadays just
as important as it was when stereophonic sound was first launched. The only
rule that really goes nowadays is the following: less is often more! Nobody
wants to listen for music for 75 minutes if instruments continuously circle
throughout the room or if primary musical elements such as lead vocals
sometimes come from the back.
 DTS®& DOLBY®DIGITAL
DTS®is an abbreviation for Digital Theater System and is second in popularity
only to DOLBY®Digital. Even though DTS®is technically more advanced
(since there is a much higher data rate), it is seldom used on DVDs. The first
reason is because corresponding decoders are not often found in surround
amplifiers. The second reason is that the higher data rate of the audio signals
requires more disk space than similar AC-3 encoded signals. The latter would
lead to storage issues with extra-long films or DVDs that contain many special
features. DTS®was developed in 1990 by Terry Beard, and 3 years later
Universal Studios and other investors came out with the first-ever film with
DTS®sound: Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.
DOLBY®DIGITAL or AC-3 was introduced in 1992, and is the next logical
step in the development of the first digital surround format AC-1, introduced in
1984 by the DOLBY®Laboratories. AC-3 is the most popular current surround
format. Six separate sound channels are encoded in a linear PCM bit data
stream (just like DTS®). The signal is then highly compressed (similar to
DTS®) in order to reduce data size. Sound quality reduction is within
reasonable limits, and is comparable to the difference in quality between the
sound of an audio CD track and a high sampling rate MP3 file derived from it.
Separating sound into 6 channels has its roots in film production, or, more
exactly, in sound implementation in cinema theatres. Usually, the front left and
right speakers reproduce music and sound effects visible on-screen. The
center speaker is usually used for dialog, and the subwoofer or the “LFE”
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channel (Low-Frequency Enhanced) is used for special effects such as
earthquake grumble, bomb explosions and so on. The rear surround speakers
are used to merely reproduce background noises and may contain delayed
segments of the front speaker section. For example, the rear speakers are
used to help reenact the sensation of being in the middle of a church, being at
a bar, or to give the viewers the sensation that a fighter jet just flew by and
similar special effects.
At a typical cinema, the 3 front speakers and the subwoofer are located behind
the screen, while the surround speakers are hung in the rear half of the
cinema on the side walls.
 SURROUND FORMAT VARIATIONS
DOLBY®Stereo was first introduced in 1975, and shortly thereafter the first
popular home cinema version, DOLBY®Surround, also turned up on the
market. In both of those, a front stereo signal + 1 center speaker signal + 1
rearward mono surround channel with a trimmed frequency were matrix-
encoded and encrypted into 2 audio tracks. In doing so, it was possible to
encode these 4 audio channels onto 2 tracks and transmit them along with the
stereo TV signal and also record it on a stereo VCR.
DOLBY®Surround ProLogic is almost identical to the above two, but allows
for better channel separation. DOLBY®ProLogic II even makes reproduction
on 5.1 speaker sets possible. DOLBY®Digital or AC-3 is today’s most
popular digital 5.1 surround format with 3 front speakers (Front Left, Front
Right, Center), a subwoofer (or LFE channel) as well as 2 completely separate
surround speakers (Surround Left & Right) with a full frequency response.
DOLBY®Digital Surround EX adds a third surround channel coming from
behind the rear wall (Rear Surround, contrasted to Left/Right Surround on side
walls). This way, this format achieves a full 6.1 channels. Furthermore, there
are various other types of DOLBY®“Virtual Surround” formats for headphones
and TV sets. They are sold under the names DOLBY®Headphone, DOLBY®
ProLogic II Virtual Speaker, DOLBY®Digital Virtual Speaker, Virtual
DOLBY®Surround and Virtual DOLBY®Digital.
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DTS®(5.1 channels, just like DOLBY®Digital, but with a higher data rate,
768 to 1536 kBit/s, compared to AC-3 with up to 448 kBit/s) struck back in
1999 with DTS-ES (Extended Surround). It also uses a rear center speaker,
thereby making 6.1 surround possible. In 2001 it was further enhanced with
DTS96/24.
The THX®acronym seen the world over is no surround format of its own;
rather, it is a certificate awarded by the US company Lucas Film Ltd. (of Star
Wars fame). It is awarded to high-end home cinema surround components as
well as cinemas featuring strictly prescribed room acoustics. There is THX®
Select for those products fulfilling the norm, and there is THX®Ultra for those
components that feature surround components of particularly high quality.
THX®Surround EX is the highest current surround standard. It is the result of
cooperation between LUCASFILM®Ltd. and DOLBY®Laboratories. It
supports 7.1 channels in home DVD applications: front left/right/center,
subwoofer, surround left/right as well as two (!) rear center speakers
(Surround Back). For more information, visit www.thx.com.
SONY®’s answer to having a surround system with 8 separate channels is
called SDDS (SONY®Dynamic Digital Sound) (see www.sdds.com), but it is
exclusively used in cinemas. Therefore, there are no encoders/decoders you
can buy for home cinema applications, and no Hi-Fi receiver/amplifier or a
DVD player supports this format.
 DVD-V vs. DVD-A vs. SACD
After DVD-V (Video) established itself as a standard (colloquially referred to
only as “DVD”), since 2002 the industry has also been trying to push the
DVD-A (Audio) against its staunchest opponent, SACD (Super Audio
Compact Disc) developed by SONY®and PHILIPS®.
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DVD-V does indeed offer surround sound, but only on a limited scale, since
the largest data blocks are eaten up by the video material itself. Nevertheless,
it is today’s most significant multi-channel medium.
DVD-A audio quality is much better than the audio quality of tracks found on
DVD-V recordings, since DVD-A recordings feature much higher sampling
rates, ranging from 44.1 kHz all the way up to 192 kHz. When working with the
sampling frequency of 96 kHz, a maximum of 6 channels in 24-bit quality can
be fit on a DVD-A. The number of channels drops to only 2 if you’re working
with higher sampling rates (176.4 and 192 kHz). Storing audio tracks is done
according to the LPCM protocol (Linear Pulse Code Modulation), DOLBY®
Digital, MPEG-2 or optionally in the DTS®format. Playback times range from
65 minutes (LPCM, 192 kHz, 24 Bit, 2 channels) up to 1,550 minutes
(DOLBY®Digital, 48 kHz, 24 Bit, 6 channels).
It is worth noting that DTS®can encode up to 8 audio channels at 24 bit/
96 kHz, and with noticeably lower data compression rate than DOLBY®Digital
or MPEG-2.
SACD (Super Audio CD) is based on “DVD-9” (one of the many Digital
Versatile Disc media types available) and offers “Dual Layering”, that is, there
are two separately scanable layers. The first layer corresponds to the Red
Book Standard and offers full compatibility with conventional CDs, and SACDs
can be played on all CD players.
Conversely, conventional CDs can be played on SACD players as well.
However, there are incompatibility issues with DVD ROM drives that can also
be found in stand-alone “DVD multi-players”.
The second layer carries a 6-channel surround mix, a stereo mix as well as
additional data types such as texts, graphics, pictures etc., but contains no
videos.
The SACD specs are impressive: a sampling rate of 2,822.4 MHz (the
equivalent of 64x sampling rate of 44.1 kHz found in traditional CDs!) makes a
frequency range between 0 to 100 kHz with a dynamic range of 120 dB!
74 minutes of multi-channel music in 24-bit quality fit on one SACD, but there
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