Bluesky AMC User manual

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AUDIO MANAGEMENT CONTROLLER (AMC) MANUAL

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Description
The Blue Sky Audio Management Controller (AMC) is an 8-channel audio DSP platform with both
24-bit digital and analog I/O.
Each channel of the AMC has a sample rate converter (by stereo pair), a 31 band 1/3 octave
equalizer, eight parametric / free assignable filters, individual channel delays, and lip-sync delay.
An 8x8 cross-point mixer allows any input to be mixed to any output.
The flexible bass management system can be customized on a channel-by-channel basis, or
turned-off completely.
The AMC has 6 presets, each of which stores complete setup information, including filter setting,
I/O configuration, delays, etc.
The AMC includes control software that is a PC (Mac in process) application that connects through
the USB port.
The AMC includes SRO (Sound Room Optimization) software which includes an MLS based
measurement system with auto room correction or expert manual mode, correcting the in room
speaker response to a user definable target curve.

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Table of Contents
AMC Features ...................................................................................................................................5
AMC I/O connections .......................................................................................................................6
Analog I/0 ................................................................................................................................. 6
Digital I/0 .................................................................................................................................. 6
External Mute Input .................................................................................................................. 7
Remote cable............................................................................................................................ 8
Quick setup and use ........................................................................................................................8
The AMC Remote .............................................................................................................................9
The AMC Remote / Operation .................................................................................................. 9
The Menu ............................................................................................................................... 10
Menu Items ........................................................................................................................... 11
Firmware Updates ..........................................................................................................................12
Upgrading the firmware in the AMC RACK to the latest version. ........................................... 12
Upgrading the firmware in the AMC Remote to the latest version.......................................... 13
The AMC Control Software ...........................................................................................................14
Installing the AMC Control software ...................................................................................... 14
Running the Program ............................................................................................................. 14
AMC Main Control Panel ..............................................................................................................15
Navigating around the interface.............................................................................................. 15
Cross Mixer ....................................................................................................................................18
Bass Management .........................................................................................................................19
EQ Screen .......................................................................................................................................21
Speaker Room Optimization (SRO) ..............................................................................................23
Overview ................................................................................................................................ 23
Additional equipment you will need ....................................................................................... 23
Measuring and optimizing your speaker system .................................................................. 24
Guidelines on microphone setup ........................................................................................... 25
Setting up the ART USB Dual Pre to use with Blue Sky SRO Software................................. 26

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Setting up the ART USB Dual Pre for use with the AMC SRO .............................................. 27
The SRO Main Screen ...................................................................................................................28
Target Curves ................................................................................................................................30
AMC Specifications .......................................................................................................................32

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AMC Features
o8 balanced analog inputs and outputs with switchable +12 / +24 dBu maximum levels
o8 AES 110 ohm digital inputs and outputs, each transformer Isolated
oBurr Brown / TI PCM1792A digital to analog converter with 132 dB SNR
oBurr Brown / TI PCM4222 analog to digital converter with 124 dB SNR.
oCirrus Logic CS8422 sample rate converter with 140 dB SNR
oNational LME49760 op amps, with 55 MHz bandwidth and 20V/us slew rate
oAnalog / Digital I/O selectable in pairs.
oSimultaneous digital and analog outputs
oAdjustable analog and digital output offset
oQuad Analog Devices 56 bit fixed point processor
oDigital input sample rate range 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz.
oInternal sample rate 48 kHz or 96 kHz (switchable)
o31 Band 1/3 octave double-precision digital EQ per channel
o8 user definable 2nd order double precision digital filers per channel
o6 user defined presets
o4 line large lighted high contrast display on remote
oSolo / Mute channel selection buttons.
oMute, Dim, and Ref gain buttons
oAdjustable channel and lip sync delays
oAdjustable individual channel calibration
oSRO room optimization software
oFirmware updatable through the USB port.

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AMC I/O connections
The AMC I/O connections use Tascam DB25 connectors for both analog and digital. These DB25
cables are not supplied.
Channel assignments
The channel assignments are SMPTE standard
1) Left
2) Right
3) Center
4) LFE
5) Left Surround
6) Right Surround
7) Left Rear
8) Right Rear
The channel assignments match the labels on the remote.
However, these channels labels are for reference only. Any channel can be used for any purpose
desired. The only exception is the LFE channel which includes the bass management filters. Since
these filters can be disabled (using the AMC Control Software), the LFE channel can be
reconfigured as a standard channel like the others.
Analog I/0
The analog inputs and outputs are balanced with a switchable maximum level of +12/+24 dBu.
Both analog and digital outputs are active irrespective of whether the inputs are digital or analog.
Digital I/0
The digital inputs and outputs are AES/ EBU 110 ohm and transformer isolated. All digital inputs
have an integrated sample rate converter that automatically converts incoming sample rate to the
internal AMC sample rate. The internal sample rate can be set as a global parameter to 48 kHz or
96kHz through the menu on the remote.
NOTE: Setting the sample rate, 48 kHz or 96 kHz, will reset the AMC rack unit and load the new
sample rate into the software program.

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The digital inputs have built-in 140 dB dynamic range sample rate converters, which convert any
digital input to the native sample rate. The 4 input pairs do not have to be at the same sample rate
or synchronized to a master clock.
External Mute Input
The green barrier strip has an external mute input, which allows the external switch or +5 volt
trigger to mute and un-mute the entire system. This function is normally used for talk-back muting.
The mute input is opto-isolated to prevent ground loops when using an external supply. To use an
on-off switch, connect the normally open switch from across pin 4 and 5 and connect a jumper wire
from pin 1 to pin 4. Closing the switch will activate mute.
To use an external voltage trigger voltage to mute the rack, connect the trigger source across pin 4
and 5. Applying 5 volts will mute the AMC. Removing the 5 volts will un-mute the AMC.
When the AMC is muted externally, the remote will display the mute status.

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Remote cable
The cable between the remote and the rack unit is a standard Ethernet Cat-5/6 UTP cable with
RJ–45 connectors.
However the signal protocol between the remote and rack is RS-232 not Ethernet. The remote
cable has been tested to 50 ft.
Warning: Do not plug the remote or rack unit into an Ethernet port. It was not designed for
this, and doing so may damage the port or unit.
Quick setup and use
The AMC comes with six default presets.
Any preset can be reconfigured to analog, digital or a mix
The display will show a brief description of the selected presets. These presets can be modified on
a limited basis using the menu on the remote, or completely reconfigured using the AMC Control
Software.

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The AMC Remote
The AMC Remote / Operation
MUTE – mutes all channels, both digital and analog
REF – sets the system gain to a user defined reference level. The default setting is -20 dB. The
default setting can be changed using the remote menu or the AMC Control Software.

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DIM/CANCEL – sets the system gain to a user defined level. The default setting is -30 dB. The
default setting can be changed using the menu or the AMC Control Software. The DIM/CANCEL
switch is also used to exit the menu mode
MUTE MODE – mutes the selected channels when the channel button is pressed.
SOLO MODE – solos the selected channels when the channel pressed.
SOLO/MUTE BUTTON – switches between modes
PRESETS – loads the preset.
MENU – switches the remote to menu mode, which allows a limited number of parameters to be
changed on a preset. When exiting the menu mode, the changed parameters are automatically
stored in flash memory.
GAIN – changes the system gain in increments of +/- 1 dB. Also used to scroll through the menu
and change parameters.
The Menu
You enter the menu by pressing the Menu switch and leave the menu by pressing the Dim/Cancel
switch. The menu works in 2 modes. A scroll mode to scroll the parameters using the gain control.
And a parameter mode to change parameters using the gain control. To switch between modes,
you tap the Menu switch. When you tap the Dim/Cancel switch to leave the menu mode, the
preset is automatically saved with the updated parameters.
An example of using the MENU to change the left calibration to +3 dB.
1) Tap the Menu switch.
2) Rotate the gain control to cycle through the menu items to Left Cal.
3) Tap the Menu switch to enter parameter mode.
4) Rotate the Gain control CW or CCW until the display reads +3.0 dB.
5) Tap the Menu key to go back to scroll mode.
6) Tap the DIM/CANCEL button to exit the menu and store the preset.
7) To change multiple items, follow 1-5 on each parameter and then hit the Dim /Cancel
button when you have completed all your changes.

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Menu Items
1) Channel Calibration – sets the output channel gain and is used to balance channel levels
2) Channel Delay – sets the time delay for the selected channel. Channel delay is used to
time-align each speaker to compensate for the unequal distances between the listener and
the speaker. For example, a subwoofer is usually farther away from the listener than the
front speakers, so the sound from the subwoofer arrives later than the sound from the front
speakers. In this case you would add additional time delays to each of the front speakers to
time align with the subwoofer. The time delays of each speaker can be measured using the
AMC Control software and the optional recommended measurement microphone and USB
audio interface. (See the section on additional equipment you will need, below.)
3) Lip Sync delay – Many video displays have video processing delays, which can cause the
audio to be out of sync with the picture. To compensate for video delay, an overall audio
time delay can be added to re-synchronize the audio with the picture.
4) Reference gain- sets the system gain when the reference button is pressed.
5) Dim gain- sets the system gain when the dim button is pressed.
6) +12/+24 Analog Max IO Level – Some studio monitors are high gain devices that have a
nominal input level of around -10 dBu, and not +4 dBu. This switches gain structure to +12
dB to optimize the signal to noise ratio. This only affects the analog inputs and outputs.
7) Pink noise – outputs a low level pink noise signal on the analog and digital outputs on the
selected channel. The Gain control cycles through each channel assignments to speakers
6) Restore factory default - clears all entered preset data and restores the factory presets.
Follow the prompts on the display.
8) System sample rate – selects an internal system sample rate of either 48 or 96 kHz.
Changing the sample rate can only be done through the AMC remote and will reset the
system. It is recommended that the user exit the AMC control program before doing this.
9) Analog/Device input selection – selects either digital or analog on each of the paired
inputs. If a digital source is selected, the display will indicate if the channel is locked to a
digital source.
10) Bass Management ON/OFF- this parameter is a quick override on bass management If
bass management is turned off, all crossovers except for the LFE filter are disabled and the
individual input channels feeds to the LFE output are turned off.

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Firmware Updates
The firmware in both the remote and rack can be updated through the USB ports and using the
Blue Sky Firmware Tool. There are separate updater tools for the Remote and Rack.
Currently the firmware update tool only works under Windows or an Apple computer running
Windows using Boot Camp or a virtual machine using Parallels or VM Ware. Because Boot Camp
runs Windows natively, it is the preferred method of running the AMC software on an Apple
computer.
A native OSX version is in process.
NOTE: Different versions of the AMC control software require firmware version numbers matching
the AMC control software version number. For example, AMC control firmware 4.12 requires
firmware version 4.12 be installed in the remote and rack. Future versions, i.e., 4.12B, will all work
with AMC Control software of the same number.
Upgrading the firmware in the AMC RACK to the latest version.
Note: The firmware can only be updated when the rack is powered down.
1. Install the Blue Sky AMC RACK Firmware X.XX update tool. The
Installation tool will create a Blue Sky folder in the Program Files (0x86) sub-directory and
Install the update program and the new hex file in that directory. The firmware update
tool uses the Microsoft Net Framework run-time library, which is normally already
Installed with Windows. If it won't run, install "vcredist_x86.EXE" and
"dotNetFx35setup.exe".
2. If you get a message that the program requires Elevation and will not run, right click on the
installer and click Run As Administrator.
3. Power down the AMC RACK and plug-in the USB cable. If this is first time you've
connected the AMC Rack to your computer, you may get a message that the computer
Is installing drivers for the USB interface. Wait until that completes and tells you it's
been successful. The front panel LED should flash a couple of times a second.
4. Start the program and the dialog box will show
BLUE SKY
AMC RACK BOOTLOADER REV 1.00
and the currently installed firmware.
5. If the dialog windows says
BLUE SKY
AMC RACK REV x.xx

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Application unable to communicate with the device
Power off the unit, disconnect the USB cable, and plug the cable back in and restart
the program.
6. Click the UPDATE FIRMWARE BUTTON
7. The updater will update the firmware and read the new firmware version.
8. Close the program, disconnect the USB cable and you are done
Upgrading the firmware in the AMC Remote to the latest version.
Note: The firmware can only be updated when the remote is disconnected from the rack.
1. Install the Blue Sky AMC Remote Firmware X.XX update tool. The
installation tool will create a Blue Sky folder in the Program Files (0x86) sub-directory and
install the update program and the new hex file in that directory. The firmware update
tool uses the Microsoft Net Framework run-time library which is normally already
installed with Windows. If it won't run, install "vcredist_x86.EXE" and
"dotNetFx35setup.exe".
2. If you get a message that the program requires Elevation and will not run, right click on
the installer, and click Run As Administrator.
3. Disconnect AMC Remote and plug-in the USB cable. If this is first time you've
connected the AMC Remote to your computer you may get a message that the computer
is installing drivers for the USB interface.
4. Start the program and the dialog box will show
BLUE SKY
AMC Remote BOOTLOADER REV 1.00
and the currently installed firmware.
5. If the dialog windows says
BLUE SKY
AMC Remote REV x.xx
Application unable to communicate with the device
Power off the unit, disconnect the USB cable, and plug the cable back in and restart
the program.
6. Click the UPDATE FIRMWARE BUTTON
7. The updater will update the firmware and read the new firmware version.
8. Close the program, disconnect the USB cable and you are done

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The AMC Control Software
The AMC Control Software is a 32 bit Windows 7 program that will only work when a Blue Sky
AMC is connected to the computer by USB. It is also compatible with Windows 7 64. It has not
been tested for other version of Windows. In addition, the program has been used successfully on
Intel based Apple OSX computers running Windows 7 via Boot Camp or in a virtual machine using
VMware or Parallels.
Installing the AMC Control software
Download the setup program and save it to your computer at a location where you can find it.
Double-click of the setup program to install it. The installer will create a folder under the program
files (0x86) called Blue Sky and install the program there.
Running the Program
Turn on the AMC and wait unit the red LED on the front of the AMC is flashing approximately once
every two seconds and the remote Mute button is lit. .
Plug the USB cable into the front of the AMC. If this is the 1st time you have connected the AMC to
your computer, you may see a message that says USB detected, installing software. Wait until this
process is complete and the LED on the front of the AMC goes back to flashing.
Start the AMC Control program and after a few seconds, you should see the following screen

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AMC Main Control Panel
This is the main setup screen for the AMC control program. It shows which preset is loaded in the
AMC, and the current configuration of that preset. The AMC control program and the AMC rack are
interlinked through the USB connection so that actions on the remote, such as changing the
system gain, will be reflected in the AMC program and vice versa.
Navigating around the interface
Blue Boxes - represent items that are activated when clicked with your mouse. In some cases
clicking a blue box will initiate an action and in other cases it will open up another screen.
Black boxes with text represent parameters that can be entered directly using the delete key, the
backspace key, numerical keypad and the enter key. To change the value, select value you want
to change with the mouse, use the delete key to a erase the old value, type in the new value, and
hit enter. The value you enter using the keyboard is automatically checked to make sure it's in
acceptable range.
Check boxes represent an either/or setting. For example, if you click the left/right digital check box
it will automatically turn off the left right analog check box.

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Gray Boxes are quick setup buttons, which configure loaded preset to those settings.
Light Blue Boxes - load Presets
White boxes – save presets
Master gain - system gain of the AMC
Reference gain - system gain when Ref Gain Switch is pressed
Dim gain - system gain when Dim Gain Switch is pressed
System sample rate - AMC internal sample rate. The system sample rate cannot be modified
through the AMC control program and can only be modified using the remote.
Loading a preset – click on any of the blue buttons in the upper left hand corner of the screen. If
the current loaded preset is modified the color of the button will change from blue to orange
Presets can also be loaded by pressing a button on the remote. When selecting presets from the
remote, the currently loaded preset is automatically saved to memory.
Saving a preset - click on any of the saved presets buttons to save the currently loaded preset to
the original location or a new location.
+12 dB Max/+24 dB Max Analog Max IO - sets the analog I/O to a maximum of +12 or +24 dBu.
When using strictly analog I/O, the nominal gain at reference 0 is 0 dB. However, if you're using
digital in and analog out, changing the analog output level from +12 to +24 will cause a +12 dBu
drop in level on the analog output.
Channel analog/digital input switches- selects the input source as either digital or analog. Digital
inputs have 140 DB dynamic range sample rate converter that will convert any digital input sample
rate from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz signal to the AMC internal sample rate.
Digital in lock status box – indicates whether a digital input has achieved lock
8 in 8 out mixer box - opens the cross mixer panel
Bass management box– opens the bass management panel
EQ boxes - opens the EQ panels
Preset display – these 4 lines of text is what appears on the remote when a preset is loaded.
Each line of text can be changed directly using the keyboard, delete and backspace keys.
Channel Calibration – sets the relative balance between the channels. These values can be
entered directly in the boxes or entered automatically using the SRO procedure. See the Speaker
Room Optimization (SRO) section below for more information. Values entered in the calibration
boxes, will show in the menu on the remote and vice versa

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Channel delay in milliseconds – sets an individual channel delay. Used for time alignment of
speakers in 5.1 and 7.1 setups. The channel delays can be entered manually or through the SRO
process.
Lip sync delay - add additional audio delay to compensate for the processing delay of video
monitors and displays
Analog gain - sets an offset for all analog output channels. Used primarily to correct for
imbalances between digital in and analog out or to scale the analog outputs of the entire box gain.
Digital gain – sets the offsets for all digital outputs primarily to correct gain differences between
analog in and digital out.
Go to SRO- opens up the SRO screen.
Save presets to file - saves all 6 presets to a text file. Used to archive presets or to provide a
backup if an AMC has to be restored
Load Presets from file - loads a complete set of 6 from a text file.

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Cross Mixer
The cross mixer screen shows the routing of each input to each output in gain in dB. The gain can
be entered directly in the box or to mute an input type in “off” or”OFF” in the box.
If bass management is turned OFF (see Bass Management), the non -LFE feeds to the LFE
output channel will be disabled and displayed in red indicating that they cannot be changed. If in
this state, the user will have to go to the base management screen and turn bass management ON
before these values can be edited.
The gray buttons along the bottom of the screen configure the mixer to a variety of common
setups. These buttons only program the cross mixer and do not affect the bass management
settings.
To go back to the main AMC control screen click the X in the upper right-hand corner of the screen

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Bass Management
The bass management screen shows the bass management settings for each individual channel
and the graphs show the resulting frequency response of the crossover filters only, without
equalization
For each channel the type of filter employed and the cutoff frequency of that filter can be selected.
The filter labels have the following meanings:
Bypass
No filter in circuit
LP2
2nd order 12 dB/oct low pass filter with a Q of .707
LPBW4
Two LP2 filters in series resulting in a 24 dB/oct low pass
LP6
6th order Chebyshev 36 dB/oct filter (typical LFE Filter)
HP2
2nd order 12 dB/oct high pass filter with a Q of .707
HPBW4
Two HP2 filters in series resulting in a 24 dB/oct high pass
For the feeds to the subwoofer, you have a choice of Bypass, LP2, LPBW4 and LP6 filters.
In addition to the low pass filters for the subwoofer, there are auxiliary high pass filters that can be
activated on each channel feed to the subwoofer. The choices for the high pass filter are Bypass,
HP2 and HPBW4. Normally these filters are engaged when using bass management where you
want to limit the low frequency response sub for that channel.
For example, if you're doing editorial work on a soundtrack that is being mixed for a theatrical

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release, the front speakers typically only go down to 40 Hz. When mixing audio on a bass
managed system to a 20 Hz subwoofer, the resulting mix when played back on a theater system
can lack bass. So to get better a translation, you could employ a 40 Hz HP2 or HPBW4 high pass
filter on the left, center, and right channels.
The same holds true for surround speakers. In a typical theater setup, the surrounds do not go
down below 60 Hz. To get better translatability you can employ a 60 Hz high pass filter on the
surround channels.
The AMC system also includes a high pass filter for the each channel.
These filters are not in the subwoofer feeds but on the individual channels. The choices are
Bypass, HP2 or HPBW4.
The bypass setting is used when you're not using bass management.
HP2 or HPBW4 are used depending on the actual speaker attached to the channel. If the speaker
is made for bass management, (i.e., Blue Sky SAT6D) then you would use HP2 set to 80 Hz. If
however, if the attached speaker is a full range monitor that may go down to 50 or 40 Hz, you'd
use a HPBW4 to get a better blend with the subwoofer.
Bass Management on/off - turns bass management on and off. When bass management is OFF,
all crossovers are disabled except for the LFE filter. When in this mode, none of the filters on the
screen can be modified which is indicated in red. To modify any of the filter settings make sure
bass management is turned ON.
Grey Preset buttons The gray buttons along the bottom of the bass management screen are
presets for common bass management setups. Note: these presets only affect values on the base
management screen and do not program the cross mixer.