Omnia Omnia.9 User manual

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Omnia.9
StereoFMHDStreamingAudioProcessor
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InstallationandOperationManual
June2012
ApplicabletoSoftwareVersion0.50.88andHigher
Omnia1241SuperiorAvenueEast,Cleveland,Ohio44114USA
TEL:+1216.241.7225FAX:+1216.241.4103WEB:OmniaAudio.com

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TableofContents
Omnia.9Overview1
QuickStartSetupGuide3
PhysicalInstallation    3
InitialConfiguration    3
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GeneralProcessingAdvice7
KnowYourGoals    7
PlayingWiththeControls   7
ChoosingaPreset    7
MakingandSavingChanges   8
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HomeScreenandUserInterface9
StatusBar9
UnderstandingtheInterface10
NonExpertNavigation10
ExpertNavigation11
ControlTypes12
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HomeMenu13
SystemMenu13
SystemStatus13
I/OOptions13
FileRecorder14
SettingtheTime&Date15
SystemConfiguration15
SampleRate15
ProcessingCores  15
StreamingEncoders  16
Password16
Reset/Shutdown  17
IPConfiguration  17
HTTPAccess17
SoftwareUpdate  18
Upgrades18
InputMenu–SourceAudio19
SourceMenu19
AutoBalance20
InternalPlaybackMenu21
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InputMenu–Undo22
WhatIsUndo?22
UndoMenu23
Loading&SavingPresets23
MainMenu24

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Metering24
Declipper25
DynamicsDetectortoRatio25
DensityDetectorBandWeighting  26
PeakDetector27
ExpanderLevels28
ExpanderRates29
ExpanderRatios30
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ProcessingMeters31
ProcessingMetersDisplay31
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FMProcessingMenu35
LoadingPresets36
SavingPresets37
InputOptions37
BassEXF38
ParametricEqualizer39
DownwardExpanders39
InputAGC40
WidebandAGC142
StereoEnhancer43
MultibandSetup44
MultibandAttack/Release45
MultibandThresholds46
WidebandAGC247
WidebandAGC348
BandMix48
Clipper49
Output51
DisplaySettings52
UndoMeters53
ProcessingMeters53
InputMeters53
Oscilloscope54
RTA56
FFTSpectrumAnalyzer58
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RDSMenu60
RDSMainMenu60
UsingExternalRDSEncoders61
RDSTitles65
ProgramIdentification66
Flags66
AlternativeFrequencies67
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MPXInputMenu68
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LoudnessMetersMenu68
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HDProcessingCore69
BandMix69
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StreamingEncodersandServer70
AACEncoder72
AACServer72
MP3Encoder73
MP3Server74
MP2Encoder75
MP2Server76
VorbisEncoder77
VorbisServer78
WMAEncoder79
WMAServer80
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MonitorOutputMenu81
PatchPoints81
FMProcessingPatchPoints81
StudioProcessingPatchPoints82
HDProcessingPatchPoints82
StreamingPatchPoints83
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LoadingPresets83
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SavingPresets84
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MainMenu184
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MainMenu285
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StudioProcessingCore87
BandMixMenu87
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StreamingProcessingCore88
BandMixMenu88
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GettingtheSoundYouWant89
Qualityv.Loudness89
AchievingaHighQualitySound89
AchievingLoudness90
SpectralConsistency&Equalization90
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Specifications92
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AppendixA:SignalPathDiagrams94
PhysicalInputs94
Input/OutputOverview95
InputSection96
MPXInput96
MPXOutput96
MPXPatchPoint97
PreemphasisPatchPoint98
Undo99
Input/WBAGC1100
WBAGC3PostMultiband101
WBAGC3BassWideband102
WBAGC3BassOnly103
MultibandProcessing104
SpeakerController105
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AppendixB:
FactoryPresets106
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AppendixC:
Remote(Client)Software112
Overview112
DownloadingtheSoftware113
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InstallationandConfiguration113
Ethernet/WiFiConsiderations113
ControlsUniquetoClient113
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ClientAudioOutputMenu114
PatchPointMenu114
AudioEnable114
SRC114
OutputDevice114
ClientVolume115
AudioBuffer115
TCPLinkStatus115
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ClientMicrophoneInputMenu115
InputDeviceMenu115
LoadPresetMenu115
SavePresetMenu115
ClientFileRecorder116
SpeakerCalibration116
ChoosingaCalibratedMic116

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SettingUptheMic116
SettingUptheClientSoftwareforCalibration  117
ConnectingtheClientPCandMic117
SettingUpRTAandOscilloscopeWindows  117
FeedingPinkNoisetotheSpeakers117
FinalAdjustmentstotheRTA118
UsingtheParametricEQ118
ChasingYourTail118
SavingYourCalibrationSettings119
TweakingAfterCalibration119
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Omnia.9–ABriefOverview
HowOmnia.9CametoBe
The story of Omnia.9actuallybegan whenits creator and designer, Leif Claesson, got tiredof
listeningtoclassicrockmusic.Therewasalotofgoodmusicout,buthecouldn’tstandthewayCD
masteringwasfallingvictimtoitsown“loudnesswar”reminiscentoftheonestillbeingwagedby
many major market FM radio stations.  TheCDs themselves were overprocessed, hyper
compressed, and clipped to death, and so he found himself listening only to older recordings.
Growingtiredofhisrelativelysmallplaylist,hedecidedtodosomethingaboutit,andtheideafor
“Undo”wasborn.
ProcessingforFM,HD,Studio,andStreamingAudio
Each processing coreof Omnia.9 contains an Input AGC, a 6band fully parametric equalizer,
multibandnoisereductionviadownwardexpanders,amultibandstereoenhancer,awidebandAGC,
a second (defeatable) wideband AGC, up to 7 bands of multiband AGC and peak limiting,and an
adjustable bassclipper.TheFMcorefeaturesafinalpsychoacousticallycontrolled distortion
maskingclipperthatnotonlyallowsyoutobelouderonthedial(ifthat’syourgoal)butfarcleaner,
too. ItalsoprovidesbuiltinRDS injectioninthecompositeto ensureperfect integrationofRDS,
pilot, and audio.  The HD, Studio, and Streaming cores utilize a lookahead final limiter for peak
control.
Therearenohiddenor “backdoor”controlsinOmnia.9.We’vegivenyoufullaccesstoallofits
controlssoasnottolimityourabilitytocreateexactlythesoundyouwantontheair–andasyou
willsoondiscover–thereisnoshortageofcontrols.
TheOmnia.9Toolbox
Omnia.9isuniqueinthatitprovidesyouwithsomebuiltintoolsthatwebelieveareessentialto
havewhen settingupyourprocessing.Inthepast,tuninga processorwasdone purelybyearin
mostcases.Andwhileprocessingiscertainlyasubjectiveprocess–it’sasmuchartasitisscience–
havingtherighttoolsinyourtoolboxcanbeveryhandy(nottomentionrevealing)whenyouwant
tofindoutwhysomethingsoundsthewayitdoes.
Forthat reason, we’ve chosen to include a builtin oscilloscope, an RTA, and an FFT spectrum
analyzer that can monitor dozens of different points within each of Omnia.9’s processing cores.
There’sevenapinknoisegeneratorandapowerfulparametricequalizersothatyoucancalibrate
your speakers, giving you an accurate monitoring point from which to adjust your processing.
LearningtousethesetoolstoyouradvantageisjustasimportantaslearninghowtouseOmnia.9’s
controls,becausewiththem,youcanseewhatyouarehearingandmakeinformedandintelligent
adjustmentstoyouraudiothatwereheretoforedifficultifnotimpossibletomake.

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That’sALotofPower…
Ifitsoundslikethere’salottoOmnia.9,well,thereis!ChancesareOmnia.9isunlikeanyprocessor
you’veeverused.Givingyoufullaccesstoallofitscontrolsislikegivingyouthekeystoanexotic
sportscar.Ifyouknowwhatyou’redoing,you’reinforquitearide!Andifyoudon’t,well,let’sjust
saytherearelotsofwaystogetyourselflooseinthecornersandendupintheweeds!Butforallof
its capabilities, Omnia.9 is not difficult to set up and use.  We’ve given you some great presets,
createdandtunedbypeoplewhoknowOmnia.9best,thatwilleithersatisfyyouronairprocessing
goalsrightoutoftheboxorwillgetyoucloseenoughtoyourdesiredsoundsothatyoucanmake
sometweakstosuityourindividualneedsandtastesforyourformatinyourmarket.
Thatsaid,wehighlyrecommendthatyousetasidesometimeupfronttounderstandthevarious
designphilosophiesandcontrolsthatmakeOmnia.9sounique,versatile,andpowerful.Thetime
youspendnowwillpayoffexponentiallywhenyouronairsoundbecomeslouderandcleanerthan
youeverthoughtpossible.
Onceyou’velearnedyourwayaroundOmnia.9andridyourselfofthehassleoftryingtokeepup
withseparateprocessingforyourHDchannelsandaudioencodingcomputers,you’llhaveplentyof
timeto take phone calls from the program directorsand engineers of the other stations in town
whohavebeenspendingtheirtimetryingtofigureoutwhyyourFMradiostationnotonlysounds
biggeronthedialthantheirs,butwhyyourmusicsoundsbetterthanitdoesontheCD.
Howlongyouwanttokeepthemguessingisentirelyuptoyou!
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