Vorsis VP8 Plus Installation and operating instructions

AN2010-01
Introduction to Vorsis VP8 Plus
(Version 3.3.0 and GUI Lite)
AN2010-01 Rev. A
January 2010 - J. Keith
Wheatstone Corporation © 2010 All Rights Reserved
600 Industrial Drive New Bern, NC 28562 USA 252-638-7000
www.vorsis.com
[email protected]

Table of Contents
Page
3 Introducing VP8 Plus
3 Hardware Installation
4 Installation and setup using the front panel
4 Navigating to the “Presets” dialog
5 Navigating to the “Modes” dialog
6 Navigating to the “Input” dialog
7 Navigating to the “Output” dialog
7 The FM Mode Output Menu
8 The AM Mode Output Menu
9 The FM-HD Mode Output Menu
10 The AM-HD Mode Output Menu
11 The AAC/MP3 >48K Mode Output Menu
12 The AAC/MP3 <48K Mode Output Menu
13 Network options
14 Finding the VP8’s software versions
15 Introducing GUI Lite
17 GUI Lite Installation on the host Windows®PC
17 Setting/resetting the VP8’s TCP/IP address
18 Device configuration-connecting to the VP8 processor
21 Setting the input source and adjusting audio levels
22 Setting the output type and adjusting audio levels
23 Taking Presets
24 Tuning audio processing – an introduction
25 Why not just one knob?
28 How the six “Tweakers” work
28 About the “AGC Depth” Tweaker
28 About the “Compression” Tweaker
29 About the “Density” Tweaker
29 About the “Loudness” Tweaker
29 About the “MF/HF Equalization” Tweaker
31 About the “LF/Warm Equalization” Tweaker
32 Some GUI Lite Caveats
33 Comparing Legacy versus GUI Lite presets
34 The two other pages of GUI Lite
37 Additional Notes on VP-8 GUI Network Connectivity
38 Locking/Unlocking the VP8 Front Panel
39 Contacting Vorsis Technical Support
40 Notes
41 GUI Pro – How to obtain “Full Control” of the VP8
2

Introducing VP8 Plus
VP8 Plus is a collection of deep enhancements to the Vorsis VP8
product that are included in Version 3.3.0 software. The three
essential parts of v3.3.0 software and how it is different from the
previous release, v2.4.1 are:
- New front panel setup and configuration capability. No need to have
a PC handy for installation and setup;
- Improved processing functions that improve audio consistency,
clarity, and overall loudness while lowering distortion;
- A new simplified graphical user interface (GUI) software program,
GUI Lite, which morphs the VP8’s more than 230 controls into just six.
Any VP8 in the field can be upgraded to Version 3.3.0 by a simple to
perform software update. A new front panel acrylic equipped with the
“Plus” moniker may be ordered by contacting Vorsis Technical Support.
Hardware Installation
Please see the VP8 manual located on the product CD shipped with the
VP8 for detailed instructions on installing the product in your facility.
The manual is supplied in PDF format for ease of viewing and printing.
The VP8 is shipped from the factory with a default IP address of
192.168.1.198. Please follow the steps below noting that if the VP8’s
default IP address of 192.168.1.198 will work on your network you
should skip to step 11.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Due to the normal settling time of the BS-412 Multiplex Power
Algorithm (currently used in certain countries in Europe) the VP8
may not reach its final loudness for about one minute after power
up, regardless of whether or not the BS-412 algorithm is engaged.
A future software update will remedy this issue.
3

Installation and Setup using the Front Panel
VP8 Plus is equipped with new front panel menu navigation functions
to permit installation and configuration without needing a computer.
The menu is navigated by the rotary encoder knob and illuminated “V”
button. The items in the list are arranged in tree form in order to make
navigation simple and logical. The menu is structured so that the
Preset selection item is always at the top of the tree. Logically the
navigation list is as follows:
- PRESETS
- MODE
- INPUT
- OUTPUT
- NETWORK
- VERSION
- ACCESS
An item called “<<MENU” or “EXIT” is always present at the end of a
list to enable backing out of the currently selected item by one level.
The “Output” menu item radically changes as the VP8 mode is changed
due to large differences in the controls present in the various operating
modes. In the following pages the front panel navigation will be
examined in more detail.
NOTE: Please use the detail shown in the following sections to
determine where the appropriate setup controls will be for your
particular VP8 operating mode and installation type.
PRESETS
The first menu item in the list is PRESETS which allows scrolling
through the list of mode-specific factory (and/or user) presets stored
on the VP8 hardware. Once a preset is decided upon, pressing either
the knob or the lighted “V” pushbutton will select that preset to be
active. The active preset will be display in the front panel
alphanumeric display and will scroll if the name is longer then eight
characters. The VP8 will respond with “TAKEN” when the preset is
loaded and running.
4

MODE(s)
The VP8 is equipped with six completely different operating modes:
AM
FM-HD
AM-HD
AAC/MP3 >48k
FM
AAC/MP3 <48k
MODE
•FM, complete with stereo generator.
•AM, complete with asymmetrical limiting and selectable
lowpass filters and analog transmitter equalization.
•FM-HD, with codec-optimized pre-processing.
•AM-HD, with codec-optimized pre-processing.
•AAC/MP3 > 48k (specialized processing for codecs utilizing
greater than 48 kHz bitrates).
•AAC/MP3 < 48k (specialized processing for codecs utilizing
less than 48 kHz bitrates).
NOTE: THE VP8 OUTPUTS WILL MUTE WHILE CHANGING MODES!
When a new operating mode is being loaded into the VP8’s memory
the audio outputs will go silent and will remain silent until the new
algorithm is loaded.
This is intentional behavior that prevents clicks, pops and other
disturbing audio discontinuities from appearing at the VP8 outputs
while the new mode’s processing algorithms being loaded into the
DSPs and started up.
5

INPUT
The INPUT menu item allows the appropriate audio input type to be
selected whether Analog or Digital and also allows independent input
gain adjustments to be made for each of the two input types.
DIGITAL
ANALOG GAIN
INPUT SOURCE
DIGITAL GAIN
ANALOG
We strongly recommend that peak input audio levels are never set so
that they peak higher than about -12dBFS as shown on either the GUI
or the VP8’s front panel meters.
This is caution is necessary to allow appropriate headroom for the
processing algorithms when they are presented with material that has
been highly compressed and possibly also clipped during the mastering
process. Such material can achieve far higher peak levels after the
first stage of signal processing (in any modern audio processor, not
just Vorsis!) and those signals may not have enough headroom to
avoid clipping within the processor if the input level was already too
high.
Said another way, if you hear mysterious distortion or what sounds
like clipping on very loudly mastered material it’s a good idea to check
the input levels to the VP8 to ensure they are not spending any
significant time at levels of -12dBFS and above. GUI Lite has a “Ref”
indicator on its input level meter at the -12dBFS calibration mark as a
convenient reminder.
6

OUTPUT
The output menu tree is tailored to the current VP8 operating mode,
with the most complex being the FM and AM modes due to their
specialized processing requirements. The output menu trees for each
of the six modes follows along with the corresponding GUI Lite output
menu below it for comparison
L/R DE-EMPH
TX 1 LEVEL dB
OUT MODE MPX
TX 2
SCA 1 LEVEL dB
PREDELAY
INPUT
SCA 2 LEVEL dB
TX 2 LEVEL dB
DIGITAL INPUT
DIGITAL LEVEL dB
ANALOGOUT
ANALOGLEVEL dB
SCA 1
75uS
ANALOGINPUT
OUT
TX 1
PILOTINJ %
50uS
FLAT
DIGOUT
OUTPUT
(FM) L/R
SCA 2
DE-EMPH
HEADPHONE SOURCE
IN
PRE-EMPH
PILOT
ANALOG
FM Mode
7

AM Mode
IN
M/S
4.5kHz
PRE-EMPH
6.5kHz
DIGOUT
ANALOG1
MONO
INPUT
ANALOG2
DIGITAL INPUTFULL
POSMOD
OUT MODE
NRSC
HEADPHONE SOURCE
5.0kHz
6K CCIR
DE-EMPH
OUTPUT
(AM)
LEVEL dB
ANALOGINPUT
PHASE
PREDELAY
LEVEL dB
5.5kHz
B-WIDTH FLAT
ANALOGOUT
STEREO
10kHz NRSC
7.5kHz
DIGITAL LEVEL dB
100-150%
OUT
PHASE
AM Mode Output Controls
8

FM-HD Mode
L/R Swap
HEADPHONE SOURCE
OUTPUT
(FM-HD)
PHASE
ANALOG INPUT
DIGOUT
LEVEL dB ANALOGINPUT
DIGITAL INPUT
PREDELAY
ANALOGOUT
DIGITAL LEVEL dB
FM-HD Mode Output Controls
9

AM-HD Mode
DIGITAL INPUT
HEADPHONE SOURCE
ANALOGOUT
DIGITAL LEVEL dB
ANALOGINPUTOUTPUT
(AM-HD)
INPUT
ANALOG LEVEL dB
L/R Swap
PREDELAY
DIGOUT PHASE
AM Mode Output Controls
10