Over 50 years of experience in audioprocessing
The OPTIMOD 5950 is the culmination of Orban’s more than 50 years of experience in audio processing. It is Orban’s first “from scratch design” since the legendary OPTIMOD 8400. User-friendly HTML5 operation with the highest quality OPTIMOD audio processing.
For half a century, the Orban Optimod has been the global benchmark for professional audio processing and continues to provide state-of-the-art audio solutions for radio and television broadcasters.
These products have a particularly long service life. Many appliances are in operation for well over 10 or 15 years. As the Optimods are of crucial importance to thousands of broadcast customers worldwide, quality and reliability have absolute priority.
Sumatronic AG also offers separate DAB multiplexers for testing and adjusting the devices, so that your new device can be optimized and adjusted independently of the normal DAB broadcast and almost without delay.
NEW – Interesting reference list with audio sample
Optimod – The optimal functions for you
Netcasting (also known as webcasting), DAB, and HD Radio almost always use low bitrate codecs. Processing for such codecs should not use clippers for limiting, and should instead use a look-ahead type limiter. Optimod-Surround, Optimod-DAB, Optimod-FM (HD processing chain), and Optimod-PCn provide the correct form of peak limiting for these applications and other low bite rate digital audio services.
The manufacturer Orban has been dealing with this issue for a long time and repeatedly provides explanations and technical details in its published white papers. For example, the following excerpts are from the document “Maintaining Audio Quality in the Broadcast and Netcast Facility”:
It is important to minimize audible peak-limiter-induced distortion when one is driv-ing a low bitrate codec because one does not want to waste precious bits encoding the distortion. Look-ahead limiting can achieve this goal; hard clipping cannot.
Simple wideband look-ahead limiting can still produce audible intermodulation dis-tortion between heavy bass and midrange material. The look-ahead limiter algo-rithm in Optimods uses sophisticated techniques to reduce such IM distortion with-out compromising loudness capability.
In addition, several audio proc essing manufacturers offer pre processing claimed to
minimize codec artifacts at low bitrate s. Orban’s technology is called PreCode ™. This
manipulates several aspects of the audio to minimize artifacts caused by low bitrate
codecs, ensuring consistent loudness and texture fro m one source to the next. Pr e-
Code i ncludes special audio band detection algorithms that are energy and spectrum
aware. This can improve codec performance on some codecs by reducing audio pr o-
cessing induced codec artifacts, even with pro gram material that has been pre pr o-
cessed by other processing than Optimod.
Audio processing is an art and the “sound” of a given audio processor is a function of hundreds of variables, many of which involve trade secrets known only to their manufacturers. (This includes Orban.) Comparing audio processors by counting the number of bands of compression/limiting or listing other features obvious from the front panel is superficial and futile. Processors must be judged on how they perform with the many different types of program material used in a given format and ulti-mately should be judged based on their ability to attract and hold a given broad-caster’s target audience. There is no substitute for long-term listening.
Optimod – Durable DSP platform
Orban devices have always been designed and manufactured with the best available components. The choice of components has always been based on their quality and not on possible savings in product design. These products have a particularly long service life. Many devices are often in operation for between 10 and 15 years, and for some customers even longer. All devices are pure DSP platforms where you will search in vain for computer components or conventional motherboards.
