The Institut für Rundfunktechnik (IRT), central research and development institute of the public broadcasters in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and DSPECIALISTS GmbH, specialized in the development and distribution of products for digital audio signal processing and measurement technology, cooperate in high-quality loudness control.
In recent years, IRT has developed and patented the Continuous Loudness Controller (CLC), a method that allows the continuous adjustment of audio material to a predefined target value and a definable loudness range value with the least possible artifacts in real time. In this way, unpleasant loudness jumps in the program are avoided and speech intelligibility is improved. The CLC thus makes an important contribution to increasing the satisfaction of broadcast consumers.
DSPECIALISTS GmbH, already known in the broadcast market for its high-quality stereo to 5.1 upmixer ISOSTEM, has implemented this procedure for loudness control in its Audio DSP HARVEY®, thus expanding its product portfolio.
Sebastian Goossens, IRT's Division Manager of AV Technologies, says: “We are delighted about the cooperation with DSPECIALISTS. With the international standards ITU-R BS.1770 and EBU R 128, the loudness control has started its triumphal success in broadcasting in recent years. IRT has been intensively engaged in the development of solutions for user-friendly and reliable loudness adjustment and has developed the Continuous Loudness Controller (CLC) for automated real-time adjustment of loudness and loudness range in accordance with the EBU R 128 specification.”
Dr. Jochen Cronemeyer, DSPECIALISTS Managing Director, says: “We are convinced of the high quality of IRT's CLC algorithm and see great potential in marketing the CLC software in a stand-alone device. To this end, we have ported the CLC algorithm to our proven hardware platform HARVEY® as part of our cooperation with IRT. In a first step, HARVEY® will enable the processing of stereo signals, and later it will be extended to the 5.1 format.”
DSPECIALISTS' HARVEY® is a freely programmable audio DSP that offers numerous control interfaces. HARVEY® has been developed in recent years for fixed installations and is also ideally suited for use in studios due to its high audio quality and extensive software library for audio signal processing. For audio transmission, analogue as well as AES and Dante interfaces are available. In addition, HARVEY® offers the customer numerous control interfaces. Besides TCP/IP, RS485 and RS232, GPIOs can also be freely programmed. With the help of the various control interfaces, HARVEY® can call up the optimum setup for every conceivable scenario, as well as communicate with other devices in the studio.
ABOUT Institut für Rundfunktechnik GmbH
With more than 60 years of experience, IRT is a world-renowned research and innovation centre for broadcasting and media technology. It observes, evaluates and develops new technologies in digital audiovisual media with the aim of strategically adapting broadcasting ideas to new market environments and needs. At its Munich location, around 100 employees work in close cooperation with shareholders and clients to develop innovative solutions in the fields of next generation audio, future video, artificial intelligence, metadata, all IP/IT, IP distribution, portals and services, accessibility and 5G.
Its shareholders are the broadcasting corporations ARD, ZDF, Deutschlandradio, ORF and SRG/SSR. In addition, IRT works with a large number of clients from the broadcasting, media and industrial sectors. Cooperation with international research partners provides access to worldwide trends and developments. In cooperation with universities, IRT promotes the training of young professionals.
In recent years, IRT has developed and patented the Continuous Loudness Controller (CLC), a method that allows the continuous adjustment of audio material to a predefined target value and a definable loudness range value with the least possible artifacts in real time. In this way, unpleasant loudness jumps in the program are avoided and speech intelligibility is improved. The CLC thus makes an important contribution to increasing the satisfaction of broadcast consumers.
DSPECIALISTS GmbH, already known in the broadcast market for its high-quality stereo to 5.1 upmixer ISOSTEM, has implemented this procedure for loudness control in its Audio DSP HARVEY®, thus expanding its product portfolio.
Sebastian Goossens, IRT's Division Manager of AV Technologies, says: “We are delighted about the cooperation with DSPECIALISTS. With the international standards ITU-R BS.1770 and EBU R 128, the loudness control has started its triumphal success in broadcasting in recent years. IRT has been intensively engaged in the development of solutions for user-friendly and reliable loudness adjustment and has developed the Continuous Loudness Controller (CLC) for automated real-time adjustment of loudness and loudness range in accordance with the EBU R 128 specification.”
Dr. Jochen Cronemeyer, DSPECIALISTS Managing Director, says: “We are convinced of the high quality of IRT's CLC algorithm and see great potential in marketing the CLC software in a stand-alone device. To this end, we have ported the CLC algorithm to our proven hardware platform HARVEY® as part of our cooperation with IRT. In a first step, HARVEY® will enable the processing of stereo signals, and later it will be extended to the 5.1 format.”
DSPECIALISTS' HARVEY® is a freely programmable audio DSP that offers numerous control interfaces. HARVEY® has been developed in recent years for fixed installations and is also ideally suited for use in studios due to its high audio quality and extensive software library for audio signal processing. For audio transmission, analogue as well as AES and Dante interfaces are available. In addition, HARVEY® offers the customer numerous control interfaces. Besides TCP/IP, RS485 and RS232, GPIOs can also be freely programmed. With the help of the various control interfaces, HARVEY® can call up the optimum setup for every conceivable scenario, as well as communicate with other devices in the studio.
ABOUT Institut für Rundfunktechnik GmbH
With more than 60 years of experience, IRT is a world-renowned research and innovation centre for broadcasting and media technology. It observes, evaluates and develops new technologies in digital audiovisual media with the aim of strategically adapting broadcasting ideas to new market environments and needs. At its Munich location, around 100 employees work in close cooperation with shareholders and clients to develop innovative solutions in the fields of next generation audio, future video, artificial intelligence, metadata, all IP/IT, IP distribution, portals and services, accessibility and 5G.
Its shareholders are the broadcasting corporations ARD, ZDF, Deutschlandradio, ORF and SRG/SSR. In addition, IRT works with a large number of clients from the broadcasting, media and industrial sectors. Cooperation with international research partners provides access to worldwide trends and developments. In cooperation with universities, IRT promotes the training of young professionals.
