Signal Processing
Broadcast Audio Processor

Pre-transmission audio processing for multi-channel television services
The Broadcast Audio Processor is your versatile playout watermarking solution based on softGear鈩 microservice architecture running on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware.

The softGear Broadcast Audio Processor (BAP) is a multi-channel watermarking solution for television distribution. It provides real-time loudness levelling, Nielsen Watermarking, Verance Watermarking, and Dolby Encoding to meet today鈥檚 ATSC-1.0 and tomorrow鈥檚 ATSC-3.0 transmission needs. It is implemented with software microservices deployed through on-premise appliances with a future path to Cloud processing.
The BAP provides audio processing for 2 independent SDI video channels with up to 8 independent audio processing paths. This allows audio to be tailored to different distribution channels or geographies.
By utilizing Dolby Realtime Loudness Levelling (RTLL), the BAP tames your audio for the best audience experience while maintaining compliance with loudness legislation such as the CALM Act and EBU R128.
Nielsen Watermarking enables accurate audience measurement for program ratings, which is crucial for protecting advertising revenue. Verance Aspect provides for audio watermark capabilities which expands the reach of interactive and addressable services by enabling their use across all distribution paths. The BAP offers up to 8 independent Station IDs (SID and CSID) to be encoded for different distribution paths or regions. Customers can choose between Nielsen or Verance watermarking, or a combination of both at the same time for each Station ID.
Dolby Digital and Digital Plus Encoding is a requirement for many distribution channels. With the BAP, you can selectively choose encoding for stereo or surround audio groups and assign Dolby-encoded or PCM audio to any output channel for complete audio flexibility.
The BAP is ready for your broadcast needs of today and has the scalability to meet your needs of tomorrow, including support for ATSC 3.0.
- All-in-one Solution鈥 Provides all the necessary television audio processing in a single appliance for multiple program channels.
- Based on softGear鈩 鈥撀Modern microservice technology allows for easy scaling, migration, and redundancy, giving ultimate flexibility in deployments.
- Best-of-Breed Processing鈥 Featuring solutions from Dolby庐 and Nielsen庐.
- Multiple Audio Workflows鈥 A playout may require independent Dolby Digital庐/Dolby Digital Plus庐 5.1 and 2.0 workflows. BAP supports up to 8 concurrent audio processing paths with up to 32 audio channels.
- Ready for ATSC 3.0鈥 The system offers all processing microservices preparing your playout for your ATSC 3.0 application.
- Intuitive Control and Monitoring鈥 Made possible via 91快活林 DashBoard.
- Channel Density鈥 Well-suited for centralized facilities with many integrated media processing chains. Consolidate racks of hardware into compact servers or the Cloud.
- Backed by legendary聽Ross Support.
- On-demand audio shuffling on input and output.
- Dolby RTLL鈥 Provides the best audience listening experience, bringing loudness to a consistent listening level across all content while meeting legislative requirements such as BS 1770, the CALM Act and EBU R 128.
- Nielsen Watermarking鈥 Enables accurate audience measurement for program ratings, which is crucial for protecting advertising revenue.
- Verance Aspect Watermarking聽鈥 A foundational component of ATSC 3.0, the next generation television standard.
- Dolby Digital庐/Dolby Digital Plus庐鈥 Encoding configurable to 2.0 and/or 5.1 processing modes.
- Independent software bypass with fixed delay for RTLL庐, Nielsen庐 Watermarking and Dolby庐 encoding.
- Hardware relay bypass for all processing.
Many broadcasters face the challenge of managing the transmission of multiple channels. This occurs at the level of the local broadcaster or through the consolidation of network and station group operations (where tens or hundreds of channels may be distributed from a single facility). To maximize audience and revenue, broadcasters must also distribute content over multiple transmission paths, such as over-the-air (OTA), streaming (over-the-top, OTT), cable, and mobile, as well as re-broadcasting content to multiple geographic regions. These transmission paths continue to evolve due to changing standards and requirements.
Amid this complexity, there are several key processes that broadcasters need to perform to prepare the channel for distribution. These include:
- Loudness Levelling鈥 Ensures consistent listening level and compliance to loudness legislation (CALM Act, EBU R 128).
- Watermarking鈥 Inaudible signature, which enables audience measurement and program ratings.
- Dolby Encoding鈥 Many distribution channels require audio to be compressed and Dolby encoded.
Each distribution path imposes different criteria on how each of these processes is performed. Therefore, it is often a requirement to run multiple instances of these processes to satisfy the diverse distribution requirements. Furthermore, as business models evolve, broadcasters will be faced with new processing requirements which may leave traditional hardware-based solutions obsolete if they cannot be upgraded to new standards.
Ordering Code | Description |
---|---|
SG-BAP-PKG
|
Broadcast Audio Processor system
|
SG-HW-1000
|
1RU server for softGear platform
|
SG-IO-IP1G-2
|
Intel i350 connectivity card 1G
|
SG-IO-SDI3G-44
|
3G-SDI Interface
|
SG-SYS-CORE-1CPU-LICENSE
|
softGear platform license for 1-CPU servers
|
SG-DLB-RTLL-LICENSE
|
Dolby鈩 Realtime Loudness Levelling license
|
SG-NLSN-TVWE-LICENSE
|
Nielsen鈩 Watermark TV Encoder license
|
SG-VRNC-TVWE-LICENSE
|
Verance鈩 Aspect庐 Watermark TV Encoder license
|
SG-DLB-DDE-LICENSE
|
Dolby Digital/Digital Plus Encoder license
|
All systems include a standard 1-year hardware warranty with software support.
Extended support and software maintenance options are available through聽RossCare+.
Downloads
Related Products
Broadcast Audio Processor | Program playout chain audio processing with loudness levelling, Dolby庐 encoding and Nielsen庐 Watermarking. | LEARN MORE |
NWE-TS | Nielsen庐 Watermarks Encoder for ATSC Transport Streams | LEARN MORE |
NWE-IP | Audience measurement encoder for SMPTE ST 2110 / AES67 featuring Nielsen / Numeris watermark encoding. | LEARN MORE |
NWE-3GA | Nielsen庐 Watermarks Encoder (openGear) | LEARN MORE |