AudioTools Server

Data sheet

Producator

Fisa tehnica

ATS_Modules.pdf
Cere oferta

Caracteristici principale / Specificatii

AudioTools Server



  • AERO.Quality-first Audio Automation

    AudioTools Server is a collection of enterprise-ready audio solutions designed to add file-based expertise to automated environments. The AudioTools Server family represents decades of expertise encapsulated in flexible, focused packages of audio specialization.

    AudioTools Server automates the most sophisticated audio tasks and offers a wide variety of processing, specifically created for use in cable, satellite, terrestrial and IPTV, radio, and post production facilities. As a pure software platform running on commodity hardware, including VM or cloud deployment, AudioTools Server is flexible and customizable, allowing for new workflows as requirements inevitably change.

        State-of-the-art audio processing
        Customized, efficient file-based workflows
        Unrivalled loudness tools
        Compliance to broadcast standards
        Interoperability with major environments
        Modular scalable platform

  • AudioTools Server - Leader in Loudness

    Loudness Control is a significant use case that employs Linear Acoustic APTO™ loudness processing. Our loudness normalization processes are designed to fully preserve the existing audio and only apply a gain change combined with optional peak limiting.

    There are other use cases that require changing the dynamic range and other more complex parameters of the audio content and can control dialogue intelligibility. AudioTools Advanced Loudness Adaptation, for example, is a collection of intelligent loudness profiles, adapting a theatrical audio mix for broadcast, and creating the best possible audio experience for all modern platforms such as OTT/web, mobile/handheld and VOD/SVOD.


  • Loudness Measurement & Adjustment

    State-of-the-art loudness control based on international standards & practices. AudioTools Advanced Loudness Adaptation profiles for improved and compliant dialog intelligibility in high-dynamic range content.

  • Audio Adaptation

    Automated adaptation of audio content to required output specifications, including: upmix, downmix, channel management, and frame rate conversion.

  • Dolby Automation

    Automated Dolby E and Dolby Digital encoding and decoding including metadata handling. Dolby E quality control, with optional correction.

  • Quality Control

    Audio specific quality control of audio files or container formats, including channel assignment detection and correlation check.

  • Content & Formats

    AudioTools Server is a complete solution for managing and processing audio formats. With audio at the center of a complex audio ecosystem, a payload may contain “containerized” video assets, transport streams, Dolby–encoded content, and metadata, requiring that each layer of the asset must be carefully handled.

  • Formats:

    Linear PCM Audio: AIFF, WAV, RF64
    Codecs: Dolby E, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Pro Logic II, mp2, mp3, MPEG-4, HE-AAC, AAC
    Container: MXF, QuickTime™, LXF, GXF, selected Transport Streams

  • AudioTools Server System Requirements

    The overall performance of an AudioTools Server processing node* depends upon a number of factors. Some processes are dependent upon CPU resources, and some are dependent upon network/storage speed. As a general rule, the factors that influence the performance in the order of importance are: first, network storage speed; second, local storage speed; and third, CPU clock speed. See below for details.

  • Server Hardware

    Current HP DL 380, Dell Poweredge, Supermicro, or equivalent server

  • Operating System

    Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Server 2012 or Server 2016 (Standard or Enterprise) recommended, Windows 7 (64 or 32 bit) is also supported. Virtualization is supported, see “USB License Dongle”.

  • USB License Dongle

    Each stand-alone AudioTools Server system, or node that is not connected to a license server, requires a physical CodeMeter USB dongle for the licenses. If running AudioTools Server in a virtual machine, the USB dongle must be available to the virtual machine at all times, either by using a suitable USB-to-Ethernet device server, or by features of the virtualization software.

  • CPU

    Dual 6-core Xeon or more. As a rule of thumb, the maximum number of concurrent processes that a processing node can run is roughly equal to the number of available CPU cores. This number is typically around 10 per Audio- Tools Server node, limited by licenses and/or combined hardware restrictions. The performance of processes that are mainly CPU-based, like loudness measurement, depend on the CPU clock speed, so the faster, the better.

  • Memory

    24GB or more, 32GB recommended when processing large QuickTime files

  • Network Storage

    When processing media files (especially MXF) on shared storage, like Isilon or MediaGrid, AudioTools Server requires a broadband connection to that storage, ideally 10GbE. If the shared storage is a SAN, AudioTools Server requires its own fibre connection to that SAN. In cases where a high-speed connection to fast shared storage is not available, copying the source media files to the AudioTools Server node and processing them locally should be considered. See “Local Storage”.

  • Local Storage

    During processing, AudioTools Server creates and processes temporary files, like audio files that it has extracted from an MXF or QuickTime container. In most cases, it is recommended to process those temporary files on a local volume, rather than on the network storage, to reduce network traffic. This local volume should be a hardware controlled RAID 0, consisting of 4 discs or more, or alternatively SSD storage. The total required capacity depends on the amount of files being processed at the same time, the total size of those files, and whether the MXF or QuickTime source files are local or not.

    * AudioTools Server nodes that do not process files, like separate Workflow Control nodes, or License Server, require only a simple, desktop class computer with a Gigabit Ethernet network interface. A mirrored system drive is highly recommended for those nodes.