NAB Preview: Linear Acoustic To Showcase LQ-1000 Loudness Quality Monitor

In addition to the introduction of several industry firsts in loudness control at NAB, Linear Acoustic will showcase its new LQ-1000 Loudness Quality Monitor, the AERO.mobile for mobile TV, and brand new features for its flagship AERO.air solution, including Dolby decoding and Nielsen encoding.

The LQ-1000 Loudness Quality Monitor provides comprehensive loudness and peak-level metering of up to eight channels of 5.1 surround and/or stereo AES or SDI audio per industry-standard ITU-R BS.1770, a crucial requirement for mixing and transmitting in compliance with ATSC Recommended Practice A/85. Joining the recently introduced Linear Acoustic AERO.qc, the LQ-1000 is a 2RU device that shares the same clear at-a-glance display of all critical parameters on a large color OLED display. It offers metering in a simple, cost-effective package for studio mixing and plant-wide monitoring, while the AERO.qc provides metering, loudness correction, and upmixing.

Mixing to a loudness standard while maintaining production values requires much more than looking at a simple LKFS number. In the LQ-1000, current loudness, target loudness, and peak level are clearly indicated in large numbers. In addition, loudness and peak level are displayed simultaneously on a bar-graph display. Thumbnail input meters confirm signal presence and level on all channels, and a histogram shows loudness over the duration of the program. Color is used to display the loudness comfort zone: green if within target, blue if too quiet, yellow if getting loud, and red if too loud.

Ideally, the LQ-1000 display would be directly in front of the sound mixer. Linear Acoustic will offer a LQ-1000/AERO.qc Remote Display/GPI module for universal in-console mounting. The units all provide a VGA output to send the full display to an external monitor or multiviewer. AES outputs provide de-embedded audio for speaker monitoring. GPI/O enables remote control of functions assigned to the four programmable front-panel buttons and provides tally output alarms when the loudness gets too loud or too soft or center channel is lost.

Visit Linear Acoustic at NAB at booth SU8125.