NAB 2018: Telos Alliance To Demo FiDef Technology, Host 'Legends of Audio' Event

The Telos Alliance  — parent company to Telos, Omnia, Axia, Linear Acoustic, 25-Seven, and Minnetonka — will be extremely busy at NAB 2018, highlighting a host of new and existing products, as well as hosting a “‘Legends of Audio’ live event at the show. The Telos Alliance is partnering with FiDef to bring new audio-enhancing technology to NAB 2018, announcing major software and platform upgrades today for the Omnia.9 broadcast audio processor, and premiering a new software module available on the Axia IP-Tablet virtual radio platform for Axia QOR.32/16 integrated console engines. Telos Alliance radio solutions will be located at booth N6531 and Telos Alliance TV Solutions Group will be at SU2321.

Telos Alliance Demonstrates FiDef Technology, Hosts ‘Legends of Audio’ Live Event at NAB 2018
The Telos Alliance is partnering with FiDef to bring new audio-enhancing technology to NAB 2018. NAB attendees and press are invited to come demo FiDef and learn more about this exciting new tech at the Telos Alliance radio booth

“FiDef processing improves and naturally enhances detail, clarity, and impact to an audio signal,” says Frank Foti, executive chairman of the Telos Alliance and founder of Omnia Audio. “In the end, it just sounds better.”

FiDef technology will be debuted at NAB, where Omnia staff will be demonstrating the technology live for listeners to hear. Attendees are invited to experience this new technology, which replaces essential audio cues lost in the recording process and activates the full potential of our auditory systems, providing a more engaging, emotional, and accurate listening experience.

In addition, on April 10 at 2pm in the Telos Alliance radio booth #N6531, FiDef believers and world-renowned producers, mixers, and engineers Gary Katz, Al Schmitt, Frank Filipetti, and Ed Cherney will participate in a Legends of Audio roundtable discussion about their experiences with FiDef technology and recount tales of studio magic, including what it was like to work with some of the world’s most popular artists (RSVP for the Legends of Audio Event Here).

Software and Platform Upgrades for Omnia.9
The Telos Alliance has announced major software and platform upgrades for the Omnia.9 broadcast audio processor, to premiere at NAB 2018. The updates represent the biggest leap forward since the Omnia.9 was released, and reinforce Omnia’s “Great Sound Matters Most” initiative, focusing on the quality and performance of broadcast audio as the best way for broadcasters to obtain listeners and retain audiences.

The software release is a complete sonic overhaul for the Omnia.9, featuring new clippers for FM and AM and integrating a new declipper. Other significant updates include Phase Correction with Mono Bass to reduce multipath distortion; a fully rewritten streaming engine supporting Shoutcast 2 and lossless streaming with an integrated internal stream server; seamless preset switching for better transitions between presets with very different EQ and compression characteristics; a shared processing path for AM+HD units, allowing them to share a watermark encoder; improved latency, monitoring, and RDS improvements. All these improvements are part of the latest (3.18.99) software release, and will be provided free of charge to all Omnia 9 users.

Also available is optional Omnia µMPX (‘micro MPX’) encoding by Hans van Zutphen, making Omnia.9 the first hardware processor to support this revolutionary codec, which allows broadcasters to transport a compressed FM composite signal at 320kbps to a µMPX decoder over an IP link.

Other significant changes to Omnia 9 are facilitated by a platform / hardware upgrade currently being cut into Omnia 9 production. These changes in hardware enable Livewire+ AES67 for even more flexible I/O and facilitate Kantar watermarking for users in France. Updating older units to the latest will be a factory upgrade through Telos Alliance, and will be made available through service centers and qualified dealers in May 2018.

“This is the biggest, most significant update we’ve done since the unit first started shipping, and the 9 has never sounded better. It really is a whole new product, with entire software sections completely rewritten,” says Leif Claesson, software architect. “The flexibility and capability of the unit, especially with Livewire+ AES67, is unrivaled. I am really proud of the fact that we were able to provide so many improvements to all Omnia.9 users through software optimization. For others that require upgraded hardware support, we worked diligently to create a migration path so everybody can move into the future with us. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Premier of Axia QOR.32/16 IP-Tablet Virtual Radio Software
The Telos Alliance will also feature a new software module available on the Axia IP-Tablet virtual radio platform for Axia QOR.32/16 integrated console engines at NAB. This new software module, available for use on both Windows PCs and tablets,. The IP-Tablet QOR.32/16 software unlocks full control of Axia iQ, DESQ, Radius, and RAQ AoIP consoles connected to a QOR.32 or QOR.16 integrated console engine.

“When it comes to Axia, it’s really about what we’re calling the Ne(x)twork. The Ne(x)twork implies more than just Axia and our Livewire+ AES67 AoIP protocol…it’s all of it. It means PURE AoIP throughout the network, revolutionized workflows, and the largest broadcast AoIP ecosystem available, with more than 115 Livewire partners, 100,000 connected Livewire devices, and 8,000 Axia consoles in use all over the world,” says Marty Sacks, VP of Sales, Support, & Marketing for the Telos Alliance. “Our latest IP-Tablet software for the QOR engines makes the Ne(x)twork even more comprehensive. Now any Axia console can be virtualized on a PC or tablet thanks to our virtual radio software.”

The IP-Tablet QOR software allows broadcasters to virtually control Axia iQ, DESQ, Radius, and RAQ consoles connected to a QOR.32 or QOR.16 engine. Broadcasters can customize the layout and controls to fit the exact needs of each user, choosing from one of the predesigned templates or customizing the layout through the simple drag-and-drop design interface. Users can design a screen containing VU Meters, Timers, Time and Date display, status of On-Air, Preview and Talkback, the ability to control faders and change fader sources, choose console shows, and have full Vmix control with faders.

The Axia IP-Tablet QOR.32/16 Virtual Radio Software is available now.