Configuring I/O

Properly configuring the Omnia XII for your broadcast system is essential for achieving optimum performance and maximum on-air quality and loudness.

Configuring I/O can be done remotely using the web UI, and in many cases, also from the front panel touch screen. When the touch screen does not support a workflow, it is noted in this article.

Accessing I/O Controls

The FM/HD Processing page provides controls for configuring input, output, and MPX settings.

To access I/O configuration controls (in the web UI):

1. Launch the web UI.

2. Click FM / HD Processing.

   The header includes tabs for PROC, IN, OUT, MPX, Analytics.

   The middle section changes depending on the selected header tab:

   • Proc displays preset, Quick Tweak, and Expanded processing controls.

   • In, Out, and MPX display a single flow diagram with tabs that provide access to the corresponding I/O controls.

   • Analytics displays four analysis scopes.

3. Click the menu tab for the control type you want to adjust.

Adjusting I/O Controls

I/O controls include switches, drop-down menus, knobs and faders.

To adjust a control (in the web UI):

• Click a switch to toggle between ON and OFF.

• To select a drop-down menu item, click the menu, and then click the desired setting.

• To change the value of a knob setting:

  1. Click the knob to activate it for adjustment.

     The current value is displayed below the control.

  2. Adjust the value:

     • Use a mouse wheel.

     • Click-drag the mouse to the right to increase the value or left to decrease it.

     • Click on the displayed setting, type in a value, and press Enter.

• To change the value of a fader setting:

  • Hover over the fader until the hand pointer appears, then drag the fader up or down.

  • Click on the fader, and move the mouse upward or downward.

  • Click the current value, enter a new value, and press Enter.

Configuring Omnia XII Input

Input configuration consists of assigning audio sources to Omnia XII back-panel input connections and configuring those inputs for your Preferred Mix (primary audio) and Fallback Mix (backup audio).

The input paths for controls receive audio from physical inputs or internal sources. The selected input feeds the Omnia XII processing chain, which then drives the configured outputs.

The Preferred Mix and Fallback Mix are configured independently. An input can be assigned to the Preferred Mix, the Fallback Mix, both mixes, or neither, depending on your system design.

Internal input paths include:

• Analog: Audio fed from the back panel Analog Left and Analog Right inputs

• AES 1, AES 2 and AES 3: Audio fed from the respective back panel AES inputs

• AoIP 1 and AoIP 2: Audio received from configured Livewire+/AES67 network streams. 

• Playout: Audio (such as emergency audio, backup audio), fed from internal playout location.

• HLS+ (HTTP Live Streaming): Audio fed via the Omnia XII Ethernet.

Important! During this workflow, make sure any faders carrying active audio that are not being used as an audio source are set to OFF. To do this, navigate to FM/HD Processing > IN and set the corresponding Level control to OFF.

To configure Omnia XII input (via the Omnia XII web UI):

1. From the FM / HD Processing page, click the IN tab.

   This provides a view of I/O header meters, vertical input meters in the next panel, block diagram menu tabs in the middle panel, and respective menu controls in the bottom panel.

   

2. Set the monitor path: At the top of the middle panel, click the Monitor drop-down menu and select a monitor path (such as FM Output or HD Output).

   This selects where in the Omnia XII signal path you monitor audio. Paths such as FM Output and HD Output include Omnia processing, whereas PreProc Out provides signal before processing (effectively acting as a bypass control).

3. Drive the input for the preferred mix with typical program material at a normal operating level.
   You should see meter activity on the bar graph meters.

4. Adjust the monitor output level (located to the right of the Monitor drop-down menu as needed at this time and when adjusting input controls in subsequent steps.

   • Click on the fader and drag toward -10 to lessen the level or toward 10 to increase the level.

   • Click in the field to the right of the fader, type a value, and press Enter.

5. In the middle panel, click the Inputs tab, and set the provided controls for the back-panel connections you are using for your preferred (primary) mix or fallback (secondary) mix.

   9. Enable Invert L and Invert R if needed.

   10. Click the Stereo Mode drop-down menu and select the desired mode: Stereo , Mono L, Mono R, Mono Sum, Swap, or Mtx.

   11. Adjust Right Trim if needed.

       Note: If the incoming left and right channel levels are not balanced, adjust the Right Trim control for the input source.
       This control lets you change the level of the right channel so that it matches the left channel.

6. In the middle panel, click the Preferred Mix tab and configure the back-panel connection that supports your primary audio sources.
   This is your main input source.

   12. Configure only the back-panel connections that should participate in the Preferred Mix. Set the Level and Fade Time:

       Adjust the input level so that the peak-reading IN bar graph meters read just into the yellow (about -15 to -12 dBFS).

       Note: The individual input meters (Analog, AES 1, and so on) are pre-fader. The IN bar graph meters are post-fader.

   13. Set all faders that are not part of the Preferred Mix to OFF.

7. In the middle panel, click the Fallback Mix tab and configure the back-panel connections that supports your backup audio sources.

   14. Configure only the back-panel connections that should participate in the Fallback Mix. Set the Level and Fade Time:

       Adjust the input level so that the peak-reading IN bar graph meters read just into the yellow (about -15 to -12 dBFS).

       Note: The individual input meters (Analog, AES 1, and so on) are pre-fader. The IN bar graph meters are post-fader.

   15. Set the back-panel connections that are not part of the Fallback Mix to OFF.

8. Configure additional input features as required.

   • Failover: Settings for switching to your backup system audio (fallback mix) when the preferred mix is not detected. See Configuring Failover Emergency Audio.

   • Patch Return: Settings for watermarking. See Using a Watermark Encoder.

   • HLS+: Settings for streaming audio fed via the Omnia XII Ethernet. See Configuring HLS+ Audio.

   • Playout: Settings for audio (such as emergency audio, and backup audio) fed from an internal playout location. See Setting up Emergency Playout.

Configuring HLS+ Audio (Omnia XII Web UI Only)

Omnia XII supports an optional Super Hi-Fi HLS+ stream receiver input. This allows you to pull a programmatic, localized HLS+ stream directly into the processor over IP as an air-chain source. The processor natively decodes HLS+ data, allowing it to route song titles, artist information, and programmatic metadata directly to its built-in dynamic RDS encoder.

The HLS+ receiver implementation includes up to 24 hours of backup playout capability. If the primary network delivery stream drops, the hardware relies on cached content to ensure zero dead air.

You can set HLS+ audio in the web UI only. These configuration controls are not included in the front panel touchscreen.

Note: The individual input meters (Analog, AES 1, and so on) are pre-fader. The IN bar graph meters are post-fader.

To configure HLS+ audio:

1. From the FM / HD Processing page, click the IN tab.

2. Click the HLS+ tab in the middle panel.

3. In the Control tasks section, configure the HLS+ stream receiver:

   1. In the Main HLS URL field, type the URL for your HLS+ audio.

   2. (Optional) In the Backup HLS URL field, type the URL for your backup HLS+ audio.

   3. In the Mode drop-down, click the desired mode (such as HLS1 only (no failover).

   4. Click the Archive duration drop-down menu, and select how long you want HLS+ audio to stream.

      The Omnia XII supports up to 24 hours.

   5. Click Save to save the settings.

4. Configure the Send Metadata (Webhook) controls.

   1. Check Enable webhook.

   2. In the Metadata webhook URL field, type the webhook URL.

   3. Click Test to test the connection.

5. Click Save to save the configuration.

6. Click Start to initiate the feed.

   You can monitor HLS+ audio status in the Status section.

Configuring Outputs

Output configuration consists of assigning audio sources to the Omnia XII output connections and configuring the settings for each output in use. Output connections include the back-panel analog and AES outputs, front-panel headphone output, and AoIP outputs.

Prerequisite: Play typical program material through the Omnia XII.

To configure Omnia XII output (using the Omnia XII web UI):

1. From the FM / HD Processing page, click the OUT tab.

   This provides a view of header meters, vertical output meters in the next panel, block diagram menu tabs in the middle panel, and respective menu controls in the bottom panel.

2. Set the monitor path: At the top of the middle panel, click the Monitor drop-down menu and select a monitor path (such as FM Output or HD Output).

   This lets you define where in the Omnia XII audio chain you are monitoring locally. Paths such as FM Output and HD Output include Omnia processing, whereas PreProc Out provides signal before processing (effectively acting as a bypass control).

3. Adjust the Monitor Output level to a comfortable listening level.

   • Click on the fader and drag toward -10 to lessen the level or toward 10 to increase the level.

   • Click in the field to the right of the fader, type a value, and press Enter.

4. Configure program delay (if applicable):

   The delay settings are primarily used in the field to align the timing of FM analog and HD program paths with other equipment in the transmission chain. Delays are set in seconds, milliseconds, and samples.
   This control is not included with the front panel touch screen.

   8. Click the Prog Delay tab in the middle panel.

   9. Configure the Diversity Delay and HD Diversity Delay as required for your transmission system.
      The Diversity Delay setting is for the analog FM path only. The HD Diversity Delay setting is for the HD path only.

5. Configure back-panel outputs and the front-panel headphone output.

   11. Click the Back Panel tab in the middle panel.

   12. For each output you are using, set the Source, Level, and Right Trim.
       For Headphone output, selecting Monitor Point for the source gives you the use of the Patch points IN setting for the processing chain. Otherwise, you can select FM (with or without pre-emphasis) HD output, or the FM Patch output, or create a calibration tone.

6. Configure AoIP output channels.

   1. Click the AoIP tab in the middle panel.

   2. For each AoIP output you are using, set the Source, Level, and Right Trim.

7. Configure AoIP senders (Omnia XII web UI only)

   This control gives you up to three discrete Livewire streams, via the three back panel NET connectors. (The output Source selector for each AoIP channel drives the respective AoIP sender.

8. Verify that normal program material is present and that the configured outputs indicate audio on the output meters.

Configuring Omnia XII MPX Composite Output

MPX composite output configuration consists of configuring FM options, basic RDS settings, stereo generation, and routing the resulting composite signal to physical and IP-based outputs.

To configure Omnia XII MPX composite output (using the Omnia XII web UI):

1. From the FM / HD Processing page, click the MPX tab.

   This provides a view of header meters, two scope meters (MPX Spectrum and MPX Scope) in the next panel, Monitor controls and a block diagram with menu tabs in the middle panel, and respective menu controls in the bottom panel.

2. Set the monitor path and Monitor Output level as needed.

   See Configuring Outputs.

3. Configure FM Options:

   7. Click the Pre-emphasis drop-down menu and select the pre-emphasis you want to apply to the composite output (75 or 50 µs), or select none for no pre-emphasis.
      

      For the transmission side of conventional FM broadcasting, some form of high-frequency boost, or pre-emphasis is used.  Be sure to select the pre-emphasis that is correct for your country. For North and South America, 75 µs is used. In Europe, Australia and New Zealand, 50 µs is employed. The factory default pre-emphasis setting is 75 µs. The pre-emphasis selection affects the operation of the audio processing and is applied to the composite BNC, discrete, AES/EBU digital and Livewire FM channel outputs. The HD channel outputs are never pre-emphasized.
      

      • Note: Normally, the none selection under the Pre-emphasis options would not be used in conventional FM transmission applications. It is provided in instances where processing of a flat signal is desired. One example would be when preprocessing prior to a satellite uplink in distributed radio networks.

   8. Ensure the Test Tone drop-down menu is set to Off for normal use. When needed, select L Only to send a test tone to the left channel of the composite output.

4. Configure basic RDS settings.

   You can set RDS settings in the web UI only. These configuration controls are not included in the front panel touchscreen.

   10. Click the RDS tab in the block diagram.

       The RDS Dashboard page opens. It includes tabs for RDS Dashboard, Basic RDS, Metadata, and Settings.

   11. Click the Basic RDS tab and configure the settings.

   12. Click Save RDS to save the settings.

   13. Return to the MPX settings page in the web UI.

   14. For additional RDS settings, see Setting up the Built-in RDS Generator.

5. Configure the Stereo Generator:

   15. Click the Stereo Gen tab in the block diagram.

   16. Set the MPX/SCA 1 Input Gain and MPX/SCA 2 Input Gain, as needed.

       • If your internal equipment (like an RD encoder) is already calibrated to match the transmitter’s expectations, set the gain to 0.

       • If the subcarrier signal is under-driving the injection mix, scale the voltage digitizing behavior up or down.

   17. Set the Pilot Level.

       This control sets the 19 kHz pilot injection level up to 12.0%, in 0.1% steps, relative to 100% modulation. To defeat the pilot, adjust the control to 0 and the pilot will be off.

   18. Adjust the Stereo Generator Modulation if needed.

       This sets how intensely the audio and data signals push the transmitters RF carrier deviation (where 100% modulation typically equals ± 75 kHz deviation).

   19. To enable single sideband suppressed carrier (SSB) technology, click the SSB Mode ON/OFF switch so that ON is displayed.

       
       SSB Mode uses a single-sideband, suppressed-carrier L−R stereo signal that can help reduce multipath effects and provide increased protection of the FM multiplex baseband. Verify that its use complies with the requirements of your country's broadcast regulatory authority before enabling it.

6. Configure back-panel MPX controls:

   18. Click the Back Panel tab in the block diagram.

   19. In the Composite section, configure Composite 1 and Composite 2 (signal from the respective back-panel BNC connectors).

       • Select the desired Function (MPX or 19k Pilot).

       • Set the output Level for each composite output.

       Note: Composite output levels are adjustable from 0 to 10 V.

       Important: Use typical program material and a calibrated modulation monitor when adjusting composite output levels. Reference line-up tones cannot be used to set 100% FM modulation because a steady-state tone does not represent the peak modulation characteristics of normal program audio.

7. Configure MPX Sender (web UI only):

   The MPX Sender distributes the composite MPX signal over IP (MoIP) at 192 kHz, 16 bit to the uMPX encoder elsewhere in the system.

   21. Click the MPX Sender tab in the block diagram.

   22. Click the Enabled switch so that it is set to ON.

   23. Click the Payload Type drop-down menu and select a type.

   24. In the Address field, type in an AES67 IP multicast address.

   25. Enter a port number in the Port field, or use the up/down arrows to adjust the value.

   26. Click Save.