Enterprise 9s is available in two base configurations: An FM version and an HD/DAB/Streaming version.
The base FM version includes:
A single audio input ("station")
One FM processing core, which includes RDS and two µMPX outputs
One AM processing core
One stereo L/R processing core for HD, DAB, or streaming, including streaming encoders
The HD/DAB/Streaming version will include:
A single audio input (“station”)
One stereo L/R processing core, plus streaming encoders
HD/DAB/Streaming versions can be field-upgraded to FM versions with a license key
Additional stations may be added by purchasing the appropriate license key. Please contact your Telos Alliance representative for more information.
Configuration requires running the OmniaE9s Config file contained in the OmniaE9s folder, and is broken down into the following sections:
Base Configuration Settings - Sets the number of stations (defined as a single audio program to be processed and distributed, and typically incorporating FM, HD/DAB, and streaming audio outputs for each) and determines audio I/O (generally Livewire+ AES67 for AoIP enterprise installations).
Station Settings - Global settings for each station, including enabling Undo, the input mixer, and MPX Output; each option can be enabled/disabled per station as needed, and each station can be named (which can also be done after Omnia Enterprise 9s is started).
Audio Devices - Sets the ability to monitor audio outputs on the local server.
Once the configuration is complete, be sure to navigate back to the Settings tab and click on Apply Base Configuration. Exit the Configuration by clicking on the "X" in the upper right-hand corner of its window.
The shortcuts folder contains a shortcut to the Omnia Enterprise 9s application. Launching it runs the software under the current Windows user profile. The application is intended for temporary use during setup and configuration, including as a test environment for adjusting the processing before putting a station on the air.
Connectivity to the user interface is available only on the local server, and the NfRemote client must be running on the server's desktop. When the local NfRemote application is closed, the Omnia Enterprise 9s application shuts down, which is why it should only be used in the intended manner and not used for on-air applications.
Running Omnia Enterprise 9s as a Windows service means that it runs upon startup and no application needs to be open on the desktop in order for the software to run. NfRemote can still be run locally for configuration, control, and monitoring. For on-air use, Omnia Enterprise 9s must be run as a service.
Note: The Application and Service cannot be run at the same time. If the Application is running, the Service cannot be started. Likewise, if the Service is running, the Application cannot be launched.
Omnia Enterprise 9s has been tested and verified to run without issues when using a properly configured instance of Windows Defender Firewall. However, some third-party antivirus and network security software can cause delays in audio packets, which can, in turn, result in audible artifacts ranging from clicks and pops to momentary dropouts to a complete absence of audio on AoIP streams. The same is true for any enterprise software that probes the ports of network switches and the devices attached to them. We strongly encourage working in partnership with your Network Administrator to develop the best practices for your plant to balance the unique requirements of real-time AoIP traffic and network security.
Once the network interface for the control network has been set up with the appropriate IP address, subnet, and gateway, no further action is needed in order to connect to Omnia Enterprise 9s via NfRemote. See the section on Installing NfRemote for details on both installation and configuration.
Once the network interface for the AoIP network has been set up with the appropriate IP address, subnet, and gateway, the configuration can be done either by running the Omnia Enterprise 9s app (located in the shortcuts folder) or by connecting via NfRemote.
Navigate to Common > System > Livewire. For a single AoIP network, enter the IP address of the AoIP network interface in the Livewire IP field (A). Use the Livewire IP2 field (B) to enter a second address for dual-network applications; please see the section on SMPTE 2022-7 Redundancy below.
Omnia Enterprise 9s supports stream redundancy per SMPTE 2022-7 (Seamless Protection Switching). Two IP addresses (one for each AoIP network interface) must be entered as described above. Omnia Enterprise 9s accepts PTP master clock over both AoIP networks and will synchronize to the better clock, and switch to the other network in case of PTP clock or network failure.
Note: Setup and configuration require connecting locally via the Omnia Enterprise 9s App in the "Shortcuts" folder.
Each Station must be individually configured. Using Station 1 as an example, navigate to the Station 1 > Overview > Livewire menu, choose the desired output (FM, FM Pre-Final, or HD), then enter the multicast addresses of the desired output streams in a comma-separated format with no additional spaces in the Channel field
Audio sources and destinations can be displayed in one of two ways in the Audio Display Type dropdown (F):
AES67 - Displays I/O entries as multicast addresses
Livewire - Displays I/O entries as Livewire channel numbers
The Clock Mode dropdown (D) offers two supported clock modes:
PTP Clock - Used for AES67/SMPTE 2110 installations
PTP Clock Domain (E)
The AES67 standard recommends a PTP clock domain of 0
The SMPTE 2110-30 standard recommends a clock domain of 127
Be sure to check with your network administrator as your network may use a different domain
Livewire Clock - Used for Axia installations
The Sync Status (C) will be displayed once the clock is set up properly, including sync lock, announce interval, clock priorities, clock class, clock master IP address, and the MAC address of the grandmaster clock.
In order for any network device - including automation control, Ember+ control, and SNMP management - to access the Omnia Enterprise 9s server, the remote device's IP address must be entered into the Enterprise 9s HTTP whitelist. Navigate to the Common menu, then to the HTTP Access (A) menu, and then enter the address(es) into the IP field (B) in the format shown in Figure 2 below or the UI.
The HTTP server uses port 7380. The information and resources available from the HTTP server include all of the items shown in Figure 2 below.
Important: It is always advisable to add the IP address of the technical manager's PC to this list. If the Omnia Enterprise 9s password is lost, the only way to recover it is through a PC that has access to the built-in HTTP server. Otherwise, the entire Omnia Enterprise 9s system must be deleted and rebuilt.
As a data provider, Omnia 9s Enterprise supports control commands through Ember+ and listens on port 9000 of any network interface. A whitelist of addresses is used to limit the servers that connect.
Omnia Enterprise 9s supports SNMP versions V1 and V2c. The MIB file is available by downloading it from the HTTP server (see "HTTP Access" above).
Open the OmniaE9s Shortcuts folder, then double-click "OmniaE9s Config" to open the Base Configuration Settings.
Starting in the Settings > Base Configuration menu:
Click and drag the Number of Stations slider (A) to set the number of stations up to the total number of stations for which you are licensed.
Note: Omnia Enterprise 9s supports up to a total of 64 stations, but doing so requires proper licensing to run them and a server with the necessary CPU cores and RAM. Please see the section on Server Requirements for details.
For AES67/SMPTE 2110-30 installations, choose "AoIP 48k ONLY" from the I/O Mode dropdown (C). Note that any controls that no longer apply will be grayed out.
Note: Omnia Enterprise 9s can use Livewire or AES67 for Audio over IP (AoIP). Livewire Low Latency streams meet AES67 requirements for interoperability and can be used with AES67 and ST-2110-30 devices that are not Livewire capable.
Either the Livewire or PTPv2 clock can be used in Livewire installations as the clock. For AES67 installations. a PTPv2 clock is required. In either case, Omnia Enterprise 9s should only be sync'd to one clock.
Click the Control Mode dropdown (B) and choose the appropriate input device for NfRemote, Omnia Enterprise 9s' remote interface application.
Click on the Apply Base Configuration button (D) to apply and save the settings. If you expand the number of licenses in the future, you can increase your station count by changing the number of stations and clicking the "Apply Base Configuration" button.
Note: It is presumed that Omnia Enterprise 9s will be used in an environment where its audio I/O will rely on AoIP (Livewire or AES67/SMTPE ST 2110-30).
While it can be configured to use traditional hardware sound cards for I/O, due to the number of available hardware options and the limitless unknowns and variables present in each environment, it would be impossible for us to test and make recommendations with any confidence.
Accordingly, we cannot offer support for such installations.
Omnia Enterprise 9s provides comprehensive audio monitoring for each Station, including a plethora of patch points throughout the processing chain. Monitoring can be accomplished in several ways as outlined below.
This is our recommended method for monitoring audio and involves connecting to the Omnia Enterprise 9s server from a remote PC on the same network using NfRemote
Navigate to the Client Audio > Client Audio Output > Patchpoint menu (A). Choose the desired output audio device from the Device dropdown (D).
The Power button (E) turns the client audio on and off. Use the Client Volume slider (C) to adjust the listening level, taking note that it is set to unity gain (full volume!) by default.
Enabling the SRC control (B) allows the client software to dynamically adjust the sample rate of the client playback. If you experience interruptions or dropouts in the client audio stream, enabling the SRC will result in a steadier connection, though at a slight CPU usage penalty.
Depending upon available network bandwidth, it may be necessary to buffer the incoming audio using the Audio buffer slider (F), whose values are expressed in milliseconds. Note that the meters on the remote PC will be delayed by an equal amount to keep them in sync with the audio, which can also be manually adjusted using the Delay slider in the Display Settings menu for each display.
Finally, use the Patch Point Menu (G) to select the audio you wish to monitor.
An alternate method to using NfRemote is to assign a multicast address in the AoIP Monitor Out field and use the free Telos Alliance stereo AoIP driver for monitoring.
This method uses the WDM (Windows Driver Model) capabilities built into the Windows operating system, which can be configured in the Audio Devices tab of the configuration file.
The various dropdown menus allow you to specify the type of interface, output device, sample rate, block size, and whether or not to allow adaptive sample rate conversion. Once you have the configuration set, use the Run Test feature to check its status and performance.
Note: There are instances in which using the WDM Monitor Output can be advantageous. However, doing so introduces the potential for issues involving external sound cards and audio drivers. We presume that if you choose to monitor audio in this way, you are familiar with these risks and have a comprehensive understanding of how to manage external audio devices in a Windows environment.
The term "Station" references a single audio program to be processed and distributed and typically includes outputs for FM, HD/DAB, and streaming audio. The total number of available stations is determined by your license and by available server resources.
Click the Stations tab. Each licensed station will have its own configuration screen. Using Station 1 as an example:
Enter a name for the station in the Longest field (A).
Note: The NfRemote application can be re-sized to fit a wide variety of screen sizes, and its control labels and information fields will dynamically re-name themselves depending upon available space. The "Longest" field will be used if space permits, with subsequently smaller fields (Long, Medium, Short, and Shortest, in order) being employed as the allotted space diminishes. You may populate as many or as few of these fields as you like.
Enable the Input Mixer (B) if two audio sources will be mixed together as program inputs.
If you plan to use Omnia Enterprise 9s' "Undo" feature, click the Undo button (C).
Note: "Undo" is a two-stage process for dealing with audio sources that have been over-processed during mastering. A de-clipper recreates clipped audio peaks to minimize distortion, while a multiband expander restores dynamic range to material that has been dynamically over-compressed. Undo is particularly well-suited to music recorded from the mid-2000s onward but isn't generally required for older or well-recorded content. Since it doesn't work when it's not needed, there is no harm in enabling Undo for all stations, but remember that it does require additional CPU cycles and increases throughput latency.
Select the number of HD output paths in the HD cores dropdown (D).
To enable FM processing, choose "Yes" from the FM core dropdown (E). If your station needs to employ BS.412 limiting to comply with regulatory requirements, choose "BS.412" instead.
Enable the Stereo Generator (MPX) (F) to create a composite output signal and enable the uMPX menu and its related controls in the FM Output menu.
To enable AM processing, choose "Yes" from the AM core dropdown (G).
Depending upon the mode selected in the I/O menu of the Settings section, you can enable or disable an AES67 output at 44.1 kHz (H).
If you have the proper license(s) for Kantar (I) and Nielsen (J) watermark encoding, they can be enabled here.