Cobalt Networks 9301 User Manual

9301

AES Audio Delay

Cobalt Digital Inc.

9301-OM Version: 2.1

Owner’s Manual

9301 •••• AES Audio Delay Owner’s Manual

• Cobalt Part Number: 9301-OM

• Document Version: 2.1

• Printed in the United States.

• Last Author: SJK

• Printing Date: 02/29/08 1:14 PM

The information contained in this Owner’s Manual is subject to change without notice or obligation.

Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of Cobalt Digital Inc.. Reproduction or reverse engineering of copyrighted software is prohibited.

Notice

The material in this manual is furnished for informational use only. It is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by Cobalt Digital Inc.. Cobalt Digital Inc. assumes no responsibility or liability for errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this manual.

Trademarks

• is a registered trademark of Ross Video Limited.

•

• All other product names and any registered and unregistered trademarks mentioned in this

manual are used for identification purposes only and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners.

is a registered trademark of Cobalt Digital Inc.

Page 2 of 24 9301 Owner’s Manual •••• (V 2.1)

Important Regulatory and Safety Notices

Before using this product and any associated equipment, refer to the “Important Safety Instructions” listed below so as to avoid personnel injury and to prevent product damage.

Products may require specific equipment, and /or installation procedures be carried out to satisfy certain regulatory compliance requirements. Notices have been included in this publication to call attention to these specific requirements.

Symbol Meanings

Warning

Caution

Notice

ESD

Susceptibility

This symbol on the equipment refers you to important operating and maintenance (servicing) instructions within the Product Manual Documentation. Failure to heed this information may present a major risk of damage or injury to persons or equipment.

The symbol with the word “Warning” within the equipment manual indicates a

potentially hazardous situation, which if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury.

The symbol with the word “Caution” within the equipment manual indicates a

potentially hazardous situation, which if not avoided, may result in minor or moderate injury. It may also be used to alert against unsafe practices.

The symbol with the word “Notice” within the equipment manual indicates a

situation, which if not avoided, may result in major or minor equipment damage or a situation which could place the equipment in a non-compliant operating state.

This symbol is used to alert the user that an electrical or electronic device or assembly is susceptible to damage from an ESD event.

Important Safety Instructions

Caution

Warning

9301 User Manual •••• (V 2.1) Page 3 of 24

This product is intended to be a component product of the openGear frame. Refer to the openGear frame Owner’s Manual for important safety instructions regarding the proper installation and safe operation of the frame as well as it’s component products.

Certain parts of this equipment namely the power supply area still present a safety hazard, with the power switch in the OFF position. To avoid electrical shock, disconnect all A/C power cords from the chassis' rear appliance connectors before servicing this area.

Service barriers within this product are intended to protect the operator and service personnel from hazardous voltages. For continued safety, replace all barriers after any servicing.

This product contains safety critical parts, which if incorrectly replaced may present a risk of fire or electrical shock. Components contained within the product’s power supplies and power supply area, are not intended to be customer serviced and should be returned to the factory for repair.

To reduce the risk of fire, replacement fuses must be the same type and rating. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.

Environmental Information

The equipment that you purchased required the extraction and use of natural resources for its production. It may contain hazardous substances that could impact health and the environment.

To avoid the potential release of those substances into the environment and to diminish the need for the extraction of natural resources, Cobalt Digital encourages you to use the appropriate take-back systems. These systems will reuse or recycle most of the materials from your end-of-life equipment in an environmentally friendly and health conscious manner. The crossed-out wheeled bin symbol invites you to use these systems.

If you need more information on the collection, reuse, and recycling systems, please contact your local or regional waste administration. You can also contact Cobalt Digital for more information on the environmental performances of our products.

Page 4 of 24 9301 Owner’s Manual •••• (V 2.1)

Contents

Introduction 6

In This Chapter...........................................................................................................................6

A Word of Thanks......................................................................................................................6

Overview....................................................................................................................................6

Supported Audio Formats ..........................................................................................................7

Discrete AES Audio Input ...........................................................................................7

Discrete AES Audio Output.........................................................................................7

Inputs and Outputs .....................................................................................................................7

Signal Timing.............................................................................................................................7

Functional Block Diagram .........................................................................................................8

Documentation Terms................................................................................................................8

Installation and Setup 9

In This Chapter...........................................................................................................................9

Static Discharge .........................................................................................................................9

Unpacking ..................................................................................................................................9

Rear Module Installation (Optional) ........................................................................................10

Rear Modules Available for 9301 ............................................................................................11

Board Installation.....................................................................................................................12

Card Control and Status ...........................................................................................................13

Card Status.................................................................................................................13

Menu Navigation .......................................................................................................13

Menu Structure.........................................................................................................................13

Factory Default Settings.............................................................................................16

Remote Control 17

In This Chapter.........................................................................................................................17

DashBoard Control System Software.......................................................................................17

Technical Specifications 19

Service Information 20

In This Chapter.........................................................................................................................20

Troubleshooting Checklist .......................................................................................................20

Warranty and Repair Policy.....................................................................................................21

Ordering Information 22

9301 and Related Products.......................................................................................................22

Contact Cobalt Digital Inc........................................................................................................24

Visit us at the Cobalt Digital Inc. website. ...............................................................................24

9301 User Manual •••• (V 2.1) Page 5 of 24

Introduction

In This Chapter

This chapter includes the following sections:

• A Word of Thanks

• Overview

• Functional Block Diagram

• Features

• Documentation Terms

A Word of Thanks

Overview

Congratulations on choosing the openGear 9301 AES Audio Delay. The 9301 is part of a full line of

modular conversion gear for broadcast TV environments. The Cobalt Digital openGear line includes video decoders and encoders, audio embeders and de-embeders, distribution amplifiers, format converters, and much more. Cobalt openGear modular conversion gear will meet your signal conversion needs now and well into the future.

Should you have questions pertaining to the installation or operation of your 9301, please contact us at the numbers listed on the back cover of this manual. We are happy to help with any questions regarding this or any other openGear card.

The 9301 is a high quality AES audio delay capable of delaying up to 8 AES channel pairs. The delay range spans from as little as 8.3 ms to as much as 5.461 seconds. All input AES signals are sample rate converted to match a common output timing. The output timing can be locked to the AES input timing, or a black burst or tri-level video reference signal.

Beyond audio delay, the 9301 can also provide AES audio routing. On the input side of the router are the up to 16 channels (8 pairs) of discrete AES input. On the output side are the up to 16 channels (8 pairs) of discrete AES output. The router acts as a full audio cross point: each of the 16 output channels can receive signal from any one of the 16 input channels. Output channels can also be mapped to a “silence” source. Each output allows independent gain adjustment and optional polarity inversion.

All card configuration is done with a simple front panel menu. There is a four character text display to view and control parameters, and a toggle switch and two buttons to navigate the menu.

Page 6 of 24 9301 Owner’s Manual •••• (V 2.1)

Supported Audio Formats

Discrete AES Audio Input

The 9301 can accept 16 channels (8 pairs) of discrete AES audio on 75 ohm BNC connections. The AES must have a nominal rate of approximately 48 kHz. Sample rate conversion is employed to account for minor clock rate differences in the AES stream and the input video stream. However, the card does not support AES input at 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 96 kHz or 192 kHz rates.

Discrete AES Audio Output

The 9301 can emit 16 channels (8 pairs) of discrete AES audio on 75 ohm BNC connections. The output clock rate of each pair is precisely locked, and derived from the input AES, or the frame reference.

Inputs and Outputs

The input and outputs of the 9301 are the following:

Inputs:

 4 dedicated AES input connections (AES input 5-6)

Switchable Input/Outputs:

 4 AES connections, switchable between input and output (AES input/output 1-4)

Outputs:

 8 dedicated AES output connections. (AES output 1-8)

Signal Timing

The input AES audio rate must be 48 kHz (± 1%) nominally. There are sample rate converters on each

input that allow the use of asynchronous sources, but the rate must be 48kHz. The output clock rate will be 48 kHz as defined by the AES input, or the frame video reference, depending on user selection.

In the case where AES input is the reference, the timing will be taken from the lowest numbered AES input BNC. If you have connections to AES inputs 3, 5, and 8, AES input 3 will be the timing master and AES 5 and 8 will be resampled accordingly. Consequently, to slave the output timing to a DARS audio reference, simply connect it to AES input 1 and all other inputs will be resampled to match that channel.

To match the output audio clock to a video reference, select the frame reference (“Reference 1” or “Reference 2”). The card will automatically detect any black burst or tri level format (NTSC, PAL, 1080i, 720p) and generate a 48 kHz output clock accordingly.

9301 User Manual •••• (V 2.1) Page 7 of 24

Functional Block Diagram

This section describes the basic operation of your 9301 product.

Audio Control:

8 pairs

16 channels

AES signals are received on the input BNCs. AES audio is sample rate converted to match the selected clock source. AES routing, gain, and polarity are then applied. The signals are then stored in memory, providing an audio delay of up to 5.461 milliseconds.

AES Decode and

Sample Rate

Conversion

Figure 1. Simplified Block Di agram of 9301 Functions

Routing

Gain

Polarity

Audio Delay

(5.461 Seconds

Max)

9301 Block Diagram

AES Encode

8 pairs

16 channels

Documentation Terms

The following terms are used throughout this guide:

• “Frame” refers to the 8310 frame that houses the 9301 card.

• “Operator” and “User” both refer to the person who uses the 9301.

• “Board” and “Card” all refer to the 9301 card itself, including all components and

switches.

• “System” and “Video system” refers to the mix of interconnected production and

terminal equipment in which the 9301 operates.

Page 8 of 24 9301 Owner’s Manual •••• (V 2.1)

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