DaySequerra NLC5.1ST User Manual

NLC5.1ST

User Manual

Welcome

Thanks for purchasing the DaySequerra NLC5.1ST. Differences in audio levels between TV programs,
or between programs and commercials, are a constant annoyance to viewers. NLC5.1ST permits
broadcasters to establish a consistent loudness level across all audio programming and minimize
viewer complaints.

We design and build all of our DaySequerra products to be completely reliable and easy to use, so you
can concentrate on producing great sounding broadcasts, not struggling with complicated equipment or
difficult to use product manuals.

While the NLC5.1ST has been designed to be straightforward to use, we do suggest that you spend a
few minutes familiarizing yourself with the features and operational functions that are contained in this
manual.

DaySequerra has been building broadcast quality products since 1989. The technology developed for
the NLC5.1ST, and all of our products, has evolved through a process of user feedback, extensive
listening, field-testing and careful refinement.

In the event that you encounter any technical or operational difficulties with this or any DaySequerra
product, please feel free to contact us at [phone]. Our office hours are from 9 to 5 ET,
Monday through Friday; or you can email your questions to: [e-mail].

Also, please remember to visit our website www.daysequerra.com for warranty registration and the
latest DaySequerra product information.

We have worked hard to ensure that your DaySequerra NLC5.1ST will reliably serve you for years to
come. With a modular design and upgradeable firmware, your new unit is easy to install and use right
out of the box.

We sincerely hope our products help you achieve a new level of excellence in your work!

David V. Day

and the DaySequerra Team

Day Sequerra │ 154 Cooper Rd. #902 │ W. Berlin, NJ 08091 │ Voice 856-719-9900 │ [e-mail] │ www.daysequerra.com

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NLC5.1ST User Manual

Table of Contents

11
12
13
15
15
16
17
17

4
5
7
8

Important Safety Information 4
Service Information
Technical Specifications
Introduction
Measuring Loudness
Installation
Front Panel
Rear Panel
HD/SDI
Meter Display
Home Screen
Loudness Control Parameter Presets
Editing Presets
Factory Defined Presets 18

 Simultaneous 5.1 surround and 2.0 auxiliary stereo loudness control signal flows
 Industry-standard ITU-R BS.1770/1 and DTS-Neural Loudness Measure (NLM)

algorithm; simultaneous measurement for 5.1 surround and auxiliary stereo inputs

 Robust DSP platform – no PC operating system to hang; no lengthy boot-ups
 Three factory-defined loudness control parameter presets and four user-

controllable presets to instantly tailor the operation of NLC5.1ST to match the
program material

NLC5.1ST Key Features

Programming Menu 19
I/O Menu 22
Audio Input Menu 23
HD/SDI Mapping Menu 24
Network Menu 24
Diagnostics Menu 25
Alarms Menu 26
Faults 27
Firmware Update Procedure 28
NLC5.1ST Remote Dashboard 29
Maintaining an Accurate Clock 29
Remote Dashboard Troubleshooting 30
Warranty Information 31

 GPIO interface allows for automatic selection of bypass modes or changing

presets

 Ethernet interface for long-term logging and field software updates
 Optional HD/SDI input for de-embedding program audio for loudness control

All rights reserved DaySequerra Corp. Copyright 2011.
All logos and trademark used herein are the property of their respective owners.
Specifications subject to change.

NLC5.1 User Manual Revision A.1 for firmware 4.01.01.

NLC5.1ST User Manual

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Important Safety Information

 Indoor use only. Not for use in wet or damp environments.
 Maximum Relative Humidity: <80%
 Class I Equipment (grounded type)
 Electrical rating: 100-120/220-240V~50-60Hz 18W

 Internal circuit breaker for continuous short circuit protection
 AC Mains supply voltage fluctuations are not to exceed +10% of the nominal voltage

 Operations temperature range -40C to 70C
 Maximum altitude: 3000m (9843ft)
 Equipment suitable for continuous operation
 Weight: 3.6kg (8lbs) equipment only; 6.1kg (13.5lbs) shipping

Important Note: Please connect your NLC5.1ST to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to
provide other protection against power surges and brownouts.

The DaySequerra NLC5.1ST is subjected to a strong RFI field, such as those emitted from portable two
way radios, the front panel display may “blank out”. To restore the display without rebooting the unit,
turn the rotary encoder to activate the main menu, and then press HOME. If the keylock is enabled, you
will have to deactivate it by pressing the ENTER key followed by BACK.

Service Information

The DaySequerra NLC5.1ST contains no user serviceable components inside the unit. Please contact
DaySequerra for repair and upgrade information. In the event that your unit needs to be returned to the
factory, contact us for a return authorization number. Please visit www.daysequerra.com and

register your new NLC5.1ST so we can keep you informed of the latest hardware and software

updates.

The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol is
intended to alert the user to the presence of un­insulated “dangerous voltages” within the product’s
enclosure that may be of a sufficient level to cause
harm.

The exclamation point within a triangle is intended
to alert the user to the presence of important
operating and maintenance instructions within the
product literature.

Exposed portions of the power supply assembly are
electrically live. To reduce risk of electric shock, the

power cord must be disconnected when the power
supply assembly is removed. For continued protection against electric shock, a correctly wired
and grounded (earthed) three-pin power outlet must be used. Do not use a ground-lifting
adapter and never cut the ground pin on the three-prong plug. The ground terminal of the power

plug is connected directly to the chassis of the unit.

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NLC5.1ST User Manual

Technical Specifications

3 AES-3 PCM inputs for 5.1 surround

Inputs

Outputs

1 AES-3 PCM input for 2.0 AUX Stereo
1 AES-3/AES-11 input for external AES sync
1 HD/SDI Input with option

3 AES-3 PCM outputs for 5.1 surround
1 AES-3 PCM output for 2.0 AUX Stereo
1 AES-3/AES-11 pass-through for AES sync
1 HD/SDI Pass-through output with option

Audio Input and Output
Interface

Loudness Measurement and
Correction

Sample Rate 32kHz to 96kHz, 24-bit

Latency [1]

GPIO Opto-Isolated DB-9 female connector, 0-5V TTL

Ethernet

Dimensions and Weight

Regulatory:

AES/EBU, 75ohm, unbalanced BNC
HD-SDI input for SMPTE 259M, SMPTE 292M, SMPTE 424M,
ITU-R BT.656 and ITR-R BT.601 input with option

ITU-R BS.1770/1 Industry Standard Loudness Measurement
DTS Neural Loudness Measure
DTS Neural Loudness Control

<4ms at 48k sampling rate
<6ms for Hardware Interface

10/100-BASE-T for field software updates, logging and remote
control

1 RU, 19" [482mm] W x 8" [203mm] L x 1.75" [44mm] H; 7 lb
[3.2kg]

North America: Designed to Comply with FCC Class A part 15
Europe: LV Directive 73/23/EEC and EMC Directive

89/336/EEC; CE Mark (EN 55022 Class A, EN55024);
RoHS and WEEE compliant

Dual redundant

Power Supply

Options

Notes [1] Does not included added latency of any options

*Specifications are subject to change without notice to upgrade the performance of our products.

Auto-sensing 100-240V, 50-60Hz
EMI suppressed male IEC320 C14 connectors

HD/SDI input for 8 de-embedded audio channels from SDI
group 1 or 2

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FCC Part 15 Regulatory Statement

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class A digital device pursuant
to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment
generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance
with the instruction's manual, may cause interference to radio communications. Operation of this
equipment in a residential area is likely to cause interference in which case the user will be required to
correct the interference at their own expense. The user is cautioned that changes and modifications
made to the equipment without approval of the manufacturer could void the user's authority to operate
this equipment. The user should use only shielded and/or grounded cables to combat sources of
interference.

Environmental Preservation Efforts

This equipment has been designed and built by DaySequerra corporation to give
many years of trouble free service and is backed by our three year warranty and
commitment of providing the best customer support. When the time comes to retire
your product from service, it should be disposed of in accordance with local codes or
ordinances. Do not discard with household or commercial waste.

DaySequerra products are manufactured with the environment in mind. The
directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical
and electronic equipment (2002/95/EC) restricts the use of six specific hazardous
materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment.
Following this directive prevents these toxic substances from entering our
environment after disposal.

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NLC5.1ST User Manual

Introduction

Broadcasters need a solution to effectively measure, and ultimately control the abrupt changes in
loudness that sends viewers diving for their remote controls during commercial breaks and action
scenes. The DaySequerra NLC5.1ST surround loudness control simultaneously measures the
perceived loudness of 5.1 surround program audio along with 2.0 auxiliary stereo using the industry­standard ITU-R BS.1770/1 loudness measure or the DTS-Neural Loudness Measure (NLM) algorithm.

NLC5.1ST then uses the proprietary DTS-Neural Loudness Control, an advanced loudness leveling
algorithm, to apply the appropriate gain or attenuation to maintain the broadcaster-defined loudness
level. The resulting audio has a naturally open, dynamic quality without the annoying side-effects of
traditional energy-based volume management solutions.

Loudness is a perceptual property of an audio signal when it is reproduced acoustically. It is a complex
non-linear function of amplitude, frequency and bandwidth. Current audio level meters measure the
level of audio signals expressed as the amplitude of the signal - either the RMS (root mean square)
voltage of an electrical signal or the sound pressure of an acoustical signal. Neither of these
measurements, although widely accepted, provides accurate indications of how viewers will perceive
the loudness of the audio programming.

The DTS NLM algorithm uses a perceptual model of human hearing to more accurately detect spectral
and density differences, inter-channel relationships and temporal overlaps in any audio content,
resulting in a more accurate perceived loudness measurement over time. This proprietary algorithm
was developed by after extensive research into human hearing and perceived loudness.

To improve system reliability and up-time, NLC5.1ST uses a robust DSP-based processing platform
rather than a PC-based approach to completely avoid broadcast disruptions caused by operating
system lockups. An Ethernet interface provides long-term logging and field software updates capability.
An optional factory-installed HD/SDI module will allow for measurement of 8 channels of program audio
from group 1 or group 2 with user specified mappings within the group. A set of user-definable alarms
can alert an operator of input loss, signal clipping and high or low signal levels referenced to the
desired loudness level.

When NLC5.1ST is used ahead of an AC3 (Dolby Digital) transmission, the target loudness level will
also match the Dialnorm metadata information, thus providing consistent, enjoyable audio for all
viewers.

Whether pre-screening content at an ingest point or controlling the loudness of a broadcast air-chain,
the DaySequerra NLC5.1ST is your key to reduce viewers complaints and improve audience
satisfaction.

NLC5.1ST User Manual

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Measuring Loudness

Human perception of the sensation of an audio signal is properly called “loudness”. As early as 1933,
research by Fletcher and Munson showed that human hearing sensitivity is largely based upon the
frequency of the sound, as well as the sound pressure level (SPL). As humans do not hear sound using
standard measures of intensity, measuring loudness based upon SPL or the root mean square (RMS)
voltage of the electrical signal will not agree with human perception. The Fletcher/Munson Equal
Loudness Curves show the limits human sensitivity of certain frequencies, especially low frequencies
(bass) at lower sound levels (Fletcher & Munson, 1933).

In order to create a loudness measure that more accurately represents the human perception of
loudness, frequency weighting (or equalization curves) are placed ahead of power measurements. This
introduces the measures Leq(A), Leq(B), Leq(C) and Leq(M) – with ‘Leq’attempting to relate the
‘L’oudness of an ‘eq’uivalent amount of energy in a standard signal, typically a 1 kHz sine wave. The
most current weighting standard, ITU-R BS.1770 produces results known as LKFS that are referenced
to a dB FS scale. While certain Leq(x) measures match more closely to human loudness perception
than traditional SPL or RMS measurements, there are still many broadcast content types that cannot be
measured correctly with a Leq(x) or LKFS weighting method.

For example, a narrowband signal may be perceived to sound softer than an equally intense wideband
sound, depending on the relationship between rendering level, absolute threshold and signal content.
Additionally, content with large amounts of low-frequency energy is often inaccurately measured by
BS.1770 due to heavy low-frequency roll off (see weighting curves). This measurement will often vary
from a subjective measure, especially in the short term; however this variance is acceptable in a long
term measurement, as the values are smoothed over many seconds, minutes or hours. Small
deviations between the instantaneous perception of loudness is often acceptable when using a meter
solution to measure the loudness, as the meters usually offer an audio visualization method that human
operators can use. Combined with their ears, the operator can make any decisions about any corrective
action required.

Fletcher/Munson Equal Loudness Curves

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NLC5.1ST User Manual

Weighting Curves

To achieve a more accurate loudness measurement, the method should include critical bands in the
measurement. Critical bands describe auditory filters within the human cochlea. (J. Allen, 2010). To
illustrate this, a subject is presented with a single tone of a certain energy level, and more tones are
added with equal energy in the critical bands – the total signal energy is kept constant regardless of the
number of tones. If changing from one to two tones, the energy of each of the two tones is exactly half
of that of the single tone. While the amount of audio energy never changes, the perceived loudness
increases as the energy spectrum spreads out across more tones (Johnston, 2006).

J. Allen Cochlea Filters (2010)

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Bronwyn Jones and Emil Torick created a revised CBS loudness meter in the early 1980s that
consisted of eight filters, each covering three critical bands. This approach did prove to deliver better
subjective modeling than traditional SPL or RMS measurements (Jones & Torick, 1982).

In 2004, Nielsen and Skovenborg published an AES paper that expanded upon the ideas of critical
band loudness measures. This paper introduced a method called HEIMDAL, which separated spectra
into nine bands via an octave filter band. While the HEIMDAL multi-band model did not achieve the
complexity of cochlear modeling as shown by J. Allen, the method had the lowest error compared to
any preceding loudness models (Nielsen & Skovenborg, 2004).

Despite the clear benefits of critical band analysis in loudness measurement, there are very few
methods currently available to measure loudness this way in real-time for broadcast applications -- the
extra processing required to accomplish it have prevented widespread adoption. DTS Neural Loudness
Measure is the first real-time perceptual loudness measurement product available that embraces this
advanced approach to loudness measurement.

Absolute Error (dB) of various loudness measures

Critical band comparison between loudness measures

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NLC5.1ST User Manual