Polycom SR12, C8, C12, C16 User Manual

Design Guide

for the Polycom SoundStructure

C16, C12, C8, and SR12

3725-33186-001 Revision: B

Trademark Information

Polycom®, the Polycom logo design, and Vortex® are registered trademarks of Polycom, Inc., and Global Management System™, MGC™, People+Content™, People On Content™, Polycom InstantDesigner™, Polycom PathNavigator™, PowerCam™, Siren™, and VSX® are trademarks of Polycom, Inc. in the United States and various other countries. VISCA is a trademark of Sony Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Patent Information

The accompanying product is protected by one or more U.S. and foreign patents and/or pending patent applications held by Polycom, Inc.

Disclaimer

Some countries, states, or provinces do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties or the limitation of incidental or consequential damages for certain products supplied to consumers, or the limitation of liability for personal injury, so the above limitations and exclusions may be limited in their application to you. When the implied warranties are not allowed to be excluded in their entirety, they will be limited to the duration of the applicable written warranty. This warranty gives you specific legal rights which may vary depending on local law.

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

Polycom Inc. 4750 Willow Road Pleasanton, CA 94588-2708 USA

No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Polycom, Inc. Under the law, reproducing includes translating into another language or format.

As between the parties, Polycom, Inc. retains title to, and ownership of, all proprietary rights with respect to the software contained within its products. The software is protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provision. Therefore, you must treat the software like any other copyrighted material (e.g. a book or sound recording).

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate. Polycom, Inc. is not responsible for printing or clerical errors. Information in this document is subject to change without notice.

Contents:

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–1

2 SoundStructure Product Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–1

SoundStructure Architecture Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–1

OBAM™ - One Big Audio Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–3

SoundStructure C-series Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–5

C-Series Input Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–7

C-Series Matrix Crosspoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–12

C-Series Output processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–13

C-Series Submix Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–14

C-Series Acoustic Echo Canceller References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–15

SoundStructure SR-Series Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–16

SR-Series Input Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–19

SR-Series Matrix Crosspoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–24

SR-Series Output Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–25

SR-Series Submix Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–26

Telephony Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–27

3 SoundStructure Design Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–1

Physical Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–2

Physical Channel Numbering On A Single SoundStructure Device . . . . . . 3–3

Physical Channel Numbering With Multiple SoundStructure Devices . . . 3–3

Physical Channel Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–9

Virtual Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–10

Virtual Channel Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–11

Virtual Channel Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–12

Virtual Channel Group Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–16

Telephone Virtual Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–16

Logic Pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–16

Physical Logic Pins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–17

Control Virtual Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–20

Control Array Virtual Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–21

IR Receiver Virtual Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3–23

4 Creating Designs with SoundStructure Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–1

SoundStructure Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–3

Step 1 - Input Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–3

Step 2 - Output Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–6

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

Step 3 - Device Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–7

Step 4 - Uploading Or Working Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–8

Online vs. Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–10

5 Customizing SoundStructure Designs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–1

Wiring Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–1

Edit Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–4

Channels Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–5

Editing Virtual Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–7

Creating Virtual Channel Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–8

Input Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–12

Input Signal Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–13

Input Channel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–18

Analog Signal Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–19

Mute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–20

Phantom Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–20

Ungated Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–21

Delay Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–24

Delay Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–26

Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–27

Equalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–28

Feedback Elimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–30

Acoustic Echo Cancellation (AEC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–32

Noise Cancellation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–33

Automatic Gain Control (AGC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–34

Dynamics Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–35

Automatic Microphone Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–39

Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–43

Fader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–43

Signal Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–45

Output Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–46

Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–47

Equalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–47

Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–49

Submix Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–50

Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–50

Equalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–50

Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–52

Fader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–52

Matrix Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–52

Adjusting Crosspoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–54

Matrix summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–59

Telephony Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–60

Input Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–61

Noise Cancellation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–62

Automatic Gain Control (AGC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–62

Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–63

Equalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–63

Fader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–65

Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–65

Telephone Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–65

6 Connecting Over Conference Link2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–1

Physical Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–1

Polycom HDX Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–2

Designing With The Polycom HDX Video Codec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–3

Input Channels From The Polycom HDX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–4

Processing On The Signals The Polycom HDX Sends To SoundStructure 6–6

Output Channels To The Polycom HDX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–7

Signal Routing Inside The Polycom HDX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–8

Mute Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–9

Volume Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–11

Designing With HDX Digital Microphone Arrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–12

Digital Microphone Cabling Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–13

Digital Microphone Firmware Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–14

Detecting CLink2 Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–16

Digital Microphone Array Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–16

Assigning Digital Microphone Array Channels To Physical Inputs . . . . . 6–19

Digital Microphone Array Numbering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–21

Installation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–23

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–26

7 Installing SoundStructure Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–1

Configuration Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–1

Wiring The Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–2

Uploading A Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–5

Downloading A Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–7

Updating Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–7

Configuring The Signal Gains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–10

Input Signal Level Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–10

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

Signal Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–11

Room Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–12

Telephony Signal Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–14

Output Signal Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–16

Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–20

Preset Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–21

Saving Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–22

Creating Partial Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–24

Running Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–28

Removing Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7–29

8 Network Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–1

Connecting To The Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–1

LAN Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–1

Dynamic IP Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–2

Static IP Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–3

Setting The Time Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–5

Control And Command Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–5

SoundStructure Device Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–6

AMX Beacon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–7

RS-232 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–7

Configuring And Accessing The Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–8

9 Advanced Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–1

1 Microphone And Mono Video Conferencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–1

SoundStructure Studio Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–2

Channels Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–4

Matrix Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–6

Wiring Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–6

Controlling The System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–7

4 digital Array Microphones And A SoundStation VTX1000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–9

SoundStructure Studio Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–11

Matrix Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–13

Channels Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–15

Wiring Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–18

Controlling The System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–19

8 Microphones, Video, And Telephony Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–20

SoundStructure Studio Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–21

Matrix Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–22

Channels Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–24

Wiring Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–26

Controlling The System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–26

Two PSTN Line Positional “Receive” Audio Conferencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–28

SoundStructure Studio Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–29

Matrix Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–31

Channels Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–34

Wiring Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–36

Controlling The System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–36

8 Microphones And Stereo Video Conferencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–39

Channels Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–44

Wiring Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–46

Controlling The System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–46

8 Mics With The Polycom HDX Video Conferencing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–47

SoundStructure Studio Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–47

Matrix Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–49

Channels Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–50

Wiring Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–52

Controlling The System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–52

8 Mics With Reinforcement Of Wireless And Lectern Mics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–54

SoundStructure Studio Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–55

Matrix Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–56

Channels Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–58

Wiring Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–64

Controlling The System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–64

16 Mics With 6-Zone Sound Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–66

SoundStructure Studio Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–67

Matrix Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–70

Channels Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–74

Wiring Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–75

Controlling The System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–76

Room combining application with two rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–78

SoundStructure Studio Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–81

Combined Room Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–84

Split Room Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–87

Wiring Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–90

Controlling The System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9–91

10 TroubleShooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–1

Audio Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–1

Echo Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–4

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

API Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–9

RS-232 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–12

HDX Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–13

Telco Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–14

Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–15

Hardware Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–16

OBAM Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–17

Troubleshooting The IR Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–18

Contacting Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–18

11 Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–1

Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–1

Pin Out Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–4

PSTN Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–4

Conference Link2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–5

OBAM Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–6

IR Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–7

RS-232 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–7

Logic Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–8

Audio Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11–9

12 Using SoundStructure Studio Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12–1

Adjusting Knobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12–1

Adjusting Matrix Crosspoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12–2

A Command Protocol Reference Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A–1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–1

SoundStructure Control Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–1

RS-232 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–2

Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–3

Virtual Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–4

Virtual Channel Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–6

Virtual Channel Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–6

SoundStructure Command Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–7

Controlling SoundStructure Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–8

Command Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–10

Control Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–11

Virtual Channel Definition Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–13

Virtual Channel Group Definition Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–18

Adjusting Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–22

Command List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–28

Command Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–28

SoundStructure Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–30

Gain and Mute Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–30

Matrix Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–36

Telephony Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–41

Equalizer Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–55

Dynamics Processing Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–71

Algorithm Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–84

Input Path Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–98

Automixer Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–100

GPIO Control Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–107

Control Port Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–110

System Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A–114

B Designing Audio Conferencing Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–1

Large Room Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–2

Microphone Selection And Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–3

Microphone Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–3

Microphones For Conferencing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–6

Automatic Microphone Mixers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–9

Noise Cancellation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–10

Acoustic Echo Cancellation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–11

AEC Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–13

Tail Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–13

Transmission Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–14

Echo Return Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–15

Multi Channel vs. Single Channel AEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–16

Muting Microphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–17

Volume Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–18

AEC Troubleshooting Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–18

Telephone Hybrid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–19

Amplifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–21

Loudspeakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–21

Speaker Zoning And Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–23

Loudspeakers - How Much Power Is Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–25

Spatial Directionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–25

Microphone And Loudspeaker Placement Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . B–26

In-Room Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B–26

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

Introduction

The Polycom SoundStructure™ products are professional, rack-mountable audio processing devices that set a new standard for audio performance and conferencing in any style of room. With both monaural and stereo echo cancellation capabilities, the SoundStructure conferencing products provide an immersive conferencing experience that is unparalleled. The SoundStructure products are easier than ever to install and configure and have been designed to integrate seamlessly with the Polycom HDX™ video conferencing system for the ultimate in HD voice, video, and content.

The Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, and C8 audio conferencing devices are single rack unit devices that have 16 inputs and 16 outputs, 12 inputs and 12 outputs, or 8 inputs and 8 outputs respectively. The SoundStructure SR12 has 12 inputs and 12 outputs and is an audio device for commercial sound applications that do not require acoustic echo cancellation capabilities. Any combination of SoundStructure devices can be used together to build systems up to a total of eight SoundStructure devices and up to one hundred twenty-eight inputs and one hundred twenty-eight outputs products can be used with any style of microphone or line-level input and output sources and also have been designed to be compatible with the Polycom HDX digital array microphones.

. SoundStructure

The SoundStructure products are used in similar applications as Polycom’s Vortex® installed voice products but have additional capabilities including:

• Stereo acoustic echo cancellation on all inputs

• Direct digital integration with the Polycom HDX video conferencing

system

• Feedback elimination on all inputs

• More equalization options available on all inputs and outputs

• Dynamics processing on all inputs and outputs

• Modular telephony options that can be used with any SoundStructure

device

• Submix processing and as many submixes as inputs

Requires SoundStructure firmware release 1.2 or higher

1 - 1

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

• Ethernet port for easy configuration and device management

SoundStructure devices are configured with Polycom's SoundStructure Studio software, a Windows®-based comprehensive design tool used to create audio configurations that may be created online or offline, uploaded to devices, and retrieved from devices.

For detailed information on how to install, terminate cables, and connect other devices to the SoundStructure devices, refer to the SoundStructure Hardware Installation Guide. For information on the SoundStructure API command syntax used to configure SoundStructure devices and control the devices with third party controllers, refer to the SoundStructure Command Protocol Reference Guide in Appendix A. The SoundStructure Command Protocol Reference Guide can also be found by pointing a browser to the SoundStructure device’s IP address.

This manual has been designed for the technical user and A/V designer who needs to use SoundStructure products, create audio designs, customize audio designs, and verify the performance of SoundStructure designs. This manual is organized as follows:

• Chapter 2 is an introduction to the SoundStructure products including the OBAM™ architecture and details of the signal processing available for inputs, outputs, telephony, and submix processing.

• Chapter 3 presents the SoundStructure design concepts of physical channels, virtual channels, and virtual channel groups. These concepts are integral to making SoundStructure products easy to use and enable control system application code to be reused and portable across multiple installations.

• Chapter 4 describes how to use the SoundStructure Studio windows software to create a design. Start with this section if you want to get up and running quickly using SoundStructure Studio.

• Chapter 5 provides detailed information on customizing the design created with SoundStructure Studio including all the controls presented as part of the user interface. Start with this chapter if you have a design and would like to customize it for your application.

• Chapter 6 provides information on the Conference Link2 interface and how SoundStructure devices integrate with the Polycom HDX video conferencing system.

• Chapter 7 provides information on how to install, set signal levels, and validate the performance of the SoundStructure devices. Start here if you have a system already up and running and would like to adjust the system in real-time.

• Chapter 8 provides information for the network administrator including how to set IP addresses and how to view the internal SoundStructure logs, and more.

1 - 2

Introduction

• Chapter 9 provides example applications with SoundStructure products including stereo audio conferencing applications, room combining, and more.

• Chapter 10 provides details on the status LEDs on SoundStructure, and troubleshooting information and steps.

• Chapter 11 lists the Specifications for the SoundStructure devices including audio performance, power requirements, and more.

• Chapter 12 provides information on how to use the different UI elements in the SoundStructure Studio software including knobs and matrix crosspoints.

• Appendix A provides detailed information on the SoundStructure command protocol and the full command set.

• Appendix B is an audio conferencing design guide. Refer to this section if new to audio conferencing or would like to better understand audio conferencing concepts.

If new to the SoundStructure products, it is recommended that the manual be read starting from Chapter 2 and continuing through the applications in Chapter 9.

1 - 3

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

1 - 4

SoundStructure Product Family

There are two product lines in the SoundStructure product family - the SoundStructure C-series designed for audio conferencing applications (the “C” stands for conferencing) and the SoundStructure SR-series designed for commercial sound applications (the “SR” stands for sound reinforcement).

While these two product families share a common design philosophy they have audio processing capabilities that are designed for their respective applications. As described in detail below, the C-series of products include acoustic echo cancellation on all inputs and are designed for audio and video conferencing applications. The SR-series of products do not include acoustic echo cancellation and are designed for dedicated sound reinforcement, live sound, broadcast and other commercial sound applications that do not require acoustic echo cancellation processing.

SoundStructure Architecture Overview

This section defines the common architectural features of the SoundStructure products and then details the specific processing for both the C-series and SR-series products. Details on how to configure the devices are presented in Chapters 3 - 5.

All SoundStructure products have been designed with the flexibility of an open architecture and the ease of design and installation of a fixed architecture system. The resulting solution has tremendous flexibility in how signals are processed while simultaneously making it easy to achieve exceptional system performance.

The SoundStructure processing includes input processing that is available on all the inputs, output processing that is available on all the outputs, submix processing that is available on all the submix signals, telephony processing that is available on all the optional telephony interfaces, and an audio matrix that connects this processing together. The high-level architecture is shown in

2 - 1

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

Telco

Processing

Telco

Processing

Telco

Processing

Telco

Processing

Matrix

Processing

SubMix

Submix

Processsing

Output

Processing

Output

Processing

Output

Processing

Input

Processing

Input

Processing

Input

Processing

# inputs 16 12 8 12

# outputs 16 12 8 12

# submixes 16 12 8 12

SoundStructure

the following figure for a SoundStructure device that has N inputs and N outputs. The specific input and output processing will depend on the product family (C-series or SR-series) and is described later in this chapter.

The table following summarizes the numbers of inputs, outputs, and the number of submixes supported within each type of device. As shown in this table, each SoundStructure device has as many submixes as there are inputs to the device.

C16 C12 C8 SR12

A summary of the different types of processing in the C-series and SR-series products is shown in the following table. As can be seen in this table, the difference between the products is that the C-series products include acoustic

2 - 2

C-Series SR-Series

Input Processing

Up to 8th order highpass and lowpass

1st or 2nd order high shelf and low shelf

10-band parametric equalization

Acoustic echo cancellation, 20-22kHz 200 msec tail-time, monaural or stereo

Automatic gain control: +15 to -15dB

Dynamics processing: gate, expander, compressor, limiter, peak limiter

Feedback Eliminator: 10 adaptive f ilters

Noise cancellation: 0-20dB noise reduction

Automixer: gain sharing or gated mixer

Signal fader gain: +20 to -100 dB

Signal delay to 1000 msec

Output Processing

1st or 2nd order high shelf and low shelf filters

10-bands of parametric or 31-band graphic equalizer

Dynamics processing: gate, expander, compressor, limiter, peak limiter

Signal fader gain: +20 to -100 dB

Signal delay: up to 1000 msec

Submix Processing

Up to 8th order highpass and lowpass filters

1st or 2nd order high shelf and low shelf filters

10-bands of parametric equalization

Dynamics processing: gate, expander, compressor, limiter, peak limiter

Signal fader gain: +20 to -100 dB

Signal delay: up to 1000 msec

Telco Processing

Line echo cancellation, 80-3300Hz, 32msec tail-time

Dynamics processing: gate, expander, compressor, limiter, peak limiter on telco transmit and receive

Up to 8th order highpass and lowpass filters

1st or 2nd order high shelf and low shelf filters

10-bands of parametric equalization on telco transmit and receive

Call progress detection

Signal fader gain: +20 to -100 dB

Automatic gain control: +15 to -15dB on telco receive

Signal delay on telco transmit and receive: up to 1000 msec

Noise cancellation: 0-20dB noise reduction on telco receive

SoundStructure

SoundStructure Product Family

echo cancellation while the SR-series products do not include acoustic echo cancellation. The processing capabilities will be described in the following sections.

OBAM™ - One Big Audio Matrix

One of the significant advancements in the SoundStructure products is the ability for multiple devices to be linked together and to be configured and operated as one large system rather than as multiple individual devices feature dramatically simplifies any installation where audio from more than one device is required such as complicated sound reinforcement applications.

OBAM's 'one large system' approach provides many benefits including:

Requires SoundStructure firmware release 1.2 or higher.

. This

2 - 3

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

OBAM

OUTIN

OBAM

36x16

16x16 12x12 8x8

36x12 36x8

36x36

• It is easier to work with the system because all the input signals feed into the single matrix and all the outputs are fed from the single matrix

• The a/v designer can be more creative as there are no limitations on how signals from multiple devices can be used together

• The device linking scheme is completely transparent to the designer - all input signals are shared to all devices dramatically simplifying the setup, configuration and maintenance of large systems

• It is easier to set up the system with SoundStructure Studio as all inputs and outputs are viewed on one screen, eliminating the need to configure multiple devices and view multiple pages

This one big system design approach is the result of the SoundStructure architectural design and the OBAM high-speed bi-directional link interface between devices. With OBAM linking, up to eight devices may be linked together. If there are plug-in cards installed in multiple linked SoundStructure devices, the plug-in card resources are available for routing to any output across the system. See the Hardware Installation Guide or Chapter 3 for more information on how to link multiple devices together.

The one large system design philosophy means that the audio matrix of a system of SoundStructure devices is the size of the total number of inputs and outputs of all the component devices that are linked together. Since one SoundStructure C16 device has a 16x16 matrix, two C16 devices linked together create a 32x32 matrix and so forth.

The one big audio matrix architecture can be seen in the following figure where a C16 device is OBAM linked to a C12 device which is OBAM linked to a C8 device. The resulting system will have 36x36 inputs and 36 outputs (16+12+8 = 36). In addition to all the inputs and outputs, the submixes of each device will also feed the matrix allowing the designer to have 36 submix signals (not shown in the following figure), one for each input that can be used in the system.

Because of the OBAM design architecture, the A/V designer no longer has to be concerned with device linking, as multiple SoundStructure devices will behave as, and be configured as, one large system.

2 - 4

SoundStructure C-series Products

The SoundStructure C16, C12, and C8 devices are designed for audio conferencing applications where groups of people want to communicate to other individuals or groups such as in a typical room shown in the following figure.

SoundStructure Product Family

The SoundStructure C-series products feature both monaural and stereo acoustic echo cancellation, noise cancellation, equalization, dynamics processing, feedback elimination, automatic microphone mixing, and more.

All audio inputs have the same processing capability and can be used with either microphone-level or line-level inputs. Phantom power is available on all inputs.

All outputs have the same processing capability.

A single SoundStructure C16, C12, or C8 device supports 16, 12, or 8 microphone or line inputs and 16, 12, or 8 line outputs, respectively. Up to eight SoundStructure devices may be linked together (any combination of SoundStructure C-series or SR-series products may be used together) to build audio processing systems that support up to one hundred twenty-eight analog inputs and analog outputs.

2 - 5

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

Telco

Video Codec

Amplifier

SoundStructure

C16

Microphones

Telephony

Playback/Record

Network

PSTN Network

Favorite Content

SoundStructure Installation

Each SoundStructure C-series device may be used with traditional analog microphones, with Polycom's HDX digital microphone arrays

. For detailed information on using the Polycom HDX digital microphone arrays, see Chapter 6.

Typical applications of the SoundStructure C-series conferencing products are audio and video conferencing where two or more remote locations are conferenced together. The typical connections in the room are shown in the following figure.

2 - 6

Before designing with SoundStructure products, the details of the SoundStructure signal processing capabilities will be presented.

Requires SoundStructure firmware release 1.1 or higher.

C-Series Input Processing

10-band parametric equalization Acoustic echo cancellation, 20-22kHz 200 msec tail-time, monaural or stereo Automatic gain control: +15 to -15dB Dynamics processing: gate, expander, compressor, limiter, peak limiter

Signal fader gain: +20 to -100 dB Signal delay to 1000 msec

Mic or Line

Input

Input to

Matrix

Input to

Matrix

Parametric

Equalization

A/D

Converter

Analog

Gain

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Automixer

AGC Dynamics Fader Delay

Fader

Automixer

Delay

Automatic

Gain Control

Non Linear Processing

Feedback

Cancellation

Dynamics Processor

Fader

Input to

Matrix

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Dynamics Processor

Delay

Mute

Router

Recording/ Ungated

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

The input processing on the SoundStructure C-series devices is designed to make it easy to create conferencing solutions either with or without sound reinforcement. Each audio input on a SoundStructure C-series device has the processing shown in the following table.

Input Processing

Up to 8th order highpass and lowpass 1st or 2nd order high shelf and low shelf

Feedback Eliminator: 10 adaptive filters Noise cancellation: 0-20dB noise reduction Automixer: gain sharing or gated mixer

The signal processing follows the signal flow shown in the following figure.

SoundStructure Product Family

Telco

Telco Processing

Telco

Processing

Input

Processing

Input

Processing

Input

Processing

Matrix

SubMix

Submix

Processing

Processsing

Output

Processing

Output

Processing

Output

Processing

Each analog input signal has an analog gain stage that is used to adjust the gain of the input signal to the SoundStructure's nominal signal level of 0 dBu. The analog gain stage can provide from -20 to 64 dB of gain in 0.5 dB steps. There is also an option to enable 48 V phantom power on each input. Finally the

2 - 7

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

Mic or Line

Input

Parametric

Equalization

A/D

Converter

Analog

Gain

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Non Linear Processing

Feedback

Cancellation

Route

C-Series Input Processing

Input to Matrix

Automatic

Gain Control

Automixer

AGC Dynamics Fader Delay

Fader

Automixer

Delay

Automatic

Gain Control

Dynamics Processor

Fader

Input to Matrix

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Dynamics Processor

Delay

Mute

Router

Recording/ Ungated

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

analog input signal is digitized and available for processing. The digital signal is processed by five different DSP algorithms: parametric equalization, acoustic echo cancellation, noise cancellation, feedback reduction, and echo suppression (non linear processing).

C-Series Input Processing

A/D

Parametric

Mic or Line

Analog

Input

Gain

Acoustic Echo

Converter

Equalization

Cancellation

Non Linear

Noise

Processing

Cancellation

Feedback Cancellation

AGC Dynamics Fader Delay

Automatic

Dynamics

Gain Control

Router

Processor

Dynamics

Automatic

Processor

Gain Control

Automatic

Dynamics

Gain Control

Processor

Fader Delay

Automixer

Fader

Automixer

Fader

Automixer

Mute

Recording/

Input to Matrix

Ungated

Delay

Input to

Conferencing

Matrix

Sound

Input to Matrix

Reinforcement

Continuing through the signal path as shown in the next figure, the input signal continues through the AGC (automatic gain control), dynamics processing, an automixer, an audio fader, and finally through the input delay.

AGC Dynamics Fader Delay

Automatic

Dynamics

Gain Control

Processor

Router

A/D

Mic or Line

Input

Parametric

Analog

Converter

Equalization

Gain

Non Linear

Acoustic Echo

Noise

Processing

Cancellation

Feedback Cancellation

Automixer

Dynamics

Automatic

Automixer

Processor

Gain Control

Automatic

Dynamics

Automixer

Gain Control

Processor

Fader Delay

Fader

Mute

Input to

Recording/

Matrix

Ungated

Input to

Delay

Conferencing

Matrix

Sound

Input to Matrix

Reinforcement

2 - 8

Each analog input signal is processed to generate three different versions of the processed input signal that can be used simultaneously in the matrix:

1. Conferencing version,

2. Sound reinforcement version, and

3. Recording/ungated version

The AGC, dynamics processor, and input fader are linked together on all three audio paths and apply the same gain to the signal paths based on an analysis of the signal earlier in the signal path.

The automixer processing is only applied to the conferencing and sound reinforcement signal paths to ensure that there is an 'un'-automixed version of the input signal available for recording/ungated applications.

SoundStructure Product Family

Mic or Line

Input

Input to

Matrix

Input to

Matrix

Parametric

Equalization

A/D

Converter

Analog

Gain

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Automixer

AGC Dynamics Fader Delay

Fader

Automixer

Delay

Automatic

Gain Control

Non Linear Processing

Feedback

Cancellation

Dynamics Processor

Fader

Input to

Matrix

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Dynamics Processor

Delay

Mute

Router

Recording/ Ungated

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

C-Series Conferencing Input Processing

Parametric

Equalization

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader

Automixer

Delay

Non Linear

Processing

Dynamics Processor

Mute

Each analog input signal is processed to create three processed versions that can be used in different ways in the matrix.

These three different versions of the input signal mean that, at the same time, an output signal to the loudspeakers can use the sound reinforcement processed version of an input signal, an output signal to the video conferencing system can use the conferencing processed version of the input signal, and an output signal to the recording system can use the recording processed version of the input signal. The decision of which of these three processed version is used is made at each matrix crosspoint on the matrix as described in the Matrix Crosspoint section below.

Conferencing Version

The conferencing version will be processed with the acoustic echo and noise cancellation settings, non-linear signal processing, automatic gain control, dynamics processing, automixer, fader, delay, and input mute. The conferencing signal path and summary block diagram is highlighted in the following figure. This is the path that is typically used to send echo and noise cancelled microphone audio to remote locations. This is the default processing for microphone inputs when the automixed version of the signal is selected.

Sound Reinforcement Version

The sound reinforcement version will be processed with the echo and noise cancellation, optional feedback elimination processing, automatic gain control, dynamics processing, automixer, fader, delay, and input mute. This is the path that is typically used for sending local audio to loudspeakers in the room for sound reinforcement. There is no non-linear processing on this path so that the local talker audio to the loudspeakers is not affected by the presence of remote talker audio in the local room.

The automatic gain control on the sound reinforcement path is different from the automatic gain control on the conferencing version of the signal because the sound reinforcement automatic gain control will not add gain to the signal. In other words, the sound reinforcement AGC will only reduce the gain of the input signal. This restriction on the sound reinforcement AGC is to prevent the

2 - 9

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

Mic or Line

Input

Input to

Matrix

Input to

Matrix

Parametric

Equalization

A/D

Converter

Analog

Gain

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Automixer

AGC Dynamics Fader Delay

Fader

Automixer

Delay

Automatic

Gain Control

Non Linear Processing

Feedback

Cancellation

Dynamics Processor

Fader

Input to

Matrix

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Dynamics Processor

Delay

Mute

Router

Recording/ Ungated

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

C-Series Sound Reinforcement Input Processing

Parametric

Equalization

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader

Automixer

Delay

Feedback

Cancellation

Dynamics Processor

Mute

automatic gain control on the sound reinforcement path from increasing the microphone gain and consequently reducing the potential acoustic gain before the onset of feedback.

The automatic gain control on the sound reinforcement processing path will not add gain to the signal, it will only reduce the gain of the signal.

Recording/Ungated Version

The recording version of the processed input signal is specifically designed to not include the gain sharing or gated style of automatic microphone mixing processing. The recording/ungated version of the input channel is typically used for recording applications or in any application where an un-automixed version of the input signal is required.

For additional flexibility in audio applications, there are four different versions of the recording/ungated signal that can be selected through the four-input router shown in the above processing figures. This selection of which type of recording/ungated signal to choose is performed on an input by input basis within the SoundStructure Studio software as described in Chapter

The four ungated versions are described in more detail below:

1. bypass version

2. line input version

3. conferencing version

4. sound reinforcement version

Recording/Ungated - Bypass

The recording/ungated-bypass version has no input processing other than a fader gain control, input delay, and input mute. This version bypasses the automatic gain control and dynamics processing as shown in the following figure. This version can be used when it is important to minimal audio

2 - 10

SoundStructure Product Family

Mic or Line

Input

Input to

Matrix

Input to

Matrix

Parametric

Equalization

A/D

Converter

Analog

Gain

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Automixer

AGC Dynamics Fader Delay

Fader

Automixer

Delay

Automatic

Gain Control

Non Linear Processing

Feedback

Cancellation

Dynamics Processor

Fader

Input to

Matrix

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Dynamics Processor

Delay

Mute

Router

Recording/ Ungated

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

UNGATED - Bypass

Fader Delay

Mute

Mic or Line

Input

Input to

Matrix

Input to

Matrix

Parametric

Equalization

A/D

Converter

Analog

Gain

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Automixer

AGC Dynamics Fader Delay

Fader

Automixer

Delay

Automatic

Gain Control

Non Linear Processing

Feedback

Cancellation

Dynamics Processor

Fader

Input to

Matrix

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Dynamics Processor

Delay

Mute

Router

Recording/ Ungated

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

UNGATED - Line Input Processing

Parametric

Equalization

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Dynamics Processor

Mute

Mic or Line

Input

Input to

Matrix

Input to

Matrix

Parametric

Equalization

A/D

Converter

Analog

Gain

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Automixer

AGC Dynamics Fader Delay

Fader

Automixer

Delay

Automatic

Gain Control

Non Linear Processing

Feedback

Cancellation

Dynamics Processor

Fader

Input to

Matrix

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Dynamics Processor

Delay

Mute

Router

Recording/ Ungated

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

UNGATED - Conferencing Processing

Parametric

Equalization

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Non Linear Processing

Dynamics Processor

Mute

processing on an input signal. This version of the signal has no acoustic echo cancellation processing and will consequently include any acoustic echo signal that may be present at the microphones.

Recording/Ungated - Line Input

The recording - line input version includes equalization, automatic gain control, and the dynamics processing as well as fader gain control, input delay, and input mute as shown in the following figure. This processing path is typically used by line input signals such as program audio, and hence the name line input path.

Recording/Ungated - Conferencing

The ungated conferencing processed input includes the acoustic echo and noise cancellation as shown in the following figure. This path is typically used for recording of conference microphones as it includes all the acoustic echo cancellation but not the automatic microphone mixer processing.

2 - 11

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

Mic or Line

Input

Input to

Matrix

Input to

Matrix

Parametric

Equalization

A/D

Converter

Analog

Gain

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Automixer

AGC Dynamics Fader Delay

Fader

Automixer

Delay

Automatic

Gain Control

Non Linear Processing

Feedback

Cancellation

Dynamics Processor

Fader

Input to

Matrix

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Dynamics Processor

Delay

Mute

Router

Recording/ Ungated

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

UNGATED - Sound Reinforcement Processing

Parametric

Equalization

Acoustic Echo

Cancellation

Noise

Cancellation

Automatic

Gain Control

Fader Delay

Feedback

Cancellation

Dynamics Processor

Mute

Recording/Ungated - Sound Reinforcement

Finally, the sound reinforcement recording input includes the echo and noise cancellation and optional feedback elimination processing as shown in the following figure.

All three versions (conferencing, sound reinforcement, recording/ungated) of the input signal processing can be used simultaneously in the matrix. The conferencing version is typically used to send to remote participants, the sound reinforcement version is typically used to send to the local loudspeaker system, and the recording version is typically used for archiving the conference audio content.

C-Series Matrix Crosspoints

The audio matrix is used to create different mixes of input signals and submix signals to be sent to output signals and submix signals. Matrix crosspoints gain values are shown in dB where 0 dB means a signal value is unchanged. For example, a crosspoint value of -6 dB will lower the signal gain by 6 dB before it is summed with other signals. The matrix crosspoint gain can be adjusted in

0.1 dB steps between -100 and +20 dB and may also be completely muted. In addition, the matrix crosspoint can also be negated/inverted so that the crosspoint arithmetic creates a subtraction rather than an addition. The inversion technique may be effective in difficult room reinforcement environments by creating phase differences in alternating zones to add more gain before feedback.

Matrix crosspoints associated with stereo channels have a balance or pan to control mapping mono to stereo channels, stereo to mono channels, and stereo to stereo channels.

The three different versions of the input processing - the ungated, conferencing, and sound reinforcement - are selected at the matrix crosspoint. The SoundStructure Studio software allows the user to select which version of the input signal processing at the matrix crosspoint. As will be shown in Chapter 4 Creating Designs, the different versions of the input processing will be represented with different background colors in the matrix crosspoint.

2 - 12

The following figure highlights how to interpret the matrix crosspoints in the

Outputs

Ungated/Recording

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

Ungated/Recording

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

Ungated/Recording

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

Ungated/Recording

Conferencing

Sound Reinforcement

Inputs

Crosspoint background indicates version of input processing White - Ungated/Recording Blue - Conferencing (C-series), Noise cancelled (SR-series) Light Blue - Sound Reinforcement

Value of crosspoint is the gain in dB

Arc indicates L/R balance or pan No arc indicates centered balance/pan

Underscore indicates Inverted polarity

Bold text Indicates signal is unmuted

1st or 2nd order high shelf and low shelf filters 10-bands of parametric or 31-band graphic equalizer

Signal fader gain: +20 to -100 dB Signal delay: up to 1000 msec

matrix.

C-Series Output processing

As shown in the following table and figure, each output signal from the matrix can be processed with dynamics processing, either 10-band parametric or 10-, 15-, or 31-band graphic equalization, a fader, and output delay up to 1000 milliseconds.

Output Processing

SoundStructure Product Family

Output Processing

Output from

Matrix

Dynamics

Processing

Parametric

or Graphic

Equalization

Dynamics processing: gate, expander, compressor, limiter, peak limiter

Telco

Telco Telco

Processing

Telco

Processing

Input

Processing

Input

Processing

Input

Processing

Fader Delay

Matrix

SubMix

Submix

Processing

Processsing

Mute

Output

Processing

Output

Processing

Output

Processing

AEC

Reference

D/A

Converter

Analog

Gain

Output

Signal

2 - 13

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

Submix

Processing

Matrix

Output

SubMix

Signal

Matrix

Input

1st or 2nd order high shelf and low shelf filters 10-bands of parametric equalization

C-Series Submix Processing

Submixes are outputs from the matrix that can be routed directly back to the input of the matrix as shown in the following figure.

As an output of the matrix, any combination of input signals may be mixed together to create the output submix signal. This output signal can be processed with the submix processing and the processed signal will be available as an input to the matrix. Typically microphone, remote audio sources, or other signals will be sent to a submix channel and the resulting submix signal used as a single input in the matrix.

Submix Processing

Up to 8th order highpass and lowpass filters

Dynamics processing: gate, expander, compressor, limiter, peak limiter Signal fader gain: +20 to -100 dB

Signal delay: up to 1000 msec

2 - 14

SoundStructure Product Family

AEC

AmpA

AEC reference for remote roomAEC reference for local room

As shown in the following figure, each submix signal from the matrix can be processed with dynamics processing, parametric equalization, a fader, and up to 1000 milliseconds of delay. Each SoundStructure device has as many submixes as there are inputs.

Telco

Processing

Telco

Processing

Input

Processing

Input

Processing

Input

Processing

Submix Processing

Submix Input

from Matrix

Dynamics

Processing

Parametric

Equalization

C-Series Acoustic Echo Canceller References

In conferencing applications, an acoustic echo canceller removes the remote site's audio that is played in the local room from being picked up by the local microphones and sent back to the remote participants. The AEC following figure removes the acoustic echo of the remote talker so it is not sent back to the remote talker.

Matrix

SubMix

Submix

Processing

Processsing

Fader Delay

Output

Processing

Output

Processing

Output

Processing

Mute

Submix output

to Matrix

Local Room

in the

Local Room

LocalTalke

Local Room

Remote Room

AEC

Remote Room

Remote Talker

Acoustic echo cancellation processing is only required on the inputs that have microphone audio connected that will “hear” both the local talkers’ speech and the acoustic echo of the remote talkers’ speech.

2 - 15

Design Guide for the Polycom SoundStructure C16, C12, C8, and SR12

In order for the local acoustic echo canceller to cancel the acoustic echo of the remote participants, it must have an echo canceller reference defined. The echo canceller reference includes all the signals from the remote site that should be echo cancelled. In the following figure, the AEC reference for both the local and remote rooms includes the audio that is played out the loudspeaker. See Appendix B - Designing Audio Conferencing Systems for additional information on audio conferencing systems and acoustic echo cancellation.

Within SoundStructure devices, the acoustic echo canceller on each input can have either one or two AEC references specified per input signal. For traditional monaural audio or video conferencing applications, only one acoustic echo canceller reference is used and that would typically be the signal that is sent to the single loudspeaker zone. See the “8 microphones, video, and telephony application” in Chapter 9 for an example.

Applications that have two independent audio sources played into the room such as stereo audio from a stereo video codec require two mono AEC references, or one stereo AEC reference. See the 8 microphones and stereo video conferencing application in Chapter 9.

An acoustic echo canceller reference can be created from any output signal or any submix signal. For a SoundStructure C16 device this means that there are 32 possible echo canceller references (16 outputs + 16 submixes) that can be defined and selected.

SoundStructure SR-Series Products

The SoundStructure SR12 has a similar architecture to the SoundStructure C-series. While the SoundStructure SR12 does not include acoustic echo cancellation processing it does include noise cancellation, automatic microphone mixing, matrix mixing, equalization, feedback elimination, dynamics processing, delay, and submix processing. The “SR” in the name stands for 'sound reinforcement'.

The SoundStructure SR12 is designed for both the non-conferencing applications where local audio is played into the local room or distributed throughout a facility and for conferencing applications to provide additional line input and output signals when linked to a C-series product. Applications for the SoundStructure SR12 include live sound, presentation audio, sound

2 - 16

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