TC Electronic UpCon User Manual

English Manual

Applies to UpCon software version 1.00

Last update: 2014-01-15

UpCon

Important safety instructions 1

Warning 1
Service 1
Caution 1
EMC/EMI 1
For the customers in Canada 1

About this manual 2

Getting support 2

Before you get started 2

Register your product 2
Stay up-to-date on loudness 2

Unpacking and setup 3

Package contents 3

Software: TC Icon and UpCon firmware 3

Finding and installing TCIcon software –
Microsoft Windows 4
Finding and installing TCIcon software –
OSX 6

UpCon: An introduction 8

Cinema-quality upconversion 8
Uncompromised Downmix 8
Loudness Transparency 8
Redundancy and reliability 8
Operating UpCon 8
Expanding UpCon 8
UpCon presets 9
Serial digital interface (SDI) 9
UpCon features overview 9

Getting to know UpCon 10
Front panel indicators 10
Front panel reset button 11
Back panel connectors 11
Scenes, Routings, Engines 12

Status section 20

Setting up audio 21
Setting up audio dithering 22

Setting up GPI/O 24
Setting up GPI 24
GPI 1: Preset Recall 24
GP Input Calibration 24
Setting up GPO 24

Recalling, storing and deleting settings 26
The Library concept 26
Library – Recall page 26
Library – Store page 26
Library – Delete page 27
Library – Bank page 28

Updating UpCon firmware 28
Finding and installing UpCon firmware –
Microsoft Windows 29
Finding and installing UpCon firmware –
OSX 31

Icon Setup 33
Accessing the Icon Setup pages 33
Info page 33
Devices page 33
Security page 33
Joystick page 34
UI page 34
Color page 34

The UpCon algorithm 35
UpCon algorithm – Main page 35
UpCon algorithm – Level page 36
UpCon algorithm – Style page 37
UpCon algorithm – Limit page 38
UpCon algorithm – Auto page 38

Setting up UpCon 13
Networking basics and troubleshooting 13

Appendix 1:
Links and additional information 40

Quick Setup 15
Updating UpCon software 16

Appendix 2: UpCon GPI/O page 40
GPIO Technical specifications 40

Basic operation 17

GPI installation 40
Introduction 17
Basic TC Icon operation 17
Faders 17
On-screen keyboard 18

Technical specifications 42

UpCon Frame 42

UpCon 3G Card 42

Accessing UpCon 19
Scanning / rescanning a network for devices 19

Obtaining UpCon status information 20
Clock section 20

English Manual a

Important safety instructions

Important safety
instructions

– Please read these instructions.
– Keep these instructions.
– Heed all warnings.
– Follow all instructions.
– Do not use this apparatus near water.
– Clean only with dry cloth.
– Do not block any ventilation openings.
– Install in accordance with the manufactur-

er’s instructions.

– Do not install near heat sources such as ra-

diators, heat registers, stoves, or other ap­paratus (including amplifiers) that produce
heat.

– Only use attachments/accessories specified

by the manufacturer.

– Refer all servicing to qualified service per-

sonnel. Servicing is required when the ap­paratus has been damaged in any way,
such as power-supply cord or plug is dam­aged, liquid has been spilled or objects
have fallen into the apparatus, the appara­tus has been exposed to rain or moisture,
does not operate normally, or has been
dropped.

– Mains ground must be connected.

Norwegian:
Apparatet må tilkoples jordet stikkontakt.

– Swedish:

Apparaten skall anslutas till jordat uttag.

– Finnish:

Laite on liitettävä suojakoskettimilla varus­tettuun pistorasiaan.

Warning

– To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock,

do not expose this equipment to dripping or
splashing and ensure that no objects filled
with liquids, such as vases, are placed on the
equipment.

– Do not install in a confined space.

EMC/EMI

This equipment has been tested and found to

comply with the limits for a Class B Digital de-

vice, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC rules.

These limits are designed to provide reasonable

protection against harmful interference in resi-

dential installations. This equipment generates,

uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and

– if not installed and used in accordance with the

instructions – may cause harmful interference

to radio communications. However, there is no

guarantee that interference will not occur in a

particular installation.

If this equipment does cause harmful interfer-

ence to radio or television reception – which can

be determined by turning the equipment off and

on –, the user is encouraged to try correcting

the interference by one or more of the following

measures:

– Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

– Increase the separation between the equip-

ment and the receiver.

– Connect the equipment to an outlet on a cir-

cuit different from the one to which the receiv­er is connected.

– Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV

technician for help.

For the customers in Canada

This Class B digital apparatus complies with Ca-

nadian ICES-003.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est

conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

Service

All service must be performed by qualified per­sonnel.

Caution

You are cautioned that any change or modifi­cations not expressly approved in this manual
could void your warranty.

English Manual 1

Before you get started

About this manual

This manual will help you learn understanding
and operating the TC UpCon. This manual is
available in print and as a PDF download from
the TC Electronic website.

Please read this manual in full, or you may
miss important information.

Please do not operate UpCon before you have
made all connections to external equipment as
described in “Setting up UpCon” on page 13.
In the subsequent sections of the manual, we
assume that all connections are made correctly
and that you are familiar with the previous sec­tions.

To download the most current version of this
manual, view the product warranty, and access
the growing FAQ database for this product, visit
the web page

Before you get started

Register your product

Please register this product so we can inform

you about updates and other product-related

news. To register your product, please go to:

tcelectronic.com/support/account-registration/

registration/

www.tcelectronic.com/support/

Getting support

If you still have questions about the product af­ter reading this manual, please get in touch with
TC Support:

www.tcelectronic.com/support/

2 UpCon

Software: TC Icon and UpCon firmware

Unpacking and setup

Package contents

The product box should contain the following
items:

– UpCon
– 2 power cables
– 1 USB stick containing…

– the TC Icon software

for Windows and OSX,
– the UpCon software (firmware),
– this manual in PDF format,

– this manual.

Software: TC Icon and
UpCon firmware

Operating UpCon requires a TC Icon remote
or a computer running the TC Icon software.

When you are working with a system involving
one or multiple UpCon units, you are interacting
with two types of software:

1. TCIcon software:
TC Icon is the software that you will install on

the computer(s) which you are using to ac-
cess, configure, operate and update the Up­Con unit(s).

TC Icon software is available for Microsoft

Windows and Mac OSX operating systems.

TC Icon software is free and can be in-

stalled on multiple computers.

Downloading and installing TC Icon software

is described in this section of the UpCon man­ual.

2. TCUpCon firmware:
UpCon firmware is the software installed on

every UpCon.

Every UpCon comes pre-installed with the

most current firmware version available at the
time of production. You can download newer
versions of UpCon firmware from the TC web­site. Updated firmware versions will contain

bug fixes and/or new features.
UpCon firmware updates are free.
Use TC Icon software installed on your com-

puter (see above) to transfer firmware to your

UpCon unit(s).
Downloading and installing UpCon firmware

updates is described in “Updating UpCon

firmware” on page 28.

English Manual 3

Software: TC Icon and UpCon firmware

Finding and installing TCIcon
software – Microsoft Windows

The most current version of TC Icon software for
Microsoft Windows at the time of production is
provided on the USB stick that came with your
UpCon, but you may want to download the latest
version from the TC Electronic website.

You can download the latest version of TC Icon
software for Microsoft Windows from:
www.tcelectronic.com/support/software/

– On this page, locate the “UpCon” section.
– In this section of the support page, look for

“TC Icon software” and click the button repre­senting the latest version of the TC Icon soft­ware for Microsoft Windows.

Depending on your browser type and con-

figuration, a dialog may be shown asking you
what you want to do with this file.

– Go to the folder containing the ZIP file you just

downloaded.
– Right-click the .ZIP file and choose “Extract

All…“ from the context menu.

A dialog box will allow you to specify where

the extracted files should be stored.

Accept the defaults or change the path.
– After extracting the ZIP file, you will see a

Choose “Save”.
The software will be downloaded to your

browser’s default download location. Usually,
this is the “Downloads” folder for your user ac­count.

4 UpCon

.CAB (“Cabinet”) file in Windows Explorer.

– Double-click the .CAB file.
An “Icon” application file will be shown.

Software: TC Icon and UpCon firmware

Updating TC Icon software

To update the TC Icon software on your PC when
a newer version is released,

– quit the TC Icon software if it currently running

on your PC,
– download and extract the newer version as

described in this section and

– Right-click the “Icon” application file and

choose “Extract…“ from the context menu.

In the dialog box that is shown next (“Select

destination”), select a folder where you can
easily find the application – e.g., the Windows
desktop.

– replace the currently installed version by copy-

ing the newer version over it.

– Click “Extract” to extract the application to the

selected destination.

– Launch the TC Icon application that you just

extracted by double-clicking its icon.

TC Icon will try to establish connections to all

connected TCdevices on a local network, in­cluding your UpCon.

If a connection cannot be established, please

refer to “Networking basics and troubleshoot­ing” on page 13.

If you experience technical problems during
software download or installation, please ask a
person with administrator privileges on this com­puter for assistance.

English Manual 5

Software: TC Icon and UpCon firmware

Finding and installing
TCIcon software – OSX

The most current version of TC Icon software for
OSX at the time of production is provided on the
USB stick that came with your UpCon, but you
may want to download the latest version from
the TC Electronic website.

You can download the latest version of TC Icon
software for OSX from:
www.tcelectronic.com/support/software/

– On this page, locate the “UpCon” section.
– In this section of the support page, look for

“TC Icon software” and click the button repre­senting the latest version of the TC Icon soft­ware for OS X.

– After the ZIP file has been extracted, you will

see a .DMG (“Disk Image”) file in the Finder.
– Double-click the .DMG file to mount this disk

image.
An “Icon” disk image containing an “Icon” app

will be shown.

Depending on your browser type and con-

figuration, a dialog may be shown asking you
what you want to do with this file. Choose
“Save”.

The software will be downloaded to your

browser’s default download location. Usually,
this is the “Downloads” folder for your user ac­count.

– Go to the folder containing the file you just

downloaded.

– If you are seeing a .ZIP file, double-click it to

extract its contents. However, your browser
may already have extracted the contents from
the .ZIP file automatically.

– Copy the TC Icon application from the disk im-

age to your hard disk by dragging it to the “Ap-

plications” folder, or to another folder where

you can easily find it.

– You can now unmount (eject) the disk image

by right-clicking it and selecting “Eject” from

the context menu.

6 UpCon

Software: TC Icon and UpCon firmware

Updating TC Icon software

To update the TC Icon software on your Mac
when a newer version is released,

– quit the TC Icon software if it currently running

– Launch TC Icon by double-clicking the appli-

cation.

TC Icon will try to establish connections to all

connected TCdevices on a local network, in­cluding your UpCon.

If a connection cannot be established, please

refer to “Networking basics and troubleshoot­ing” on page 13.

If you experience technical problems during
software download or installation, please ask a
person with administrator privileges on this com­puter for assistance.

on your Mac,
– download and extract the newer version as

described in this section and
– replace the currently installed version by copy-

ing the newer version over it.

English Manual 7

UpCon: An introduction

UpCon: An introduction

conversion from stereo to 5.1, you can stay com­pliant – regardless of the signal’s channel format.

Thank you for choosing UpCon.

UpCon is a state-of-the-art upconverter that
gives you absolute piece of mind that your trans­mission is always optimized for 5.1 HD TV.

We have combined uncompromising upconver­sion and downmix in a single, high-density rack
unit.

UpCon continuously monitors the channel for­mat of the incoming audio – and if the signal falls
back from true 5.1 to stereo, it seamlessly cross­fades into a convincing 5.1 surround upconver­sion without adding any interruptions or artifacts.

Cinema-quality upconversion

UpCon is based on our famous UnWrap HD al­gorithm, the “go-to” upconverter for film and
mastering professionals that can be heard in
countless cinema movies and music tracks. It
offers the same ultra-low latency and overkill
processing resolution, always delivering unpar­alleled and convincing 5.1 content from a stereo
source.

Uncompromised Downmix

When you downmix, one of the main factors to
consider is the 5.1 source itself.

Redundancy and reliability

We are aware that UpCon is inserted at a very
critical point in your audio signal path. It’s an “al­ways-on” type of unit that needs to deliver non­stop performance – year after year.

With dual fuses, dual fans and dual power, you
are virtually risk-free of losing power while on
air. And in the unlikely event of the UpCon losing
power, rest assured that your transmission will
go on – thanks to the Relay Bypass feature that
passes your stream directly from input to output,
no matter what happens. And if one of the power
sources fails, you can be notified using GPIO or
SNMP traps.

Operating UpCon

As you can easily see, UpCon is a „headless
system“ – it has no front panel controls (with the
exception of the Reset button).

UpCon is operated using the TC Icon software,
which you can download from the TC Electronic
website.

You can use the same version of the TC Icon
software to operate UpCon and other profes­sional broadcast products from TC Electronic
(e.g. DB4 and DB8MKII).

A 5.1 signal generated by UpCon translates bet­ter into stereo than one made by any competing
upconverter – regardless of whether you let Up­Con handle the downmix or if it happens at the
end-listener’s TV set. This is essential to broad­casters that generally transmit 5.1 signals, but
receive commercials in stereo, or air newscasts
relying on signals coming in from around the
world - some in 5.1 and others in stereo.

In short: With UpCon in your signal chain, your
downmix will be optimized – no matter what.

Loudness Transparency

In terms of perceived loudness compared to the
source, many format converters will output a sig­nificantly different signal. But this is not the case
with UpCon - the upconverted audio is loudness
transparent.

Broadcasters often need to stay within certain
boundaries according to regulations or recom­mendations, and by letting UpCon handle the

Accordingly, a significant part of this manual
covers operating UpCon using TC Icon software
running on a standard computer, and the screen
shots you see are taken from the OSX or Win­dows versions of this software.

Please invest some time in learning TC Icon’s
basic concepts – you will benefit from it when

operating systems that may include many net­worked TC signal processors.

Expanding UpCon

UpCon comes with the ability to process one
stream right out of the box, but users can install
one or two additional 3G Transmission cards.

3G Transmission cards

Each 3G Transmission card can process one

SDI audio stream. Accordingly, an UpCon with

two extra 3G Transmission cards can handle

three independent streams – making it the

perfect high-density solution for any TV station

8 UpCon

UpCon: An introduction

in need of processing multiple streams simulta­neously.

Instructions on upgrading a base UpCon
with one or two Transmission 3G cards are
not part of this manual. They are provided in

a separate document that comes with the 3G
Transmission card.

UpCon presets

UpCon comes with ready-to-use presets based
on international standards. More presets will be
made available as part of software updates, and
from the TC website. These presets are based
on information from broadcasters around the
world.

If you feel that an important preset is missing or
that a given preset does not work as it should,
please get in touch with TC Electronic technical
support.

Serial digital interface (SDI)

With regards to inputs and outputs, UpCon is
based on the Serial digital interface (SDI) – a
family of audio and video interfaces standard­ized by the Society of Motion Picture and Televi­sion Engineers (SMPTE).

be remote-controlled from an SNMP applica-

tion.
– True redundancy: No compromise, long term

field-tested PSUs. Dual inlets, dual fuses, dual

fans.
– Up to 24 audio channels simultaneously

processed and measured: With a fully load-

ed UpCon, up to 24 audio channels can be

processed simultaneously.
– 100BaseT Full-Duplex Ethernet: Standard

Ethernet control allows easy system integra-

tion. A second port is available for daisy-

chaining, allowing a high number of units on

one network.
– Bit transparent: Supports coded transmis-

sion like Dolby E or Dolby AC3.

An SDI signal may contain up to sixteen audio
channels (8 pairs) at 48kHz sample rate and 24
bit resolution. We assume that you have a good
working knowledge of SDI. The standard as such
is not discussed in this manual.

UpCon features overview

– Audio at its finest: 24 bit transparent, fully

synchronous I/O, 32 bit and higher internal
processing.

– Automatic 5.1 detection: Automatically de-

tect and engage upconversion and down-mix.
– Ultra-low latency: No need for frame offset.
– Always have 5.1 and stereo: Regardless if

the input is 5.1 OR stereo, you can always

have 5.1 and stereo on the outputs.
– Artifact-free: Artifact-free crossfade between

bypass and upconversion.
– GPIO and SDI metadata: Engage format

conversion using GPIO or SDI metadata.
– SD/HD/3G SDI, Relay Bypass: Supports

latest SDI standards, up to 3G: 2.97 mBit/s,

1080p, 3D(2x1080i). Auto relay bypass.
– SNMP (Simple Network Management Pro-

tocol): SNMP trapping lets UpCon send out

messages (such as warnings) over Ethernet to

an SNMP application. Vice versa, UpCon can

English Manual 9

Getting to know UpCon

Getting to know UpCon

This section of the manual describes the de­vice’s status indicators and connectors.

! Please note that additional status information

can be displayed using TC Icon software –

see “Obtaining UpCon status information” on

page 20.

Front panel indicators

UpCon has the following front panel status indi­cators:

Front panel indicators on UpCon

PSU 1 and PSU 2 LEDs

The PSU 1 and PSU 2 LEDs indicate the status
of the two built-in power supplies.

LED co lor /
indication

Green An external power is connect-

Red There is a problem with the

Please refer to the descriptions of the PSU con­nectors in the “Back panel connectors” on page
11 section for more information.

Sync LED(s)

UpCon has three Sync LEDs – one for each of
the up to three cards/engines in the device. If
only one card is installed, only the first LED will
be used.

The Sync LEDs indicate if synchronization to
the currently connected signal source has been
achieved.

Status

ed and the power supply is ful­ly functioning.

power supply. Either there is
no external power connected,
or there is a problem at cer­tain checkpoints in the relevant
power supply.

LED co lor /
indication

Off Startup – no lock achieved.
Green An SDI stream has been detect-

Yellow There is an SDI anomaly.
Red UpCon cannot lock to the SDI

Status

ed at the corresponding input,
and UpCon is locked to it.

audio stream.

Alert LED

UpCon has three Alert LEDs – one for each of
the up to three cards/engines in the device. If
only one card is installed, only the first LED will
be used.

The Alert LEDs indicate problems either within
the device or with the signal being processed.
Detection for the Alert LEDs and GPO occurs at
the UpCon’s input.

LED co lor /
indication

Off UpCon is not connected to a

Green UpCon is connected to a com-

Green –
blinking
Yellow There has been silence for

Status

computer running the TC Icon
software or a hardware TC
Icon.

puter running the TC Icon soft­ware or a hardware TC Icon.
Normal operation, no problems
detected.
Preset recall

more than five seconds.

Signal LED

UpCon has three Signal LEDs – one for each of
the up to three cards/engines in the device.

The Signal LEDs indicate if audio streams are
received and processed by UpCon. Detection
for the Signal LEDs and GPO occurs at the Up­Con’s input.

LED co lor /
indication

Off No audio signal (above

Green An audio signal above

Yellow An audio signal above -1dBFS

Status

-70dBFS) has been detected.

-70dBFS has been detected.

has been detected.

10 UpCon

Getting to know UpCon

Front panel reset button

The Reset button on the front panel can be used
to reset the IP address of a UpCon unit or to
reset Ethernet communication between UpCon
and a computer when a communication error
has occurred.

Resetting the IP address
of a UpCon unit

It may be necessary to reset the IP address of a
UpCon unit. To do so, proceed as follows:

– Switch off UpCon by disconnecting both pow-

er supplies.
– Insert a straightened paper clip or a similar

object into the “Reset” hole on the front panel

until it touches the button behind the panel.
– Boot the UpCon by connecting one or both

power supplies while still holding the straight-

ened paper clip onto the Reset button.

UpCon will boot using its default IP address.

The default IP address is 192.168.1.[xx], where
[xx] is the last two digits of the device’s serial
number as printed on its back.

Resetting Ethernet communication

It may be necessary to reset Ethernet communi­cation between UpCon and a computer during
operation. To do so, proceed as follows:

– During operation, insert a straightened paper

clip or a similar object into the “Reset” hole

on the front panel until it touches the button

behind the panel, and press the button for

approximately 5 seconds until the LEDs start

blinking.
This will reset Ethernet communication with-

out interrupting audio streams.

Back panel connectors

UpCon back panel connectors

If possible, connect these two power sockets to
two independent power sources to minimize the
risk of power loss.

Due to the redundant design, UpCon will still be
fully operational when one of the two power sup­plies fails. However, to ensure maximum security
and stability, you should address the issue and
investigate the cause of the error indication at
the first given opportunity.

In case of complete power loss, the device is
hardware-bypassed via relays, ensuring that no
signal loss occurs.

Ethernet (2 x / 6 x)

UpCon is equipped with 32 bit Ethernet inter­faces fully compliant with the IEE 802.3u stan­dard, supporting 10 and 100 Mbit/s (100Base-TX
ports).

UpCon has either two, four or six Ethernet ports
– depending on the number of 3G Transmission
cards installed.

Connect a computer running TC Icon software
or a hardware TC Icon device to one of these
ports using a “straight-through” cable with 8P8C
modular connectors (“RJ45”). A “crossover” type
cable is not required.

The Ethernet ports are used exclusively for con­necting a controller (namely a computer running
TC Icon software). No audio signals are transmit­ted for processing over Ethernet ports.

SDI In Port(s) – (1 / 3)

UpCon has either one, two or three SDI In ports,
depending on the number of 3G Transmission
cards installed.

Connect the upstream SDI device to an SDI
In socket on UpCon. Use a coaxial cable with
BNC connectors with a nominal impedance of
75 Ohms.

SDI Out Port(s) – (1 / 3)

PSU (2 x)

UpCon has two C13 type power inlet sockets.
The dual power inlets provide extended opera­tional security and stability. They accept 100 to
230 Volts AC at 50/60Hz.

English Manual 11

UpCon has either one, two or three SDI Out
ports, depending on the number of Transmission
3G cards installed.

Connect the downstream SDI device to an SDI
Out socket on UpCon. Use a coaxial cable with