So... What's So Smart About Sensus; Loudness Processing And Codecs - Omnia ONE Installation And Operation Manual

the more multicast channels there are, the lower the bitrate each channel must have in order for them to all fit within the
total available bandwidth.
In the very near future, many low bitrate multicast audio channels might exist. To achieve maximum sound quality, the
kind that attracts and holds listeners, those channels will need specialized dynamics processing capable of creating great
sound regardless of program content and bitrate. They will need Sensus.
Omnia.ONE Multicast was designed from the ground up for provisioning audio for codecs operating at these low bitrates.
With Sensus, the innovative algorithm inside Omnia.ONE Multicast, it is now possible to have consistently high audio
quality with a minimum of codec-induced artifacts. Omnia.ONE Multicast creates highly listenable audio lacking the dull,
muffled, 'swirley' sound usually associated with codecs operated at extremely low bitrates.
So... what's so smart about Sensus?
The fact is, Sensus is smart. In real time it predicts program content that will be troublesome for the codec, and by
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modifying it's own algorithms can make appropriate changes to the program material before it ever reaches the codec!
The result is consistently high audio quality through a codec-based system, even at very low (18kbps – 21kbps) bitrates.
The human voice is very difficult to code at low bitrates without quality and intelligibility suffering. But Omnia.ONE
Multicast with Sensus can generate clean, smooth, crystal clear audio that's consistently great sounding no matter what
the codec or bitrate is.
--- Important Note ---
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It is extremely important to never directly audition the output of the Omnia.ONE Multicast for audio quality without the
audio being first routed through a codec!
Why?
The processed output of the Omnia.ONE Multicast has been 'pre-corrected' for the characteristics of the following codec
and because of this the audio may contain strange sounding artifacts that will imitate the 'inverse' of what that codec will
do. Because of this the audio exiting the Omnia.ONE Multicast may be unpleasant to listen to and will certainly be inferior
to that which will exit the codec later on.
In other words, what you hear at the output of the Omnia.ONE Multicast will bear no relationship to the audio quality that
will be achieved after the audio has passed through the coding process!
Need a corollary to this?
It's like trying to taste a pizza while still in the grocery store and staring at the raw ingredients that haven't been purchased
yet.
Thank you for selecting the incredible Omnia.ONE Multicast Audio Processor. Your continued patronage and support are
appreciated.
Sincerely,
The Omnia Development Team

Loudness Processing and Codecs

In general, applications requiring audio processing prior to a codec don't rely heavily on absolute loudness for their
overall success. Loudness is still important of course – you do want to be heard – but it is not the most important
thing. It has been well established that codecs generally do not like extremely processed audio applied to their inputs
because with very dense audio there are fewer opportunities to hide coding artifacts (these opportunities to hide
coding action are commonly referred to as codec entropy).
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