Thimeo Audio Technology has released Version 11 of its Stereo Tool audio processing software for broadcast and streaming.
It highlights an improved RuleBreaker final clipper, which it said “delivers approximately 0.4 dB more loudness at comparable quality, with cleaner, more consistent and punchier output, thanks to improvements in the handling of transients.”
It continued: “The highs also sound nicer, due to different prioritization of different parts of the frequency range.”
CEO Hans van Zutphen said the company also improved protection against pumping sounds, which should translate to more loudness without listener fatigue.
“This improvement is extremely important for FM, particularly in countries such as the U.S. that use 75 μs pre-emphasis for FM broadcasting.”
Also new is a Pling Plong xylophone distortion filter, which he said helps reduce crackling artifacts.
The update includes Version 5 of MicroMPX, its technology for transporting an FM MPX signal over IP at reduced bandwidth, commonly used to deliver composite signals to transmitter sites.
It said the design now provides more efficient encoding. “A 295 kbps version 5 stream now matches the quality of 320 kbps in version 4, meaning broadcasters can now run bitrates as low as 300 kbps.”
Signal transport was improved, with dynamic keyframes and partial keyframe support, enabling recovery “on almost every packet” with minimal overhead.
“Version 5 also adds optional RTP packet headers for compatibility with existing RTP tooling, improved RIST integration and in-header L/R audio level encoding for monitoring without decoding. CPU usage is reduced by up to 15% in some cases.”
The MicroMPX software decoder adds scheduled top-of-hour station ID playback with per- decoder local files, EAS override via GPI or audio trigger, and a GPO output for signal loss.
The new version is available for Stereo Tool software users and Thimeo hardware platforms, including STXtreme and StereoToolBox, at no cost.
Info: www.thimeo.com
