Winner of a Radio World “Cool Stuff” Award, the Sound4 x8 multichannel audio card from audio card maker Sound4is an eight-channel streaming card with onboard processing. It is designed to handle Internet radio streaming.
It can process eight channels on a single PCI Express card simultaneously and independently. It has eight inputs and outputs. The Sound4 x8 is compatible with Windows, Livewire and (soon) Ravenna networks. On the processing side, Sound4x8 has an actual processing chain: AGC + tone FX (four-band parametric EQ/two-band EQ) + stereo FX + three-band compressor + four-band limiter + brickwall limiter.
On the coding side, it encodes each output up to five streams. Each can be corrected independently (adaptive processing) to compensate for the differences in sound due to the encoding. A station can customize streams according to the audience targeted: low bitrate audio for mobile devices, a higher bitrate for Internet listening. The card handles MP3, AAC, HE-AAC, HE-AAC v2.
On the metadata side, the Sound4x8 will support different standards and the XML data bridge will allow a total integration with station automation suites. The card is compatible with popular media servers such as Shoutcast, Icecast, Wowza, Flash, Darwin and Helix. It is also compatible with numerous popular automation systems from ENCO, BSI, BE, Netia, RCS, Winmedia and others.
