TC Electronic DB2, User Manual

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LIMITER
Link Limiter
Range: On/Off
When Link is active, the same amount of peak
limiting is always applied to both channels.
Some broadcasters like the sound of operating
left and right limiting without stereo coupling
because they feel that it maximizes loudness
and widens the stereo image. Of course
you should always choose unlinked Limiter
operation on dual mono sources.
The Configuration control on the Main
page does not affect the Link Limiter
setting. This link is running individually
from the selected configuration.
SoftClip A/L and B/RSoftClip A/L and B/R
Parameter range: -3 dB to Off
When active, SoftClip applies a saturation
effect to signals that come close to maximum
Output level. The threshold is relative to the
Threshold of the Brickwall Limiter.
This controlled distortion of transients works
well for adding loudness, but is not a desirable
effect with some data compression codecs.
While the Brickwall Limiter is extremely low dis -
tortion, SoftClip is not. Use your own judgment
to decide whether it improves your production
or not.
Threshold A/L & Threshold B/R
Parameter range: -12 to 0.0 dBFS
Use these parameters to set the Threshold of
the Brickwall Limiter.
The Threshold is relative to 0 dBFS, not to the
Reference Level set on the Main page.
The Brickwall Limiter uses 48 bit processing,
with distortion figures surpassing the quality
demands of DVD-Audio mastering. Oversam-
pling is used to prevent inter-sample peaks
from reaching the Output, and time-constants
adapt to the Input signal.
Emphasis
Emphasis compensation may be added to the
limiter. DB2 uses a sliding low-pass filter to
complement the limiter. While emphasis is used
in analog broadcast, low bit rate codecs may
also benefit sonically from this function.
Switch between emphasis Off (HD and normal
DTV broadcast), 50 microsec, 75 microsec
and J17 (NICAM) emphasis. Note: When pro -
nounced Emphasis Limiting is required, it is
normally advisable to link the limiters to avoid a
wildly changing stereo perspective.
HF Offset
For Emphasis Limiting with no headroom
against the response curve, choose a 0.0 dB
setting. For analog transmission, a more con-
servative setting is suggested, e.g. -1.0 dB or
lower.
This parameter is only used when Emphasis
Limiting is set to another value than “Off”.
APPENDIX
Reset Menu & Software Load
To enter the following functions, hold the
UTILITY key while powering up the unit.
Once you see the menu, you can navigate it
as follows:
• Press the UTILITY key to scroll through the
menu.
• Press the OK key to confirm/enter.
“L” – Load
Indicates Load mode and is used when loading
application software.
Press OK to load the information present on
the currently inserted PCMCIA card. When no
card or a card with invalid software is inserted,
a dash “–” will flash for three seconds in the
display.
“R” – Reset
With Reset mode selected, press OK once to
activate Reset mode. The “R” in the display will
then begin to flash.
To abort/cancel the operation, press the
UTILITY key. To confirm the reset operation,
press OK a second time.
During the reset procedure, a “+” is displayed.
“A” – Boot Software Version
Press OK to see the version number of the
currently loaded boot software.
For service-purposes only.
“V” – Operating Software Number
Press OK to see the version number of the
currently loaded DB2 application software.
“N” – Serial Number
Press OK to see the serial number for this unit
(In most instances, this should be easier than
having to go to the back of the unit once it has
been placed inside a rack).
“S” – Start
Select this function to reboot the DB2 for
normal use.
When you a have performed a Reset
procedure and the unit reboots, all presets are
reconfigured. The reconfiguration process takes
approximately 15 seconds. Please be patient.