Simon RowleyTrinnov Audio, the designer and manufacturer of reference audio processors for home theatres, high-end Hi-Fi, professional audio, and commercial cinemas, has announced the release of software version 4.2.16 – an upgrade for the Altitude32 and Altitude16 processors that incorporates a much-desired but previously unavailable feature: an Object Viewer for Dolby Atmos.
While enjoying Atmos content, Altitude owners will be able to use the processor’s user interface to see a graphic three-dimensional representation of the location of each sound object, all in real-time.
The Object Viewer is available on the 3D Speaker Layout and Configuration screen of the Altitude GUI. Reading the spatial information encoded on the source, the viewer shows each sound object as a sphere overlaid on a graphic representation of the listener’s room. Each object moves or remains in a fixed position, as determined by the sound mixer during the final home soundtrack mix.
This screen also displays the speaker configuration of the system, with each speaker shown as a cube. A meter function changes the colour intensity of each speaker according to its sound level, with an option to hide the speakers to more easily view the objects. A pause function allows the user to freeze the screen display for closer analysis.
“We are very happy to deliver to Trinnov owners a highly useful and even educational feature that will enable them to better discover the details of the Dolby Atmos mix of their favourite films and music,” says Trinnov CEO, Arnaud Laborie.
“Our customers have shown a great deal of interest in the process of creating Dolby Atmos soundtracks and understanding how sounds are located in playback. Our Object Viewer allows them, for the first time, to see into the audio mix and to identify to what extent the sound mixer has utilised the 3D sound palette provided by Atmos. Our research and development team works tirelessly to ensure that Trinnov remains at the leading edge in delivering innovative capabilities and technologies to our customers.”
Support for a new HDMI board
In addition, this software release includes support for a new HDMI 2.0 board produced by its new manufacturing partner, Cypress Technology of Taiwan.
Trinnov has now begun shipping Altitude16 and Altitude32 processors with a new HDMI 2.0 board. The new software optimises the interface to this new board while working equally well with all previous versions of the Trinnov HDMI board. Functionally, this new board is essentially identical to the previous generation HDMI board, but with an additional eighth HDMI input and ARC/eARC capability.
Impulse Generator for Time Alignment
For advanced calibrators seeking to perform custom time alignment of individual speakers and subwoofers, a ‘Pulse’ function has been added for each speaker, located on the Processor/Input page of the GUI. It generates a short, positive pulse at -10 dB full scale.
By carefully listening to this signal reproduced by more than one speaker, the calibrator can adjust individual delays in increments of 0.1 milliseconds to align the speakers. In particular, this function can be highly useful in fine-tuning subwoofers to match the main speakers.
Speaker Manufacturer PEQ Settings
Speaker manufacturers often require electronic parametric equalisation filters for specific models, typically required for bi-, tri-, or quad-amplified speakers. Altitude processors can now import these settings, eliminating the need for calibrators to enter filter parameters manually for each speaker.
Once these settings are downloaded from a USB key, they become available through an alphabetised pull-down menu located on the 3D Speaker Layout and Configuration page of the Altitude GUI. Multiple speaker manufacturers are now making these settings available for use on the Altitude platform.
In addition, on the 3D Speaker Layout and Configuration page, the PEQ button will be highlighted in blue for any/all channels where filters have been applied.
Graphic Equalisers Set to ISO standards
Graphic equalisers have always been available for each channel on the Processor page of the Altitude GUI. For 4.2.16, the frequency scale for the Graphic EQ faders has been extended down to 10 Hz while still meeting the ISO standard for ⅓-octave center frequencies. The additional faders, bringing the total to 34, are provided for 16, 12, and 10 Hz centres.
As before, due to Trinnov’s unique software platform, all Altitude32 and Altitude16 processors, regardless of the age of the processor, can be upgraded to 4.2.16 through a simple 10-minute download. This update is available to all owners at no cost.