Deutsche Welle Selects RTW For EBU-R128

German broadcaster Deutsche Welle has turned to RTW to assist in its fulfillment of the EBU-R128 loudness mandate through its use of the company's TouchMonitor line of audio meters.

Deutsche Welle first selected the TouchMonitor units last September, employing a combination of 65 TM3, TM7 and TM9 meters with various configurations and feature sets in several recording studios, editing suites and workplaces in its Bonn and Berlin facilities. AVS Medientechnik GmbH, based in Berlin, oversaw the procurement and implementation of the units.
According to Hannes Brandt, technical assistant at Deutsche Welle's Berlin site, the broadcaster chose RTW on the recommendation of an ARD working group.
"Our production workplaces were already using digital and/or analog peak meters by RTW, as well as metering instruments from their PortaMonitor series, and the positive experience we had with those products, along with RTW customer support, also contributed to the decision to go with RTW," he said.
Engineers working on various broadcast shows Deutsche Welle’s Berlin and Bonn sites currently employ the RTW TM3 units in a combined setup with the existing RTW PortaMonitor, as well as the RTW TM7 units at the company's dubbing suites (mainly the TM7-VID version, which is installed in the company's Tektronix mainframes). The TM9 units are being used with an installed radar option, for a more detailed look into the composition of the metering data.
The majority of the meters comprise typical desktop units, along with TM7-VID modules supplied with 19-inch rack-mount adapters for waveform monitors as well as TM9 OEM units for installation into mixing consoles. As with all members of RTW's TouchMonitor family, the TM3, TM7 and TM9 TouchMonitor units can be enhanced with software licenses as future needs arise.
"We currently use a reference setting of either –17 LUFS or the traditional 0 dB QPPM," Herr Brandt says. "This allows our users to familiarize themselves with level adjustment based on loudness. However, we currently still support QPPM-based level adjustment.
"For that purpose, we configured two different layouts on the installed units. As soon as all workplaces are equipped with TM units and all users have undergone appropriate training, we will switch our in-house reference to –23 LUFS by changing the layout presets. "
Brandt said another major benefit is the unlimited configurability of instrument layouts on the user interface. "This way, we can adjust our meter scales to the requirements at hand. In addition, the constant software refinement and the additional software options ensure maximum protection of our investments."

www.rtw.com

(IT/JP)