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RTW Announces First Sales Award Winners at IBC 2011

Company Recognizes Sonotechnique, Amptec and Toyo for Excellent Sales Support

RTW, a leading vendor of visual audio meters for professional broadcast, production, post-production, and quality control, awarded three of its distributors with the company’s first annual sales awards during its IBC sales meeting on Friday, September 9. RTW recognized Sonotechnique for “Best Ramp-up”, Amptec for “Best Sustained Performance” and Toyo for “Best Sales in Asia”.

“We are so happy to recognize our distribution partners in this way,” says Andreas Tweitmann, CEO, RTW. “RTW has been working with Sonotechnique, Amptec and Toyo for quite some time and we have built strong relationships over the years. Each of these companies knows our products inside and out and has used that knowledge to help RTW shape a solid reputation in the broadcast and pro audio industries. We look forward to working with all of our distribution partners well into the future.”

Sonotechnique is a top audio provider located in Canada and has secured RTW equipment for high-profile events such as the 2010 Winter Olympics.

In 2010, RTW announced that Amptec, the company’s longtime distributor in Belgium, expanded its operations to Luxembourg and the Netherlands, helping to propel RTW’s European sales even further.

Toyo is RTW’s exclusive distributor in Japan. The two have been longtime partners in the pro-audio industry as well.

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RTW Unvails New Design for its Surroundcontrol Series

RTW, a leading vendor of visual audio meters for professional broadcast, production, post-production, and quality control, will be showcasing at IBC 2011(Hall 8, Stand E76), its newly designed version of the SurroundControl series. As a result of the new worldwide EBU/ITU loudness regulations, RTW took the opportunity to give one of its flagship products a facelift, which includes a modern, sleek design and the inclusion of its new loudness-range instrument (LRA).

Available in mid-October, the redesigned SurroundControl series is representative of a fresh take on RTW’s approach to manufacturing loudness products. Following in the footsteps of the innovative design of its popular TouchMonitor audio meter family of products, RTW’s SurroundControl series has been given a current, appealing look and has been fully updated to conform to the latest EBU/ITU loudness regulations.

“As the audio industry continues to face new worldwide modification requirements to its loudness control practices, RTW is leading the way by updating its products with the proper technology to make these changes happen,” says Andreas Tweitmann, CEO, RTW. “With our fresh and innovative product designs, RTW is welcoming in the winds of change and taking professional audio products to a whole new level.”

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In addition to improved looks, the SurroundControl series also has significantly improved functions. The new LRA instrument that has been added to its software combines the measurement and visualization of two critical loudness parameters in a straightforward and intuitive way.

The new LRA instrument includes two parameters that are essential for today’s loudness instruments:
-    Program loudness, i.e. the integrated loudness of the overall program. The integrated measurement specified in EBU R 128 was developed for this purpose.
-    Loudness variances within short time periods. These are measured against the Loudness Range (LRA) descriptor specified in EBU R 128, too.

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Combining control, analysis and monitoring of eight-channel 5.1 to 7.1 surround sound into one single system, the SurroundControl 31900, a compact, 3-RU rack-mountable module that fits into half the space of a standard 19-inch installation rack for waveform monitors, is perfect for studios working on video production, post-production and live entertainment projects. At the heart of the SurroundControl series is RTW’s unique Surround Sound Analyzer, the house-shaped display offering an easy-to-read visual report of overall sound loudness and sound pressure level, phase correlation and level differences among channels.

RTW Debuts New Combo Instrument for Loudness Range Metering

RTW, a leading vendor of visual audio meters for professional broadcast, production, post-production, and quality control, was showcasing at IBC 2011 its new loudness-range instrument (LRA) for many of its metering products. The new combination instrument will be incorporated into software versions for the TouchMonitor (V2.x), Surround Control 31900/31960 (V4.x) and the SurroundMonitor 11900 (V4.x),

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The extensive paradigm shift from traditional PPM metering to loudness metering in the pro-audio industry will be successful only if it becomes straightforward for any user groups it affects. Now, with the new LRA introduction, RTW has made another significant contribution to this trend.

RTW has always been a worldwide pioneer in loudness metering and continues to lead the way by integrating this innovative LRA instrument into the current software versions of its top-selling TouchMonitor as well as the SurroundControl 31900/31960 and SurroundMonitor 11900 series of products. The new LRA instrument combines the measurement and visualization of two critical loudness parameters in a straightforward and intuitive way.

In addition to highly complex loudness instruments for the production area requiring in-depth user knowledge, there is an increasing demand for easy-to-use tools. Those tools must allow for viewing and evaluating critical loudness parameters intuitively and without technical expertise. Using such an instrument, even non-engineers can quickly assess whether a product meets the requirements or not.

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Two parameters are essential for such a loudness instrument:
-    Program loudness, i.e. the integrated loudness of the overall program. The integrated measurement specified in EBU R 128 was developed for this purpose.
-    Loudness variances within short time periods. These are measured against the Loudness Range (LRA) descriptor specified in EBU R 128, too.

While integrated measurement provides information on the overall program loudness, the LRA parameter allows for making assumptions on whether the program requires dynamic processing with regard to the intended distribution path (or whether previous dynamic processing was too strong). For example, the original soundtrack of a cinema film may have higher LRA values than the signal used for TV broadcasting of the same film.

When developing the LRA instrument, RTW’s focus was on visually representing the two parameters that are so critical for loudness metering in a way that the user can follow them intuitively, quickly and without any background knowledge. In addition to separate visualization of the two parameters, when set to “MagicLRA + I” mode, the new RTW instrument provides a combo view. The LRA-bar width and color reflect the current LRA value while its position on a LU or LUFS scale indicates the measured program loudness. This way, the most important loudness metrics are available at any time in an easily readable space-saving format. In the simplest case of a relative measurement where 0 LU is the target value specified in the applied standard (e.g. –23 LUFS in case of EBU R 128), the user just needs to make sure that the indicator remains in the 0 LU range and, for example, that the LRA bar stays green. As with all RTW instruments, colors and thresholds are, of course, customizable.

RTW Announced the TM3 TouchMonitor

RTW is proud to announce the TM3, the latest addition to the company’s successful TouchMonitor range. The new TM3 will be on display for IBC attendees to see first-hand at the company’s stand (Hall 8, Stand E76).

The TM3 includes features of the larger TM7 and TM9 versions and is controlled using a touch-sensitive display. With its budget-friendly base price of less than 1,000 euros (basic stereo version), 4.3-inch touchscreen, and stylish exterior allowing for horizontal and vertical placement, the TM3 is a highly appealing compact alternative, ideal for editorial offices, edit suites and small control rooms.

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“We are thrilled to unveil to the IBC community the latest version of the TouchMonitor family of products,” says Andreas Tweitmann, CEO, RTW. “The TM3 is modern, sleek and, with its 4.3-inch touchsceen, a more compact version of the TM7 and TM9. Plus, with its budget-friendly price, it offers an affordable yet highly advanced solution for pro-audio professionals faced with the changing needs of loudness control in the broadcast industry.”

Featuring PPM and true-peak instruments, the TM3 offers comprehensive loudness metering in compliance with all globally relevant standards, including EBU R128, ITU BS.1770-2/1771, ATSC A/85, and ARIB. Instruments include single-channel and summing bar graphs, an LRA instrument and numerical displays. The basic version handles analog and digital stereo audio, while the 5.1 option adds the support of six-channel digital input.

The TM3 comes with a separate I/O unit that is connected with a single cable for audio transmission and power supply. RTW expects to begin shipment of the product in the second quarter of 2012.