TC Electronic and RTW announce joint venture at NAB 2010

Leading audio companies team up to develop new professional loudness metering products

RTW and TC Electronic have co-developed a hardware version of TC’s Loudness Radar Meter LM5D, already an industry-standard tool for predictable loudness management in broadcast, film, post-production and music. LM5D has so far only been available as a software plug-in for Digidesign Pro Tools and for TC Electronic's System 6000, DB4 and DB8 processors. LM5D displays instant loudness, loudness history and true-peak level compliant with the new ITU-R BS.1770 standard, as well as EBU R128 and ATSC A/85 recommendations.

“A large number of LM5D users have asked for a hardware version of the meter,” says Thomas Lund, HD Development manager at TC Electronic. “Instead of developing our own, we were considering a credible platform already under development. I had come to know and respect RTW engineers through international standardization work, so the cooperation seemed an obvious choice. Together with RTW we’re taking another step to form a transparent signalpath from production to multiple platforms for the benefit of quality audio of all genres.”

The new RTW co-developed meter will be available in 7” and 9” versions supporting up to 32 audio channels in various I/O configurations. Meters will be sold through TC Electronic’s professional channels with users having the possibility of adding a suite of RTW analyzing tools as licensed options.

“RTW and TC Electronic have both enjoyed decades of success in the professional audio market,” says Andreas Tweitmann, managing director of RTW. “We are proud and excited to collaborate with a company that not only has a stellar reputation, but also a line of audio solutions that complement the RTW family of products perfectly.”

“This is a momentous day for TC Electronic and RTW. With the experience that both of these companies bring to the table I have no doubt in suggesting that this is also a momentous day for the future development of professional loudness metering products,” says Allan Strand, TC Electronic’s marketing director. “Both TC and RTW have already raised the bar when it comes to giving the industry the tools that they need, so to see where we can take our products through this joint venture is a truly exciting proposition.”

About TC Electronic

TC Electronic was founded in 1976 with the objective of developing, manufacturing and marketing first class audio products that provide lasting user value for audio professionals. TC Electronic continues to be very focused on new technologies and products with approximately 40 R&D staff. Today, the company is not only a leader in digital signal processing, but also a major player in other aspects of the digital audio technology world, such as digital amplification and networking. Our users include some of the most demanding customers in pro audio, recording studios, TV and radio stations, the prominent theatres, operas and other installations and public address companies.

About RTW

RTW, based in Cologne (Germany), has more than 40 years of experience in designing, producing, and marketing sophisticated recording studio systems. The company focuses its business on peak meters and audio vectorscopes that are in use in the leading recording studios as well as by radio and TV broadcasters worldwide. The current product portfolio includes multichannel TFT-based monitoring systems for integrated surround-signal visualization using the unique and groundbreaking Surround Sound Analyzer. In June 2008, RTW was certified for the internationally accepted DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 quality-management standard.