Processing History by J Somich 7

The "Prophetic" Processing History
Yesterday, Today and "Beyond"

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4/05/09
This series of articles re-published from www.radio-guide.com
issues of February to August 2007 original on PDF format.

We have enjoyed Jim Somich’s discussion about how modern audio processing has brought broadcasting from a lonely man in Master Control trying to anticipate changes in audio levels to microprocessor-based digital processors that can not only “learn” but by using delay lines can “rewrite history,” applying correction no human could ever accomplish. In this, his final instalment, Jim brings his knowledge, experience, and humor to bear as he speculates on what innovations in audio processing will come in the future, and offers his suggestions on what hardware and feature sets will be built into the Ultimate Audio Processor. (Radio-Guide August 2007)

Processing
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
by Jim Somich

Part #7

The "FORBAN:)" Processor

The Ultimate Audio Processor?
We have come a long way in broadcast audio – and this series (!) – From the manual gain-riding of the 1920s and 1930s, to the multi-band processing of the 1970s, to the modern processors, housing enough microprocessors to make a computer jealous. But we are not done. The major processor manufacturers – and the lesser known ones as well – are busy working on new approaches, algorithms, and designs. No longer are we limited to a half dozen knobs on a rack-mounted processor, but computer GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) provides access to a wide range of adjustable parameters. Last time, we tried looking ahead five or ten years – quite a challenge at a time when the industry is undergoing great changes, not to mention the advances in technology that are driving electronics in general. How much further dare I go? If you are ready, sit back and speculate just a little bit with me. I promise: it will be fun!

THE FUTURE REVEALED?
The crystal ball is getting darker and cloudy as we try to see ahead two decades. A lot can happen in twenty years and it is highly likely that we will not even recognize the technical end of the broadcast business by then. Nevertheless, things that were just “gimmicks” in the science fiction movies seem to migrate into reality. For example, Star Trek style computers that operate from voice commands or touch pads are starting to become possible (have you touched an Apple iPhone yet?). Are “self-repairing” transmitters far behind? Indeed, if you believe Moore’s Law can be sustained twenty years into the future, why would we not expect computers to be – if not “self-aware” – at the least, programmed to react and adjust to a number of possible inputs and appropriate responses that are more than several magnitudes higher than today? All we have to do is avoid playing Global Thermonuclear Warfare.

DSP AS THE DRIVER
While there is no logical reason why the most advanced processing must be based on Digital Signal Processing (DSP), DSP may just prove to be simpler and more cost effective than elaborate analog designs, especially as the cost of processing horsepower plummets. It is quite possible that the DSP processor of the future will become more of a faceless engine with no inherent philosophy or strategy. In other words, the strategy will be in the software: the box becomes a commodity. Quick! Who manufactured the motherboard in your desktop computer? You probably do not know and really do not care. But would you want to be forced to buy all of your software only from Mr. Softie? In many ways, that is where DSP processing is today. We are already seeing the leading edge of super-power processing at bargain basement prices. This downward price spiral will continue into the future and the result will be digital processors that make today’s finest audio processing boxes look like Soap Box Derby racers performing against supercharged Porsche Turbo Carreras!

PEERING AHEAD
We will now climb way out on a limb. We start by taking everything we have learned for the past 90 years – from the peak limiter days through today’s “sonic signature” boxes. Now, let us allow our imaginations to run wild. With just a bit of fortunate guessing, perhaps the picture in the crystal is becoming a bit clearer as we peer ahead to 2022. Of course, all broadcasting will be digital in 2022, using the Magna-Coreg-iBiquity System, widely adopted in 2010 after the original iBiquity failed to capture the imagination of listeners nationwide. M-C-I addressed and solved most of the negatives of the original HD Radio system – but that, dear reader, is something I will leave for you to learn in the due course of time (I just might be off by a few years!). By that time, the definition of broadcasting will have been expanded to include terrestrial, satellite, mobile Internet streaming, and the national Wi-Fi network. Listeners in 2022 will barely remember analog broadcasting – if at all. Bob Orban and Frank Foti will be in well-deserved retirement and their heirs and successors will have formed a new company called “ForBan Broadcast.” Can you stand the suspense?

TOMORROW’S DREAM PROCESSOR
Fade in on the January 2022 digital copy of Radio Guide and we find the cover story: The ForBan-1 – The Processor of the Future. In the article, Corny Gould, the design team leader, describes how they managed to reach new heights of audio manipulation: “Once we managed to stop the Global Thermonuclear War function, it was easy,” Gould reports. “We just told it to make the audio sound like ‘Wow!’ – and it did it instantly.” In the article, we find a set of specifications for the #1 broadcast audio processor in the year 2022:
THE “FORBAN” TECHIE STATS:
• 1 Rack Unit high.
• 24" Widescreen ultra-bright LED Display.
• Single-chip design using the new World-Semiconductor Mega-DSP chip.
• Based on ForBan’s high performance media server, and using a 400 GHz processing speed.
• Intelligent real-time analysis of bit-reduced audio with variable enhancement.
• Variable look-ahead function with instant analysis and pre-setup of processor topology
and settings to accommodate any program challenge.
• Infinitely variable selective noise reduction.
• Instantly reprogrammable on the run; automatically reconfigurable in real-time.
• Self-diagnosis via artificial intelligence. Instant performance evaluation of any function on the run.
• 7.1 surround sound processing w/automatic encoding of 2.0 and 5.1 sources to 7.1.
• External memory ports accommodate 2x20-terrabyte thumb drives.
• Space for two optional (but now obsolete) 3/4-inch 1- terrabyte mini hard drives.
• Over two thousand 3rd-Party plug-ins available. • Manufacturer’s Support: Instant replacement for the life of the processor. There are no serviceable parts inside.
• List Price: Less than $1,000 (in 2000 dollars)!

As you can imagine this audio processor will be able to feature performance that is infinitely variable from absolute consistency to pure sonic signature (from purity to distortion).

UNLIMITED SET OF OPTIONS
You may have fixed your eyes on the issue of plugins. Since the ForBan-1 will run on an Open Source Operating System w/3rd party accommodation, with an instant bootup via internal nRam, and feature Super-Ethernet Wi-Fi connect ability completely IP Addressable for Internet 4.0, it will handle those two thousand 3rd-Party plug-ins by a quick, easy upload to the copious internal memory. (Moore’s Law!) The Program Director in 2022 will have available dynamics processing, fully adjustable reverberation, aural excitation, tube emulation, room/hall simulation, and station emulation. Yes! Over 1,000 vintage processors can be incorporated into 1,000 virtual airchains duplicating the sound of every classic station in history! Well, maybe I am getting carried away a bit – the exclamation points are starting to stack up! (Oops, there is another one.) But maybe not. You decide. Perhaps you can see the ads now:

But just think for a moment: With an intelligent real-time analysis feature, the audio can instantly be tailored to each song immediately as it comes on the air. And multiple boxes can be interconnected for super performance under the most demanding conditions. The most masochistic Program Director can be as easily accommodated as the best ears in the business. Engineers may or may not be pleased. With no serviceable parts inside, digital audio handling preventing any overmodulation, and the manufacturer offering instant replacement for the life of the processor, the engineering department will not have to do more than install the box. It will be a far cry from the Langevin ProGar that is for sure. One thing is for certain, the future will be an exciting place and the possibilities boggle the mind and stimulate the imagination.

THE “UNPROCESSOR”
What form will broadcast audio processing take when your one-year-old child is graduating from college? Maybe an “unprocessor” will, at the same time, be the most and the least processing possible. Here is a quick look. Remember Moore’s Law? Processing power doubles every 24 months for the same price. If you were of legal age when personal computers first made the scene, I do not have to dwell on the efficacy of Moore’s Law. Its implications are fantastic! Remember transistors? How many transistors are on a current, state of the art microprocessor? Would you believe 42 million transistors (read about Here) with the capability of executing 1.7 billion instructions a second? But wait, it gets better. “Intel Announces Tiniest Transistor Yet.” (The Oregonian,12/11/00). The end result, the semiconductor giant said, will be a thumbnail-size computer chip with 400 million transistors operating at speeds up to 10 Gigahertz. In 20 years, processing power will have increased by a factor of over 1,000 while the price will be held constant – our un-processor could well be a chip that costs the equivalent of fifty cents in 2007 dollars! With that much horsepower, almost anything is possible. So here is the best part: our “unprocessor” does not reside at the station, it is built into the receiver!

YOUR GRANDCHILD’S BROADCAST PROCESSOR
I call my Ultimate Processor “The Unprocessor” because that is what it is – sort of. No, I am not going to tell you, after all this processor-speak, that the ultimate processing is no processing. That just is not true! There are those who do want a sound that is as close as possible to the original recording, be it CD, vinyl, or thumb drive. Others would find this sound to be flat and lifeless. We probably all hear things a little differently. The Ultimate Processor will put processing totally in the hands of the end user. After all is said and done, in the end, processing is a matter of taste and need. You may prefer your heavy metal rock “balls to the wall” with almost zero dynamic range and distortion up the wazoo. I may be into Judas Priest as much as you, but prefer just a little “breathing room.”

THE ULTIMATE PROCESSOR: LET THE LISTENER DECIDE!
Imagine having enormous processing power at your command. Digital Magic at your fingertips. You choose the sound your want, depending on need or your mood or whim. As processing power becomes more economical (Moore’s Law) the ultimate personal processor becomes feasible and practical. Even modestly priced receivers could include a “single chip solution” to personalized processing. But what about those people who “can’t be bothered” with tinkering, the ones who just want to enjoy the music? That is the beauty of the Unprocessor. The Unprocessor also resides in the air chain just like today’s magic box. Set it up to your requirements: “signature sound” or purity, or anything in-between. And have every advanced function we have just discussed at your beck and call. Want a “wall of sound?” Just punch up the 1988 Z-100 preset. Want to recall the WLS sound of the 50s? It, too, is just a preset away. But there is more. With this much processing power, you could generate a metadata stream that would contain all the information necessary to “undo” anything The Unprocessor could do to its input. Now, imagine the listener with this enormous processing power built into his listening device, be it a radio, mp-3 player or whatever new gadget will be shown at the next CES. Now you have the ultimate choice: the processing selected for you by the program provider or undo it all and apply a preset of your own. Everyone gets the same programming, but everyone also listens to it tailored to their own taste and listening conditions.

A FACT, NOT FICTION
Sound far-fetched? Not with the economical processing power that is inevitable. The Unprocessor could be a “single chip solution” that would add negligible cost to a listening device. Wow! Maybe the Unprocessor is not so much science fiction as science fact yet to come. One thing for sure, the only constant is change, and I do not see progress slowing. Thirty years? Forty years? I think virtually anything is possible! (Those exclamation points are stacking up again, but all this is not so unthinkable.) And so ends our journey through almost a hundred years of broadcast processing history. The engineers of yesterday did not have a clue as to what processing has become in the 21st Century, and the same will be said about today’s young techs in a decade or three. It is all very exciting is it not? May I leave you with my sincere wish: for you to have the best sounding and the loudest station in your market.

Jim Somich

The author would like to thank Barry Mishkind, Bob Orban, Frank Foti, and Corny Gould for their invaluable assistance in the writing of this series.

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