Telos Alliance Debuts Omnia Forza For Audio Processing

Telos Alliance, global provider of broadcast audio for more than three decades, introduces Omnia Forza, a brand-new software-based approach to processing for HD, DAB and streaming audio.

Telos Alliance said: “Sonically, Forza’s fresh processing algorithms breathe new life into the traditional five-band processor design, yielding a consistent and polished audio signature without sounding overly processed. Features like Omnia’s highly-regarded Sensus codec conditioning for low-bitrate streams and an integrated LUFS target-driven ITU-R BS.1770 loudness controller make Forza ideally suited to streaming audio, including delivery to platforms with specific loudness requirements.”

Frank Foti, Omnia founder and chairman of the board of Telos Alliance, said: “We know the percentage of listeners enjoying a station’s programming on HD, DAB, and in particular, streaming audio, is increasing. “For decades, broadcasters have relied on Omnia processing to make their FM signals stand out on the dial. Today, they need to pay just as much attention to how they process their digital and streaming content, and Forza gives them the tools they need to do it right.”

Designed for ease of use, Forza includes a suite of carefully-crafted Omnia presets and a single-page UI that uses “smart controls” to adjust multiple interrelated parameters with a single knob or fader. This approach, the company says, “ensures those less familiar with audio processing can deliver excellent-sounding audio to their listeners while processing pros will have the tools they need to create a more customized sound.”

“Increasingly, the personnel tasked with setting up and maintaining audio streams come from IT or other backgrounds rather than from a traditional broadcast engineering path,” says Geoff Steadman, Omnia product manager. “As skills in our industry shift, democratized technology is the answer, and Forza embodies our effort to make sophisticated processing accessible to all.”

Omnia Forza is available as a software container and will be a mid-tier processing option in Z/IPStream X/2 and R/2 as part of a comprehensive update to those products later this summer. A container-delivered FM version of Forza is in development for release later this year.