Linear Acoustic, a manufacturer of customer-centric multichannel sound solutions for digital broadcast, will be showing the new AEROMAX:one digital television audio processing system, which supports built-in Dolby(R) Digital (AC-3) encoding at NAB 2008.

Inconsistent DTV audio loudness, or the so-called "loud commercial problem" is the number one complaint of television viewers and it is driving them away. Stations simply do not have the time to manage the huge variety of stereo and surround sound programming that viewers expect, while ensuring compliance with Federal regulations.

"It is clear that with the transition to digital completing early next year, broadcasters need simple, cost effective audio solutions right now," said Linear Acoustic Founder Tim Carroll. "The AEROMAX:one is the feature-packed, entry-level answer."

The single-rack-unit AEROMAX:one accepts four AES pairs of audio to handle two-channel to 5.1 channel network or local audio and a separate pair of channels for SAP or visual descriptive programming. The unit can apply multiband, multistage loudness control and upmixing to the local audio, allowing it to be matched to 5.1 channel network audio, while leaving the network audio untouched. The AEROMAX:one is especially appropriate for affiliates needing a simple, cost-effective solution for local loudness control and Dolby Digital (AC-3) encoding. 

AES I/O plus metadata and GPI control are standard, and a software remote will be available for the AEROMAX:one later this year. Available options include built-in Dolby Digital (AC-3) encoding, metadata output, and HD-SDI embedding and de-embedding.