Orban 5500i Optimod FM/HD Audio Processor

OPTIMOD 5500i puts competitive five- and two-band OPTIMOD audio processing into a single rack unit and brings it to you at the most affordable price ever. Quality sound is what 5500i is all about – sound that attracts audiences by providing a polished, professional presentation regardless of format and source material.

The 5500i can also be used as a superb stand-alone stereo encoder with latency as low as 2 ms and full overshoot limiting in both the left/right and composite baseband domains. When used in this mode, the 5500i must be driven (usually via an STL) by a full-featured FM audio processor (like Orban’s 8700i) that incorporates pre-emphasis-aware HF limiting and peak control.

The 5500i is the ideal choice for network broadcasters who process with Orban’s flagship OPTIMOD 8700i at the network origination point and who need a processor at every transmitter to eliminate STL overshoots (using the 5500i’s stand-alone stereo encoder mode) and/or to process local insertions while also eliminating network STL overshoots (using the 5500i’s audio processor / stereo encoder mode). Moreover, the 5500i’s two modes make it easy for large government and network broadcasters to manage its inventory of spares because any 5500i can be used as a stereo encoder with or without audio processing. Available in both modes, the built-in, defeatable ITU BS412 multiplex power controller allows the 5500i’s output to meet even the most stringent European government regulations.

Versatility doesn’t stop with sound.
The 5500i includes a full-featured RBS/RBDS generator at no additional charge. The generator supports dynamic PS. It can be controlled via the 5500i presets and an ASCII terminal server that can be connected to automation to support displaying title and artist.

The 5500i has a 10 MHz frequency reference input allows the stereo pilot tone frequency to be locked to GPS or another high-accuracy frequency standard. This improves the performance of single-frequency networks in areas where coverage of the transmitters overlaps.

With the 5500i, your signature sound is just a preset away. An easy, one-knob Less/More adjustment allows you to customize any factory preset, trading cleanliness against processing artifacts according to the requirements of your market and competitive environment. Full Control gives you the versatility to customize your audio further.

This versatility makes the 5500i a superb choice for any format. Its five-band processing is ideal for any pop music format, while phase-linear two-band processing yields ultra-transparent sound for classical, classic jazz, and fine arts formats.

Unlike many lesser processors, the 5500i handles speech particularly well – it’s always clean, even when you process for loudness. If you’re concerned about latency because you need to feed live talent headphones off air, be assured that the 5500i’s ultra-low-latency (5 ms delay) processing will keep the most finicky talent happy. Or use optimum latency (15 ms delay) processing for the most competitive sound with delay that’s still low enough to satisfy most any talent.

The 5500i’s built-in stereo encoder, AES/EBU digital inputs and outputs, and analog I/O permit hassle free interfacing to any broadcast plant, whether the 5500i is located at the studio or the transmitter. Tight band limiting to 15 kHz means you can use any uncompressed digital STL to pass 5500i – processed audio from studio to transmitter without compromising on-air loudness – there’s no need to use STL’s having 44.1 or 48 kHz sample-rate.

The stereo encoder’s stereo sub-channel modulator can operate in normal double sideband mode and in an experimental compatible single sideband mode (SSB/VSB) that is offered to enable users to compare and assess the two modes.

Analog Fallback to digital control that allows Silence Sense to switch the active input from analog to digital if silence is detected in the analog input signal but not on the digital input signal. This function works vice versa as well on both analog and digital AES input. The silence sense parameters apply to both simultaneously and both detectors are available to drive the 5500i’s tally outputs and sending SNMP Traps/Alerts.