PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT
24 July 2015
• • • View the product overview video here. • • •
In March of this year, CEDAR Audio declared its intention to develop new products for Merging Technologies' range of 64-bit workstations. The company is now delighted to announce CEDAR for Pyramix 64, which makes some of CEDAR's latest 64-bit processes available on the Pyramix platform.
This new suite of processes (each derived from CEDAR's multi-award-winning CEDAR Studio 7™ and CEDAR Cambridge™ flagships) allows users to eliminate a wide range of common problems and significantly improve the sound quality of their audio. It provides unsurpassed results, quickly, and with the minimum of fuss and user intervention. Nonetheless, great care has been taken to ensure that the six processes that comprise CEDAR for Pyramix 64 retain the family feel so that the hundreds of existing users are immediately comfortable and productive with the new software.
Chris Hollebone, Merging Technologies' Sales Operations & Marketing Manager says of the new suite, "Our Pyramix restoration customers expect to be able to use the leading audio restoration tools and have been eagerly awaiting the advantages of 64-bit operation. They will not be disappointed. In addition to the performance enhancements of the 64-bit platform, Retouch 7 has been transformed, and the performance of all the processes has been dramatically improved."
CEDAR Audio's relationship with Merging Technology stretches back to 1996, when CEDAR developed the first broadband noise reduction system for the earliest Pyramix workstations. "Unfortunately, due to the rapid changes in operating systems and software environments at that time, the original NR-1 product was rather short-lived", explained Gordon Reid, CEDAR Audio's Managing Director. "However, our next releases, Retouch for Pyramix (which appeared in 2003) followed by Declick, Decrackle, Dehiss and Dethump (which formed the first CEDAR for Pyramix suite in 2004) have endured for more than a decade. But, of course, we are aware that Pyramix users have been clamouring for 64-bit audio restoration processes. We could have updated the existing CEDAR for Pyramix software, but we all agreed that this would be an excellent opportunity to replace the earlier processes with our latest algorithms and user-interfaces so that Pyramix can again boast state-of-the-art restoration facilities."
Availability and pricing
CEDAR for Pyramix 64 is available immediately. Pricing is available from your local CEDAR office or dealer.
Upgrades
Users wishing to upgrade from previous versions of CEDAR for Pyramix to CEDAR for Pyramix 64 should contact their local CEDAR Audio or Merging Technologies dealer, or write to: support@cedaraudio.com.
The processes:
• CEDAR for Pyramix 64: Retouch 7™
Retouch 7 allows you to define the temporal and spectral content of the sounds that you want to manipulate. You are not limited to simple definitions of complex sounds: Retouch 7 allows you to mark complex areas in its spectrogram using the types of tools commonly found in photographic and image manipulation software. Once identified, sounds can be manipulated using any of the seven processing modes at your disposal (which now include the new Cleanse, Revert, Volume and Erase modes) and the many other new tools provided. These include the ability to define complex shapes using marquee, line drawing, and paint brush tools, the ability to Retouch 7 multiple regions simultaneously, options when patching or copying to lock either axis for pitch-shifting (vertical movement) or preserving the harmonic content (horizontal movement), 'Match edges' and 'tilt' functions to accommodate fades and pre-existing filtering, options for logarithmic, linear and note scales on the frequency axis, harmonic markers, and a system for defining your own hot-keys for faster, more intuitive operation.
With its slick new user-interface and enhanced processing capabilities, Retouch 7 stands alone as the spectral editor of choice for mastering studios, mix suites, post houses, forensic laboratories, and anyone else who needs to be able to identify, isolate and manipulate individual sounds within an audio file.
See: Retouch 7™
• CEDAR for Pyramix 64: Auto declick
Performing at high speed without sacrificing CEDAR quality, Auto declick (which now offers a threshold control for greater flexibility) incorporates a better impulsive noise detection and a better interpolator than any previous declicker available for Pyramix. This results in superior performance across a wider range of material than ever before. Indeed, this performance is so good that, in most cases, it's not possible to hear that the signal was damaged prior to restoration.
See: Auto Declick
• CEDAR for Pyramix 64: Auto decrackle
Auto decrackle boasts a remarkable ability to dig into a damaged signal to identify and remove all manner of ground-in and grungy crackle without damaging the wanted audio. It also removes some forms of buzz and some amplitude distortions from material ranging from cylinder recordings to current broadcasts contaminated with lighting buzz. Now offering a threshold control for greater flexibility, it's amazingly simple to operate and as applicable to film soundtrack restoration, audio forensics and broadcast as it is to traditional audio restoration jobs such as CD and DVD remastering.
See: Auto decrackle
• CEDAR for Pyramix 64: Auto dehiss
Many plug-in dehissers are prone to side-effects known as twittering and glugging. Auto dehiss embodies a more advanced algorithm that enables the software to determine the broadband noise content and remove it without the introduction of those artefacts or other unwanted side-effects. A manual mode is also offered for fine-tuning the results when wanted. Remarkably simple to use, Auto dehiss is nonetheless a fully-featured package for cleaning up audio for post, CD and DVD mastering, soundtrack restoration, broadcast, and sound archives.
See: Auto Dehiss
• CEDAR for Pyramix 64: Manual declick
Manual declick incorporates a new algorithm capable of eliminating clicks and other problems of up to 2,000 samples duration. Simply mark the offending signal, and the process will eliminate the problem. To extend its flexibility and ensure effective restoration in the widest possible range of cases, two models are provided.
Manual Declick A:
The general purpose algorithm; the optimal choice for many situations.
Manual Declick B:
Removing extended clicks in the presence of high levels of background noise can lead to a hole in the background, even though the music or speech signal is reconstructed correctly. Manual Declick 'B' retains the atmos, even when restoring the longest and most difficult clicks and other impulses.
See: Manual Declick
• CEDAR for Pyramix 64: Dethump
Conventional declicking processes are unsuitable for restoring audio containing thumps. Furthermore, the spectral content of thumps will usually overlap the genuine signal, so simple high-pass or band-reject filters cannot remove them without degrading the underlying signal. Dethump uses the data in and around the damaged signal to build up a picture of what the low frequency data should have been had the thump not occurred. The process then replaces the thump with restored low frequency audio, leaving the undamaged high frequency audio unaffected. This makes Dethump ideal for removing many of the previously intractable problems associated with optical soundtracks, as well as for restoring damaged cylinders and discs, and for cleaning modern recordings when, for example, microphones and stands are bumped.
See: Dethump
About CEDAR Audio
Since its establishment in 1988, CEDAR Audio has invested heavily in groundbreaking audio signal processing research. It has pioneered numerous innovations, including spectral editing, real-time audio restoration systems, the 'split & recombine' decrackle algorithm, broadband noise reduction without a spectral fingerprint, sub-sample dynamic phase/time correction, digital declipping, and speed correction without a reference tone. The company is the recipient of numerous industry awards and in 2005 was honoured with an Academy Award® for its services to the film industry. It is a leading supplier in each of its spheres of operation, and continues to innovate in the film and broadcast industries, as well as in products for sound archives and libraries. The company is also a world leader in the fields of noise reduction and speech enhancement for the forensic and security sectors.
About Merging Technologies
Merging Technologies SA is a Swiss manufacturer with over 20 years of experience in developing groundbreaking, professional audio and video products for a wide range of entertainment and media industries. With a dedicated user base in the elite end of the music, film, television, mastering and performances industries, Merging is committed to developing product ranges with unrivalled quality and flexibility, no matter what the application. Merging builds tools for people who want more from their systems, have an inherent need to push boundaries, and believe that quality always comes first, every time.
For further information:
CEDAR Audio Ltd, 20 Home End, Fulbourn, Cambridge, CB21 5BS, UK
t: +44 1223 881771 · e: info@cedaraudio.com · w: www.cedaraudio.com
Merging Technologies SA
w: www.merging.com