Video Transcript
Breakaway Audio
3m 55s
0:08
Welcome back. You’ve probably noticed that every HDMI output comes along with two audio pins,
0:14
even though audio is embedded in the HDMI signal.
0:17
This allows you to take the audio of that output and send it to the Q-SYS Core where it can then
0:23
be sent anywhere else, rather than just those loudspeakers built into the output display in your room, to
0:29
reinforce that video.
0:31
These audio pins aren’t any different from any other audio pins in Designer, so you can mix
0:36
these with the rest of your signal flow, add EQ and effects, etc., as much as you like. By default there are
0:43
two stereo pins, but if your HDMI source has more audio tracks, like a 7.1 surround sound signal, then
0:51
you can allow up to 8 audio pins by adjusting the Decoder’s properties here. We only support LPCM, and
0:59
the channel count on the source property for audio channels defines what is advertised in the EDID.
1:05
Be aware that when you’re using audio embedded in an AV stream, this audio does *not* count
1:11
against your Core’s available networked audio channel count. However, the moment that you wire
1:16
anything to these audio pins, that audio is processed by the Core and uses network streams and
1:22
channels, even if you’re doing nothing other than routing it to a new destination. You can monitor your
1:28
available network audio streams and channels by using the Check Design feature, or pressing Shift F6. If
1:34
you don’t need to process your audio separately, it’s best not to do so, so that you don’t consume these resources.
1:40
If you ARE using your own audio system, you might actually want to disable the HDMI output
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audio that’s going to your display. No reason to have your TV’s built-in loudspeakers try to compete with
1:51
your professional loudspeakers.
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You can select any display and change its Audio Source to None to disable audio going to that
2:00
display device. This will also remove all audio controls from the device’s control panel. You could also
2:06
keep this property on the default “Selected Source” option and then mute its audio channels, just in
2:12
case you do want to use them later.
2:15
While you’re here, you’ll notice a third option: Audio Input Pins. This adds audio pins to your Display
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device, allowing you to deliver whatever content you like. Adding Audio Input Pins to your display will
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override the HDMI audio, and only play the audio that is delivered from these pins instead.
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This could be something simple like applying some basic EQ, or you might want to mix your
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room’s PA announcements into this signal, effectively removing the need for a separate loudspeaker in
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the room. That way your emergency announcements can still play from the television’s internal
2:50
speakers, even if you have an amplifier failure, for instance.
2:54
If you’re using the audio pins from the decoder, that audio obviously follows whichever video
3:00
source is selected within the Decoder. If you wanted to get the audio from an earlier point, that is, from
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the source itself rather than the decoder, you could do that too. On the encoder, you can enable
3:10
“Breakaway Audio” pins on any of your generic source components, and customize how many pins you
3:16
need, to pull the audio out of the incoming HDMI signal. You could then use this however you like in the
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design. Just keep in mind that this audio is not dependent at all on whether or not that video source is
3:29
selected—it will continue to play whatever is coming in on that HDMI input.
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That’s it for the NV series. There are obviously a lot more controls in the control panels to
3:40
explore, but we’ve shown you the basics of what most people will need to know to get a system up and
3:45
running. Feel free to explore the help topics to get more information on these devices. Thanks for watching.
Lesson Description
Breakaway Audio
3m 55s
Discover how to send your HDMI source's audio to your Q-SYS Core and out to anywhere else in your design.