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Power Core

Software-Defined DSP Mixing Engine & Modular I/O Device

The Infrastructure Hero

Meet Power Core, the state-of-the-art 1RU AoIP I/O gateway, routing engine and DSP processor. Power Core leverages today’s powerful DSP resources to dramatically increase flexibiliity and capability, while shrinking costs and rack space requirements.

Power Core may be the most powerful audio signal processor ever made for broadcast. With multiple high-density RAVENNA/AES67 and MADI interfaces, standard, it’s the perfect choice for broadcasters migrating from baseband to IP. Choose from 10 modular mic, line, AES3, GPIO and DANTE interfaces to fill its rear-panel slots and customize your signal mix even further. Route everything using the internal matrix of up to 1,920 x 1,920 crosspoints.

Audio shaping? Power Core is packed with so much DSP horsepower that you can use it as a networked, whole-plant provider of audio processing on-demand. As many as 96 channels of DSP input processing can be unlocked to supply EQ, dynamics, de-essing, limiting and delay at a moment’s notice.

Power Core is also a console mixing engine like no other. Not only can it power traditional consoles as large as 60 physical plus 60 virtual faders, Power Core can actually provide mixing services for as many as four independent control surfaces simultaneously, reducing the engine-to-console ratio as much as 75%. Which significantly reduces installed costs as well.

To serve very large production centers, Power Core AIOX (Audio I/O Extender) adds as many as 64 more channels of audio in a slim 1RU expansion frame. Connect up to 20 AIOX units to a single Power Core to ingest and control up to 1,280 more analog or digital audio or GPIO channels — the ultimate modular approach to signal density.

Along with native RAVENNA / AES67 compliance, Power Core also supports the ST2110-30 standard, facilitating seamless audio interchange in combined radio / TV facilities. SMPTE 2022-7 (“hitless merge”) is also implemented, enabling dual IP links to ensure uninterrupted network connection.

Best of all, Power Core’s capabilities are software-defined. Choose from multiple tiered license options that balance cost and capabilities, tailoring Power Core to fit your exact operational needs.

lives@HOME

Looking for the HOME Power Core app for virtual radio applications? Click here.

PowerCore Rev3

Read more about Power Core

Power Core is the system core for Lawo diamond & new crystal radio mixers. Its flexible licensing packages make Power Core the perfect AoIP edge I/O device, audio conversion gateway, whole-plant signal processor, and much more

Download the broschure here!
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Convert, Control, Collaborate

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Software-defined Flexibility, upgradable License Packages

No two broadcast installations are alike. Some are rich in audio source inputs, while others need mainly mixing capabilities. Some depend on flexible N–1 capabilities, while others need support for multiple consoles.

Because Power Core is so agile, we use software to configure it for different applications. Flexible license packages let you choose the configuration that matches your needs, whether it’s pure I/O, mixing, routing, or physical & virtual mixing interfaces. And licenses can be upgraded; as your facility’s needs grow, your Power Core’s capabilities grow as well.

Used with a Lawo control surface, Power Core is a powerful mixing / routing engine. Used alone, it can become an “Über-Node” capable of ingesting massive amounts of audio to make available to your AES67 AoIP network. In its most advanced configuration, Power Core‘s massive DSP capabilities can be unlocked to apply audio correction to vast numbers of signals plant-wide. And the MAX license allows connection of as many as four independent mixing surfaces to a single Power Core engine — a unique ability perfectly suited to today’s multi-studio radio facilities.

Even more customization is possible with Add-On packages to extend available features. Extend GPIO, add utility software MiniMixers, increase N-1 and conferencing capacity, add bus panning, and more. Whatever your workflow, Power Core can easily be optimized for the task at hand.

Maximum DSP

Power Core is ready for any processing job. DSP features include equalizers with five parameters: three fully-parametric bands and two semi-parametric bands that can be high- and low-shelf filters, plus gate, expansion, limiting, compression (including) side-chain filters, realtime de-essing & AutoGain for each mic input, and pan/balance adjustments. Up to 5,280 ms of synchronization delay with switchable units (milliseconds, meters, or frames) is available.

96 DSP Channels*

Each channel equipped with input gain, direct out, insert, Aux send and more. EBU R128 loudness metering, too.

* Indicates maximum available resources based on configuration choices. See Specifications for details.

80 Summing Busses*

Use as Program, Record, Aux, Group, Mix-Minus or general purpose. Apply DSP to as many as 32 mono / 16 stereo busses.

* Indicates maximum available resources based on configuration choices. See Specifications for details.

1920 Crosspoints*

Available with as many as 1920 x 1920 routing crosspoints, with instant access to all audio sources, networked or local.

* Indicates maximum available resources based on configuration choices. See Specifications for details.

7 License Options*

Tiered software license packs let you optimize I/O, DSP, bus and routing capacities to fit your station’s unique needs.

* Indicates maximum available resources based on configuration choices. See Specifications for details.

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Configure it your Way

Power Core comes standard with a staggering amount of AES67 and MADI I/O already installed. But you can add lots more, quickly and easily. 8 rear-panel slots accommodate a variety of I/O modules, many with high-density DB-25 connectors using the AES59 wiring standard to facilitate quick and easy hookup. Simply pick the I/O you need and slide it into Power Core’s waiting expansion slots — it couldn’t be simpler.

Power Core has loads of front-panel MADI, but you can add even more! Two SFP ports provide 64 channels each.

SFP MADI card with sample-rate conversion supports asynchronous operation with audio sources up to 96 kHz.

Got mics? Of course you do. This card provides 8 switchable mic / line channels, with selectable Phantom power.

Even today’s digital world still has some analog sources. The Line interface provides 8 mono or 4 stereo inputs.

8 mono or 4 stereo outputs, to interface Power Core with your legacy equipment.

Connect your AES / EBU devices. Each card has 4 digital inputs (with sample rate conversion) and 4 digital outputs; bit-transparent.

AES/EBU I/O card for use with HD-BNC connections; 4 inputs with SRC, 4 outputs. Compatible with Dolby E sources; bit-transparent.

The perfect way to connect to Dante networks. Dual-redundant ports give access to a total of 64 Dante streams.

The Swiss army knife of interfaces. Each card adds 2 Mic / Line in, 2 Line outputs and 2 HP outputs for on-air convenience.

8 GPI+8 GPO, and 2 VCA inputs for control of external devices.

Extend your I/O even further, with AIOX

Power Core already handles a large amount of audio I/O. But what if you need to ingest even more audio? The Power Core Audio I/O Extender (AIOX) is an ideal audio gateway for today’s consolidated broadcast houses. AIOX delivers up to 64 channels of I/O in just 1RU – a distinct advantage over conventional I/O conversion boxes of 3RU or more. This signal density equals significant savings in rack space, power, and cost-per-input.

AIOX has 8 rear-panel slots that can host any combination of the 8-channel analog or digital I/O cards and GPIO card shown above. Mix and match to easily expand your RAVENNA / AES67 network’s connection with traditional broadcast devices.

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Distributed I/O, where you need it

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Combining the maximum of 20 AIOX units with a Power Core engine concentrates an entire facility’s worth of audio I/O (up to 1,280 analog or digital audio inputs, outputs and GPIO) within just half the space of a typical TOC rack.

Of course, they don’t have to live in a central rack. You can distribute AIOX as edge devices using twisted-pair copper (up to 100 meters), coax, or fiber links that support Single and/or Multi-mode operation, depending on SFPs used. Audio and control share the same link. Put one in your newsroom with 8 Mic or Line I/O cards for all the mic and monitor channels you’ll ever need. Place two together in a main on-Air studio to guarantee fully-redundant I/O. Install an AIOX in cross-campus studios or performance spaces as a 64-channel stagebox, or edge I/O device. The possibilities are endless.

Like Power Core, AIOX features redundant power supplies and dual audio / control ports for either single-mode or redundant-mode operation.

Speaking of Standards...

Power Core is standards-based from the ground up. It uses RAVENNA, the standards-based advertising and discovery protocol that’s AES67 compliant. It employs the open-source EMBER+ control protocol to connect and control any studio hardware or software. And naturally it works with Lawo HOME, the management platform for IP-based media infrastructures, benefitting from all of HOME’s next-generation management features: user access control, quarantining of unknown devices, security, stream and audio routing, and real-time health monitoring.

Here are more companies who believe open standards are the only way to go.

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Specifications

Power Core

License Chart

Signal Processing

  • Maximum of 96 Input channels, each with Input gain, signal presence indicator, direct out, Insert, fader, Aux send with Pre / Post switching, pan / balance, AutoGain for each mic input
  • 5-parameter equalizer: 3 fully-parametric bands plus 2 semi-parametric bands (can also be shelf, high-pass or low-pass filters
  • Dynamics: gate, expander, compression including side-chain filters, limiter and De-Esser
  • Maximum of 8 individual AutoMix groups (up to 96 channels each) allow creation of multiple independent mixes
  • All sources and all busses may be metered onscreen using EBU R128 Loudness Metering and/or PPM
  • Sync delays of up to 5,300 ms with switchable units (meters, milliseconds, frames)
  • Up to 80 summing busses depending on license, configurable as Program, Record, Aux, Group, Mix-Minus (clean feed) or General Purpose. A full DSP channel with EQ, Dynamics and Delay functions may be applied to any of these busses (up to 16 stereo or 32 mono busses)
  • Channels and busses may be grouped into Stereo and 5.1 Surround bundles

Standard Audio Interfaces

  • 4 MADI (each 64 channels I/O) with SFP cages (MADI ports 1 / 2 and 3 / 4 can be grouped as redundant interfaces)
  • 4 RAVENNA / AES67 with SFP (up to 256 bi-directional streams with up to 512 I/O channels in total). May be grouped as redundant interfaces using SMPTE 2022-7 standard or LACP
  • ST2110-30 compliant for seamless audio interchange in combined radio / TV broadcast plants
  • Some interfaces may not be active with certain license packages. Please consult your Lawo representative for details.

Optional Extension Panels

  • 19”/1 RU panels with illuminated buttons, LCD-keys, pots & GPIO
  • Control logic and levels for conferences, talkback and monitoring
  • Connect up to 30 panels via CAN-Bus or TCP/IP

Available I/O Expansion Modules

  • 8 Mic / Line inputs
  • 8 Mono / 4 Stereo Line inputs
  • 8 Mono / 4 Stereo Line outputs
  • 4 Stereo AES inputs with SRC + 4 AES output (bit-transparent)
  • 4 HD-BNC AES inputs with SRC + 4 HD-BNC AES outputs (bit-transparent)
  • 2 Mic / Line in + 2 Line out + 2 Stereo Headphone out
  • 2 MADI (64 I/O channels each) with SFP cages
  • 1 MADI incl. SRC (64 I/O channels) with SFP cage
  • 2 DANTE (two redundant connections, 64 total channels)
  • GPIO (8 GPI & 8 GPO, 2VCA inputs)

Control

  • RAVENNA / AES67 discovery, connection management, and dynamic stream patching
  • Ember+ and RAS control protocols over IP or serial connections for control of radio automation systems
  • Integration with and control via Lawo VisTool, HOME, VSM, Intercom Server and DSA Line Scheduler
  • Programmable logic core (for “On-Air” tallies, Fader Start commands, Talkback integration, etc.)
  • Integrated, on-console control via IP of Lawo routing network
  • TCP/IP, CAN, RS422 control protocols supported

Synchronization

  • PTP (IEEE 1588)
  • Wordclock input and output
  • MADI input and internal generator
  • 48 kHz or 44.1 kHz

Software defined Functions

Some features described are extra-cost options. Power Core products may be configured as a pure audio I/O device, mixing console engine, shared core for up to 4 independent mixing consoles (MAX version), or a router with extensive DSP capabilities. Ask your Lawo representative for detailed options and prices.

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