News

CEDAR Cambridge V4 adds sophisticated off-line processes to its real-time restoration system (28/3/2007)

Since its launch, CEDAR Cambridge(tm) has been recognised as the leading real-time audio restoration system, used worldwide for mastering, post and, in particular, audio forensic processing. But, despite its pre-eminence in these fields, it has not provided one set of facilities requested by its many fans and users. Until now...

After a complete rewrite of its file processing capabilities, CEDAR Cambridge V4 now offers off-line processing, with the three most frequently requested audio restoration modules immediately available: Manual Declick, the dedicated Dethump process for eliminating low-frequency problems, and a completely new version of Retouch(tm) (pat. pending), now upgraded to Retouch 4.

CAM13: Retouch 4

Originally developed in 2002 for workstations such as SADiE(tm), Pyramix(tm) and Pro Tools(tm), Retouch rapidly became an industry standard, allowing users to eliminate unwanted sounds that could not be removed using conventional audio techniques. The process was later updated to offer a wider range of time/frequency editing (TFE(tm)) capabilities, but it is in Retouch 4 that it has reached maturity, with unlimited file lengths, greatly improved transport capabilities, time markers, and many other improvements. These include a clearer, more configurable spectrogram display and the ability to mark and process complex shapes in ways that make Retouch 4 even more the Photoshop(tm) of audio processing systems.

CAM15: Manual Declick

This allows users to identify and remove all manner of impulsive noises, and is particularly suitable for restoring optical soundtracks and audio files that have proved impossible to correct using other products and methods. Simply mark the offending signal, and Manual Declick will eliminate the problem. As with all CEDAR processes, the algorithm differentiates clearly between the degradation and the genuine signal, allowing transparent restoration of severely damaged material. Undamaged signal passes without any changes: there's no distortion, no loss of transients, and no loss of ambience.

CAM17: Dethump

As its name implies, Dethump removes the unwanted low frequency energy bursts - "thumps" - generated by damaged discs, optical soundtracks, and on modern recordings when, for example, microphones and stands are bumped. These thumps may last for many hundreds of milliseconds, so conventional declicking processes are unsuitable for restoring audio containing them. Furthermore, the spectral content of thumps will usually overlap the genuine signal, so conventional 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 data unaffected.

Availability

CEDAR Cambridge V4 is immediately available and is fully compatible with all existing CEDAR Cambridge hardware: CEDAR Cambridge, Cambridge 'Q' (dual processor) and Cambridge 'Q' (quad processor). The core improvements are free for all existing owners. Prices for Retouch(tm), Manual Declick and Dethump are available upon request.

www.cedaraudio.com

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