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Orban 1010PE or Omnia A/XE...

R

richard.vanderveen

I need to set up several streams in different formats for one source, this can off course be done with SHOUTcast or Edcast. Edcast IMHO is better sounding than SHOUTcast but a bit buggy, SHOUTcast does the job but no more than that. But I'm looking for a more 'robust' solution.

I tried the old Orban 1010 and was pleasantly suprised by the quality in AAC+V2 format, but there is no MP3 codec. The new 1010PE can do both (and more) but needs a PC1100 or PC1101 card to run. Not a big issue because I have one, but what to to if the card fails? The software is locked to the serial of the card... And then there is Omnia A/XE. I know the processing leaves a lot to be desired for but I wont be using it anyway. I'm primarily interested in the encoder part of Omnia A/XE which runs as a service as opposed to running as a program. Anyone had any experience with either the new Orban 1010PE or the Omnia A/XE?
 
I have had very good luck using Simplecast by Spacial Audio. It let's you stream in multiple formats, although it does not do AAC or AAC+ like the Opticodec. It will also let you run multiple stream in multiple formats from one source.

It does do MP3, MP3Pro, Windows Media and a couple of others from what I recall. I used it for my personal stream and will be using it for the high school webstream I'm engineering.
 
Edcast is a bit buggy, but, it's free.

As far as audio processing for the net? All you really need is Breakaway Live...it's cheap, sounds fantastic...and if you feel the need to be any louder than what Breakaway can muster...then the point of streaming is lost. Streaming, at a decent bitrate using AAC+ can and should sound better than FM.
 
Sgeirk said:
As far as audio processing for the net? All you really need is Breakaway Live...it's cheap, sounds fantastic...and if you feel the need to be any louder than what Breakaway can muster...then the point of streaming is lost. Streaming, at a decent bitrate using AAC+ can and should sound better than FM.
Click to expand...
Agreed... but this isn't about processing, it is about encoding. I've tried using Edcast as a plugin for Breakaway as discribed at the Breakawayforum, but it just doesn't launch and it appears I'm not the only one with that problem.
 
richard.vanderveen said:
I'm primarily interested in the encoder part of Omnia A/XE which runs as a service as opposed to running as a program. Anyone had any experience with either the new Orban 1010PE or the Omnia A/XE?
Click to expand...

I've used both. The Orban will do AAC or HE-AAC (v1 and v2) and runs as an application. The latest (version 3) will talk to SHOUTcast, IceCast, Wowza, FMIS, QuickTime/Darwin and Real/Helix servers. With Orban encoder I've experienced some unexpected closures while you are setting it up, but once it's running, it's stable and very efficient with low CPU and memory footprint. On an older dual Xeon (single core) machine I've successfully ran 15 instances of the encoder together with two Windows Media encoders (audio and video, which uses a lot of CPU) and two Real Media encoders (also audio and video).

The Omnia A/XE will encode either MP3 to SHOUTcast, IceCast, Wowza or Windows Media servers, or AAC or HE-AAC (v1 and v2) to SHOUTcast, IceCast or Wowza servers. With one A/XE license you can have only one audio input, but set as many encoder (or processor) instances as your computer CPU can handle. A/XE runs as a service, you don't even need to log on. It's ideal for processing and encoding many different streams to different formats/servers.

Both Orban and Omnia use licensed codecs, unlike Edcast which is under GPL and you are legally not allowed to use it for commercial purposes. Both also support the use of metadata in various forms, so you can get your song titles and artists across to the stream player.

I assume you want different formats for compatibility, but sound quality wise AAC will outperform MP3 anyday (at bitrates or above 96 kbps) and below that nothing can touch the HE-AAC codec. Today most, if not all, players support AAC and HE-AAC, so you don't really need MP3 - if you ask me, it should move to the history of audio encoding and streaming...


Regards,
Goran Tomas
 
Goran Tomas said:
I've used both.
Click to expand...
Did you notice any difference in the performance of the codecs as far as audioquality is concerned? The Omnia A\XE is cheaper and, just like you said, runs as a service. To top that you can run it with the processing of your choice.

Goran Tomas said:
I assume you want different formats for compatibility, but sound quality wise AAC will outperform MP3 anyday (at bitrates or above 96 kbps) and below that nothing can touch the HE-AAC codec. Today most, if not all, players support AAC and HE-AAC, so you don't really need MP3 - if you ask me, it should move to the history of audio encoding and streaming...
Click to expand...
True, but unfortunately the Windows Media Player still doesn't support AAC natively. There are a lot of people out there working with a PC on which they cannot install or configure anything but on which they can listen to internetradio...
 
Both Orban and Omnia use licensed codecs, unlike Edcast which is under GPL and you are legally not allowed to use it for commercial purposes.
Click to expand...
This is not true. The GPL does not limit products to non-commercial use.
 
richard.vanderveen said:
Did you notice any difference in the performance of the codecs as far as audioquality is concerned? The Omnia A\XE is cheaper and, just like you said, runs as a service. To top that you can run it with the processing of your choice.
Click to expand...

No, I haven't noticed any encoding performance/audio quality difference, though to be honest I haven't used A/XE that much. I plan to do much more with it in the near future, but finding the time is an issue...


True, but unfortunately the Windows Media Player still doesn't support AAC natively. There are a lot of people out there working with a PC on which they cannot install or configure anything but on which they can listen to internetradio...
Click to expand...

Yes, the M$ story... Silverlight (from version 3) supports the AAC but still not HE-AAC, but at least they are moving in the right direction. Slowly ;)


Regards,
Goran Tomas
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
Both Orban and Omnia use licensed codecs, unlike Edcast which is under GPL and you are legally not allowed to use it for commercial purposes.
Click to expand...
This is not true. The GPL does not limit products to non-commercial use.
Click to expand...

Yes, you are right, I've put that incorrectly. What I should have said is that the aacPlus codec that Edcast uses is not free for commercial use. You actually have to use the WinAmp aacPlus dll and that one does not have a licensed codec.


Regards,
Goran Tomas
 
Thanks for the clarification. I've never used Edcast, and I did not find a listing of license restrictions on its website so I couldn't do any more than object to you. Sorry if that last post sounded high and mighty.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
Thanks for the clarification. I've never used Edcast, and I did not find a listing of license restrictions on its website so I couldn't do any more than object to you. Sorry if that last post sounded high and mighty.
Click to expand...

There are a number of "freeware" codecs out there that are unlicensed by owners of the intellectual property behind the codecs, infringe on patents in the MPEG licensing pool, and are hence illegal. It is unwise to build a commercial infrstructure around such codecs because of legal liability issues.
 
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