Companion MacOS and Windows Application for Astral Wireless Devices
Introduction
Sound Devices SD-Utility is a companion application for MacOS and Windows that supports Sound Devices wireless products. This application can be used to process files recorded by Astral transmitters (Astral Mini, Astral TX, Astral HH) to be more suited to the given workflow. Astral transmitter 32-bit float, 48 kHz, monophonic WAV, 2ch polyphonic WAV, and RF64 WAV files can be imported, renamed, snipped by timecode values, converted to 24 bit, conformed to a CSV Sound Report, and exported as monophonic or polyphonic WAV files.
SD-Utility can create User Group files that are supported by the legacy A10-TX transmitter and A10-RX and Astral RX receivers. It also can update A10-RX and Astral ARX2 firmware.
Installing SD-Utility
Download the SD-Utility Installer for MacOS or Windows from:
https://www.sounddevices.com/download/?prod=sd-utility
Open the installer and install the application by following the on-screen instructions.
Minimum operating requirements:
MacOS 10.11+, 64-bit
Windows 10+, 64-bit
Managing Astral Transmitter Audio Files
SD-Utility imports the following file types:
- Monophonic WAV or RF64 files from the Astral Mini, Astral TX, or Astral HH transmitter.
- 2ch polyphonic WAV or RF64 files from Astral TX transmitter (when set to AES42 or AES3 input type).
- MIC files recorded by the Audio Ltd A10-TX.
There are three methods for importing files into SD-Utility:
- Drag-and-drop WAV files or volumes/folders containing WAV files into the Source window.
- Navigate File > Add and select WAV file(s) for import.
- On the bottom left of the Source window, click + in Mac or Add in Windows, then select file(s) for import.
The Source window displays the following information for all imported files.
- Filename
- Transmitter name
- Date and time of file creation
- Start timecode
- End timecode
- Length of recording
- Frame Rate
When importing a 2ch polyphonic WAV file from the Astral TX, the file is automatically split into two monophonic WAV files that are stored in a folder called ‘Split Files’. This folder is located in the same volume/directory from which the original files were imported.
Removing WAV files from the Source Window
There are three methods for removing WAV files from the Source window.
- Highlight the WAV file(s) to be removed from the Source window, then click - on Mac or Remove on Windows.
- Highlight the WAV file(s) to be removed from the Source window, then navigate File > Remove.
- Highlight the WAV file(s) to be removed from the Source window, then press the Delete key.
Organizing Source Files
Click on an Information Header cell to order the list of files in the Source Window by information. For example, click the Start TC cell to arrange the files by timecode start times from lowest to highest. Click again to reverse the order from highest to lowest.
To manually order the list of source files, click and hold a file row and drag it into the desired position.
Selecting Files to Export
Highlight the file(s) to process and export from the Source window. Multiple files can be selected using keyboard modifiers, Apple and Shift in MacOS, Ctrl and Shift in Windows. If no files are selected, processing is applied to all files in the Source window.
Filenames
Exported WAV files are named according to the Filename selection.
- Match Source uses the source file’s name in the processed WAV file.
- Replace with allows the processed file to be named based on the custom entry.
- Conform to CSV uses the information taken from a CSV Sound Report to determine the processed file names. See Conforming Astral Transmitter WAV Files to CSV sound reports.
When conforming Astral transmitters to a Sound Devices .csv sound report, the resulting conformed files are formed as follows:
When SD-Utility is set to export polyphonic wav files:
[Scene]Txx[Take] where 'xx' indicates that the exported wav file is a polyphonic interleave of multiple transmitter files.
For example, if an 8-series take is named '1000T01' (Scene = 1000, Take = 01), the resulting SD-Utility exported file is named '1000Txx01.wav'
When SD-Utility is set to export monophonic wav files:
[Scene]T[a,b,c ....z][Take] where 'a, b, c .... z' suffix after the 'T' separator is used to uniquely identify each resulting monophonic exported file.
For example, if an 8-series take is named '1000T01' (Scene = 1000, Take = 01), for a take with three transmitters, the resulting exported files are:
'1000Ta01.wav'
'1000Tb01.wav'
'1000Tc01.wav'
Timecode Range
Select Timecode Range to export only a portion of the recorded transmitter files - particularly useful for exporting only a small section of audio from a long recording. The length and content of the exported file is based on the entered timecode start and stop times.
- Highlight the source file(s) from the Source window.
- Select the Timecode Range check box.
- Enter timecode start and end times. The values must fall within the range of the source file.
- Select Export.
Conforming to CSV Sound Reports
CSV sound report files generated by Sound Devices recorders can be used to extract relevant audio from the Astral transmitter WAV or A10-TX MIC files. Audio is extracted and a new WAV file is created based on the timecode in/out values of takes listed within the CSV.
The exported WAV file names and embedded metadata are changed to match the file names and metadata of the corresponding takes in the CSV sound report
Adding Pre- and Post-Roll to conformed files can benefit postproduction with access to audio just prior to and following head and tail slates. To add pre- and post-roll to conformed WAV files, select the Pre/Post Roll checkbox and enter a value from 0 to 10 seconds in 1-second steps.
If the source file does not contain audio data for the duration of the pre- or post-roll location, the exported file will begin and end at the closest point to the pre- and post-roll location where audio data is present.
Selecting Bit Depth of Exported WAV Files
Astral transmitters record 32-bit float WAV files. To convert the WAV files to 24-bit integer, select the ‘Convert WAV to 24 bit’ checkbox. Files that contain audio that exceeds 0 dBFS will be normalized to -0.1 dBFS to avoid clipping when exported as 24-bit.
Combining to Poly
Combine to Poly allows for the export of a single polyphonic WAV file containing audio tracks from each relevant transmitter for takes referenced by a Sound Devices .CSV Sound Report or takes within a selected timecode range.
Select the Combine to Poly checkbox to export a polyphonic WAV file or leave unchecked to export monophonic WAV files for each transmitter.
Combine to Poly is available when ‘Conform to CSV’ is selected or when both ‘Replace with’ and Timecode Range are selected.
The interleave order of the polyphonic WAV tracks are determined by the order of the files in the Source Window. Silence is written to a track of the exported polyphonic WAV file whenever audio data is not available from the source files.
User Groups
The User Group feature applies only to the A10-TX transmitter and A10-RX, and Astral ARX2 dual channel receivers.
User Groups allow for easy, intuitive naming of specific frequencies for each A10-TX transmitter used on set and grouped together for faster tuning. The operator of an Astral ARX2 or A10-RX may then easily switch between A10-TX transmitters by choosing alphanumeric names, such as “Jack” and “Jill”, instead of having to remember and manually tune to different, specific numerical frequencies.
For instance, a producer or director may want to monitor several different actors’ wireless transmitters. Rather than having to keep a list of all their frequencies, each transmitter may be pre-assigned a frequency and given an actor’s name. Then only those pre-assigned frequencies that have been named will be available as possible options for tuning.
SD-Utility supports the creation of up to eight User Groups, each with a max of 32 users, per User Group file.
See the A10-TX, A10-RX, and Astral ARX2, user guides for further details.
Updating A10-RX and Astral ARX2 Firmware
Only the Astral ARX2 and A10-RX dual channel receivers can have their firmware updated via SD-Utility.
Periodically Sound Devices issues new firmware for the A10-RX and Astral ARX2 receivers. Make certain to register your product at the Sound Devices website to receive firmware update notifications.
See the A10-RX and Astral ARX2 user guides for further details on how to update their firmware.