What MediaMatrix is and how it works

MediaMatrix is a versatile digital audio "Swiss army knife", which allows you to design and build audio control systems on a function built computer equipped with specialized audio hardware and the MediaMatrix control software.

You now no longer have to assemble a collection of electronic boxes in a rack, and wire up a maze of cables to interconnect them. All that can now be done by placing a virtual representation of that box (be it a converter (A-to-D or D-to-A), a mixer, equalizer, dynamics processor, etc.) on the computer screen, and drawing a line between them to "plug them in". The user interface is much like using CAD software. It allows you to design and draw the whole sound system on screen, and make changes pretty much at will. Each virtual "box" contains audio processing algorithms and control panels, with all the familiar knobs and switches. Once your system is designed on-screen, you then perform a compile operation, that "crunches" the algorithms together, and turns your on screen system design into an actual audio system that controls the MediaMatrix hardware. Now you can pass audio through the system, and control each device in the sound system as easy, in fact, easier, than a conventional system. What a word processor does for writing, MediaMatrix does for creating audio systems. From very simple loudspeaker drive systems, to extremely complicated architectural audio systems that you couldn't even begin to do by using individual stand alone processors (either in the analog or the digital domain), MediaMatrix will forever change how you look at audio systems design and operation.

One other main advantage to MediaMatrix is that it is expandable, allowing it to provide the required signal processing functions of nearly any audio system, regardless of size. All signal processing functions are performed using digital signal processing (DSP) chips on plug in cards. When you run out of hardware resources required by your design (DSP operations), you can add additional DSP boards to expand the system. All analog interconnects are handled by external break out boxes (BoB's) that include converters, as well as logic inputs and outputs. Need to add inputs or outputs? Easy, just add another BoB. In addition to analog signals, AES digital signals and CobraNet networked multi-channel digital audio signals can be brought in and out of MediaMatrix.

Even the software is upgradeable. As new devices are built in software, or system requirements change and new developments arise, they can be incorporated into an existing system. Since the system is "built" (we call it configured) in software, making changes to your system design is a simple, quick and efficient process. You are no longer locked into one design, or one setup of the system.

Another advantage is that system settings can be saved in the computer file itself, or via presets, to give snapshot automation of all system settings.