TC Electronic P2 manual

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A good user manual

The rules should oblige the seller to give the purchaser an operating instrucion of TC Electronic P2, along with an item. The lack of an instruction or false information given to customer shall constitute grounds to apply for a complaint because of nonconformity of goods with the contract. In accordance with the law, a customer can receive an instruction in non-paper form; lately graphic and electronic forms of the manuals, as well as instructional videos have been majorly used. A necessary precondition for this is the unmistakable, legible character of an instruction.

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The term originates from the Latin word „instructio”, which means organizing. Therefore, in an instruction of TC Electronic P2 one could find a process description. An instruction's purpose is to teach, to ease the start-up and an item's use or performance of certain activities. An instruction is a compilation of information about an item/a service, it is a clue.

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What should a perfect user manual contain?

First and foremost, an user manual of TC Electronic P2 should contain:
- informations concerning technical data of TC Electronic P2
- name of the manufacturer and a year of construction of the TC Electronic P2 item
- rules of operation, control and maintenance of the TC Electronic P2 item
- safety signs and mark certificates which confirm compatibility with appropriate standards

Why don't we read the manuals?

Usually it results from the lack of time and certainty about functionalities of purchased items. Unfortunately, networking and start-up of TC Electronic P2 alone are not enough. An instruction contains a number of clues concerning respective functionalities, safety rules, maintenance methods (what means should be used), eventual defects of TC Electronic P2, and methods of problem resolution. Eventually, when one still can't find the answer to his problems, he will be directed to the TC Electronic service. Lately animated manuals and instructional videos are quite popular among customers. These kinds of user manuals are effective; they assure that a customer will familiarize himself with the whole material, and won't skip complicated, technical information of TC Electronic P2.

Why one should read the manuals?

It is mostly in the manuals where we will find the details concerning construction and possibility of the TC Electronic P2 item, and its use of respective accessory, as well as information concerning all the functions and facilities.

After a successful purchase of an item one should find a moment and get to know with every part of an instruction. Currently the manuals are carefully prearranged and translated, so they could be fully understood by its users. The manuals will serve as an informational aid.

Table of contents for the manual

  • Page 1

    P2 LEVEL PIL O T A A D D M M I I N N I I S S T T R R A A T T O O R R ’ ’ S S M M A A N N U U A A L L[...]

  • Page 2

    [...]

  • Page 3

    a IMPOR T ANT SAFETY INSTR UCTIONS 1 Read these instructions. 2 Keep these instructions. 3 Heed all warnings. 4 Follow all instructions. 5 Do not use this apparatus near water . 6 Clean only with dry cloth. 7 Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. 8 Do not install near any heat source[...]

  • Page 4

    IMPOR T ANT SAFETY INSTR UCTIONS Certificate Of Conformity TC Electronic A/S, Sindalsvej 34, 8240 Risskov , Denmark, hereby declares on own responsibility that following products: P2 - Level Pilot - that is covered by this certificate and marked with CE-label conforms with following standards: EN 60065 Safety requirements for mains (IEC 60065) oper[...]

  • Page 5

    3 T ABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Important Safety Instructions & Certificate of conformity . . . . . . . . . .a-b T able of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Quick S tart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Front Panel Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Rear Panel Overview[...]

  • Page 6

    INTR ODUCTION Welcome The P2 is a “set and forget” Loudness pilot and Limiter for Post production and Broadcast. It is designed especially for fixed installations where a consistent loudness and spectral balance is required but excels also in peak limiting functions. Factory loaded with a broad selection of World S tandard Preset s the P2 can b[...]

  • Page 7

    Daily User Requirement s The P2 is correctly connected and loaded with relevant Front Presets by the Administrator and powered on. Lock The Administrator can decide to activate different levels of Lock functions. These may include lock of front panel key operation and/or lock of the Wizard and Bypass functions. By the choice of the Administrator th[...]

  • Page 8

    6 FR ONT P ANEL O VER VIEW POWER On/Off Switches power On/Off. T o completely disconnect from mains the Rear panel POWER switch must be used. PCMCIA slot For software updates and preset backups. ERROR LED Indicates various error states. 48/44.1/32 kHz LEDs Indicates current Sample Rate. ANALOG IN/DIGIT AL IN Indicates currently selected Input type.[...]

  • Page 9

    7 FR ONT P ANEL O VER VIEW PRESET keys 1-8 Presets can be recalled from these keys. Press preset keys 1-8 to instantly recall Front presets. This type of presets include settings of all gain and processing parameters. Keys can be locked by the Administrator . Below each key you can write preset names. Use the supplied lithographic crayon or similar[...]

  • Page 10

    8 REAR P ANEL Balanced Analog Inputs XLR AES/EBU Input/ Output Balanced Analog Outputs XLR S/PDIF Input/ Output Power Input 100 - 240V Power Switch XLR to XLR XLR to Jack Stereo GPI IN RS 232 9 pin Sub D BNC Sync In RS232 : For connecting to a PC. Use a standard 9 pin Sub D cable. (Supplied) GPI In : Use standard stereo 1/4” jack. (not supplied) [...]

  • Page 11

    9 SIGNAL FLO W[...]

  • Page 12

    10 TYPICAL SETUPS Connecting and Setting up the P2 In use - no TC Icon Editor/PC connection necessary . • Connect your audio source material to P2 Inputs. Options are balanced Analog, digital AES or S/PDIF . • Connect Outputs to relevant media. • Select preset via the eight front panel PRESET keys. Note that; Input type, Sync settings, and Sa[...]

  • Page 13

    11 BASICS - FR ONT P ANEL T wo levels of P2 operation First of all the “every-day-use” where the less experienced user basically selects predefined presets and occasionally the Wizard that intelligently analyze program material and suggests compression settings for that particular material. Secondly the “ Administrator s level” accessed onl[...]

  • Page 14

    12 FR ONT P ANEL OPERA TION Lock Recall: No presets can be recalled via the eight front panels preset keys and the Wizard function is also disabled. Lock Panel: The entire front panel, recall functions, Byp ass and Card dump functionality is disabled. Byp ass The function of the front panel BYP ASS key is set via the System Front page on the TC ICO[...]

  • Page 15

    13 INST ALLA TION - OF THE TC ICON SOFTW ARE EDIT OR Requirement s for running the TC Icon Sof tware Editor • A Pentium PC, or compatible, with any of the following operating systems: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT , Windows 2000, Windows ME or Windows XP . The CD-ROM The CD delivered with the TC Icon Sof tware Editor contains: • A folder c[...]

  • Page 16

    14 Introduction The TC Icon Software Editor is a generic Editor that currently controls the following products by TC Electronic: System 6000, DB-8 and P2. In this section only subjects relevant for usage with the P2 will be discussed. As described the P2 is connected via a serial COM port. System 6000 and DB-8 are connected via ethernet. Navigating[...]

  • Page 17

    15 THE TC ICON EDIT OR Basic Operation The Icon Link key in the upper lef t corner allows you to navigate between two main pages/modes. Fig 1 - Setup/Select p age Via the “overall” Select & Setup p ages you access overall settings and choices like: • Selection of which connected unit to operate. • Enable devices to network. • TC Icon [...]

  • Page 18

    16 PRESET STR UCTURE - RECALL/ST ORE/DELETE Library Pages These are the pages from where all preset handling is controlled when using the TC Icon Editor . T o recall a preset: • Simply select the desired preset by clicking on the preset name in the list. • Then press the RECALL button System Preset s: There are 3 System User memory locations pl[...]

  • Page 19

    17 BASICS - PRESET HANDLING T o delete a preset • Select the Delete page by pressing the DELETE side tab. • Select the preset you wish to delete. Press DELETE. When Presets are S tored or Deleted, parameters from the In/Out p age and Engine Layers are always affected. System parameters on the other hand are unaffected by any other commands than[...]

  • Page 20

    18 CLONING P2’S Cloning P2’ s Creating the Clone Card T o easily clone multiple P2’s a PCMCIA card is used. • Load appropriate presets into Front Panel Bank of the P2 you wish to clone. • Insert a 512kb or 1Mb PCMCIA card in the Card slot on the P2 front panel. • Go to the System Card page. • Decide whether you wish to exclude System [...]

  • Page 21

    19 SY STEM - I/O P A GE Parameters on the System p age can be stored and recalled via System preset s and are unaffected by normal Recall operations. Clock Preferences Analog Range: Internal 44.1kHz Internal 48kHz Ext. W . Clk. (External Word Clock) Ext. DI Sets the processing clock frequency when analog Inputs are used. Digit al Range: Internal 44[...]

  • Page 22

    SY STEM - I/O P A GE 20 GPI T echnical specifications Inside the processor , a 10kohm resistor connects the T ip terminal to a +5V power supply . When nothing is connected to the GPI input, the input voltage therefore is +5V . Resistors can be used to pull down the voltage as suggested in Fig 1. In T able 1, voltages out side the limits mentioned a[...]

  • Page 23

    21 If GPI Preset mode is selected and no connections are made to the GPI Input the P2 will always recall preset 1 at power up. Delay Frame compensation Delay . Actual Delay time can be tapped using a connected moment ary switch. Calibrate Use this function to calibrate P2 to a connected GPI controller . E.g. TC Master Fader (not supplied). T o Cali[...]

  • Page 24

    22 SY STEM - NET P A GE & ICON VIEWS The upper part of this p age holds information on the current software versions and the serial number of the accessed unit. Network identification A simple naming function that enables you to name each connected unit. UI - Icon V iews On the Icon Setup p age two sub-p ages are available for controlling the T[...]

  • Page 25

    23 Fader at right side No faders Color Page Select a color scheme to your liking or make your own. I/O P A GE Input & Clock Input Select Range: Analog, Digital Select appropriate Input type. Digit al Input Select Range: AES/EBU, S/PDIF Select type of digital Input format. Clock Select Range: Internal 44.1, Internal 48k, Word Clock, Ext DI Selec[...]

  • Page 26

    24 MAIN P A GE In Gain Range: 0dB to Off Separate level controls for Lef t and Right Input (A and B). Phase Inv Range: Normal/Inverted Press to phase invert channels A, B or both. Delay Range: 0-1000ms Delay alignment of the Input channels. Depending on selected Configuration type, either one common Delay setting or individual delay settings are av[...]

  • Page 27

    25 MAIN P A GE Reference Level Reference Level defines the standard operating level, and scales the Threshold and T arget Level parameters of the Loudness control and Multiband section. The Threshold of the Limiter is not influenced by this setting, but is always relative to 0dBFS. T ypical Reference Level settings would be -20 dBFS in the America [...]

  • Page 28

    26 LOUDNESS P A GE MAIN P A GE T arget Level Range: +10dB to -10dB This is the level the Loudness controller will aim at on its Output. T arget Level is relative to Reference Level on the Main Page. Max Reduction Range: -20dB to 0dB This is the maximum attenuation the Loudness Control is allowed to perform. If set to 0.0dB, the Loudness Control can[...]

  • Page 29

    27 LOUDNESS P A GE Level T rim Range: -18dB to + 18dB Because P2 operates with 48 bit precision on all audio internally , it is possible to correct loudness manually without the risk of overloads. The Level T rim can be used for permanent off-set s or live loudness adjustments. Ratio Range: 1:1.25 to 1:6 Ratio is the steering factor used when the L[...]

  • Page 30

    28 EQ P A GE Introduction This digital EQ features a three-band parametric EQ with high- and low-p ass filters switchable between Notch, Parametric, Shelving and Cut filters. The needle sharp notch filter has a range down to 0.01 octave and the shelving filters has a variable slope, ranging from gentle 3 dB/oct over 6 and 9 to 12dB/oct. Cut filters[...]

  • Page 31

    29 EQ P A GE Shelving Filter Notch Filter - Narrow T ype Cut Filter - Bessel type Cut Filter - Butterworth type Freq Press Freq and use Faders 1 to 3 to adjust frequence for each of the three bands. Range - Lo band : 20Hz to 20kHz Range - Mid band : 20Hz to 20kHz Range - Hi band : 20Hz to 40kHz Gain Press Gain and use Faders 1 - 3 to adjust gain fo[...]

  • Page 32

    30 EQ P A GE T ype Press TYPE and use Faders 1-3 to set BW value for each of the three EQ bands. Range for the Notch filter: Lo BW : 0.02oct to 1oct Mid BW : 0.02oct to 1oct Hi BW : 0.02oct to 1oct Range for the Parametric filter: Lo BW : 0.1oct to 4oct Mid BW : 0.1oct to 4oct Hi BW : 0.1oct to 4oct Range for the Shelve filter: Lo BW : 3dB/oct to 1[...]

  • Page 33

    31 5-BAND P A GE Xovers Press this button to access the four cross-over points between the five-bands. The parameters are Automatically assigned to faders 1-4. Parameter range: Xover 1: Off to 1.6kHz Xover 2: Off to 4kHz Xover 3: 100Hz to Off Xover 4: 250Hz to Off Defeat Thresh Range: -3 to -30dB This is a unique control which defeats gain from the[...]

  • Page 34

    LIMITER 5-BAND P A GE Link Limiter Range: On/Off When Link is active, the same amount of peak limiting is always applied to both channels. Some broadcasters like the sound of operating left and right limiting without stereo coupling because they feel that it maximizes loudness and widens the stereo image. On dual mono sources, of course you should [...]

  • Page 35

    33 APPENDIX LIMITER Reset menu & sof tware load T o enter the following functions hold WIZARD key while powering up the unit. Once entered this menu navigation is as follows: • Press PRESET keys 4 and 8 to scroll in menu. • Press LOCK to confirm/enter • Press BYP ASS to cancel “L” - Load Indicates Load mode and is used when loading ap[...]

  • Page 36

    34 APPENDIX TR OUBLESHOO TING Loading Preset Banks The P2 is loaded with the 8 presets from the Default F1 bank (see page 37). These are the presets accessible from the Front Panel . However , it is possible to load other banks into the front panel. T o do this: • Press and hold LOCK when powering up. All key LEDs will flash. • Press the key eq[...]

  • Page 37

    35 APPENDIX - TECHNICAL SPECIFICA TIONS Digital Input s and Outputs Connectors: Formats: Output Dither: Word Clock Input: Sample Rates: Processing Delay: Additional Delay: Frequency Response DIO: Sample Rate Conversion T ype: Dynamic Range: THD+N: Input Rate Range: Analog Inputs Connectors: Impedance: Max. Input Level: Min Input Level (for 0 dBFS):[...]

  • Page 38

    36 SELF TEST A vailable from Sof tware 1.20 and up. Accessing Self test • Press and hold the “BYP ASS” key , while powering up to access the self test. • Press PRESET 8 to increase test number . • Press PRESET 4 to decrease test number . • Press LOCK to enter a test and acknowledge OK result. • Press BYP ASS to acknowledge bad result.[...]

  • Page 39

    37 PRESET LIST - SW 1.50 Default NAB Limit A NAB Limit D EBU Limit A EBU Limit D NAB Optimize A NAB Optimize D Level Pilot A Level Pilot D Intern. St andard. A JP-N Limit A JP-N Limit D T ele France Limit A T ele France Limit D BBC Limit A BBC Limit D Intern. St andard. B CBC Limit A CBC Limit D OP 36 Limit A OP 36 Limit D Reserved Reserved Reserve[...]

  • Page 40

    38 PRESET LIST - SW 1.50 Live Mix Mix Pilot News Gameshow Live S ports Reserved Reserved OptiLink, Dual OptiLink, S tereo Mastering CD Master CD Master EBU Codec Master Ambi Boost Master Music to LtRt Film to Domestic Optical Limit Optical Optimize F5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 F6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 General purpose Mix Assistant. Digital In News Mix Assistant. D[...]

  • Page 41

    39 PRESET LIST - SW 1.50 Live Mix STL Relax STL Energy STL Sky STL Autobahn STL Signature Reserved Reserved Reserved F8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Radio STL Optimize. Shape: Flat Radio STL Optimize. Shape: Loudness Radio STL Optimize. Shape: Crisp Radio STL Optimize. Shape: Core Radio STL Optimize. Shape: Core Wide -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 +24 +24 +24 +24 +24 Ana Ana A[...]