Keeping down the noise
Keeping down the noise
NoiseAssist automatically monitors the background noise independently from the desired speech in the signal
Sound Devices has released the NoiseAssist Noise Suppression Plugin for its 8-Series mixer-recorders. The plug-in is described as a signal processing algorithm that reduces background noises such as traffic, generators and HVAC noise. It features a simple user interface with only one adjustment – the amount of background noise to suppress.
NoiseAssist automatically and continuously monitors the background noise independently from the desired speech in the signal. According to the manufacturer, there is no need to “learn” the signal, as this is done automatically. The plug-in discriminates between the desired speech signal and background noise through proprietary advanced multi-band frequency, level and statistical calculations. The background noise and reverberation can then be suppressed by a user-selectable dB level without affecting the desired speech signal. This is all done in real time with only 1ms of latency, thanks to the 8-Series’ high-horsepower FPGA processing.
Up to two instances of NoiseAssist can run on any combination of isolated channels (excluding 17–32 on Scorpio), bus L or bus R. It maintains the two independent audio channels’ frequency bandwidth, while effectively suppressing the background noise and reverberation. The plug-in is compatible with all 8-Series mixer-recorders running firmware version 5.00 or higher.