Sonifex Net-Log Audio Logging Machine

Overview Specifications

The Net-Log is a new way to record and play audio. The Net-Log overcomes the inherent unreliability of PCs for long-term recording by providing a dedicated hardware recording platform that uses a simple network connection for audio playback. Playback software on a network connected PC streams the audio to the desktop where it can be played out or saved as a file.

The Sonifex Net-Log is a 4 channel audio logger which can record weeks of programming on a large internal hard-disk. The unit was designed as dedicated hardware for reliability reasons, i.e. there’s no PC motherboard in this machine. Although PC based systems are great for playback, they generally aren’t robust enough for continuous recording 24/7/365. The Net-Log was designed from the ground up to offer:

High reliability for continuous operation.
High quality audio (mpeg compressed).
Compatibility with existing broadcast
Windows based systems (bwf files can be saved).
Automatic operation with very simple to use software.

All audio created by Net-Log is Windows Media Player™ compatible so files can be emailed to colleagues and customers and played out on any PC with a sound system.

There are many applications for Net-Log, from radio stations recording their broadcasts for regulatory purposes, to small call centres, law firms and security companies using them for monitoring. Net-Logs have been installed in court rooms & police interview rooms for audio surveillance.

Radio Broadcast Logging

Where logging is required by the authorities, Net-Log provides a perfect, simple to use, elegant solution providing playback of requested recordings within seconds. But even if logging isn’t regulatory, Net-Log can still deliver audio to the desktop of anyone at a radio station – you don’t need to go to the racks-room, or central technical area to play out a recording previously made. So it has the following advantages :

From their desktop, the sales team can check to make sure that advertising was played on time and can create audio files to email to customers.
Program controllers can snoop on their presenters, checking performance and checking that scheduled music was played.
Station managers can check up on their competition and compare it with the sound of their own station.
The production team have much easier access to recorded audio from past radio shows for the preparation of future stings & trailers.

Net-Log records in mpeg layer 2, the standard for radio broadcasting, so that you can be sure that audio files created using Net-Log are compatible with almost every mpeg based automation system available. File downloads can be made in mp2, mp3 or linear .wav format, and broadcast wave format (bwf) files are supported as standard, ensuring tight integration with your playout systems.

Key Features of Net-Log

Dedicated reliable multi-channel recording hardware.
Easy to use Windows™ remote operation for playback, archiving, streaming and configuration.
Independently configurable channel pairs to record at different sample rates, different bit rates and in mono or stereo.
Recording duration configuration of the channels to suit your needs, e.g. 2 channels of low quality logging for 12 months together with two channels of high quality logging for 1 month, on one machine.
Record inputs can be controlled remotely, e.g. snoop recording from mic-live output of a mixer.
Automated voice recording - each channel can start and stop recording automatically by setting audio threshold levels, which means that it can be used for voice controlled systems and telephony recording.
Up to 250,000 recordings per channel can be made.
Each Net-Log has its own IP address, so a number of machines can be installed on the same network.
Fail-safe alarm indicators and remotes.
Password protection and security access rights to system.
Support for hard disk sizes up to 2048GB.
Recordings can be made using optional G.729 algorithm, allowing longer recordings and lower network traffic. G.729 audio quality is comparable to MPEG L2 at 32kbits/sec when used to record/playback speech.
Recording on Net-Log can be controlled serially by Crestron and Televic board room controllers.

Hardware Description

Net-Log is a 1U rack-mount unit which has 4 mono record inputs on 3 pin XLR sockets with potentiometer gain controls and LED level indicators for each input. These accept 2 stereo, or 4 mono audio streams which are encoded in mpeg layer 2 format and written to a large internal IDE hard disk drive. The size of the drive is continuously being increased as technology improves and Net-Log can support sizes up to 2048GB. Contact sales@sonifex.co.uk for current drive sizes installed.

Net-Log has 2 serial ports on 9 pin D-types which are used to program the IP address of the machine and to upload new software. Additionally, there is a 15 pin D-type connector used for remote input recording control and for alarm outputs (hard disk failure and archiving warning).

A 10Mbps RJ45 network port is used to connect Net-Log to your PC network and audio is streamed using TCP/IP. Audio can be streamed simultaneously to one, or many, PCs, as well as simultaneously archiving audio data to an IP server automatically in the background. All the Net-Log configurations and operational features are controlled from a connected PC using the Net-Log-Win software.