Date: 28/09/2010

ADI's Blackfin processor adopted by Roland to power its audio interface

Manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, Roland Corporation has adopted Analog Devices' (ADI) Blackfin processor for its audio interface for music creation and recording-the "OCTA-CAPTURE". The OCTA-CAPTURE audio interface is designed for home/professional studio recording and is suggested for musicians who want to record and edit multi-track audio on a personal computer.

Roland's OCTA-CAPTURE is a 10-in / 10-out USB 2.0 audio interface for computers. This device can capture eight simultaneous 24-bit/192-kHz, low-latency audio tracks with eight channels of high-quality microphone pre-amps. The OCTA-CAPTURE provides eight XLR microphone inputs with high-grade preamps and delivers a number of digital audio features such as eight compressors, four digital sub-mixers, and a reverb function. The OCTA-CAPTURE's automatic level-control system can detect and automatically adjust the eight audio sources simultaneously.

According to Kimitaka Kondo, executive director, Roland Corporation, "Roland has led the audio interface market since we introduced the world's first USB audio interface, the UA-100, in 1998. Our new product, OCTA-CAPTURE, is our next-generation audio interface and features exceptionally low latency. Using this new product, musicians can easily record multiple tracks with up to eight microphones simultaneously from individual drums to a full band. Thanks to the Blackfin processor, which has a smart design philosophy and a USB2.0 interface, we could develop this new higher performance product in a smaller size, and for lower cost, in a very short period of time. ADI is helping us to keep our superior position in the quickly moving audio interface market."

The OCTA-CAPTURE implements the Blackfin ADSP-BF525 processor, which operates at 533 MHz/1066 MMACS (million multiply accumulate operations per second). With the ability to run a RTOS and embedded USB capability, the Blackfin processor provides the necessary control and connectivity functions while enabling the digital audio mixing and effects features of OCTA-CAPTURE. In addition, the Blackfin processor architecture allows functions that would normally be performed by a separate microcontroller and a DSP to be handled by a single Blackfin chip.

"Building on the outstanding expertise that the Roland engineers have developed over the years, OCTA-CAPTURE represents yet another breakthrough product in the Roland line," said Denis Labrecque, pro-audio product marketing manager, Analog Devices. "We are delighted that Roland's extensive experience and innovative engineers have been able to provide so many features by using the Blackfin processor to its full capacity."