Omnia-6 FM / EX/ Exi

Are there any additional presets available that did not come pre-installed on the Omnia-6?

Yes, we have developed some new presets and posted them to the Omnia Audio website at OmniaAudio.com. Presets are loaded into the Omnia-6 using the free remote control software available on the Omnia website.

Can my older Omnia-6 FM or EX be upgraded to an Omnia-6-EXi?

Yes. And there are two updates available depending on which model you have and whether you need two AES/EBU outputs or not. The Field Upgrade Kit (Part# 2011-00041) will upgrade either an Omnia-6 FM or EX with the diversity delay and LoIMD clipper. Full instructions are included with the kit.

Since older FM units have only a single AES/EBU output jack, there is also a Factory Upgrade available (Part# 2011-00040) that will also add the second AES/EBU output jack if needed. This is a factory upgrade only – contact Support if you wish to make this upgrade.

How much time delay does my Omnia-6 have? (not counting the Diversity Delay in the EXi styles)

The short answer is "Not enough to drive your DJ's crazy!"

We have measured the delay from the input to any output at approximately 9 ms on the Omnia-6 EX and 13ms on the Omnia-6 EXi. This is enough for a slight voice-character coloration to be audible to the person speaking, but not enough to be a problem for talent monitoring off the air.

Tip: Try both settings of the "Invert Both" setting in the Input Menu and ask your talent which they prefer. One of the two settings will put what they are hearing through their headphones more in phase with what they are hearing through their own bone conduction. You should find that one of the settings sounds better to them and it should be consistent with all of the talent monitoring off-air using the same feed. This parameter changes the phase of both channels at once, similar to reversing pins 2 & 3 on both channels Input XLR connectors. After adjusting this setting, most talent gets used to the "new sound" within a few breaks.

Note: If there is additional delay added to the air chain, such as from a Digital STL (especially a codec based STL), the cumulative delay may become excessive and cause discomfort for the on-air talent. Real-world tests have determined that a slight echo may begin to be heard at about 15 ms, and anything above 25-30 ms is usually too annoying to talent monitoring off the air.

How should the Input Levels on my Omnia-6 be set for optimum performance?

With normal program audio, the Input Gain Master should be adjusted so that the input bargraph meters are hitting from about -15 to –12 dBFS on regular peaks or a little higher. These are true peak-reading meters and will not read correctly on steady-state tones. Don't worry about being "into the red". Any level is acceptable up to 0dBFS, which is the overload point.

The Master Drive control on the Omnia 5EX, 6EX and 6EXi (located after the input bargraph meters) should be left at 0.0 dB if the reference 0VU level of the equipment feeding the Omnia is +4 dBu. This will provide optimum headroom throughout the Omnia.

The Master Drive will need to be adjusted if your system’s reference level is not +4 dBu. For example, a setting of –4.0 dB would be used if your reference level is +8 dBu and +4.0 dB if your reference level is 0 dBu.

This control may also need to be adjusted if you do not have sufficient gain reduction in the WB AGC, the input audio feeding the Omnia is pre-processed or if you wish to bypass the WB AGC section and have too little gain reduction in the multi-band AGC section.

Once set properly, you should see about 10 dB of gain reduction on the WB AGC gain reduction meter with normal program audio at your 0VU reference. It is normal for the WB AGC gain reduction meter to continue to show gain reduction even when the WB AGC section is bypassed.

I am having trouble finding the pilot injection and output level controls for the MPX Stereo Generator in my Omnia-6. Where are they located?

They are located in the “Encode” menu.

I can't control the composite output levels of my Omnia-6 from the Encode menu, or the Composite Output level controls operate erratically. What can I do?

The Omnia will need to come in for service since it is likely that the composite output chips have been damaged by some kind of electrical surge. These chips are surface-mount components that are not field-serviceable.

I’ve been told the Omnia-6 multi-band limiter section uses a unique design, what makes it different?

The low and mid bands use a feedback configuration, while the high bands utilize a feed-forward design. In plain English, what this means is that Omnia gives you a larger, warmer sound in the lower frequencies while maintaining a more open, natural texture in the higher frequencies.

My Omnia-6 boots only to the Omnia logo screen(s) and stops. It is not passing audio. What can I do?

This condition usually means that the Omnia's front panel CPU is booting up normally, but the motherboard is not, due to corruption of the NVRAM and/or the rear panel PCMCIA software card. This can be caused by exposure of the unit to a power surge or lightning, or if the unit was powered up with the card not fully seated. We suggest installing a new rear panel PCMCIA software card – contact Omnia Support to request one. Before powering up with the new card for the first time, the NVRAM should be cleared by powering the unit off, removing the top cover and shorting-out the two leads of the purple, cylindrical lithium battery for 30 seconds. You can also try this before you install the new card, making sure that the existing card is fully seated in its slot, but if the NVRAM is corrupted, the card usually is as well. If the new card does not solve the problem, there likely is other hardware damage to the motherboard and the unit should be sent in for repair.

My Omnia-6 is locked, the default password is not working and we have forgotten the password we changed it to. How can the unit be unlocked and the password(s) reset to the defaults?

You will need to contact Omnia Support (You can email Customer Support at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or fill out the online form here: http://www.telosalliance.com/contact/ ) with the MAC address and serial number of the unit. These can be found on 2 small rear-panel barcode stickers like this: 0050cxxxxxxx and 4700xxyyyy. The Omnia Support tech will then give you a special password that will unlock the unit and restore the factory default passwords.

My Omnia-6 stopped passing audio and is continuously rebooting over and over. What can I do?

This condition usually means that the Omnia's front panel CPU is booting up normally, but the motherboard is not, due to corruption of the NVRAM and/or the rear panel PCMCIA software card. This can be caused by exposure of the unit to a power surge or lightning, or if the unit was powered up with the card not fully seated. We suggest installing a new rear panel PCMCIA software card – contact Omnia Support to request one. Before powering up with the new card for the first time, the NVRAM should be cleared by powering the unit off, removing the top cover and shorting-out the two leads of the purple, cylindrical lithium battery for 30 seconds. You can also try this before you install the new card, making sure that the existing card is fully seated in its slot, but if the NVRAM is corrupted, the card usually is as well. If the new card does not solve the problem, there likely is other hardware damage to the motherboard and the unit should be sent in for repair.

What are the factory default passwords for front panel or Ethernet remote access to my Omnia-6?

What about access via RS-232 serial port or modem card slot (Also used in the older Omnia FM or Omnia-3)?

Here are the default Front Panel and Ethernet Remote access passwords:

• Level 1: "user" (all lower case)
• Level 2: "advuser" (all lower case)
• Level 3: "engineer" (all lower case)
• Level 3 allows full access to control of the unit.

Levels 1 and 2 are configurable from the System Menu / Security Config screen. There you can assign what submenus may be accessed at those levels. Also there is the "Stealth Mode When Locked" option. When checked, this option will cause the front panel bargraph metering to stop showing processing activity and will hide the selected preset name from view when the Omnia is locked. This will not affect the horizontal Input and Output bargraph meters.

Here are the default RS-232 serial port and PCMCIA modem card remote access passwords:

• Engineer Access Level (full access): "tomtom" (all lower case)
• Limited User Access: "vito" (all lower case)

What HD features does the Omnia-6 have?

The Omnia-6 EX and EXi have a separate HD limiter that receives the audio from the output of the final mixer (after the 6-Band limiter stage) for optimum processing for the HD channel or Internet streaming. The output of the HD limiter can be routed to the analog or AES/EBU digital outputs. The Omnia-6 EXi adds built-in diversity delay and a newer LoIMD clipper stage for the FM analog channel. Omnia-6 is an audio processor only, and does not contain a codec.

What is the difference between the Omnia-6 EX and EXi?

The Omnia-6 EX and EXi differ in that the EXi adds built-in Diversity Delay (fully adjustable now from 0-20 seconds) and an improved LoIMD clipper to the "FM" channel. Both come standard with parallel processing paths and optimized final limiting for conventional "FM" and "HD".