ACQUA 4: New release of the voice and audio quality analysis software

22. 8月 2018

HEAD acoustics has launched a new version of ACQUA (Advanced Communication Quality Analysis), the powerful software for voice and audio quality testing. With version 4, ACQUA supports the hardware platform labCORE und thus includes a multi-channel signal generator and a multi-channel analyzer for testing all equipment in the field of telecommunication. “ACQUA is a powerful data acquisition and analysis system for electroacoustic tests with sampling rates up to 192 kHz. Now, we have redesigned the software and also added new features to improve usability even more”, says Christian Schüring, sales manager of the Telecom division at HEAD acoustics GmbH.

Restructured database menu and extended reporting functionalities

In ACQUA 4, the database menu has been restructured and enhanced. Links to the database admin simplify the management of required databases. Users are able to download and use ACQUA data bases directly from the Internet. Furthermore, ACQUA 4 enables quick comparison of databases and a search within databases. Via so-called single measurement descriptor (SMD) collections users are able to create a subset of all SMDs and thus obtain a different view to the whole project. These SMD collections can be named, saved and recalled at any time. In addition, users are able to filter all measurement cards of a database by keywords and save the result as SMD collection. All measurements of a favored SMD collection can be conducted automatically.

Furthermore, the reporting functionalities have been significantly extended. “ACQUA 4 is able to compare several results of a test object or the results of several test objects comfortably and to document them in a common report”, says Mr. Schüring. The software offers the possibility to create reports for one or more projects - even across different databases. Now, so-called Quality Pie Charts, a tool for clear result representation compliant to ITU-T Recommendation P.505, can be inserted into reports easily.

Easy-to-use hardware configuration and quick access to favorite projects

The newly developed thumbnails visualize the results and thus enable a quick comparison of results in ACQUA 4, using dynamic graphs and a pass/fail check for all measurements. Users are able to create custom lists of thumbnails and add specific results. The clearly arranged hardware configuration now offers a full overview of the measurement chain: from ACQUA over labCORE to the head and torso simulator, third party equipment and the device under test. It is possible to configure the logical connections inside the labCORE (signal routing) and the physical connections (cables) of the entire test equipment via drag and drop. Via the user-friendly “Quick Start” menu users get quick access to favorite projects as well as to a dynamic list of recent projects and test objects.