Letter from Lee Ellison CEO
If you have been following the buzz in the industry, it is becoming obvious that Audinate’s Dante™ media networking solution is becoming the dominant AV networking solution. In the past few years we have grown so that we now have approximately 65 OEM manufacturers who have licensed Dante. There are numerous partner products available to create a large Dante AV ecosystem. A recent industry poll shows Dante is the number one specified networking solution by 2:1 over any alternate networking protocol. But the reason so many companies have adopted Dante is that it is much more than just a network protocol, it is a comprehensive networking solution. Dante products deliver the promise of interoperability plus the simplification of ease of use today.
This past quarter, Dante was instrumental in the operations of several large-scale installations including the London Olympic Games, the Queen’s Jubilee Event, and now has been installed in major NFL Stadiums and NASCAR racetracks. Dante is not only used extensively in large-scale installations and events, but is now deployed in thousands of small and medium facilities like theatres, courtrooms, and broadcast facilities. Dante has widespread adoption in the Houses of Worship market including the Dante Virtual Soundcard which integrates Macs/PCs into the AV networked system.
The dream of easy to use, readily available interoperable products that can work, plus the benefit of working with existing switches is here today. Dante is Media Networking Perfected!
Events
AV Networking Congress 2012
For the fourth year in a row, Audinate joins the industry’s leading AV equipment manufacturers at The AV Networking Congress 2013, which takes place on Tuesday 29 January at the Holiday Inn Amsterdam. This major event is sponsored by 11 leading AV equipment vendors and features panel discussions on various real world installation use cases with presentations from several of the premier AV networking experts. A powerful demonstration on interoperability will be showcased several times throughout the day. Last year’s event was incredibly popular and the initial pre-registration indicates it should have record attendance. Please join us and listen to state-of-the-art panels led by leading industry design consultants, installation contractors, networking experts, and leading professional audio equipment vendors. To find out more or to register click here. Hurry, space is limited.
Audinate at AES
In case you weren’t able to attend the AES 133 Conference in San Francisco in October, Audinate was in high demand as we participated in 3 different panel discussions plus delivered an engineering brief. Kieran Walsh our Senior Technical Solutions Manager from Europe delivered an important engineering brief presentation, “Audio over IP Standards Based Networks” to a well-attended audience and spoke on the following panels:
- Practical application of audio networking for live sound
- Audio Networks, a Paradigm Shift for Broadcasters
- Audio Network Device Connection and Control
Great going Kieran.
In The News
Audinate Joins Open Control Architecture Alliance (OCA Alliance)
The OCA Alliance was formed by professional audio companies who work in different product markets and represent a diverse cross section of vertical market positions and application use-cases. Founding OCA Alliance members Bosch Communications Systems, Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup, TC Group and Yamaha Commercial Audio are Audinate partners and have incorporated Dante as their digital media networking solution.
Audinate’s Dante Networking Soars with Broadcast Manufacturers
It was very evident at this year’s IBC trade show, that Dante is being deployed by a large number of OEM equipment vendors in the Broadcast industry. Audinate announced that 20 of its current 60 OEM manufacturer partners are involved in the broadcast market sector.
http://www.audinate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=340
NTP Technologies launches Dante enabled Penta 720 and 721 at IBC
new or existing NTP routing systems. Designed for use in television or radio studios, outside broadcast vehicles and public-event venues, it comes with eight channel AES3 input/output channels, MADI, two Dante IP Audio Ethernet in/outs and an Avid Pro Tools interface.
http://www.audinate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=338
Symetrix Expands SYMNET Audio DSP with Radius 12x8
Symetrix announces the Radius 12x8, a Dante™-networkable, fixed I/O, open-architecture digital signal processor expanding the innovative SymNet platform.
http://www.audinate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=335
Update Your Dante Controller Software
Dante Controller v3.2.9.2 has been released for both Windows and Mac (OS 10.8) as well as support for Yamaha HA Remote.
Support for HA Remote is available in the latest version of Dante Controller, together with the latest release of Dante-MY16-AUD firmware. This means that the head amps in Yamaha Rio3224-D and Rio1608-D I/O rack units can be remotely controlled from such equipment as M7CL or LS9 digital mixing consoles
Click here to read more http://www.audinate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=345
New faces at Audinate
Audinate Welcomes Landon Gentry
Audinate announced that we have hired Landon Gentry as Manager of Global Support Services. Based in Portland, Landon will lead Audinate’s worldwide support team and will take particular responsibility for directly supporting US based manufacturers of Dante-enabled products.
Showcasing Dante
Symetrix Edge Processors and Yamaha's CL5 Deliver Sophisticated Audio System in Gardner-Webb University's Student Center
Gardner-Webb University, a private institution serving 4,300 students in North Carolina, recently completed a $30 million construction project at the heart of the campus. University President Dr. Frank Bonner described the new Tucker Student Center as “the single-most impressive and most transformational building ever built on Gardner-Webb’s campus.” The building’s sound reinforcement system is equipped with a 7.2 surround sound system that is perfect for movie screenings and rider-ready for high-profile bands. Local A/V firm A Sound Experience designed and installed the system around a pair of Symetrix SymNet Edge processors networked together and with a Yamaha CL5 console via Dante.
The heart of the audio system resides in the event space, which is a complex of divisible and combinable rooms that will host movie screenings, performing arts events, concerts, and meetings. However, its tendrils extend throughout the student center to provide high-quality background music in the building’s restaurants, store, recreation area, and common areas. “The new system at the Tucker Student Center is tremendously powerful and flexible, and just a few years ago a comparable system would have cost two or three times as much,” said Preston Hinson, systems engineer at A Sound Experience. “The SymNet Edge possesses a tremendous amount of processing power, and the use of the Dante network reduced the labor costs substantially while simultaneously improving system performance.”
Inputs to the system include six wireless microphones, Dante ports located in each of the divisible rooms, output from a 7.2 surround sound processor, several media inputs, and stage boxes. The SymNet Edge frame possesses a modular I/O topology, and one frame, dubbed “Dante In,” is fully loaded with sixteen analog inputs. Its considerable processing power is devoted to conditioning each input, which is then available anywhere in the system via the Dante network. “I’ve worked with virtually all of the older digital audio distribution protocols, and they were always tedious and somewhat problematic, said Hinson. “ In contrast, I simply plugged in Dante and it worked. The simplicity and robustness of it blew my mind. The Yamaha CL5 integrated seamlessly. This was the first job I have completed in which all of the patching is done via Cat5.”
The second SymNet Edge frame is dubbed “Signal Management” and handles all of the routing, combining, and output conditioning for the system. “Symetrix’ new SymNet Composer design software proved to be very intuitive,” said Hinson. “It was all drag-and-drop.” The second Edge’s modular I/O slots are outfitted with sixteen outputs for distribution to several loudspeakers and zones. The heart of the system is in the surround-sound room, where the Yamaha CL5 resides. Its loudspeaker complement is comprised of iSP HDL 3112 line array cabinets, iSP HDM 210 fills, and iSP dual twelve-inch horn-loaded subwoofers. Other rooms in the complex that combine also use the iSP HDM 210s. Elsewhere in the building, output from the SymNet Edge feed an iSP HDDS system, which distributes audio to iSP ceiling speakers via Cat5 cabling.
For expert users, the Yamaha CL5 provides the main point of control for the system. Keys allow different users to access different levels of control, ranging from full concert mixing access to modest volume changes for meetings. Students and staff access the video playback system from the surround sound processor, which has the look and feel of a consumer-grade stereo component. Elsewhere in the building, iSP wall plates allow users to plug in any line level source with an eighth-inch jack. However, when Hinson and the school’s A/V staff realized the potential of Symetrix’ ARC-WEB technology, they plan on using it in conjunction with ARC-WEB.
