PORTLAND, Ore.—Dante developer Audinate Group has announced that it is celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the AVoIP platform’s introduction.

Originally developed to simplify the complexity of digital audio networking, Dante has grown from support for plug-and-play audio over IP to encompass video, control, and cloud-based management.

“Twenty years ago, Dante didn’t just solve a technical challenge. It redefined what was possible for AV,” said Aidan Williams, CEO of Audinate. “What began as a better way to move high-quality audio reliably and easily over IP has become a platform that underpins today’s AV systems. This milestone validates our vision, the sustained collaboration of our partners, and the depth and commitment of the global Dante community.”

Among Dante’s milestones since its introduction in 2006 are:

• 2008: Dolby Lake Processor becomes first Dante-enabled device.
• 2010: Dante Virtual Soundcard brings Dante to computers.
• 2012: Yamaha, Focusrite, Shure, Harman and Allen & Heath are among brands adopting Dante.
• 2014: Yamaha CL Series becomes first console with Dante built in.
• 2016: Dante Certification Program builds global audio networking community.
• 2017: Dante Domain Manager introduced.
• 2018: Dante AVIO Adapters launched.
• 2019: Dante AV extends Dante’s powers to networked video.
• 2020: Dante wins Technology & Engineering Emmy Award.
• 2023: Audinate manufactures and ships more than 1 million Dante devices—a company record.
• 2024: Dante Director enables the remote management of Dante devices from any manufacturer.
• 2025: Introduced Dante AVIO adapters for the installation market.

“Reaching 20 years is not just about celebrating the past,” said Williams. “It’s about reaffirming our commitment to innovation and ensuring Dante continues to enable the next generation of AV experiences, making them simpler to deploy, easier to manage and more powerful than ever.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

The broadcast industry stands at a critical juncture. As facilities transition from traditional infrastructures to IP-based workflows, the decisions made today about interoperability will define operational flexibility for years to come. The selection of underlying technology standards has profound implications for innovation, scalability, and long-term cost management.

Interoperability represents more than technical compatibility. It embodies a philosophy of system design that prioritizes flexibility, choice, and futureproofing over vendor lock-in. As broadcast facilities invest heavily in AV-over-IP infrastructure, understanding the full spectrum of interoperability considerations becomes essential.

The broadcast industry thrives on innovation, with technological advancement driving improvements in production quality, workflow efficiency, and audience experience. Open, interoperable systems accelerate this innovation by enabling more product selection for the ecosystem. When manufacturers build products that seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure, they're empowered to focus on solving specific problems rather than recreating entire ecosystems.

Consider the practical implications: more manufacturers developing interoperable products means more resources dedicated to solving industry challenges, more diverse perspectives addressing workflow bottlenecks, and more rapid iteration on solutions.

Innovation for Everyone
This expanded ecosystem also distributes time to market across multiple companies. When one manufacturer develops a breakthrough in a specific area—whether audio processing, video encoding, or network management—that innovation becomes immediately available to the entire ecosystem without waiting for a single vendor to replicate the functionality.

Interoperable systems provide broadcast facilities with manufacturer-agnostic selection criteria. Technical specifications, performance requirements, and feature sets drive purchasing decisions rather than ecosystem compatibility. When upgrading a single component—a video encoder, audio processor, or control interface—the decision focuses on finding the best tool for the job rather than the best tool that works within existing constraints.

Broadcast operations rarely remain static. Facilities expand, production demands increase, and new workflows emerge. Open, interoperable systems scale more gracefully because growth isn't constrained by single-vendor product availability or capacity limitations.

Geographic distribution presents another scalability advantage. Open platforms running on standard IT infrastructure enable facilities to extend operations across multiple locations, connecting remote production sites, satellite offices, and cloud resources without architectural limitations. Signals route seamlessly wherever network connectivity exists, whether across a building, a campus, or continents.

Open, interoperable systems also introduce competitive pricing dynamics. Multiple manufacturers competing for each component category create natural price pressure and incentivize value innovation.

Longevity and upgrade cycles also affect budgets. Interoperable systems allow facilities to extend the productive life of equipment, replacing components based on capability requirements rather than compatibility mandates.

Security Considerations
Security represents a critical consideration in any broadcast infrastructure decision. Modern interoperable platforms incorporate robust security frameworks that address the unique requirements of broadcast operations. Authentication systems ensure that only authorized users can configure signal routing or modify system parameters. Encryption protects media streams from interception or unauthorized access, whether signals traverse local networks or extend to cloud resources.

Consider how platforms like Dante address security in broadcast contexts. Dante Director and Dante Domain Manager provide comprehensive user authentication, ensuring signal routes remain secure and content reaches only intended destinations. These tools enable role-based access control, audit logging, and encrypted communication between devices—all while maintaining the flexibility and interoperability that make open platforms valuable.

Security in multi-manufacturer environments requires neutral oversight. When a single manufacturer controls both the devices and the security framework, other manufacturers face challenges in achieving truly equivalent integration. Security credentials, authentication mechanisms, and encryption implementations may be documented but not genuinely accessible, creating practical barriers to interoperability.

Independent third-party management of security frameworks ensures that all manufacturers operate on equal footing. Platform providers like Audinate maintain a security infrastructure that works consistently across devices from any manufacturer. This neutrality is essential for creating genuinely interoperable ecosystems where security doesn't become a competitive moat separating manufacturers.

Independence also matters for long-term viability. When security infrastructure exists separately from any single device manufacturer, broadcast facilities gain assurance that security support will continue regardless of individual manufacturer's business decisions or market position changes.

Interoperable platforms address security and management requirements through management tools that provide unified visibility and control across hybrid infrastructures. Dante Director, for example, enables secure, cloud-based management and monitoring of Dante devices wherever they're located, providing a single interface for device management, signal routing, and system health monitoring.

Cloud Integration
Cloud integration represents a growing imperative for many broadcast operations. Remote production, disaster recovery, scalability on demand, and global content distribution all depend on seamless cloud connectivity. Interoperability between on-premises infrastructure and cloud resources determines how effectively facilities can leverage these capabilities.

Open platforms facilitate cloud integration in several ways. Standard protocols enable communication between on-premises devices and cloud services. Geographic distribution becomes architecture-independent—signals route between physical facilities and cloud resources using the same mechanisms that connect devices within a building.

Cloud-based broadcast workflows introduce new requirements for interoperability. Facilities need to route signals between on-premises equipment and cloud processing resources, manage and monitor devices regardless of physical location, and maintain consistent security postures across distributed infrastructure.

Cloud economics shift broadcast infrastructure from capital expenditure to operational expenditure, providing flexibility in how facilities allocate resources. However, realizing these economic benefits requires interoperability that enables facilities to leverage cloud services without abandoning existing infrastructure investments.

The interoperability decisions broadcast facilities make today will reverberate for years. Interoperability enables innovation by expanding the ecosystem of manufacturers solving industry challenges. It provides choice in equipment selection, scalability as operations grow, and budget flexibility through competitive dynamics and extended equipment lifecycles. Security, when properly implemented in open systems, matches or exceeds proprietary alternatives while maintaining the flexibility that makes interoperability valuable.

Before selecting a technology path, broadcast facilities should evaluate platforms across multiple dimensions: the breadth of manufacturer support, the maturity of security implementations, the availability of management and monitoring tools, compatibility with existing network infrastructure, and support for cloud integration.

The question isn't whether interoperability matters, but whether broadcast facilities can afford the limitations of alternatives that don't provide it.

SURRY HILLS, Australia—Audinate Group will showcase how Dante supports next-generation productions from IP-based operations to cloud-enable collaboration by combining seamless integration, adaptable design and precise control for production environments during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

“Broadcast and AV technologies are evolving faster than ever, and the future of production depends on platforms that can interoperate and scale across any application,” said Joshua Rush, chief marketing officer at Audinate.

“At IBC2025, we’re excited to demonstrate how the Dante platform empowers broadcasters, system designers and AV professionals to move beyond legacy infrastructure, simplifying network management, scaling production across any environment and delivering immersive audio and video experiences on-site, in the cloud, or across continents.”

Audinate will demonstrate:

• Audio and interoperability with Dante Audio enhancements for Dante’s AES67 and ST 2110-30 implementation to strengthen integration with third-party systems, support more flexible network designs and ensure broadcast workflows remain aligned with changing needs.
• The Dante Virtual Soundcard Pro, making its IBC debut, which brings higher channel counts and advanced configuration options to computer on Dante networks. The card offers a straightforward way to integrate workstations for recording and playback with traditional and virtualized production environments.
• Dante Connect for remote production and AV, which enables native Dante audio for remote talent contribution, production monitoring and localization, demonstrated with SSL System T and Elgato Stream Deck Studio. Dante AV simplifies multicamera IP setups, delivering high-fidelity video at ultra-low latency. The company will offer a sneak peek at Iris camera control.
• Dante Director and Dante Domain Manager simplify network management and monitoring, offering secure authentication on-premises or in the cloud. The Dante Managed API and Media Encryption provide flexible control, integration with custom systems and end-to-end secure signal transmission.

Audinate will also offer a full day of Dante training on Sept. 13 at the RAI convention center in room G105. The training schedule includes:

• Dante Interoperability with ST 2110 and AES 67 from 10:30 a.m. till noon.
• Dante Clocking Deep Dive, 1-2:30 p.m.
• Advanced monitoring and control with Dante Director and Dante Domain Manager, 3-4:30 p.m.

See Audinate at IBC2025 Stand 8.A95.

More information is available on the company’s website.

In advance of the 2025 IBC Show, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam, Grass Valley has announced two new partners for its AMPP OS (Agile Media Processing Platform Operating System) platform.

Audinate is bringing native Dante audio networking to AMPP via its Dante AV-over-IP platform and Hitomi’s Hitomi's trusted timing measurement capabilities are being integrated directly into AMPP environments through MatchBox Software Analyser, MatchBox Probe, and MatchBox Renderer applications. MatchBox Software solutions operate entirely within AMPP's virtualised infrastructure.

The Audinate partnership brings seamless Dante connectivity directly into AMPP OS, allowing users to discover, manage, and route Dante audio streams without external hardware. With support for up to 128×128 bidirectional channels and latency as low as 1ms, the integration delivers robust audio capabilities across any AMPP-powered workflow.

By incorporating Dante into AMPP, Grass Valley is enabling agile, software-defined audio routing that aligns with modern production demands, whether in a studio, on location, or in the cloud, the company said. The new functionality is fully integrated into AMPP’s microservices architecture, and is deployed, scaled and managed like any other AMPP service. This allows operators to mix Dante sources alongside other IP audio formats within the GV Media Universe.

For the first time, Dante I/O is available through AMPP’s flexible licensing model, offering hourly and monthly subscription options. This gives customers instant, cost-effective access to professional audio networking enabling rapid deployment for short-term productions, seasonal events, or dynamic scaling needs.

The integration benefits a broad range of users across sectors including broadcast, live events, corporate AV, worship, education, and esports—industries increasingly turning to remote production and distributed workflows.

“This partnership reflects the accelerating shift to IP-based media infrastructure,” said Chris Ware, Senior Vice President, Product Development at Audinate. “By integrating Dante into AMPP OS, Grass Valley is offering a powerful platform for modern audio workflows, built to scale for everything from small studios to enterprise-grade distributed productions.”

The solution also supports the use of Dante Domain Manager for effective device management across complex network installations, including the creation of multiple clocking domains, management and routing of signals across VLANs and subnets, creation and management of AES67 & ST2110 device domains, and effective monitoring of the overall Dante system status.

The Hitomi partnership addresses one of broadcasters' primary concerns about migrating to software-based production: maintaining precise timing and synchronisation throughout complex virtualised workflows. Integrating MatchBox Software Analyser, MatchBox Probe, and MatchBox Renderer applications into AMPP's virtualised infrastructure enables engineers to position timing measurement probes throughout their broadcast chain without signal conversion or external routing. This provides true end-to-end visibility, allowing broadcasters to monitor timing at multiple points from a centralized web interface whilst maintaining the same millisecond-accurate measurements that broadcast professionals rely on worldwide, Hitomi said.

"Traditional workflows using hardware analyzers require video signals to be routed out of software-based environments and converted back to SDI for analysis, which not only adds complexity but can introduce the very timing errors customers are trying to detect," explains Russell Johnson, Director at Hitomi Broadcast. "Our native AMPP integration eliminates this problem by enabling in-situ timing measurement within the software infrastructure itself."

"Managing sync and latency is one of the key concerns about the migration to cloud production," notes Matthew Yates, Director of Strategic Alliances at Grass Valley. "Hitomi's MatchBox solutions demonstrate exactly the kind of integration the Alliance is built for: delivering precision timing measurement that broadcasters require whilst working seamlessly within AMPP workflows."

The partnership reflects Grass Valley Alliance's focus on creating integrated solutions that work together out of the box, rather than requiring weeks of custom integration. MatchBox Software Analyser can manage multiple probes simultaneously, providing the scalability essential for modern virtualized broadcast operations while reducing infrastructure investment and maintaining precision.

Grass Valley will be in Stand 9.A01.

SYDNEY, Australia—Audinate Group Limited has appointed TJ Adams to the newly-created position of Chief Platform Officer. Adams is an acknowledged AV industry leader who joins Audinate from QSC, where he was Senior Vice President, Q-SYS Product Strategy and was instrumental in the development of the Q-SYS platform. He previously held engineering, sales and product management roles at Biamp and SITA (formerly Com-Net Software).

In his new role, Adams will lead Audinate’s platform strategy to deliver an interoperable audio, video, control and management platform. Building on an established and strong foundation across the millions of Dante-enabled devices in the field, Adams will lead Audinate’s initiatives to deliver cohesive platform software, products and service offerings for designers, integrators and users of AV systems across a wide spectrum of vertical markets & applications. He will report to Nick Peace, Chief Strategy Officer, and will operate from the United States.

“We’re pleased to welcome TJ Adams to the management team here at Audinate,” Peace said today. “His strong industry experience and technical depth equip him well to lead the platform strategy at Audinate, and I’m confident he will make an immediate and lasting impact on our progress going forward.”

Echoing this sentiment, Adams commented, “With Dante, Audinate has built something unique in the AV industry by enabling interoperability between thousands of products from hundreds of manufacturers. This is a strong foundation to deliver greater platform software, products and service offerings for designers, integrators and users of AV systems, which will transform the delivery and operation of audiovisual systems across a wide spectrum of vertical markets and applications. I look forward to joining the team and to helping us realize the tremendous potential of the Dante ecosystem.”

PORTLAND, Ore.—Audinate Group Limited, developer of the Dante media networking platform, is acquiring Iris Studio Inc. a U.S.-based provider of AI-powered, cloud-based camera control technology.

Iris offers a control-first video production platform that enables users to seamlessly manage cameras remotely, providing features like AI-driven auto tracking, real-time color correction and cloud recording, all from a single, cloud-based interface, according to the company. The Iris platform is brand-agnostic and is currently enabled on a wide range of PTZ cameras on the market. Beyond cameras, the Iris software platform is also applicable to a variety of AV products, including encoders, decoders, vision mixers and more.

Audinate says the acquisition will “strengthen the company’s video platform capabilities while also accelerating its broader vision for interoperable control and management across the AV device ecosystem.”

Iris enables OEMs with native cloud-based control directly into their devices, allowing users to remotely access, control, manage and monitor devices in real time—without the need for additional hardware. Iris has partnered with 14 different camera manufacturers, including Lumens, PTZOptics, Marshall, BirdDog, Telycam, AIDA and more.

Audinate says adding Iris to its portfolio will bring greater value to Dante customers across a range of markets, including corporate, entertainment, sports, government, houses of worship, broadcast and education. By combining advanced features like remote PTZ control, AI auto-tracking, color correction, and cloud recording with the capabilities of Dante Studio, AV professionals can deliver more flexible, efficient, and intelligent audio-visual experiences.

“The addition of Iris to the Dante ecosystem is a major step forward for the Dante platform,” commented Aidan Williams, co-founder and CEO of Audinate. “Combining Iris's broad applicability and cutting-edge remote production capabilities with powerful cloud-based management software like Dante Director will provide significant value for customers managing the millions of Dante-enabled devices in the field today.”

Iris launched as a white-label service earlier this year and will launch publicly in the second half of 2025. Audinate and Iris are actively working on integrating future roadmaps to bring Iris functionality to Dante customers.

Iris’s current employees will join Audinate following transaction completion and will work in collaboration with Audinate’s teams to continue to expand the capabilities of the Iris platform and to integrate its functionality with Dante products.

“At Iris, we set out to rethink AV device control—intelligent, intuitive, and accessible from anywhere,” said Noah Johnson, CEO of Iris. “Partnering with Audinate gives us the scale, reach, and deep AV expertise to accelerate our roadmap and bring our vision to the next level.”

PORTLAND, Ore.—Audinate Group has announced that cloud-based solutions from Calrec, Gallery Sienna, LAMA, Lawo, and Telos Alliance have been added to the growing list of applications that support native Dante audio in cloud-based production workflows. 

The recently released SDK for Dante Connect enables software developers to build Dante audio transmission and reception natively into their cloud-based applications, Audinate reported. 

Calrec, Gallery Sienna, LAMA, Lawo, and Telos Alliance join the expanding ecosystem of cloud-based software applications to choose direct integration of Dante into their applications. Integrating Dante directly into cloud-based applications enables end customers to connect any existing Dante hardware or software to cloud-based software applications using Dante Connect, the companies said. 

These new Dante integrations give broadcasters and audio engineers a vast array of new products to choose from when building cloud-based Dante audio production workflows. 

The new integrations join existing Dante-native cloud-based tools from Solid State Logic and Waves, as well as solutions connected by Dante Virtual Soundcard from Grass Valley, Harrison, Riedel, and Vizrt. The ecosystem now includes eleven professional tools that broadcasters can selectively integrate into their workflows, Audinate reported. 

Following its development preview at NAB 2024, Calrec joins Audiotonix’s sister company, Solid State Logic, with the integration of a cloud-based DSP mixing engine and software on demand, which will make its debut at IBC 2024 in Amsterdam. Calrec’s ImPulseV, hosted entirely in a public cloud environment like AWS can be accessed from anywhere in the world and is suitable for all broadcast audio production workflows. It delivers the same audio quality and feature set as Calrec’s hardware-based ImPulse processing cores.

“By using Dante Connect, we give customers maximum flexibility for audio production with an on-premise Calrec hardware and cloud-based audio DSP mixing engine,” says Henry Goodman, director of product management at Calrec. “As new cloud functionality and flexibility is adopted by our customers, Calrec continues to develop and deploy new audio equipment and software designed to exceed customer demands.”

Gallery Sienna has integrated Dante into the Sienna ND Processing Engine. Dante support enables broadcasters using a variety of video protocols, including NDI and SRT to seamlessly bridge embedded audio streams to Dante Native systems in their workflow.

"As we see the growth of cloud-based workflows, dedicated audio mixing platforms are increasingly required, and many of these are native Dante", says Mark Gilbert, chief technology officer of Gallery Sienna. "Adding Dante support to the industry standard infrastructure platform, Sienna ND Processing Engine connects the embedded audio in video streams with Dante-based mixing platforms and also adds new mechanisms for remote contribution of Dante audio from the ground to the cloud, along with remote monitoring of cloud-based Dante streams."

LAMA, Lean And Mean Audio BV, brings Dante integration to their software-based audio solutions to enable new options for audio mixing in broadcast productions. 

“Audio production and orchestration is critical to broadcast productions and cloud-based software solutions give engineers and A1s new options for additional flexibility,” says Ewan Cameron, co-founder and chief commercial officer of LAMA. “Adding native Dante connectivity within LAMA Connect enables broadcasters to quickly connect existing Dante hardware to the cloud-based software toolset.”

Lawo brings Dante integration to their HOME Apps platform to support productions, including television broadcast and on-air radio, performing arts, houses of worship, and professional AV. 

“The integration of Dante into HOME Apps is an important milestone for Lawo’s open, unified HOME platform,” states Jamie Dunn, Lawo’s Deputy CEO. “Providing Dante integration on a server-based microservice level yields a vast range of creative benefits for operators as it helps them navigate the transition to future-proof hardware-abstracted processing.”

Telos Alliance adds Dante into the cloud-based Telos Infinity VIP intercom system, the first professional intercom system to support cloud-based Dante workflows.

“Adding Dante to the Telos Infinity VIP intercom system enables customers to expand the integration of additional audio signals from any Dante device into the Telos Infinity intercom network,” says John Schur, president of Media Solutions. “This provides customers the flexibility and scalability of intercom systems without the requirement of additional hardware costs.” 

Using the Dante SDK, software developers get free access to send and receive Dante audio to any Dante-enabled hardware and software. This enables end users to send audio from existing on-premises Dante hardware to cloud-based mixers, DSPs, and orchestration software, providing maximum flexibility in configuration. 

Licensing for Dante audio support is managed by Dante Connect, freeing developers to add functionality without additional costs. End customers license Dante Connect, enabling native Dante connections and cloud-based Dante Virtual Soundcard integrations. 

To learn more about Dante Connect, visit IBC Booth 8.A95 or go to www.getdante.com/DanteConnect.  

NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia, and RASTATT, Germany—Audinate and Lawo announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to integrate Dante audio and video technologies into Lawo’s HOME Apps.

The integration includes the provision of native discovery and management mechanisms for Dante devices and software as well as access to Dante audio and video within Lawo’s HOME management platform, Lawo said.

Lawo intends to integrate Dante APIs and SDKs for access to control, management and media signals for Dante networks directly into HOME. To this end, Lawo will also introduce new Dante Importer (southbound) and Dante Exporter (northbound) services into and out of HOME, which will be similar to the approach Lawo developed for the interaction between HOME-native and NMOS-compatible devices, it said.

The MoU underscores the importance of the Dante network protocol in the studio, install and live-sound sectors and will enable the powerful coexistence of the Dante and RAVENNA protocols on a microservice-based application level, it said.

Already available for audio hardware by means of Dante cards installed in a Lawo Power Core modular I/O and DSP gateway, the envisaged integration will now be extended to HOME Apps and also include Dante AV video signals.

The collaboration will enable mixing a diverse pool of audio sources, such as Dante, SMPTE ST 2110, NDI, SRT and RAVENNA, with Lawo’s HOME mc² DSP app controlled from an mc² audio or crystal broadcast console or a headless mixer setup.

HOME Apps’ Dante integration is expected to provide seamless interoperability and agility for a diverse range of Dante-enabled sources and destinations, such as power amplifiers, immersive audio speaker and arrays, it said.

“The integration of Dante into HOME Apps is an important milestone for Lawo’s open, unified HOME platform,” said Lawo deputy CEO Jamie Dunn. “Providing Dante integration on a server-based microservice level is bound to yield a vast range of creative benefits for operators as it helps them navigate the transition to future-proof hardware-abstracted processing.”

“The industry is rapidly transitioning to software-based IP media infrastructure, and Lawo is at the forefront of that transformation” said Aidan Williams, co-founder and CEO of Audinate. “We are excited to partner with Lawo to incorporate Dante into that vision. The integration of Dante into HOME Apps will provide Lawo customers with seamless access to Dante control, management and media signals, enabling entirely new, innovative workflows.”

Audinate and Lawo expect to unveil the result of their collaboration for software running on generic compute in early 2025.

More information is available on the Lawo and Audinate websites.

Dante is a complete, easy-to-use AV-over-IP platform that is inherently interoperable across thousands of products from hundreds of manufacturers, seamlessly integrating best-in-class audio, video, control, and management features.

Long the de facto standard for transmitting audio in pro AV and on-premise broadcast applications, the Dante platform is revolutionizing the broadcasting industry by enabling reliable hybrid and distributed production models in the cloud. The importance of these models lies in their ability to adapt swiftly to technological advancements and operational requirements, ensuring high-quality broadcasts in various scenarios.

Evolution of Broadcast Production Models
Traditional on-premises production relied heavily on centralized facilities, which limited flexibility and scalability. However, we are entering a new era of broadcasting based on shifting audience viewing preferences, workflow paradigms, and content creation/curation.

For these reasons, cloud-based broadcast production is gaining popularity since it offers several advantages over traditional production workflows, including flexibility and efficiency. However, change is hard, and broadcasters face challenges integrating new technologies and managing distributed teams, necessitating robust solutions like cloud-based Dante solutions.

Dante Cloud Possibilities
The ability to use Dante software applications in the cloud opens opportunities for A1s and mixing engineers to choose a familiar audio platform that’s easy to use with tight synchronization and seamless connectivity to centralize production tools running on cloud instances.

Access to Dante in the cloud allows broadcasters to rethink how they approach audio production. Maintaining the familiar workflows that production teams are accustomed to in on-premise environments makes the adoption of cloud-based Dante feel easy and intuitive. Only by utilizing cloud resources can broadcasters create the necessary programming to cater to ever-personalized and fragmented audience destinations.

With Dante cloud capabilities, Dante audio products can send up to 256 channels at a time of synchronized, high-fidelity audio directly from on-premise Dante devices to best-of-breed or customer-preferred production software in the cloud.

Audio can be distributed globally within the cloud, allowing different teams to use the same audio within multiple applications and locations to address different audiences, languages, and aspects of the production process. Source audio can be sent directly to the cloud from remote sites so mixing engineers can do their jobs from anywhere.

Benefits of Dante in the Cloud
Cloud-based Dante solutions transform traditional work models and workflows by enabling remote and flexible work opportunities for production teams. Their integration with existing tools and technologies allows for a smooth transition and enhanced collaboration among team members, regardless of their location.

Adopting Dante for the cloud leads to significant efficiency gains and economies of scale. Broadcasters can reduce hardware and operational costs, simplify setup and maintenance processes, and scale their operations to accommodate different production sizes. This scalability is crucial for handling various broadcast demands without compromising quality.

Cloud capabilities also boost content production volume by facilitating faster turnaround times and enabling more simultaneous productions. This capability allows broadcasters to meet the growing demand for diverse and high-quality content, ensuring they stay competitive in the ever-evolving media landscape.

Dante in the Cloud Example
Picture a week filled with overlapping races: a Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco, a MotoGP race in Valencia, and a World Rally Championship event in Finland. Each of these events, happening in different locations and time zones, requires a unique audio setup, and the Dante platform is the key to managing these complex requirements.

On the ground at each race, Dante-enabled microphones capture the engines' roar, the crowd's cheers, and the commentary from the pit lane. These microphones are connected to Dante-enabled mixers and communication systems, creating a robust on-premise audio network that can capture and process high-quality audio in real time.

The cloud becomes an extension of that audio network. Here, cloud-based Dante-enabled mixers, digital signal processors (DSPs), and intercom systems take over. These devices allow technical staff to control and fine-tune the audio broadcast from a single location, regardless of where the races occur. This seamless integration of on-premise and cloud-based devices creates a flexible, efficient, and scalable audio ecosystem that can adapt to the needs of any broadcast.

Taking Dante to the Next Level
The Dante platform’s ability to support diverse production models, streamline workflows, and enhance collaboration makes it an invaluable asset for broadcasters adapting to modern production demands.

Dante accessible via the cloud allows broadcasters to rethink how they approach audio production by letting them take advantage of Dante devices anywhere in the world, create a cloud-based network of these devices, and then manage it from wherever their production staff is based.

The ability to create efficient remote production workflows directly from the hundreds of thousands of on-premise Dante devices has the potential to revolutionize cloud-based audio production.

PORTLAND, Ore.—Audinate Group Limited, developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, has announced the addition of Dante Media Encryption to the security features and benefits of the Dante platform. Dante Media Encryption protects the content of media flows using strong AES-256 encryption, safeguarding media from interception or unauthorized access.

Dante product updates for Dante Media Encryption will be available for original equipment manufacturers to integrate with their products in the second half of this year, the company said. 

Dante is a complete, AV-over-IP platform that is interoperable across more than 4,000 products from over 600 manufacturers, integrating audio, video, control, and management features. This interoperability, combined with the ability to access and route AV signals anywhere in the world, makes Dante uniquely qualified to add end-to-end encryption between connected products, the company said. 

Dante offers device, network, and media-level protections for Pro AV manufacturers to integrate into their products and system solutions. The accelerating convergence of AV equipment and IT network technologies has increased the need for integrators and manufacturers to provide network protection for system users with security-conscious designs and adherence to emerging IoT (Internet-of-Things) network regulations, the company said. 

Audinate also stressed that Dante systems and endpoints implement a multilayer security architecture that provides unmatched threat and vulnerability protection to the network and connected devices. The multilayer security architecture provides a solid foundation for manufacturers and systems integrators to follow best practices when configuring Dante and their products to meet new regulations. 

The addition of Dante Media Encryption enables Pro AV equipment manufacturers to upgrade qualified Dante firmware and software in new or existing designs to support AES-256 encryption security policies on managed Dante networks, the company reported. 

“Dante Media Encryption is the only fully interoperable and manufacturer-agnostic solution for AV installations, providing a powerful tool to customers that must adhere to strict security and privacy mandates,” says Mark Gerrard, group product manager, Audinate. “The introduction of Dante Media Encryption demonstrates Audinate’s ongoing industry leadership in the Pro AV industry.”

Dante Media Encryption capabilities are fully compatible between updated devices in managed Dante networks. Managed networks are fundamental to a secure AV-over-IP system, with Dante Director and Dante Domain Manager (DDM) providing secure access controls, network segmentation, policy management, and event logging as essential protections to an installation. Dante Media Encryption policy is configurable by the AV network administrator through an intuitive user interface on the Dante Director management platform. Dante Director also provides strong key management, including key rotation, for enrolled devices, the company said. 

PORTLAND, Oregon—Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based Dante audio transport solution for broadcasters. 

New features and capabilities include remote contribution options, native Dante software integration, cloud deployment platform options, and new resellers, the company said. 

Dante Connect is a suite of software applications that facilitate cloud-based broadcast production and is a powerful platform for A1s and mixing engineers, combining the familiarity, ease of use and tight synchronization of Dante audio with seamless connectivity to centralized production tools running on cloud instances, the company explained. 

As part of the improvements, Dante Connect adds WebRTC-powered remote contribution functionality to the existing uncompressed Dante audio transport streams. The remote contribution feature allows Dante sources connected to the internet worldwide to be captured as an audio source, giving customers a new, lower-bandwidth option to easily add a commentator or any other audio stream to the broadcast. This high-quality compressed source is transmitted using WebRTC functionality, ensuring the highest quality possible without requiring expensive dedicated transmission lines. Paired with the existing remote monitoring functionality, broadcasters gain new options for production staff to monitor, contribute to and produce content remotely, the company reported. 

Audinate has also joined the Google Cloud Partner Advantage as a partner in the build engagement model, enabling customer flexibility to deploy audio transmission and production with Dante Connect in Google Cloud environments. 

“Dante Connect on Google Cloud provides broadcasters with more options to meet their production flexibility and cost-saving goals in any deployment configuration. We are proud to have Audinate as a partner serving the demanding broadcast market,” said Kip Schauer, Global Head of Media & Entertainment and Gaming Partnerships at Google Cloud. 

Solid State Logic (SSL) has introduced its first native cloud implementation of Dante in their new System T cloud mixer. This virtualized Tempest audio processing and control solution is designed for live-to-air broadcast audio production. The System T cloud mixer provides up to 256 processing paths, supporting stereo, 5.1 and immersive formats, all controlled via hardware or software interfaces from any location. By utilizing the Dante Connect SDK within their virtual DSP, SSL was able to directly integrate and route Dante inputs and outputs within the System T cloud mixer, the companies explained. 

“At SSL, we aim to provide technology that enables our customers to work efficiently. By natively integrating Dante into the System T cloud mixer using the Dante Connect SDK, we were able to provide the best, most efficient user experience with Dante Connect,” said Tom Knowles, director of product management at Solid State Logic.

In addition, Audinate announced that Alpha has joined the Audinate reseller program, supporting the integration and sale of Dante Connect. Alpha is an industry leader with over 50 years of experience integrating technology to create exceptional experiences for a range of clients. Alpha joins existing Dante Connect resellers, Advanced Systems Group (ASG), Diversified, and HHB Communications.

“We’re delighted to be a partner bringing Dante audio transport technology to the cloud. Production solutions are constantly evolving to best meet customer needs for production flexibility and cost effectiveness, and Dante Connect is an expanding, robust platform we’re excited to share with our customers,” said Bryan Nelson, Senior Sales Executive of Alpha.  

More information is available at the Dante Connect webpage.   

It will come as no surprise that artificial intelligence (AI), virtualization and the cloud will be the major trends dominating the agenda at this year’s NAB Show. This applies as much to audio as it does to the visually oriented contingent that will be at the exhibition but the sound side is seeing some very different or specific applications of these shared technologies.

When it comes to audio mixing consoles, virtualization and cloud processing are “weekly conversations,” according to Henry Goodman, director of product management at Calrec Audio. “The majority of people want to talk about what will happen in the future with those technologies and how they might benefit from those kinds of workflows,” he says.

Another hot topic, Goodman adds, is, almost inevitably, AI. “It’s an area we’re all  looking at with a great deal of interest,” he comments, “and we’re looking at it to see how it can provide benefits for us.

“On the console side, the area that would interest us is providing facilities that offer some kind of assistive mechanisms for the operators. It could be for balancing external feeds coming in or providing standardized EQ for certain types of microphones. It’s not something that is at the forefront of our development programme right now but we’re definitely keeping a close eye on it.”

AI and cloud processing were highlighted by other manufacturers in TV Tech’s focus on audio mixing consoles in the January edition of TV Tech ("Audio Mixing in the Age of Remote Production") As with many technologies, virtualized mixing and processing is not an entirely new technology; it is now being used increasingly in radio, with Telos Alliance company Axia supplying consoles for one of the first implementations, the BBC ViLOR project, completed in 2019.

‘Headless Mixing’
Martin Dyster, vice president of business development for TV at Telos Alliance, highlights another trend that, although it first appeared elsewhere in the world decades ago, is now gaining traction in the U.S.

 “Audio follow Video [AFV] is becoming increasingly prevalent, particularly in live news at local stations,” he says. (The AFV concept  involves automatically adjusting the timing of audio signals to match the timing of corresponding video signals.)

“In some instances the consoles aren’t even a surface, they’re completely under the automation control of the orchestration layer managing the show,” Dyster adds. “This kind of ‘headless’ mixing is not new but the U.S. has caught up with it and it’s becoming widespread there.”

Similarly, Dyster continues, Europe is ahead of the U.S. when it comes to immersive audio, although NBC has broadcast Olympics in some form of immersive audio for the past decades. 

Christian Struck, senior product manager for audio production at Lawo, comments that broadcasters are currently demanding “intuitive and comprehensive immersive audio features,” with the ability to mix over wide area networks plus support for decentralized mixing involving several consoles.

“Just when immersive audio looked all set to take the world by storm, it was put on the back burner by the pandemic,” Struck says. “But it is back in full force, thanks to the ready availability of playback devices, including smartphones and binaural headphones.”

The IP Network
The last few NAB Shows have seen the growth in products that conform to SMPTE ST 2110 for the transport of media streams over IP networks. But, as Phil Owens, senior sales engineer at Wheatstone, outlines, the cloud is the next challenge for the standard.

“We have seen the whole issue of 2110 environments, where a physical installation has two distinct networks, with audio and video on each,” he says. “The audio goes to both simultaneously, so if there is a drop-out on one, it picks up from the other instantly within a frame of audio. But there is now the issue of how a 2110 environment will work in the cloud, which is still in its early stages.”

Wheatstone is also devoting what Owens calls “a great deal of R&D” in its Layers cloud/server software platform for mixing, streaming and processing either at cloud data centers or local servers. However, he also sees more emphasis being put on voice processing, particularly for news and sports coverage.

“Broadcasters can get away with less acoustic treatment or design in the studio and report from environments that they might not have broadcast from in the past because the mic processor can cover a multitude of sins,” Owens said.

Larry Schindel, product manager at Telos Alliance, agrees that processing is “quickly moving” into the virtualized space. “Cloud processing is gaining in popularity as more workflows migrate to the cloud,” he says. “But there is still a large base of customers who prefer to keep everything ‘on prem’ or at least use a bit of a hybrid approach.

“Some of the more common types of processing in use today are loudness control and upmixing but processes like Object-based Audio with Serial ADM [a metadata format for use with Dolby Atmos] and automatic voice-over mixing are also starting to emerge in the marketplace,” Schindel adds.

Software-Driven Processing
Loudness will again be a focus for NUGEN Audio during the NAB Show, with previews of the latest version of its VisLM3 metering plug-in. New features include user-defined program segments, which can be used where multiple integrated measurements are required, such as between ad breaks; support for up to 22.2 audio channels; stem monitoring; and loudness measuring for individual deliverables.

Professional audio is definitely seeing a “shift towards software-driven processing,” according to Will Waters, principal product manager at Audinate. This, he says, “underlines the industry’s commitment to leveraging advanced technology” to meet the evolving demands of broadcast production.

Waters also sees software processors having an increasing role on the intercom side of broadcast production. “This offers broadcasters even more versatility and efficiency in managing their intercom solutions,” he explains. “The evolution of broadcast technology, especially with digital and IP-based systems, has significantly impacted intercom.

“We’re now seeing Dante as part of intercom communications by being integrated into the networked audio infrastructure, enabling any number of audio mixes or routes to exist from the production equipment,” Waters added.

Staying Connected
IP-based intercoms are now well established but, as Martin Dyster at Telos observes, the sector continues to evolve.

“We’ve found an increasing number of customers moving towards either full Live Cloud Production (LCP) or a hybrid of on prem and cloud,” Dyster said. “From the finance angle, and perhaps surprisingly, we’ve witnessed most of our customers adopt the Infinity VIP system via a one-time buyout capital purchase route. But we have also seen increasing interest in subscription models, especially where the intercom is associated with a cloud-driven video production system like Grass Valley AMPP or Viz.”

Some intercom manufacturers were quicker to offer IP systems than others but now all the major brands have at least one system based on the technology.

“I think IP is now firmly in place,” comments Marco Lopez, vice president of engineering at Clear-Com. “There was a natural progression of first standardizing the way we were distributing audio signals across the various infrastructures and now those are being used for digital audio that could be wired but is also a means of achieving wireless audio connectivity where, typically, you would have had to build a network of antennas, especially for very large scale events with many users connecting to that environment.

“From a technology point of view it’s all about the standards now, ensuring we have good connectivity and integration using ST 2110, along with NMOS support. as well as AES67 and Dante,” Lopez added.

With such a variety of technologies and applications to investigate and discuss, it could be that audio is something of a trendsetter in Las Vegas this year (again). 

Register for the 2024 NAB Show, April 14-17 in Las Vegas at https://nabshow.com/2024/

Since replacing radio as the most popular mass medium in the 1950s, television has played an integral role in modern life. Both reflecting and shaping cultural values, television has often been lauded for its ability to create a common experience for all its viewers. 

Major world events such as the John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations in the 1960s, the Challenger shuttle explosion in 1986, the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, and the impact and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have all played out on television, uniting millions of people in shared tragedy and hope. 

The medium continues to evolve today as streaming services multiply and gain market share, focusing more on content creation than syndication. Broadcast production evolved in tandem to support the ever-changing watching habits of its audience and their insatiable desire for 24x7 content access.

The “Good Old Days”
Although programming was in its infancy, the 1950s were considered the "golden age" of television. Some of the earliest entertainment programming on television came directly from radio, including such popular programs as The Adventures of Superman, The Lone Ranger, and several soap operas.

While many shows were broadcast live during the golden age, I Love Lucy was produced with a new technique. Three cameras caught the action, which reduced interruptions and retakes. The filmed episodes could then be rerun by the network and sold into syndication for extended profitable runs. These production techniques both captured and shaped the stories being broadcast.

The shift from analog to digital TV was broadcasting’s most significant change in 50 years. The FCC replaces the NTSC standard in 1996, requiring all broadcasters to adopt DTV by 2006. This transition was challenging, necessitating new equipment and adjustments, including updating makeup techniques for high-definition broadcasts. 

Audio, often considered an afterthought of television broadcasting, mirrored video advancements over the decades. The 1950s brought about some significant changes, as magnetic tape became the industry standard for recording audio. In 1958, EMI installed the first dedicated stereo mixing system, the REDD 17, at Abbey Road Studios in London. 

This was the legendary console used by the Beatles and many other artists and is often credited with establishing the concept of the large-format console still used today — with faders at the bottom and EQ controls for each channel above.

TV stations began stereo broadcasts in 1985 (see Randy Hoffner, former NBC tech exec and TV Tech columnist introduce the format on Late Night with David Letterman). In the 1990s, as stereo television, stereo VCR, and home theater sales continued to increase, stereo surround sound became common for network programming. CBS broadcast all of its college and professional football games in stereo surround sound for the first time during the 1999-2000 season.

As DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software became the center of many studio workflows for audio recording and mixing in the 1990s, DAW control surfaces began to rise in popularity. In the mid-2000s, home studios began to proliferate as computers became more powerful with each passing year. With the DAW firmly established as the core of most recording studios, many engineers and enthusiasts began looking for ways to expand their capabilities further.  

Looking to the Future: Cloud-based Production
Cloud-based production is the natural evolution of DAW software. It seamlessly integrates various audio devices into a unified ecosystem, revolutionizing how broadcasts are managed. Reducing the need for travel also reduces the associated risks, such as those posed by extreme weather events, political instability, or health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

This approach also broadens access to talent. Remote production makes it easier to include commentators, analysts, or guests who cannot be physically present at the broadcast location. They can contribute from wherever they are, making it possible to include a broader range of voices and perspectives in the broadcast. 

Scalability is another key advantage. Broadcasters can easily scale up their operations to cover large, multivenue events or scale down for smaller productions. This flexibility makes cloud production a versatile solution that can be adapted to a wide range of broadcasting needs.

One of the less obvious but equally important benefits realized with cloud-based production is that it reduces the physical footprint at the broadcast venue. By minimizing the need for onsite equipment and personnel, remote production is less disruptive to the event itself, allowing for a more authentic and uninterrupted viewer experience.

Cloud-based production offers a flexible, efficient, and scalable solution that can meet the demands of any broadcast. Audio endpoints can send synchronized, high-fidelity audio directly to best-of-breed or customer-preferred production software in the cloud, reducing the need for mobile studios and trucks. 

Audio can be distributed globally within the cloud, allowing different teams to use the same audio within multiple applications and locations to address different audiences, languages, and aspects of the production process. Source audio can be sent from remote sites directly to the cloud so mixing engineers can do their jobs from wherever they are located, again without the need to roll expensive outside broadcast truck deployments. 

The future of broadcasting lies in the ability to manage complex, overlapping productions from a centralized, cloud-based location. Whether it's overlapping NASCAR events or SXSW, cloud offerings like Dante Connect offer production teams flexibility, efficiency, and scalability that can meet the demands of any broadcast. 

The journey of television from its "golden age" to the digital era has been remarkable. As we embrace the future, cloud-based production emerges as the beacon, promising efficiency, inclusivity, and adaptability. Unlike the significant equipment changes seen during the DTV transition, cloud production and network infrastructure streamlines productions and tells more stories without massive overhauls. 

The next chapter in broadcasting is not just about technological advancement but about creating richer, more diverse content for a global audience.

GRASS VALLEY, Calif.—AJA Video Systems will be unveiling a new slate of products and updates designed to meet the evolving demands of Video-over-IP, color conversion and management, streaming, remote production, and data management and curation workflows during the 2023 NAB Show.

Through a partnership with Audinate, developer of the new Dante AV Ultra high image quality solution for standard 1 GigE networks, AJA has released Dante AV 4K-T, which converts 4K/UHD/2K/HD/VESA SDI and HDMI 2.0 to Dante AV Ultra signals, and Dante AV 4K-R, which converts Dante AV Ultra signals to 4K/UHD/2K/HD/VESA SDI and HDMI 2.0. 

AJA has also revealed new firmware updates for HELO Plus, ColorBox, BRIDGE LIVE, FS-HDR, and AJA Diskover Media Edition.

“Between the dynamic nature of the M&E and proAV industries, and the continuous pursuit of an improved end-viewer experience, technological innovation is a constant, and AJA strives to give professionals access to groundbreaking new tools and product updates that help them keep pace with emerging and evolving workflows,” shared AJA president Nick Rashby. “We’re thrilled to roll out our new Dante AV 4K-T and 4K-R converters to the community, alongside powerful updates for some of our most popular products that bring users more workflow flexibility and control.”

The new AJA Dante AV 4K-T and 4K-R transmitter/receiver converters enable transport and control of low latency, professional quality 4K/UltraHD/2K/HD/VESA IP video and audio to/from 12G-SDI or HDMI 2.0 devices over a 1 GigE Dante AV network. 

Leveraging the tools and infrastructure of the extremely popular Dante IP audio technology from Audinate, the converters offer professionals a reliable and familiar way to integrate video distribution in a networked facility, and seamlessly incorporate high-quality, visually lossless Dante AV Ultra IP video into environments spanning stadiums, arenas, theaters, churches, schools, office complexes, hotels, conference rooms, and more, the company said. 

AJA Dante AV 4K-T and 4K-R are available today from AJA’s worldwide reseller network for $2,495 US MSRP each. 

Firmware updates on display at the 2023 NAB Show include: 

• HELO Plus v2.0 Firmware. New v2.0 firmware for the AJA HELO Plus H.264 streaming/encoding/recording device includes several free improvements that make it easier for users to deliver more compelling live streams. The update also introduces two new licensable features, including simultaneous multi-channel stereo audio streaming/recording and PlayToStream, which lets users leverage a previously recorded program for a future streaming event. HELO Plus is available today from AJA’s worldwide reseller network for $1,869 US MSRP, with v2.0 improvements (outside of PlayToStream and simultaneous multi-channel stereo audio) available next month for free via the AJA support page. At the same time, PlayToStream and multi-channel stereo audio streaming/recording options will be available for $199 and $99 US MSRP, respectively.
• ColorBox v2.0. Available now, AJA ColorBox v2.0 firmware brings a host of new customer-requested features to the high-performance converter for color-managed workflows, including an add-on license to expand ColorBox’s Colorfront Engine™ video processing options with all-new TV Mode and Live Mode. With the update, the latest v1.6 BBC HLG LUTs are supported. An ORION-CONVERT update is also now accessible with a gamma compensation function to ensure compatibility between different color conversion philosophies. Rounding out the release are improvements such as support for overlaying frame lines or other graphics, five additional built-in test patterns, and Light Illusion, Portrait Displays Calman, and QTAKE Video Assist integrations. ColorBox is available today from AJA’s worldwide reseller network for $1,995 US MSRP, with optional licenses for Colorfront at $995 US MSRP, the ORION-CONVERT pipeline at $695 US MSRP, and the BBC HLG LUT pipeline at $145 US MSRP. 
• AJA BRIDGE LIVE v1.14. A robust firmware update for AJA’s multi-channel UltraHD and HD live video solution for remote production, contribution, collaboration, streaming, and delivery, AJA BRIDGE LIVE v1.14 introduces optional perpetual JPEG XS I/O licenses. Additional improvements include RTMP input, support for ST 2022-7 hitless redundancy, and input auto-reconfiguration, which further streamline user workflows and automate workflow tasks. BRIDGE LIVE v1.14 will soon be available for existing users with an active maintenance agreement for download from AJA’s website. Customers without a maintenance agreement can access bug fixes within v1.14 but will not receive new feature access. BRIDGE LIVE is available through AJA’s worldwide reseller network starting at $15,999 US MSRP. Optional, perpetual BRIDGE LIVE JPEG XS01 and BRIDGE LIVE JPEG XS04 licenses can be purchased for $1,500 US MSRP per HD channel and $6,000 US MSRP per UltraHD/four-channel HD respectively.
• FS-HDR v4.2. New v4.2 firmware for the AJA FS-HDR real-time HDR/WCG converter/frame synchronizer with Colorfront Engine video processing introduces an all-new Colorfront TV Mode, utilizing the latest color science advancements from Colorfront, and powerful Live and Film Mode updates, including support for ARRI LogC4 and Sony S-Log3 transforms. BBC HLG LUTs have been updated to v1.6, including a new combination LUT for camera shading in live productions and a new CAM (Color Appearance Model) based LUT. FS-HDR is available today from AJA’s worldwide reseller network for $9,569 US MSRP. The v4.2 firmware update is now available via AJA’s support page.
• AJA Diskover Media Edition Updates. Additions to AJA Diskover Media Edition sustainable data management and curation software include core software enhancements that provide advanced security, enrich metadata with business context, bring users live insights into their data, and streamline deployment. Expanded search capabilities save facilities time and afford more flexibility, while analytics improvements such as integration with the Xytech Media Operations Platform, and Illegal File Name and Hash Differential plug-ins help provide accuracy and granular data curation. Play and preview capabilities are enabled via the CineSys Cineviewer Player plug-in, and a powerful, purpose-built Oxagile plug-in streamlines arduous content delivery tasks for IMF packages. AJA Diskover Media Edition users with active licenses can access these updates today. The software is available for $11,995 US MSRP per license. For pricing on supported partner plug-ins and integrations, please contact the respective developers (CineSys.io, Oxagile, Qumulo, and Xytech).

AJA is exhibiting at NAB booth #W2600 (West Hall) at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

LAS VEGAS — Audinate Group Limited will showcase six new Dante AVIO adapters at InfoComm 2018, June 6–8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The new adapters are designed to serve as cost-effective endpoints that connect legacy analog and digital audio equipment to Dante audio over IP networks.

Dante networks can transmit synchronized audio signals long distances over Ethernet cable to multiple locations simultaneously. Available as dedicated inputs or outputs with one or two channels of audio, Dante AVIO analog input adapters allow mixers, mic preamps, stage DIs and more to connect to a Dante audio network, while analog output adapters can drive amplifiers, powered speakers or recorders. This eliminates long, potentially noisy analog cable, and signal routes can be remotely managed using Dante Controller software.

The product line also includes the Dante AVIO USB adapter, which connects any computer to a Dante audio network without additional software, providing class-compliant stereo input and output that can be used by any audio application. Suitable for presentations and conference rooms, the Dante AVIO USB adapter may be passed between computers without altering networked audio connections.

Lastly, the Dante AVIO AES3 adapter provides stereo inputs/outputs, connecting any AES device to any Dante network with no degradation of signal due to extraneous D/A and A/D conversion. The company says this preserves the customers’ investment in AES3-connected devices, such as DSPs, mixers, compressors, and preamps.

At the InfoComm show, Audinate will have daily drawings to give attendees a chance to win a free Dante AVIO adapter. The product is now available from several online retailers, including Full Compass, Dale Pro Audio and Thomann, as well as regional distributors worldwide.

Audinate will be in Booth #456 in the Central Hall.

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The National Association of Broadcasters said 244 companies will be first-time exhibitors at the NAB Show in April.

The list includes Blubrry Podcasting, Libsyn, Padcaster, Women in Media, Sohonet, Deity Microphones, Red Bee Media and StreamShark. (See the list.) Some have appeared at the show in the past in other booths, such as Audinate, found in the Bosch/RTS in the past; others are likely to be entirely unfamiliar. The show will have approximately 1,700 total exhibitors including 819 from outside the United States.

We asked NAB Executive Vice President of Conventions and Business Operations Chris Brown for some insights into this aspect of the event.

Radio World:What can we glean from the list of companies — what technology sectors seem hottest, and in what kind of new tech areas is the show growing?

Chris Brown: It is a great list of new companies and they tend to reflect the breadth of the show and the trends that are driving innovation. We have companies covering all ends of the content lifecycle from acquisition to management to distribution — with a slight leaning, a little more than a third, representing acquisition and production technologies. From a tech and trends perspective we are seeing healthy interest in streaming technologies, advanced advertising, social media, cloud, storage and IP. Our focus every year is to dig for companies that are developing leading edge technologies or serving particular segments of our audience with specialized products or services.

RW: Do you know which NAB Show exhibitor is the longest-tenured?

Brown: Unfortunately we don’t have accurate enough history (and remember, the show has been around since 1923) to confirm this definitively. But we certainly have a healthy list of companies that have exhibited with us for a very long time; these include companies like Sony, Panasonic, Imagine and GatesAir (formerly Harris Corp.), Grass Valley, Avid and Ross just to name a few.

[Read: An NAB Show Sampler for Managers]

RW: What will be the three largest booths at the show?

Brown: Sony, Blackmagic Design and Canon. Beyond these and others that have been exhibiting for some time, we have a number of other important brands that are emerging with an increasing presence in the show. A couple of good examples would be AWS Elemental and Google. The combination of AWS and Elemental has matched the enormous resources AWS with the deep industry expertise of Elemental to create an entity that is having a major impact on the industry. In the case of Google, not much needs to be said — they play a vital, varied and growing role within the media and entertainment ecosystem. Just two years ago they were not even participating as an exhibitor.

RW: How does this year’s exhibit space compare to last year?

Brown: Between exhibit space and exhibitor activity in meeting rooms and suites, the show will once again cover more than 1 million square feet of activity. It will essentially cover the same area as last year.

RW:What are other platforms at the show where attendees can find up-and-coming companies?

Brown: We have an area of the show that is all about up-and-coming; we call it the Innovation Pipeline, and it covers the companies and trends from inception to full launch. Three distinct areas are included: NAB Pilot’s Futures Park, which represents the true R&D side of the equation, with research and other companies showing technologies that are still in the lab stage. Then there is Startup Loft, an area that features companies that are in their true infancy, with products or services that are baked but only on the market for a year or a year and a half. These are the “garage” entrepreneurs of our business. And as a final phase, there is Sprockit. Sprockit is a program that identifies the most promising young companies in the media and entertainment space and brings them into the spotlight at the show. These are companies that are bringing technology that can revolutionize, even disrupt, the industry.

We also will be featuring a number of technology pavilions that will lean forward and will feature companies that are relatively new to NAB Show. These include our Immersive Storytelling Pavilion (North Hall), the Game Developers Gallery (North Hall) and the Podcasting Pavilion (South Hall).

AMSTERDAM—Audinate will take some time to celebrate at ISE 2017 a pair of recent accomplishments for its Dante media networking technology.

The first of the Dante milestones is that there are now more than 1,000 different commercially available products currently available. The second, per Audinate, is that more than 350 manufacturers have licensed Dante, 75 more than the same time last year.

Audinate will show many of its Dante-enabled products at ISE 2017, which is currently underway in Amsterdam.

PORTLAND, ORE.—Audinate has added a new entry to its slate of Dante audio networking technology, the Dante Analog Output Module. This small form factor PCB enables the development of Dante-to-analog endpoints and can be used with analog connectors to bring finished products to market.

The Dante Analog Output Module supports one RJ45 Dante input, and up to two balanced analog outputs. It can receive Dante network audio channels and provide studio-quality audio through balanced output connectors to analog audio equipment, including amplifiers, speakers, mixing consoles or digital signal processor. Adapters can be used to connect to audio equipment without built-in connectors.

Features for the Dante Analog Output Module include the digital-to-analog converter, a support for a range of sample rates and bit depths, hardware master clock for a Dante network, and Power-over-Ethernet.

The Dante Analog Output Module is now available through Audinate. 

PORTLAND, ORE.—Audinate is now offering the Dante Software Combo Pack, which includes licenses for the Dante Via and Dante Virtual Soundcard.

Dante Via is designed to connect all computer-based audio to any Dante audio network and display them in a drag-and-drop interface. It supports up to 16x16 channels of audio for each channel and up to 32x32 for connected devices.

The Dante Virtual Soundcard allows computers to serve as a Dante-powered recording workstation. Users can connect to record, process and playout up to 64x64 channels using any audio application and combination of Dante enabled devices and software.

Audinate is offering the Dante Software Combo Pack for $59.95.

PORTLAND, ORE.—Audinate has some new digs in both Australia and the U.S., as the company has announced that it has completed renovations to both its North America headquarters in Portland, Ore., and its Australian headquarters in Sydney. The projects were an effort to support the continued adoption of the Dante audio networking technology, according to Audinate’s press release.

Audinate's new Portland office

Audinate’s Portland headquarters has moved into a new building, now located in the Albers Mill Building. The new space is triple the size of Audinate’s previous office and now includes Audiante’s new North American training center. In Australia, the expansion of the Sydney headquarters and Innovation Center doubled the size.

With the new expansion, Audinate says that it is likely to boost its staff, with an emphasis on adding software and hardware engineers in Sydney, and training and marketing resources in Portland.

PORTLAND, ORE.—Users can now get Dante certified from anywhere with access to online, as Audinate has announced that it is making the entirety of its Level 1 Dante Certification program available online.

The Dante Certification program provides a way for system designers, engineers and other to learn about Dante with in-depth training. There are two levels, with Level 1 available both in person and now online, and Level 2, which is only available in person.

Level 1 certification tests proficiency of basic Dante audio networking concepts, covering audio networking fundamentals, basic networking concepts, creating a small-scale Dante network, and using Dante Controller and Dante Soundcard. The course consists of five videos and a 40 question test. When completed, participants receive a certificate and are registered in Audinate’s internal database of certified professionals.

For more information on the online course, visit www.audinate.com/cert-info.

Craig Newbury, vice president of sales for Wohler The one constant in the broadcast industry, despite its reputation for being staid and conservative, increasingly seems to be change these days. The growing momentum behind the adoption of IP networking and transports is accelerating the rate of that change, and manufacturers of certain products are beginning to feel the pressure.

Craig Newbury, vice president of sales for Wohler, the San Francisco-based provider of audio and video monitoring gear, noted that, with a previous employer, it would take 18 months to plan and launch a new TV channel. “Now I go back to the same building in London where I used to work and they’re putting channels on-air in two days,” he said. “Customers see an opportunity to monetize content in a different way or in a new territory and they can’t wait six months to be able to do that; they need to do it immediately.

Newbury adds that broadcasters have to recognize these changes and be prepared for them. “The companies that survive will be the companies that can react to customers’ demands,” he said.

THE MOVING FORMAT TARGET

TSL’s MPA1-MixSolo MADI audio monitor The migration to IP is in full swing, agreed Matthew Colman, audio product manager for U.K-based audio monitoring provider TSL Products. With that adoption has come a proliferation of new standards.

“TSL is going to follow the standards,” he said. “But we also support some of the proprietary audio-over-IP formats.” TSL’s PAM audio monitor will add support for AES67-compliant Dante and Ravenna transports at the 2016 IBC Show, according to Colman, who adds that the company’s entry-level MPA products include a Hydra2 option for interoperability with Calrec AoIP signals.

“We remain impartial,” he said. “If a customer comes to us and says they want to do this or that, if the volume is there then we’ll support that. We see a lot more demand for Dante than we have for Ravenna, yet we still offer Ravenna,” Colman offered as an example.

Through aggressive marketing, Audinate has surged ahead of most other AoIP mechanisms, in terms of licensees and the number of products now supporting Dante. Bel, one recent example, introduced its BM-A1-64DANTE rack-mounting confidence monitor last year, and has recently started shipping the unit. Capable of monitoring up to 64 channels from Dante’s 512 maximum, either individually or simultaneously in any combination of inputs, the unit enables both broadcast and live production sound engineers to check the presence of audio on their systems, with at-a-glance front panel visual feedback.

WHO WILL WIN THE RACE?

RTW’s 31900 audio monitor Not every audio monitoring product manufacturer is ready to jump on the IP bandwagon. As Mike Kahsnitz, technical director at RTW, a U.K.-based pro audio monitoring provider, observed in response to the question of whether Dante might ultimately win out over the competition: “It might be AES67; I have no idea.”

RTW is well known for its monitoring products, which principally take the form of very sophisticated metering instruments. The company makes just one audio monitor, the 31900. It’s not a new system, said Kahsnitz, but it handles 16 digital and 16 analog inputs with a variety of Dolby decoding, and incorporates all of the company’s metering capabilities.

Any new monitoring product designs would demand a great deal of thought, said Kahsnitz. Never mind the IP options, just look at the multichannel formats that have been introduced since the launch of the 31900, he noted. “There’s the NHK-driven 22.2 system, Dolby Atmos, Auro-3D,” he said. “It doesn’t make it easy for the manufacturers, because who will make the race?”

Wohler has addressed this environment of constant change with a new hardware platform, iAM, which enables the company to be iterative in its product development through software updates. ���A two-year development cycle just doesn’t cut it anymore,” Newbury pointed out. “You’ve got to be able to talk to customers, react to their requirements, to new standards, to new methodologies and technologies. We can add those to the product over time, and help our customers get a return on investment.”

OUTSIDE THE BOX

With the packetization of audio and video comes its attendant data and metadata, which monitoring manufacturers must also address in their products. TSL, which also makes control systems, is looking forward to the standardization of the VSF Technical Recommendations TR-03 and TR-04 in SMPTE 2110, said Colman. “Perhaps the industry will look to standardize network discovery, communication, and the control aspects of IP. We’re going to make sure that our products are totally aligned, so that we’re at the forefront of what’s going on.”

Wohler, too, is adding third-party control, said Newbury. “We can’t be isolationist. Customers want to be able to use our devices to drive other systems within their workflows. So we’re developing capabilities in our products that allow us to integrate more fully into a much more automated way of working.”

The company’s monitoring boxes and the new iAM platform also enable remote monitoring. “Customers can see the metering through a web browser interface,” Newbury said. “They can consume that data wherever they are, on any device, as long as they can network to the monitoring unit.”

With IP infrastructures, said Newbury, “you’ve got to have a full router inside the box. Our platform will enable those types of applications that allow our customers to not just monitor signals but to be able to utilize those signals within their workflows, which is becoming increasingly important.”

As to the future, Wohler plans to move into software monitoring, according to Newbury. “I can imagine moving towards a scenario where we have a range of different form factors that customers can enjoy, whether they want rack-mounting, handheld, or software devices,” he said.

Wherever the future takes the industry, said Colman, “I think you’ll always have a need for a humble audio monitor. But I think you’re going to see virtualization of television stations, so some kind of software, cloud-based audio monitor is inevitable.”

IP infrastructures are enabling the transport of thousands of channels of audio, observed Newbury. “If you layer in Dolby and audio description the number of audio tracks becomes incredibly large. The management of those audio channels is a real headache.”

Technologies such as MADI could handle that in the baseband domain, he continued. “The IP realm is marketed as being a lot simpler, but in my experience it’s simply not the case,” Newbury said. “Customers are running into a bunch of new problems that haven’t yet got a solution.”

PORTLAND, ORE.—As the seasons head from summer to fall, Audinate is also turning the page with its Dante Via audio networking software, offering a new updated version. Dante Via 1.1 is now available worldwide and features multichannel support, support for ASIO device drivers, source mixes with individual level controls, the ability to append channels, and a Device Lock feature.

Dante Via is able to connect all computer-based audio to any Dante audio network. With version 1.1 the system is now is able to support ASIO-connected devices on Windows as well. The system now also has the ability to support up to 16x16 channels of audio for each application and up to 32x32 channels for connected devices. This will allow for audio connections to be established between multiple applications and devices within one computer, or between multiple computers using Dante audio networking.

Additional features include Device Lock, which prevents unwanted change to Dante Via from other computers on the network; a new mixer panel for level adjustments of multiple sources that are combined at stereo destinations; and new Append channels that automatically assigns sources to available channels when connecting to multichannel destinations.

Dante Via 1.1 runs on Windows 7, 8.1 or 10 or Mac OS X 10.9.5 or higher. It can support up to 48 source and 48 destination channels, as well as 16 channel I/O for as many as four simultaneous applications.

Current Dante Via users can upgrade to the new version for free. None users can purchase it at a price of $49.95.

PORTLAND, ORE.—Audinate has announced that its new Dante Via software is now available worldwide. The Dante Via software connects any audio application or computer device to a Dante network, including USB, FireWire or Thunderbolt devices.

Able to create a Dante network without dedicated Dante hardware, the Dante Via allows for routing audio using only computers. With its drag-and-drop interface Dante Via enables rapid discovery and simple connection of devices and applications. It also allows integrators, engineers and end-users to create and extend audio systems using computer-based networked I/O.

The Dante Via software runs on Windows 7, 8.1 or 10, and Macs OS X10.9.5 or higher. It can support up to a total of 48 source and 48 destination channels, and stereo I/O for as many as eight applications.

Dante Via is available for $49.95. A 30 days free trial is available by visiting www.audinate.com/dantevia.