In a dynamic exchange at ISE 2024, Tim Albright of AVNation engaged in an insightful discussion with Will Waters on the latest developments in AV technology, particularly focusing on Dante as a pioneering platform.
Dante, renowned for its proficiency in audio solutions, has evolved into a comprehensive AV ecosystem. Beyond audio, Dante now seamlessly integrates video signals and offers robust management and control functionalities. This expansion marks a significant leap in AV technology, catering to diverse installation needs.
A pivotal highlight is the introduction of Dante Cloud, featuring Dante Director, an upcoming product set to revolutionize device management. This cloud-based solution offers unparalleled accessibility, allowing for seamless integration and real-time monitoring of Dante devices across networks.
Furthermore, Dante’s compatibility with existing management platforms ensures a cohesive user experience. Whether in IT, higher education, or other sectors, users can effortlessly incorporate Dante into their existing frameworks, leveraging its versatility and ease of integration.
Dante AV represents another milestone, offering a range of solutions tailored to various applications. From high-end video production to conference room setups and hospitality environments, Dante AV delivers unparalleled performance with minimal latency and exceptional quality.
To know more about Dante’s innovations, visit: audinate.com
The University of Music and Performing Arts of Vienna is one of the largest and most respected schools of its kind in the world. Originally founded in 1817, it has a wide array of programs dedicated to advanced studies in musical composition, performance and recording. The Future Art Lab (FAL) is the school’s latest commitment to these subjects, an ambitious and complex undertaking that was made possible by Audinate’s industry-standard Dante audio protocol and Dante Domain Manager.
A multi-story high-tech complex, FAL was designed to meet the rapidly expanding scope of the school’s audio engineering, film production and music composition programs as well as anticipate the needs of its students within emerging multimedia formats. When designing the building, school staff contracted with system designer WSDG (Walters Storyk Design Group) and integrator TSAMM to implement the bold acoustic vision for FAL. The WSDG design team was tasked with creating a full interior acoustics and system design package for the entire complex that could accommodate both analog and digital workflows, high-quality network integration, and Dolby ATMOS in some areas, as well as be configurable for a broad variety of multimedia production applications and educational needs. The range of room profiles included multiple recording studios, live rooms, sound design labs, and a theater for screening film and video projects.
“FAL was a momentous undertaking for the university,” said Dirk Noy, Director , WSDG. “Each room had a challenging list of audio requirements, and the overarching need for each room to be interconnected to other spaces made the design very challenging indeed. Luckily, we could turn to Dante to help manage all the audio.”
FAL has one of the largest audio networks ever installed in a recording studio complex. All twelve control rooms, seven recording studios, the Arthouse Cinema, and virtually every other room on the university campus are interlinked via countless audio channels. Several separate Dante Networks are managed by Dante Domain Manager according to the students’ schedules and lectures, allowing live performances to take place simultaneously with student activities without concern for compromising the audio network.
Dante Domain Manager is Audinate’s management solution for Dante networks. It provides AV and IT professionals with the ability to define specific AV device groupings by room, building and site, through the creation of independent Dante Domains. Each domain has multiple access levels to improve network security, and enables scalability by allowing audio routing across multiple IP subnets.
“Dante and Dante Domain Manager were crucial to the success of FAL,” said Mario Reithofer, Director at TSAMM. “We integrated a multitude of devices in the building from many leading audio manufacturers to create a reliable and functioning system, and the only reasonable way we could accomplish the integration was with Dante. And Dante Domain Manager made managing the various Dante networks easy.”
Audinate Group Limited (ASX:AD8), developer of the professional AV-industry-leading Dante® AV-over-IP solution, announced today that 30 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have now licensed the Dante AV technology to build networked video devices. The list of OEMs features some of the most accomplished and respected audio/video (AV) hardware brands, including AdTechno, AVer, AVONIC, Bolin, BZB Gear, Chingan Technology, Cypress, Lumens, Minrray, Patton, PTZ Optics, ProAVIT, Soundhouse, Televic, Telycam, Tenveo, ValueHD, Yamaha and Yuan.
Several of the OEM partners will introduce new Dante AV-enabled products next week at ISE 2023 in Barcelona, including:
Bolin: the D2-210H and D2-220H PTZ cameras
BZB Gear: the BG-ADAMO-4KDA PTZ camera
Lumens: the VC-A71P PTZ camera
PTZOptics: the Link 4K 20x PTZ camera
These add to the ever-growing ecosystem of 15 Dante AV products that are currently released and available to purchase, including cameras, encoders and decoders. In addition, several manufacturers will preview pre-production products at the show, including AdTechno, Bolin, Soundhouse and Yuan.
“The network effect is in full force here at ISE,” said Joshua Rush, Chief Marketing Officer at Audinate. “We have seen a sharp increase in demand for Dante AV from OEMs seeking to bring the ease of use and interoperability of Dante to the networked video market, and we’re excited to see more and more of these products come to market and make their way into customers’ hands.”
Dante AV is a family of hardware and software solutions that allow manufacturers and end users to add networked video to the industry-leading Dante platform. It guarantees interoperability between manufacturers while keeping discovery, configuration, and control to a single platform for all audio and video devices. With Dante management solutions, all endpoints can be secured with user access control, actively monitored, and remotely accessed to simplify system maintenance and support. All Dante AV solutions provide independent video, audio and control signal routing, so signals only get sent where they need to go. Dante AV solutions are compatible with the thousands of Dante-enabled products available today.
Dante AV Ultra is a hardware-based solution offering 4K60 video encoding and decoding for high-quality, visually lossless video. Subframe latency and tight time synchronization between endpoints, make it ideal for real-time events with the exactitude for clean effects transitions, video walls and multi-image projections. Content protection is enabled with a fully validated implementation of HDCP 2.2 over IP.
Dante AV-H is embedded software that manufacturers can add to their Ethernet-enabled H.264/H.265 cameras, encoders and decoders, effectively turning them into Dante AV endpoints. Integrators and end users gain all the benefits of Dante, such as automatic network discovery and IP addressing, and eliminate the need for fixed point-to-point connections. Best of all, manufacturers don’t need to make hardware changes to new or existing products to implement Dante AV-H.
Audinate is showcasing the latest Dante products at ISE 2023 in Barcelona from January 31 to February 3 in Hall 3, booth #3R100. For more information about Dante AV, visit https://www.audinate.com/dante-av.
Gloucester Cathedral in Gloucester, England is an extraordinary building with many historic treasures. The Cathedral, which dates to the year 1089, has centuries of history and craftsmanship on display – including important architectural features that are considered some of the best in Europe. The Cathedral is also a favorite of Harry Potter fans as the cloisters served as the location for various Hogwarts scenes in the films.
Maintaining a Grade One listed building is challenging, and upgrades to on-site technology must be carefully considered and planned to prevent damage. When the Cathedral decided to upgrade its audio capabilities, it turned to the flexibility, scalability, and low-impact installation benefits synonymous with Audinate’s Dante.
The Dante platform is a complete AV-over-IP solution that allows audio, video, and control data to be transported over standard 1GB ethernet networks. Supported in more than 3,000 Dante-enabled products from more than 500 manufacturers, Dante replaces point-to-point analog and digital connections with software-based routing, effortlessly sending AV channels anywhere on the network with perfect digital fidelity.
When the Cathedral began a restoration project on the magnificent Lady Chapel – the newest section of the church, built in the 15th century – the flooring was removed for restoration which presented the opportunity to install a new chapel sound system by running cabling under the floors.
Audiovisual system integrator DM Music Ltd, one of the UK’s foremost audiovisual solutions integrators for churches and protected historical buildings, was called in for the project.
“When they were taking the floor up, we had a chance to put in a new PA system, and as is my habit on all large buildings with multiple areas, I put in a Dante-enabled equipment kit, including a Yamaha MTX5D mixer,” said Graham Bennewith, Installation Director, DM Music Ltd. “Whenever we’re working on a larger or a multi-area building, I use a Dante network because it allows for excellent flexibility. Even with the floor up, we still had very limited options for running cables; so, we got the Dante equipment in place then ran a network cable run through to the main nave.”
Bennewith says the Dante network allowed the team to easily install the new Lady Chapel system. While the system can run independently, the network also enables the chapel to connect with other areas of the cathedral, including the main nave. Lady Chapel, which can accommodate about 250 people, is often used as an overflow room for large events in the main nave, which holds about 2,500. The main nave was recently upgraded with an Allen & Heath AHM-64 mixer with a Dante card. The system is controlled by a Crestron touch screen and a custom iPad app using Crestron for mobile/wireless connectivity.
“Over time, as Gloucester Cathedral continues to upgrade its systems, each area will be Dante enabled,” Bennewith said. “My team at DM Music is adding some microphones now, all fed into a Dante preamp interface. Dante gives us a lot of flexibility so these microphones can move around, and all they need is a network connection. By using PoE, users can take these microphones wherever they’d like. The main thing for my team is that, out of the box, Dante is clean, efficient, and easy to use. Dante just works.”
Bennewith said that while the Cathedral itself is historic there are major benefits for all involved by choosing the cutting-edge when it comes to technology.
“In the old analog days, we would need multiple patch bays and patch lines all around buildings and have multiple processors and matrix systems, and the systems were complex and not at all user friendly,” said Bennewith. “Because of Dante, the church loves their new systems, and they have had absolutely no issues.”
Audinate announced the full availability of the Dante Application Library software development kit. The SDK provides software development for PC and Mac users, providing an easy-to-use conduit to a vast base of audio devices.
“The success of any audio software application hinges upon customers being able to easily connect to audio devices in the system they are using. More and more audio devices connect via Dante’s AV-over-IP. Dante Application Library brings Dante network functionality directly into applications, giving users access to an ecosystem of more than 3,000 Dante-enabled audio products from more than 500 manufacturers,” said Nick Mariette, Senior Product Manager at Audinate.
Dante Application Library provides a useful solution for developers seeking to reach customers in this growing ecosystem. Developers can integrate Dante device discovery and subscriptions into their software products for conferencing, recording, or other applications for a smooth setup experience.
“Each application runs its own instance of Dante, allowing multiple applications to send and receive networked audio independently from one another,” said Mariette. “The possibilities for real-time audio processing and capture are endless thanks to Dante Application Library.”
Dante Application Library features include:
Easy integration of Dante into native Windows and macOS applications.
100 percent compatibility with all Dante hardware and software implementations.
Up to 64×64 channels of bidirectional audio.
48 kHz sample rate.
Minimum network latency of 4 ms.
Support for multiple instances of Dante Application Library on the same computer.
DAL connection API and Dante API control interfaces.
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Vox Media portfolio features some of the most respected editorial properties in the business, including Vox, New York Magazine, The Verge, The Cut, Eater, Vulture, The Strategist, Polygon, and more. The Vox Media Podcast Network is one of the largest collections of popular podcasts spanning technology, news, pop culture, and futurism. Vox Media Studios is the group’s award-winning nonfiction production and distribution studio for multiple TV and streaming partners.
Miles Ewell is the Director of Production Technology for Vox Media. Ewell and his team of AV professionals manage all the internal equipment rental systems of the company, external sub-rental systems, all of the in-house studios, studio infrastructure design and building, and technical consultation across the company.
“A lot of our focus these days is on the podcast group, and the long-form studios team because they require a lot of tech support and consultation,” said Ewell. “We also support editorial video across the company, as well as events technology.”
Ewell and his team have supported the Studios division since launching a couple of years ago. The Studios division writes and sells shows to the likes of Netflix and Hulu, and other providers. The team also supports the Vox Media Podcast Network, which works with all of the company’s editorial groups and writers to build an extensive catalog of podcasts. In all cases, the Production Technology team helps design, install, and configure the studios and spaces and then provides on-going support for the studios.
“When I first started with Vox Media, I was running live sound for streaming sports shows, and when I joined, we were plagued with some challenging analog audio runs in our Bryant Park studio, that were regularly impacting our live streaming work,” said Ewell. “They had a Yamaha QL5, but were not using Dante for stage patching. I convinced them to buy a Yamaha RIO Stage Rack with Dante connectivity, and it was the best thing ever. All our audio signal problems were solved, and I was hooked on Dante from then on.”
Vox Media relies on the Dante audio network for flexible connectivity, remote operations, and studio growth
When the Vox Media team decided to build a new facility in New York, Ewell helped design the audio infrastructure to use Dante as much as possible.
“I use Dante any chance I can. I don’t even want to use broadcast headphone amps in our podcast studios anymore. I just want to use the RedNet headphone amps,” said Ewell. “Being able to control everything remotely, like Dante coupled with certain manufacturers like Focusrite, you could do everything from somewhere else and that is so appealing.”
Audinate’s Dante is a complete audio networking solution and the de facto standard for digital media networking. Dante distributes uncompressed, multi-channel digital media via standard Ethernet networks, with near-zero latency and perfect synchronization. It enables digital audio distribution via standard Ethernet networks — the same networks used for home or office data networking. In fact, Dante is designed to allow audio, control, and all other data to coexist effectively on the same network.
“I’m taking a fresh look at our podcast infrastructure. In San Francisco, we have a small studio, and we use Dante from the console to the computer. In DC, we have two podcast studios that are both QL1s with RIOs, and those are fully integrated,” said Ewell. “I see a lot of opportunity for using Dante. In both New York and DC, in our multi-room facilities, they always shared Dante network. I set up our studios in each facility so that they were connected. So we had a primary control room, and then we could have a session with people in each room separately, and I was able to do that extremely quickly with our Dante setup.”
Along with unparalleled audio quality, Dante delivers ultra-low latency and near-perfect synchronization. Dante’s intuitive user interface and network management features enable even the most complex networks to be set up and configured quickly and easily, making system integration simple.
“At our Broad Street, New York facility, we have something like 24 Dante devices, including RedNet devices, in our server room to talk to our comms system and our Skype units,” said Ewell. “We have a bunch of QL consoles throughout the floor and audio suites and live control rooms and podcasts control rooms, and we use a lot of AVIO adapters because they’re so easy to deploy.”
Available for analog input or output, for AES3 and USB conversion, Dante AVIO Adapters allow users to connect their favorite audio gear with any Dante-connected system — delivering the interoperability, performance, and scalability that only audio networking can bring.
“The AVIO USB adapters are great because in our podcast studio specifically, we do interfacing with people over Skype or Zoom, and we found that laptops running Skype are easier to manage, so we use AVIO adaptors to connect the laptops,” said Ewell. “So, if someone in one room needs to hear audio from another room, we’ve already programmed the transmitters and receivers. We have a dedicated, completely separate Dante network, primary and secondary with ports in almost all rooms.”
Ewell and the Vox Media team are looking forward to getting past the pandemic and back to a more normal level of business and creative interaction. But many lessons have been learned for the work-from-home experience, and Ewell is looking to leverage the benefits of remote connectivity and control in future audio systems and production plans.
“We’re excited to get people back into our studios on a more regular basis. I’m taking a deep look this year at how we can build really clean remote-controllable studios,” said Ewell. “I’m looking forward to seeing our use of Dante grow and seeing how I can have a studio in California controlled by a producer in New York — we just mix/match what we need to make a project happen. I have no doubt that Dante will play a big role in those concepts.”
MELBOURNE – The world’s first feature film was made in Australia, so it’s no wonder one of the nation’s premier museums is dedicated to the art of the moving image. ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), Australia’s national museum of screen culture located in Melbourne, celebrates the nation’s robust history in the medium – including film, television, video games, and moving image artwork.
Recently, the museum underwent a renovation that completely overhauled its centerpiece exhibition design – and its AV system – to allow visitors to take a journey through Australia’s history of moving images. By utilizing robust, immersive, and interactive AV, the exhibition, titled The Story of the Moving Image, advances through time – from shadow play to the films that shaped Australia’s cinematic landscape. The exhibition includes Games LabPresented by Big Ant Studios, where AAA titles sit alongside a curated selection of locally made indie games, and a section dedicated to the power of citizen journalism.
Dante system with hundreds of AV endpoints allows for unique inputs
And while the museum is largely focused on the “image” component of its name, the need for thoughtfully placed audio throughout the space is critical – requiring hundreds of audio feeds across the gallery space. To make that much sound work, the ACMI designers relied on Audinate’s Dante.
“Traditionally, the space has been known to be a bit cacophonous,” said Greg Turner, a consultant working with ACMI. “Because of that, we knew from the start it was going to be critical that we had tight control over all of our audio signals. With the redesign we’ve installed hundreds of displays in the space, so how do we make sure we’re managing hundreds of audio signals as well? The obvious answer from the start was Dante.”
Dante is the de facto standard for digital audio networking, and distributes hundreds of uncompressed, multi-channel digital audio channels via standard Ethernet networks, with near-zero latency and perfect synchronization. Dante allows audio, control, and all other data to coexist effectively on the same network. Additionally, using Dante as opposed to traditional networking allows for a reduction in electromagnetic interference – something important to ACMI as it is located nearby a Melbourne train line.
“ACMI has created a soundscape that requires both localized sound as well as sound that exists as a background across the entire gallery space,” said Michael Cartmel, integrator at Lumicom Pty Ltd. and lead installer on the ACMI project. “When you consider all the endpoints in this system, it would be horrendous to try and do this without Dante. You’d have an impossible number of speaker cables and you’d be hard pressed to pinpoint what cable was for what speaker.”
But with Dante, Cartmel said, the process was not only easier, but also more elegant. Each endpoint in the system is connected to the network and sent to a virtual matrix switch. The system then relies on a Dante-native QSC Q-SYS Core 510i to provide both DSP and control of the system through its Q-SYS software platform.
Endpoints on the system are typically speakers – the museum uses Yamaha speakers and Dante-native amplifiers across the space – however, oftentimes an input is added by way of a microphone or a localized piece of video. In those cases, where Dante isn’t natively integrated into an endpoint, the museum uses Dante AVIO adapters.
Available for analog input or output, Dante AVIO Adapters allow users to connect nearly any piece of gear with an audio signal to a Dante-connected system — delivering the interoperability, performance, and scalability that only networking can bring.
“The video game consoles, for example, aren’t Dante native,” Cartmel said. “But it’s no problem. We put AVIO adapters on them and quickly added audio on the network. It’s perfect.”
Cartmel said a similar approach is used in areas where individuals can craft their own soundscapes using inputs such as microphones, instruments and music software. The system takes the input generated by the user and makes it Dante-native immediately with the AVIO adapters.
And, most importantly, the museum is able to bring all these unique endpoints together in a streamlined system featuring customized sound in every location. This provides an immersive experience tailored precisely to where an individual is in the museum, or what exhibit they might be interacting with.
“Despite the architectural challenges presented by ACMI’s centerpiece exhibition The Story of the Moving Image, Dante has allowed us the flexibility to adapt our immersive soundscapes to suit the space,” said ACMI Renewal Project Manager Evan Davies. “It has allowed us the freedom to move sound anywhere throughout the exhibition, tweaking on the fly and letting us blend the soundscapes with the 100 or so other sound sources also present in the system.”
“With this system we have the ability to take every audio signal we’re using in the space and use it to specifically fit in the overall soundscape,” Cartmel said. “It is an incredibly flexible system thanks to the power of putting audio on the network with Dante.”
SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO Argentina – Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades is the largest stadium in the province of Santiago del Estero with a capacity of 29,000. Completed in October 2020, the stadium will host matches for upcoming editions of the Copa America and the Supercopa Argentina.
To meet the project’s deadline, the AV integration firm working on the stadium, Equaphon Sistemas de Sonido SRL, found a unique way to integrate the stadium’s audio system while still adhering to all health and safety restrictions in place due to COVID-19 — all thanks to the trust they put in Audinate’s Dante audio network platform.
Better workflows, effective setup
Dante is the de facto standard for digital audio networking, and distributes hundreds of uncompressed, multi-channel digital audio channels via standard Ethernet networks with near-zero latency and perfect synchronization. Dante allows audio, control, and all other data to coexist effectively on the same network.
“Dante saves on costs and ensures the stadium can expand and scale the system as needed,” said Francisco Maiocchi, member of the Equaphon Engineering Department. “Dante also offers many great audio control and management benefits. Dante was always part of our integration plan.”
What wasn’t part of the plan was the global pandemic. Equaphon management was faced with reducing the number of staff it had on-site during the integration process due to social distancing requirements. They discovered that Dante would enable a modified number of staff to be on-site without compromising the quality of work or timeline.
“We quickly realized that with Dante we could work on all the routing, programming and testing from our headquarters, which is located 600 miles away,” said Alberto Escriña, member of the Equaphon Engineering Department. “We sent a small team to the site for just a few days of installation, adjustment and measurement and we did most everything else remotely. When we finished, the system sounded incredible.”
More efficient operations
The Equaphon staff at the company’s headquarters in Buenos Aires used remote desktop-sharing software to access Dante Controller software running on-site at the stadium. Dante Controller provides essential device status information and powerful real-time network monitoring – including device-level latency and clock stability stats, multicast bandwidth usage, and customized event logging.
The Equaphon team was able to use Dante Controller to easily backup, restore, move, and reuse Dante network configurations through presets. The ability to edit Dante routing configurations – both online and offline – was also beneficial. This process allowed for an efficient and effective remote setup, resulting in less time on the road for the Equaphon team.
“Our team only had to be on-site for a few days for the physical installation,” Escriña said. “That further reduced the cost of the project as it lowered travel and lodging expenses.”
Dante-backed workflow
The project features a robust Dante network throughout the stadium’s audio workflow, all running on a local fiber-optic network. Included in the installation are 19 Powersoft Quattrocanali 4804 DSP+D amplifiers and two Powersoft Mezzo 322 AD amplifiers – all of which use Dante networking. The main matrix is a Xilica Solaro FR1 digital signal processor with Dante connectivity. Two Xilica Solaro XIO-8 I/O expansion frames are used where analog audio signals may need to be added into the Dante system.
Eight STS Linea V15i loudspeaker arrays are mounted around the stadium, providing audio coverage of the stands. The V15i speakers use Quattrocanali 4804 DSP+D units for amplification and to connect to the Dante network.
“The system sounds amazing and the client is very happy,” Maiocchi said. “Without Dante we would have had a lot of challenges here. Instead, we used Dante, and we were able to get an amazing system working very easily.”
PORTLAND, Ore. – Audinate’s Dante recently reached an impressive milestone with more than 3,000 different products now incorporating Dante for audio-over-IP connectivity. According to research from RH Consulting, 3,034 Dante-enabled devices are available from 361 different manufacturers as of January 2021. The data from RH Consulting indicates Dante is the protocol of choice in more than 91 percent of the networked audio products currently on the market.
Audinate announced in January that the total number of OEM brands now working with Dante has reached 518, with 133 OEMs currently developing their first Dante-enabled product.
“It’s inspiring to see how many manufacturers and product lines have aligned around Dante,” said Joshua Rush, SVP of Marketing at Audinate. “And with 133 OEMs working on their first Dante-enabled product, it’s exciting to think about how much more the number will grow. This milestone shows how important Dante has become in creating an interoperable audio ecosystem.”
The numbers further solidify Dante as the industry-leading protocol for digital audio networking. Dante enables the distribution of hundreds of uncompressed, multi-channel digital audio channels via standard Ethernet networks, with near-zero latency and perfect synchronization. Dante also allows audio, control, and all other data to coexist effectively on the same network.
To make it easy for manufacturers to incorporate Dante into their product line, Audinate continues to innovate and add new solutions to the Dante portfolio. These include:
The Dante Broadway chip is a perfect blend of performance, features, and economy for mid-tier products such as multi-channel amplifiers, smaller DSP units, hardware interfaces, and compact mixing consoles. Broadway blends the small form factor of Ultimo products with the most popular features of the powerful Brooklyn II module, including latency as low as 0.25ms and support for Gigabit Ethernet. With up to 16×16 channels, quarter-millisecond latency, Gigabit speeds, and plenty of computing power, Broadway is the foundation for Dante products in many industry segments.
Dante Embedded Platform is a software implementation of Dante that provides the tools manufacturers need to make AV as software a reality. It comes complete with an SDK providing the tools needed to develop Dante-enabled products built upon 32-bit and 64-bit Arm Cortex-A processors using a Linux operating system and supporting online license activation for OEMs. The SDK allows manufacturers to validate their own designs for performance and capability, ensuring solid reliability for end-users. A Dante Embedded Platform SDK for x86-based audio products is anticipated for release in the near future.
The Dante Ultimo chip extends Dante networking to endpoint products such as powered speakers, amplifiers, wall plates, and break-out boxes. As with all Audinate products, Ultimo has been designed for quick and easy integration and is supported by a comprehensive network-side API and a range of control interfaces. The accompanying Dante Ultimo Product Development Kit is a fully featured, standalone hardware development platform that facilitates designing and testing methods for integrating Dante Ultimo into products.
The Dante Brooklyn II module provides a complete, ready-to-use Dante interface and can equip a networked audio device with as many as 64 channels of bi-directional digital streaming. The Dante API and accompanying Dante Brooklyn II Product Development Kit allow for the creation of custom software that can be used for automatic routing, labeling of signals, custom control, and monitoring.
Audinate complements these offerings with software solutions that make Dante the number one choice for manufacturers, integrators, and end-users seeking the very best of audio-over-IP. These include Dante Domain Manager, Dante Controller, Dante Virtual Soundcard, and Dante Via.
PORTLAND, Ore. – Prior to 2020, The University of Miami redesigned its live sports production workflows to ensure all audio feeds were on the network with Audinate’s Dante. From field mics to mixers – and from basketball to soccer – the University made the choice to trust Dante for all audio-over-IP capabilities.
“We don’t have a single XLR patch anywhere in our workflow,” said Anthony Lestochi, Director of Production Services at the university. “Moving to Dante was clearly the better way to operate. It made building out our production really easy and effective. And, when COVID happened, Dante made it easy to quickly adapt.”
Audinate’s Dante is the de facto standard for digital audio networking, and distributes hundreds of uncompressed, multi-channel digital audio channels via standard Ethernet networks, with near-zero latency and perfect synchronization. Dante allows audio, control, and all other data to coexist effectively on the same network.
Dante has also proven its flexibility over the course of 2020. As productions needed to drastically alter their approach to adhere to COVID-19 safety guidelines, the ability to use Dante audio-over-IP as a connective fabric was a crucial enabler.
Dante at the core of a broadcast
“When we looked to bring production back, the first thing we did was knock walls down in our control room,” Lestochi said. “We totally rearranged the space and put up new physical barriers to allow for effective social distancing in the new control room. Because it was a Dante-backed system, we could run all of our new positions for equipment onto the network and know it would work quickly. It was a very easy change, and one that wouldn’t have been so quick if we were using traditional cabling.”
The control room continues to make use of the same broadcast technology in place prior to the change in physical layout. Two Yamaha CL5 mixing consoles and a Behringer X32 mixing console provide all mix capabilities for the many Dante signals on the network.
Field and announcer microphones located on site are made Dante-native using Shure ANI4IN audio network interfaces. Multiple Studio Technologies 45DR Dante to 2-Channel Party-Line Intercom Interfaces – which are Dante native – are also used to allow two-way communication.
In total, Lestochi says there are roughly 60 Dante devices in use in the production – and on any given day, multiple productions can take place with around 100 Dante signals running seamlessly across the local network.
Of course, that’s just for the on-site capabilities. In the University of Miami’s broadcast buildout, Dante is also working from home.
Rethinking broadcast workflows with Dante
Remote announcers have become increasingly common as a result of COVID-19 social distancing and travel recommendations. Lestochi said it’s a practice that many viewers likely don’t even realize is taking place.
The Miami production team’s largest events are men’s and women’s basketball in the winter season – and to produce them, Dante is heading into the home.
Glensound Inferno commentator’s boxes – which are Dante-native kits built specifically for live announcer commentary – are sent to an announcer’s home. The system then interfaces with an in-home Mac computer using Dante Virtual Soundcard and Unity Connect software – which facilitates sending a Dante signal at the highest possible quality over the public internet.
“That setup allows for bidirectional channels and two-way communication,” Lestochi said. “The talent can talk to each other as they watch the game, and the director and producer can also talk with the talent. Without that setup it would be nearly impossible for us to do this. It enables the talent to work the games from their home without much difference in the quality of the broadcast.”
The control room located on The University of Miami campus brings in the audio signal and provides mixing and audio-to-video embedding – using an Evertz Scorpion-4 Media Processing Platform – before sending the final product via a direct line to the university’s production partner.
Confidence by Dante
Lestochi considered what it would require to make the same changes had the university not utilized Dante.
“It would definitely be a lot more expensive and require a lot more hardware and cabling,” he said. “And the management of the system, and some of the technical aspects to the audio signals, would be very, very tricky if we were doing this with copper. It would likely be far too complex to feasibly do.”
Lestochi said with Dante, not only were changes made rapidly and affordably, but the system allowed for considerations on how to best manage the increasingly remote nature of the work. For example: Lestochi said he can log in to a university system remotely from his house and quickly make a change on Dante Controller software to ensure the system is working effectively.
“It’s those little moments in the process where you realize how much you’ve gained with Dante,” he said. “All of it comes down to confidence. And we have a lot of that right now with our system.”
