In Broadcast - August 2016 - 70


70

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 8 | August 2016

InAudio

Merging Shows
Enhanced Software

A

record year of sales of all
Merging's hardware and software
products has been ushered in by
the company's frequent presence at
AES67 plugfest and interoperability
demonstrations.
Although RAVENNA is the main
focus of Merging's Audio over
IP developments and with many
hundreds of systems in daily use,
the importance of a common
interoperability
standard
that
embraces a rapidly increasing number
of leading broadcast manufacturers,
is fully recognised. Merging has
been at the forefront of the cooperative activities that have been
driving AES67 forward since it was
launched. Merging's management and
product specialists will be on stand to
demonstrate the latest offerings.
Throughout
2016,
Merging
Technologies has been demonstrating
3D panning at major trade shows. This
addresses post production for film and
video, using the various immersive
sound formats and also the significant
growth in live shows and installations
with multiple, but unformatted
speaker arrays. The rapid increase in
interest in immersive audio has led to
a number of recent major installations
in the commercial and A/V sectors.
Many broadcasters are also evaluating
options for more embracing sound
technologies, and the latest software
keeps Merging ahead of the pack as
the enabling technology. Pyramix 10.1
builds on the successful introduction of
the 64-bit only V.10.
Ovation 6.1 gets the same
enhancements, allowing any sound
design done using the 3D panning
engine to be realised in a live
environment. Being able to
manipulate sounds between
multiple speakers during live
performance
significantly
enhances
the
audience
experience, increasing the
realism and excitement
that is becoming a normal
requirement of today's
productions.
VCube
4K
continues
strongly and supports a

range of video cards from Blackmagic
Design for capture and playback.
These cost efficient
and high-quality PCI
Express
cards
and
USB video interfaces
significantly enhance the
value offering throughout the
VCube range, which continues to be a
firm favourite with the post production
community.
Hapi and Horus have
prompted high praise
from customers in diverse
market sectors, not only
for the excellent quality of the
converters and mic pres, but also
for the versatile connectivity that is
offered as standard. The majority of
sales are with the Premium AD8DP
and DA8P converters fitted but the
ADA8 AD and DA combination board
is also proving popular with an instant
doubling of the quantity of analogue
I/O available on the units. A staggering
48 in/48 out on Horus makes it the
ideal stagebox for many applications.
For Hapi, this allows a number of
exciting possibilities. 16 in/16 out or 8
in/8 out with MADI are the big sellers.
Despite the extra component density,
the performance of the AD and DA
option card is virtually identical to the
AD8D and DA8 components that are
still in the range and can be "mix and
matched" to form a huge range of I/O
combinations.
Able to work up to 192 kHz with
better than 120dB dynamic range,
these Swiss designed masterpieces
have
the
same
exceptional
transparency and headroom on the
mic preamplifiers. All parameters can
be controlled from the front panel

Merging's PT64 Pro Tools HD Interface

Merging Technologies Hapi
offers IP interoperability

or remotely via the RAVENNA LAN
connection. The ability to control all
of the Networked Audio range via a
simple web browser means that stand
alone operation is a breeze. To connect
to any DAW, the addition of CoreAudio
and ASIO drivers mean this level of
quality is available for any number of
software programs. The major bonus
for Pro Tools users is the introduction
of the PT64 HDX interface card
which offers extremely low latency
connectivity with this industry leading
DAW. As the name implies, each card
can offer 64 channels of bidirectional
connection with the ability to add
a second card if more channels are
needed. The significant added bonus
for the Pro Tools user is the AoIP
connectivity offered by adding a Horus
or Hapi. This puts the system in the
AES67 world as well as offering all the
additional sophistication afforded by
RAVENNA.
Swiss
manufacturer
Merging
Technologies SA has over 25 years
of experience in developing ground
breaking,
professional
Audio
and Video products
for a wide range of
entertainment
and
media industries.
RAVENNA
is
a
solution for realtime
distribution
of audio and other
media content in
IP-based
network
environments. Utilising
standardised network

protocols and technologies, RAVENNA
can operate on existing network
infrastructures.
It is designed to meet the strict
requirements of the pro audio market
featuring low latency, full signal
transparency and high reliability
and is fully AES67 compatible. With a
capacity of nearly 8 x MADI streams
over a single Gigabit Ethernet link, it
is also the first and only Layer-3 based
IP audio protocol with full support
for high-channel count DXD and DSD
signals.
While primarily targeting the
professional
broadcast
market,
RAVENNA is also suitable for
deployment in other pro audio
market segments like live sound,
install market and recording. Possible
fields of application include (but
are not limited to) in-house signal
distribution in broadcasting houses,
theatres, concert halls and other fixed
installations, flexible setups at venues
and live events, OB van support, interfacility links across WAN connections
and in production and recording
applications.
Merging equipment will be on
display on 8.E96 and at the Media
Networking Alliance stand (8.C94) and
on other partner stands in IBC Hall 8,
thereby demonstrating the versatility,
robustness and cost effectiveness of
the company's I/O products.
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://www.merging.com/products/networked-audio http://www.merging.com/products/networked-audio/option-cards
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of In Broadcast - August 2016
