In Broadcast - September 2017 - 60

60

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 7 - Issue 9 | September 2017

InFile

Audio & Video Codecs
Contributing Editor Jim Evans tracks recent developments in the ever-changing world
of encoding, decoding and associated technologies...
WorldCast Systems has announced several new
features available on its range of APT IP audio codecs

T

his year's trade shows have
witnessed continuing evolution of
audio and video codecs to keep pace
with the rapid changes in streaming,
transmission
and
broadcast/AV
technology in general. This month's IBC
will no doubt see further developments.
Earlier this year, WorldCast Systems
announced several new features
available on its range of APT IP audio
codecs. These include scalable MPX
transmission, new NTP time alignment
and support for Dante, the multichannel digital media networking
technology.
A new multi-channel I/O board on
the slimline APT Multi-channel AoIP
codec will offer users the ability to
connect directly from the codec to a
Dante or AES67 network. This enables
the codec to become fully integrated
into in-house network ecosystem,
ensuring interoperability with nearzero latency and synchronisation.
Also new within the APT Codec range
is the NTP time alignment feature
which enables latency control when
distributing
programming
across
multiple decoders. Suitable for Multifrequency networks, NTP timing
ensures playout alignment on each
decoder with constant link latencies.
Lastly, the MPX capabilities of APT

codecs have been further enhanced
with the launch of a new limited
MPX transmission mode. In addition
to the 192 kHz sampling rate which
enables transmission of the full MPX
spectrum, APT codecs also support 128
kHz sampling, transmitting the audio
and RDS signals but limiting the MPX
bandwidth to 64 kHz. This bandwidth
limitation saves network capacity,
reducing the requirement of 3.2Mbps
for 16Bit audio at Fs 192 kHz to just
2.048kbps at 128kHz.
Hartmut Foerster, Product Manager
for APT Codecs, explained: "To
maintain our strong position in the
field of IP audio networking, it is
imperative that we continue to develop
new features and capabilities on our
successful range of audio codecs."
The aforementioned Dante has rarely
been out of the industry news. Since
its founding, Audinate has licensed
350 companies, which have produced
1100 products that incorporate Dante
technology.
MultiDyne has amplified its audio
strategy with the integration of
Dante Audio over IP networking from
Audinate into its range of openGear
solutions for modular, high-density
fibre transport and signal conversion.
MultiDyne's innovation gives users

MultiDyne has integrated Dante
Audio over IP networking into
its range of openGear solutions

a broader palette to leverage Dante
across fibre networks, allowing users
to convert XLR audio, line-level audio,
intercom and more to Dante - and vice
versa - at the inputs and outputs of
MultiDyne hardware. This includes the
Bulldog field fibre transport system,
and the FiberNet optical network
control system among other platforms.
MultiDyne President Frank Jachetta
notes that while the new openGear
module integrates a standard Dante
"gateway" to move Dante audio in
and out of MultiDyne hardware, what
happens once inside that hardware
is what sets MultiDyne's innovation
apart. The result elevates its stature
beyond a simple "line-in, line-out"
product to a true long-distance
transport platform for broadcast and
live events.
"We have designed this Danteenabled openGear module to operate
within a flexible framework of
connections inside our fibre transport
solutions that can move between XLR,
mic and line switches, phantom power,
on and off control, and even two-wire
intercom" said Jachetta. "And with the
benefits of this additional flexibility,
our customers working with an everincreasing number of audio channels
get the additional capacity that Dante
provides - as much as eight
times the amount - along with
that industry-standard, Ethernetbased Dante audio transport
that broadcasters and content

producers crave.
"Optical network systems are faced
with significant bottlenecks when it
comes to moving audio in and out,
and must rely on separate fibre-optic
transmitters and receivers to put
analogue audio onto a digital fibre
network," said Jachetta. "With the
interoperability of Dante, we have
created a solution with the ease of use
of a legacy I/O panel that integrates
switches from mic lines, intercom and
so forth, encodes the signals, and adds
them to a modern digital network. It
simplifies everything from live musical
performance and event staging to live
sports production on the sidelines."
Australia's ARX Systems has
released the Network DI Dante
Digital-to-Analogue breakout box.
The Network DI Digital-to-Analogue
breakout box utilises the Dante
network protocol to extract audio from
a network and convert it to studio
quality transformer isolated lowlatency analogue audio suitable for
connecting to amplifiers, or powered
speakers, mixing console and other
analogue audio devices using standard
Ethernet hardware and cabling.
"Dante has become the long-awaited
standard for digital audio distribution
in production and install professional
audio," says ARX Managing Director,
Colin Park. "The Network DI is the
first product in for our Dante-enabled
range, which we'll be expanding
through into 2018."

ARX Systems has released the Network DI Dante Digital-to-Analogue breakout box
http://www.inbroadcast.com https://www.worldcastsystems.com/en/c5p3/audio-over-ip-codec/apt-multichannel-codec http://www.multidyne.com/product/the-bulldog.html http://www.arx.com.au/worldwide/audibox_net_di_box.htm
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