Allen & Heath Joins EtherSound Licensee Network
Grenoble, FR / Cornwall, UK (June 6, 2005)
- UK console manufacturer Allen & Heath has chosen EtherSound as its networking protocol for digital audio products
- Allen & Heath engineering and management teams investigated available digital audio networking technology thoroughly and have selected EtherSound as the platform for digital connectivity
After investigating available technologies, Allen & Heath has licensed EtherSound and plans to incorporate the protocol in digital audio products. "EtherSound's responsiveness to user requests, and the consequent rapid evolution of this technology have been impressive," said Allen & Heath Managing Director Glenn Rogers. "Bidirectional transmission and mixed sample rates are available now: Fault-tolerant ring topologies and more are being introduced, all without compromising the extremely low and stable latency that is essential for pro audio. EtherSound not only offers our customers a technically superior networking environment, but it gives them the freedom to assemble multi-vendor systems using an open, non-proprietary connectivity standard."
EtherSound is an elegant, simple and open digital audio network standard with extremely low latency that is fully compliant with the IEEE's 802.3 Ethernet specification. "As the manufacturer of one of the most widely known and respected consoles lines in the world, Allen & Heath could have chosen any technology to network its digital audio products," Jimmy Kawalek, Business Development Manager for EtherSound, points out. "We're very pleased to have them as a member of the growing community of EtherSound licensees, which includes manufacturers of consoles, amplifiers, loudspeakers and safety systems as well as general-purpose and manufacturer-specific network interfaces."
EtherSound: ethernetworking professional audio (www.ethersound.com)
EtherSound is an elegantly simple and open standard for networking digital audio using off-the-shelf Ethernet components. Fully compliant with IEEE 802.3, EtherSound is a deterministic network protocol with bi-directional transmission, high data capacity at mixed sample rates and powerful control functions. EtherSound's latency is stable and easily calculated: the point-to-point transmission time between an audio input and an audio output in an EtherSound network is six samples (125 microseconds at 48 kHz), independent of the number of channels transmitted.
As Ethernet standards evolve, EtherSound is able to keep pace easily, since the Network and Data Link layers are implemented via FPGA's (Field Programmable Gate Arrays). EtherSound licensing programs are available to manufacturers and qualified implementors: current manufacturers of EtherSound-enabled products and components include: Allen & Heath; Audio Performance; AuviTran; Bouyer; CAMCO; Digigram; InnovaSon; Lab X Technologies; NetCIRA by Fostex; NEXO; and Pinanson. Qualified implementors who offer third party engineering support to product developers include AuviTran and Lab X Technologies LLC. Stardraw Control software, now in beta release, uses the EtherSound API to enable control and operation of multiple devices from separate manufacturers across EtherSound networks.
EtherSound is developed, patented and licensed by Digigram. Using current 100 Base-T Ethernet hardware, EtherSound networks provide bi-directional transmission of up to 64 channels of 24-bit digital audio at 48 kHz (or 32 channels at 96 kHz), plus bi-directional control/monitoring data. EtherSound networks can accommodate more than 60,000 networked audio devices in daisy-chain or star architectures, or a combination of both. All daisy-chained devices can send and receive all channels concurrently.
Digigram (www.digigram.com)
Digigram digital audio solutions are key to the success of broadcast and public address companies worldwide. We develop innovative networked audio devices, computer sound cards, and audio management software. Digigram is the owner and supplier of EtherSound technology. Digigram Powered solutions are installed in thousands of corporate and commercial sound installations; radio and television stations; and audio recording and video post production facilities around the globe. Customers are served from three regional business units: Digigram S.A. (Digigram Headquarters, Grenoble, France) serving Europe, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, Digigram Inc. (Arlington, VA USA) serving North America, and Digigram Asia (Singapore) serving Asia and Australia/Oceania. Digigram is publicly traded on the Paris stock exchange. |
