Dante Beyond AV: Revolutionizing Broadcast Audio Workflows
Dante has long been recognized as a game-changer in professional audio-visual (AV) industries. This Audio-over-IP (AoIP) technology has become synonymous with seamless audio networking, offering flexibility, scalability, and high performance. Even though Dante’s dominance in the AV space is widely acknowledged, what might surprise many is its significant role in broadcast environments. From audio codecs to studio workflows, Dante is also transforming how broadcasters manage audio routing and distribution around the broadcast plant.
Proprietary Protocols Throughout Broadcast Facilities
Broadcast facilities are complex ecosystems, often requiring the integration of a diverse range of equipment and complex workflows. Requirements also differ between television and radio stations. In radio stations, historically many installations relied heavily on analog connections or proprietary digital formats like Ravenna, Livewire, or WheatNet-IP, which have evolved due to their specialized approach to the unique requirements of the broadcast market. Dante is also used in a huge range of products within radio networks, and TV networks for that matter, and often requires AES67 and ST2110 configuration for interoperability.
IP Codecs as Edge Devices in Broadcast Networks
Audio codecs send audio packets over wide area networks like the internet to facilitate inter-studio links, Studio-to-Transmitter links, remote outside broadcasts of sports and other shows, and more. These IP audio streams are often sent to broadcast facilities with disparate technology protocols. This is because studio technologies may differ from city-to-city, state-to-state, and country-to-country. Also, ownership structures and technical philosophies can vary between broadcast networks and markets. Mergers and acquisitions also play a part, as one radio network with equipment using say Livewire+ is merged with stations using WheatNet-IP or Dante after a takeover.
In the early days of AoIP networking, different protocols in broadcast environments created challenges because devices supporting a proprietary protocol could only stream packets to other devices supporting the same protocol. Audio codec manufacturers, like Tieline, realised the solution was to integrate several protocols into their equipment to ensure devices could easily ‘talk’ to each other and stream flows between devices supporting different proprietary technologies.
Audio codecs in broadcast are designed to compress and decompress audio signals to enable them to be transported across a wide range of WANs. By embracing Dante, along with other proprietary protocols, broadcasters can create unified audio networks that connect studios, control rooms, transmission facilities, and the wide variety of equipment within these areas.
Integrating AES67 and ST 2110-30 into audio codecs, along with proprietary protocols like Dante, provides a simple interoperability solution. Nowadays, codecs like Tieline’s Gateway are seen as edge devices in broadcast networks, allowing them to act as media converters, bridging different AoIP protocols like Dante and others, and ensuring seamless interoperability across networks. With the dual role of codec and media converter, audio codecs eliminate the need for additional converters or configurations, reducing complexity and potential points of failure in the network.
Practical Broadcast Applications: Studio Connectivity
In modern broadcast studios, IP-based broadcasting protocols, such as ST2110 and AES67, provide the interoperability framework for transporting uncompressed PCM audio around the broadcast plant. Tieline Gateway codecs speak the language of AES67, ST 2110-30, ST 2022-7, RAVENNA, Livewire+, NMOS, Ember+, plus analog and AES3 I/Os as standard. Dante and WheatNet-IP card options provide a flexible platform for routing audio using proprietary and open source AoIP protocols. These proprietary and open standards are used to transport uncompressed PCM audio around the broadcast plant.
The Future of Broadcast Audio Includes Dante
As we know, Dante facilitates seamless audio routing between microphones, mixing consoles, and recording devices in both the AV and broadcast spheres. A huge number of products support Dante nowadays, allowing audio engineers to manage complex setups efficiently, with the ability to route, monitor, and adjust signals from a single interface.
As the broadcast industry continues transitioning to IP-based workflows, Dante’s role is poised to expand even further. Its ability to unify AV and broadcast workflows allows broadcasters to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve audio quality. Additionally, innovations like Dante Domain Manager provide enhanced control, monitoring, and security, making it easier to manage complex networks across multiple locations.
For broadcasters seeking to stay ahead in an ever-evolving industry, embracing Dante is a necessity. Its influence in the broadcast world will only grow, proving that its capabilities go far beyond traditional AV applications.
To learn more about Tieline Gateway and Gateway 4 codecs, which can support Dante using and optional Dante card, visit www.tieline.com/Gateway, or contact Tieline sales:
- For USA, Canada & Latin America contact: sales@tieline.com
- For Australia and International: info@tieline.com
