Featuring 8/8 EtherSound I/Os and 8/8 analog I/Os, including four microphone preamps with phantom power, it is targeted at public address systems and logging applications, where it provides a unique link between audio data bases and real-time audio networks. Audio files may be played directly from a hard disk to the network, while simultaneously live sources may be archived to a computer-based logging system. Analog and network inputs may be mixed on the card and routed to analog or network outputs. The core of the system, the miXart 8, supports simultaneous recording and playback as well as audio effects, metering, mixing, routing, and real-time processing. Options for MPEG encoding/decoding on the card, sample rate conversion, and delay are available.
OEM development partners can use different APIs and development tools to easily include miXart 8 ES into their applications. Contractors and system integrators may use Digigram's standard EScontrol software to manage the network routing. Additionally, the card is compatible with Digigram's Audio Manager software for multi-zone audio management.
EtherSound enhances established technologies to easily and economically create low-latency audio networks using standard Ethernet cabling and components. Up to 64 channels of 24-bit digital audio at 48kHz, plus bi-directional control information, may be transported to over 60,000 networked audio devices. Minimal latency was one of Digigram's key design requirements for EtherSound. The point-to-point transmission time between an audio input and an audio output in an EtherSound network is six samples (125 µs at 48kHz). Latency is independent of the number of channels transmitted. EtherSound is fully deterministic, making it possible to calculate the exact delay between any two devices in an EtherSound network.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
