Digigram is showcasing its EtherSound product range for touring, installed sound, recording, and broadcast markets at the PLASA and IBC trade shows.
ES881, ES1241 and ES16161 form a range of rack-mount AES/EBU to EtherSound interfaces in a variety of I/O configurations that will connect any digital product to an EtherSound network.
ES881 offers four stereo AES/EBU inputs (eight ES channels) and four stereo AES/EBU outputs (eight ES channels), while ES1241 and ES16161 provide two stereo AES/EBU inputs (four ES channels) and six stereo AES/EBU outputs (twelve ES channels), and eight stereo AES/EBU inputs (sixteen ES channels) and eight stereo AES/EBU outputs (sixteen ES channels) respectively.
ES881 and ES1241 come with XLRs on the digital audio inputs and outputs, while ES16161 features Sub-D connectors. All devices offer sample rate converters on each input, as well as World Clock input and output.
In live applications, these products provide the gateway from digital sources and destinations, such as processors, effects and digital mike preamplifiers, to the rest of the EtherSound network. The audio path thereby remains in the digital domain incurring minimal latency and minimal signal loss by avoiding D/A or A/D conversion. Bulky and unsightly cable runs are kept to a minimum as the traditional "snake" is replaced by a single Ethernet cable (CAT5, CAT6 or fiber optic) capable of transmitting and receiving up to 64 EtherSound channels.
A further EtherSound development from Digigram is the LX6464ES PCI network sound card with DirectSound, Wave, and ASIO drivers. It can transmit and receive up to 64 EtherSound channels, thus connecting computer-based audio applications to the EtherSound network. In a live environment the capacity to receive up to 64 channels from an EtherSound-ready mixing console, and record them straight onto a computer’s hard disk for mix down at a later date, offers a cost-effective solution for multichannel recording.
EtherSound-ready consoles are currently available from Allen & Heath, DiGiCo (in development), InnovaSON; and Yamaha (via an AuviTran card). For conference centers and other multiroom venues, LX6464ES offers the ability to play back up to 32 stereo music programs from just one PC, or 64 in mono mode.