The recent PLASA show in London saw the proliferation of new EtherSound-enabled products launched by EtherSound licensees Allen & Heath, AuviTran, Digigram, InnovaSON, Pinanson, and Stardraw.com.
"The EtherSound audio networking standard was without a doubt one of the hottest topics at the show," says EtherSound business development manager Jimmy Kawalek. "The massive launch of new products and the impressive number of Licensees displaying the EtherSound logo at their booth, demonstrated very clearly the momentum EtherSound has gained in 2005. While new Licensees are always seen as a positive endorsement–and EtherSound has more than doubled the number of licensees since the beginning of the year–seeing new and varying products brought to market in a very timely manner is what makes the technology real."
Current EtherSound licensees include Allen & Heath, Archean Technologies, Audio Performance, AuviTran, Bittner Audio, Bouyer, CAMCO, DiGiCo, Digigram, InnovaSON, Lab X Technologies, Martin Audio, Mediachip, NetCIRA by Fostex, Nexo, Pinanson, Stardraw.com, VTG Audio, and Whirlwind.
New Products Seen at PLASA
Allen & Heath launched iLive, a new live sound digital mixing console. The heart of the system is the iDR-64, a stand-alone 19" rack-mounting modular mix engine providing 64 channels into 32 mixes. The unit is controlled via an Ethernet network, as distinct from the EtherSound network, and can be connected to a variety of controllers, including the new range of iLive control surfaces, Allen & Heath's PL range of remote units, third-party devices, or a laptop/PC. Two EtherSound ports are provided for connection of an additional unit to expand the system to 128 channels, FOH/monitor signal splitting, and the connection of multi-tracks and other EtherSound-equipped devices. All channels and mix masters have EQ, dynamics and delay processing, with on-board FX, and an option for a built-in 32-channel speaker processor.
AuviTran launched AVB32-ES, an EtherSound to AES/EBU interface in a 19" 1U rack box. AVB32ES is available in three formats: 32 in, or 16 in/16out, or 32 out. The AES/EBU inputs and outputs are split onto four DB25 connectors for size and cabling optimization. A Word Clock "in" on a BNC connector is available for external synchronization and four individual BNC "out" connectors enable the direct Word Clock synchronization of four external devices.
Digigram introduced a number of new EtherSound enabled offerings: 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 I/Os while ES1241 and ES16161 provide two stereo AES/EBU inputs and six stereo AES/EBU outputs, and eight stereo AES/EBU inputs and eight stereo AES/EBU outputs 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 Word Clock input and output. Continuing the EtherSound product roll-out, LX6464ES, with up to 64/64 EtherSound I/Os, is a linear PCI sound card that connects an EtherSound network directly to computer based audio applications using standard DirectSound, Wave, or ASIO drivers.
DioCore from InnovaSON is the first modular digital stagebox to offer audio transmission via EtherSound. The unit offers up to 64 ES I/Os controllable by any EtherSound management software such as ESControl or ESMonitor (available at no cost from Digigram and AuviTran). DioCore may be used with both InnovaSON Sy80 and Sy48 digital live mixing consoles and/or as a remote I/O box for other EtherSound enabled devices wishing to take advantage of InnovaSON's legendary sound quality.
Pinanson, a specialist in audio and video connectivity, launched its first digital product, an EtherSound stagebox with 48 mike/line inputs and 16 outputs all on XLR connectors. The microphone preamplifiers and the signal routing can be controlled locally on the device.
Stardraw.com unveiled Stardraw Control RC2 (Release Candidate 2). Stardraw Control is a software-based, unified framework that can control any remotely-controllable product from any manufacturer over any protocol, including EtherSound. It generates stand-alone, customized control programs that enable installers to configure systems and control them, and manufacturers to add support for their products without having to write a single line of code.
For More Information:
www.ethersound.com