Download Using Audio over IP to Take Charge of your Future

Presented by Andrew McTeigue
AVC Group Senior Sales Engineer
Audio over IP in the Studio
This presentation will explore and discuss the
advantages of Audio over IP in the modern
broadcast facility.
 Costs savings compared to traditional systems and
methods.
 Scalability and flexible approach to modern facility
design.
 Reduced time to install new studios.
Why Use network Based Audio
for Radio?
 Over the last two decades, computer networks have
appeared everywhere. Schools, banks, offices and even
in radio stations.
 Computer networks use Ethernet cables.
Generally four pairs of unshielded twisted pair copper
wires terminated on RJ-45 connectors that serve as
ubiquitous networking transport for data.
 “Ethernet” and “IP” are used everywhere.
 Using Ethernet and IP leverages a much larger industry
and accesses economy of scale.
What is IP?
 IP is shorthand for Internet Protocol, an international standard
for routing data through computer networks.
Most common networks such as the Internet use the IP
protocol.
 Broadcasters have been using IP networks for years to move
audio and video files around their facilities. Transporting live
audio over IP is a natural progression.
 Compared to traditional technologies, IP-based studios are
more flexible, and significantly cheaper to install with much
lower maintenance costs.
 It’s important to note that some so-called “networked audio”
systems use RJ-45 terminated cables or Ethernet for non-IP
based transport. Non-IP systems cannot leverage on the larger
IT industry and may become technology dead ends.
Your office LAN –
wired as if
networking were
never invented.
Modern switched
Ethernet IP Network
Ethernet and IP are Standards
 Why are Ethernet and IP such a great way to move audio data around?
For one thing, they are well established standards.
 Standards make equipment future-proof: Ethernet is an open standard that all its
users must adhere to. This means that any device with an Ethernet port will work with
any other device that has an Ethernet port — period, no exceptions.
 Instead of inventing a whole new system to route audio, IP networks take advantage
of long-existing, widely deployed, and highly reliable computer-industry technology for
audio routing.
 When technology has a consistent framework for development, ongoing
improvements pay off in increased performance.
 A standard also guarantees that new equipment will always be compatible with
existing gear. There are no expensive, proprietary systems to buy and maintain.
 Being standards-based means that IP networks just work — you plug them together
and the data flows.
FREE Research & Development
 Ethernet is a mainstay of the consumer and business
computing sector.
 Heavyweight technology companies like Cisco and
HP invest billions of dollars annually into R&D for
their Ethernet switching products
 A standard Ethernet switch forms the core of your
audio router.
 An audio router with a lifetime warranty!
IP Audio Networks are Scalable
 IP-based studios are economical and easy to expand
by simply plugging new nodes and switches into the
network as required — the same way you’d expand
any computer network.
 TDM (Time Domain Multiplexing) routing systems
are hierarchical and can be challenging and costly to
expand.
 On an IP based network every source can be routed
to any destination directly.
Sample IP Studio Diagram
IP Networks cost less to install
 Decreased cabling costs: Ethernet can carry huge amounts of audio-
as-data but requires much less cabling and infrastructure than other
methods of studio interconnection.
 For example, if you look at your studios, you’ll probably find 100-pair
audio cables connecting them to the CTA. One of these can carry 50
channels of analogue stereo audio.
 Add connectors — typically 100 XLRs soldered to each end. XLRs get
more expensive all the time, and a lot of time is required to handsolder that many connectors.
 A spot check finds that the cheapest 100-pair cable costs around $10
per metre; XLRs in bulk are about $2.25 each. So, to run one of
these through your facility for 50 metres will cost you about $950
plus labour.
 Remember, that’s for 50 channels of stereo audio only — no control
circuits or paths for any other information.
IP Networks cost less to install
 By contrast, a single CAT-6 Ethernet cable can carry around 200
simultaneous channels of 48-kilohertz, 24-bit broadcast-quality
stereo digital audio.
 Plus start/stop logic and other data, like song titles, playlist
information, automation control data, and other traffic such as emails and file transfers.
 CAT-6 cable costs around $0.60 per metre, so the two such paths
required to match the audio capacity of the 100-pair cable noted
before would cost around $210, an 85 percent savings.
 No XLRs to solder — just a few RJ-45s, which are cheap.
Labour cost and installation time are also greatly reduced.
 If you are moving studios or planning a rebuild moving to an IP
audio network makes a lot of sense.
IP Networks Decrease Complexity
 Traditionally sharing the audio from gear in your equipment
room meant running wires to every studio where you wanted
that audio to appear. This requires multiple redundant cables
and plenty of costly installation time and labour. Using IP any
device connected to the network can share audio with any
other device.
 Connecting devices such as play out computers directly to the
IP audio network simplifies cabling and reduces cost.
 Older equipment that doesn’t have Ethernet connectors can
work with IP networks. CD players, turntables, monitors, mics
and headphones connect via an interface node.
 Modern IP studios are much quicker to build which provides a
saving in labour costs.
XLR, TRS, RCA to RJ45 – not a problem!
IP Networks Cost Less to Maintain
 Because the infrastructure of an IP network is so greatly
reduced compared to traditional cabling or even TDM routers,
IP networks save money in equipment, installation time, and
maintenance.
 Traditional stations use patch bays with every signal in the
building passing through them. These patch bays require
hours of wiring, soldering, and documenting where each and
every wire went.
 Wiring paths to any newly installed sources and destinations
have to pass through the patch bay. Changing any sources or
destinations means pinpointing the pairs of wires that fed
them, and physically moving these connections.
IP Networks Cost Less to Maintain
 In an IP-networked facility cabling is simplified. Once audio enters
the network, you can manipulate that signal however you like,
virtually, without ever physically moving a wire. You can distribute an
audio feed to anywhere, or everywhere.
 Simplified documentation: Traditionally, documenting a facility meant
numbering each pair of wires and manually writing down where they
were terminated. With IP networks, each audio feed is tagged with a
unique name and number; this allows automated software to scan
the network and produce documentation reports for you.
 Fast software upgrades: The same program that documents your
network can also keep track of the software versions of all your
networked gear. It can download new software when it’s available,
and push that new software to the equipment over the network,
eliminating the tedious task of manual, one-by-one updates.
IP Networks use Resources More Efficiently
 Equipment can be shared between studios easily. Microphones can
be assigned to any fader in any studio.
 Codecs, hybirds, delay units and audio processing equipment can be
dynamically assigned to studios as required.
 Engineers can reduce travel time to the studios during emergencies
as most support can be completed remotely. Engineers abilities are
put to use faster, and the station is back on the air sooner.
 Studios connected to an IP network can be accessed remotely via a
secure connection, so engineers can log in from anywhere with
Internet access to check network conditions, make administrative
tweaks, perform remote troubleshooting, or help a jock out of a jam.
IP Networks are ready for Radio’s future
 Audio over IP is not “future tech.” It’s been successfully
deployed at thousands of radio facilities worldwide over the
past six years, and is a tested, proven standard.
 IP itself and the Ethernet backbone it travels over have been
refined and enhanced by two decades of real-world use in all
business sectors.
 Since IP-audio networks speak the same language as
computers, they’re able to take advantage of whatever new
computer networking technology is yet to come.
 IP audio studios are essentially future-proof. The layered
network topology and modular design of any IP-based
network incorporate this premise as a fundamental design
principle.
IP Networks are ready for Radio’s future
 VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol is a telephony format that’s quickly being
implemented in homes and businesses. Your station’s incoming VoIP phone
lines can connect directly to your studio’s IP audio network.
 Text Messaging: Direct audience to-DJ messaging is becoming common
place in radio. With IP-networked studios, listeners can use SMS on their
cellphones to send messages directly to a radio station and have those
messages show up on the station’s caller display screen.
 Remote management: Using IP networks, engineers can make audio routing
changes, tweak equipment settings, or look at an individual console status
remotely. This can be done from any computer Web browser, or by using a
smartphone to wirelessly connect.
 Networked studios are creating new, more efficient ways for broadcasters to
serve and interact with listeners. No matter what studio architecture you
ultimately invest in, I implore you to seriously consider the benefits in cost
and long-term usability your company might gain from IP-based studio
infrastructure.
Take Charge of your Future with
Audio over IP
 AoIP provides numerous advantages that put the
power back in your hands and let you Take Charge
of your Future:
 Savings in costs and time in multiple areas
 Compatibility – IP audio networks allow all standard
broadcasting equipment to simply ‘plug-in’
 Standards Based – IP audio uses standard IP protocols
making it future proof by design
 Easy to use and configure for how you want to use it –
ensures a good transition from older equipment
THANKS FOR LISTENING!