Archived News

ALC NetworX, developer of the RAVENNA high performance AoIP transport technology and key player in the development of the AES67 standard for AoIP interoperability, has been honoured with a Technical & Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) for the “Development of synchronised multi-channel uncompressed audio transport over IP networks.”

The 71st edition of the Emmy Awards for Engineering & Technology will be hosted at the Wynn Encore Hotel and Spa on Sunday April 19th during the forthcoming NAB Show in Las Vegas.

As the migration to IP workflows continues to gain momentum, RAVENNA continues to consolidate its status as the de facto AoIP transport technology for the broadcast industry; a fact that seems to be borne out by the dominance of presentations by RAVENNA partners on a wide range of RAVENNA-related topics as part of the AIMS/AES AVoIP Pavilion Theater program at AES 2019. Well over half of the sessions are presented by RAVENNA partners and, furthermore, of the six demo pods within the AVoIP Pavilion, four are occupied by RAVENNA partners where they will be demonstrating interoperability between all four pods.

In the wake of yet another highly successful IBC show in Amsterdam which saw a number of exciting new RAVENNA product announcements and lots of interest in Dolby’s audio meta data transport demo utilizing RAVENNA’s AM824/SMPTE ST 2110-31 format, RAVENNA is pleased to welcome yet another new partner to the fold, Micromedia AG.

Just a few days before IBC opens its doors, ALC NetworX, the inventors of the RAVENNA AoIP standard, announces that RTW Cologne, the company best known for their reliable and ultra-precise visual audio monitoring tools, has joined the RAVENNA community.

As the migration to IP workflows continues to gain momentum, the announcement of RAVENNA-enabled product burgeons accordingly. Now the de facto AoIP transport technology for the broadcast industry, RAVENNA is pleased to announce product launches from several RAVENNA partners including Lawo, Qbit, 2wcom, RTW and DirectOut.

RAVENNA, along with RAVENNA community members, Genelec, Lawo and Meinberg recently hosted a sold-out educational event in London on the topic of SMPTE ST 2110 and related standards and best practices.

RAVENNA has joined forces with RAVENNA community members, Genelec, Lawo and Meinberg to host a unique educational event in London on 25th June at the Genelec Experience Centre. 

“Everything you wanted to know about ST 2110 but were afraid to ask,” is a day-long seminar aimed at anyone who is affected by or looking to implement IP workflows and would like to better understand how ST 2110 fits into the IP landscape.

In this conclusion, Part 3, of our tutorial on AES 67, we examine proper connection and configuration for AES 67 links. Understanding how each of these elements fit into the overall network will make both setup and troubleshooting easier.

The AES67 standard is sometimes misunderstood as the specifications on how all professional digital audio gear is supposed to work and interconnect. Not exactly. In fact, AES67 simply defines the requirements for high-performance AoIP (Audio-over-IP) interoperability. A manufacturer can implement AES67 anyway it wants, and there’s the rub.

The AES67 standard is sometimes misunderstood as the specifications on how all professional digital audio gear is supposed to work and interconnect. Not exactly. In fact, AES67 simply defines the requirements for high-performance AoIP (Audio-over-IP) interoperability. A manufacturer can implement AES67 anyway it wants, and there’s the rub.

Chinese broadcaster ZRTG (Zhejiang Radio and TV Group) has opened a new television production complex in the garden city of Hangzhou, capital of the eastern province of Zhejiang. The International TV Centre houses four main TV studios, with a further two dedicated to ZRTG’s Home Shopping Channel. In a first for broadcasting in China the whole audio set-up is connected using a RAVENNA AoIP (audio over IP) network, which links several Lawo mixing consoles.

A major focus is refining the IP workflow moving audio, video from venues to IBC and beyond.

With the FIFA Confederations Cup in the rearview mirror, the Fox Sports production team at the center of World Cup operations has turned its focus to the next phase of planning: applying the lessons learned during the Confederations Cup to preparing for next year’s main event.

“Putting on 16 clean matches was goal No. 1,” notes Kevin Callahan, VP, field operations and engineering, Fox Sports, “but we very much used it as a test.” Fox Sports fielded a team of 75 people in Russia for the effort.

Nigel Palmer heads down to Scrub’s new demo facility to have a play around with this monitoring ‘world first.’

When a set of loudspeakers is sent to me for review, testing usually takes place in my purpose-built space at Lowland Masters. In its natural state the room is one of the better ones I’ve heard, but in recent years I’ve been able to improve on that with the addition of a DSP-based Trinnov loudspeaker and room optimiser system

At High End Munich 2017, Merging Technologies will again promote its network-connected NADAC and the new MERGING+PLAYER solution developed with Roon Labs for DSD and DSD multichannel playback. But the Swiss company thinks this is also the time to promote RAVENNA as the connection standard for high end audio, promoting drivers that can be adopted by other devices, and introducing ZMan, a new OEM RAVENNA circuit board for audio components as diverse as loudspeakers, DACs and server/streamers.

Hamburg is now home to one of the world’s most impressive music venues, which recently celebrated its opening with a lavish concert broadcast worldwide via a variety of media. Adam Savage went in search of the technical details.

“Everything you wanted to know about AES67 but were afraid to ask,” was the title of the event hosted by RAVENNA and Genelec at Genelec’s plush London demo facility in Scrub’s new premises at 69 Wells Street in the heart of Fitzrovia, London.

Since its 1990 inauguration, Italy’s Ravenna Festival has gained a reputation as one of Europe’s most prestigious events, hosting a wide range of performing arts in venues ranging from UNESCO listed monuments to the Pala de Andrè indoor sports arena and Dante Alighieri theatre.

This year, at the last two venues, the festival’s long-standing audio contractor (BH Audio) used a Lawo system based on the manufacturer’s mc2 36 console, Compact I/0 stagebox and the RAVENNA IP network.

On July 14, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, more than 400,000 spectators celebrated “Bastille Day”, the biggest and most festive national holiday in France which marks the beginning of the French revolution. It was also an opportunity for Lawo to demonstrate the power of their latest live and broadcast technologies in conjunction with RAVENNA AoIP transport technology.

Following a highly successful ISE 2016, ALC NetworX is gearing up for an equally busy PL&S 2016 in Frankfurt. RAVENNA partners present at the show include Lawo, Merging Technologies, Riedel, Sennheiser/Neumann, Luminex, Archwave, Boldburg and Genelec. OEM technology supplier, Archwave, will also be participating on the ALC NetworX booth, demonstrating their RAVENNA/AES67 SoM solutions.

ISE 2016 will be showcasing a raft of RAVENNA/AES67-enabled product from a number of different manufacturers as well as some exciting demonstrations of new applications. RAVENNA partners present at the show include Lawo, Merging Technologies, DirectOut, Sennheiser, Riedel, Luminex, Cordial, Archwave and Genelec. There will also be product from Digigram on both the RAVENNA and MNA stands.

Following a highly successful IBC show in Amsterdam which saw the announcement of two new partners and the launch of a raft of new RAVENNA-enabled product, RAVENNA is preparing for an equally busy AES show in New York at the end of the month with a particularly packed seminar program.

IBC 2015 will be showcasing a slew of new RAVENNA/AES67-enabled product from a number of different manufacturers. New products include everything from plug-in modules from solutions specialists, Archwave, to finished products from the likes of TSL, Neumann, DirectOut, Merging Technologies, Lawo, Sonifex, Digigram, GatesAir and others.

VMXpress IP launch establishes a foundation to extend robust GatesAir networking architectures into a true interoperable Audio over IP environment

Cincinnati, OH, March 09, 2015

GatesAir, a global leader in wireless, over-the-air content delivery solutions for radio and TV broadcasters, is extending the networking capabilities of its VistaMax™ portfolio with VMXpress IP, an AES67-compliant audio and logic device that establishes a standards based Audio over IP gateway for radio studios.  Leveraging the non-proprietary nature of ALC NetworX’s Ravenna networking technology, VMXpress IP drives interoperability across the studio and signal transport architecture through its open, standards-based foundation. GatesAir will introduce VMXpress at the 2015 NAB Show, taking place April 13-16 at the Las Vegas Convention Center (Booth C3107).

VMXpress IP evolves the robust networking architecture of GatesAir audio distribution and consoles, seamlessly integrating with existing and emerging AES67-compliant devices to help broadcasters build the optimal connected studio facility. Using the tremendous flexibility of open-standards IP networking, VMXpress IP simplifies connectivity with audio processors, satellite receivers, phone systems and studio support equipment, including program delays, among other key systems. With GatesAir’s existing network-based, minimally-wired studio networking architecture at the core, Ravenna’s networking technology fortifies the overall infrastructure through low-latency distribution and full signal transparency. Overall, broadcasters will enjoy a highly reliable and flexible network to move audio and data facility-wide.

Beyond the studio, VMXpress IP extends networking to leading IP transport solutions, including GatesAir Intraplex® IP Link codecs, for low-latency audio contribution and distribution. This expands connectivity to transmitter facilities (STL), live remote broadcast sites, and the internet for streaming content to other studios and the web. Therefore, the limitations of AES and analog connectivity are eliminated, instead leveraging intelligent networking with IP transport systems by using AES67 over the local Ethernet.

“With thousands of stations relying on GatesAir’s robust studio networking solutions, including seven of the top 10 billing stations in the US, adopting a standards-based approach to the rapidly evolving transition to IP is critical,” said Rich Redmond, chief product officer, GatesAir. “VMXpress IP represents our extension of GatesAir’s robust studio networking into this greater, highly flexible and interoperable Audio over IP environment, simplifying how our customers create, operate, scale and drive revenue within digital studio facilities.”

VMXpress IP continues GatesAir’s market leading strategy of using single network-based connections (Cat5/6) to move hundreds of audio and data signals across a multipoint network, ensuring a clean studio design that is easy to deploy, operate and scale as requirements evolve. 

July saw the largest ever full implementation of the RAVENNA network protocol [for a live event], as the Orchestre Nationale de Lille (ONL) played its 40th anniversary concert to over 16,000 people. “It was an impressive set-up,” recalled digital audio specialist Fred Blanc-Garin, who was there on behalf of the ONL. “We essentially brought in the ONL’s recently installed digital studio set-up that now features a RAVENNA network."

While equally unsuccessful on the stage at the recent Eurovision Song Contest, Austria and Germany achieved full marks behind the scenes. Austrian host broadcaster ORF marked the 60th anniversary of the recent Eurovision Song Contest with a technically innovative production concept. More than 200 million viewers in 80 countries witnessed Sweden’s Måns Zelmerlöw outscore his 26 co-finalists, but would have been unaware that all of the contest’s audio signals were routed via a RAVENNA/AES67-based IP infrastructure for the first time at a Eurovision event.

"Vienna - While equally unsuccessful on the stage at the recent Eurovision Song Contest, Austria and Germany achieved full marks behind the scenes. Austrian host broadcaster ORF marked the 60th anniversary of the recent Eurovision Song Contest with a technically innovative production concept. More than 200 million viewers in 80 countries witnessed Sweden’s Måns Zelmerlöw outscore his 26 co-finalists, but would have been unaware that all of the contest’s audio signals were routed via a RAVENNA/AES67-based IP infrastructure for the first time at a Eurovision event."

"(05/09/2015) After completing an extensive technical modernization program in January 2015, ARD Capital Studio Berlin (Hauptstadtstudio Berlin, part of the ARD Union of German Broadcasters) is operating advanced editorial workplaces based around a software-driven RAVENNA IP network."

"Andreas Hildebrand is senior product manager at digital media technology company ALC NetworX. From that perch he has been closely involved with development of the company’s Ravenna audio over IP technology. He recently conducted a session examining the AES67 audio over IP technology at the NAB Show.

TechBytes: What is AES67?

Andreas Hildebrand: Shortly after the introduction of Ravenna, the AES came up with the idea of working on an interoperability standard for high-performance audio over IP distribution."

"May 06, 2015 - Swiss manufacturer Merging Technologies confirms its new high-quality consumer D/A converter, NADAC, will be introduced at the High End Show in Munich on May 14, 2015. Following its success with the Horus and Hapi networked audio interfaces for professional applications, Merging is leveraging its technology also for the consumer market."

"Finnish software supplier Jutel recently implemented the world’s first all audio-over-IP AES67/RAVENNA-based system into the newly refurbished Restaurant Nallikari in the Finnish city of Oulu.

Restaurant Nallikari offers a modern, modular space with up to eight separate meeting/private event zones. There are also spa facilities for up to 60 people as well as an outdoor Jacuzzi on the private terrace. The brief was to provide a high quality, flexible, multi-zoned AV system that could be easily configured to meet customer requirements.

Jutel collaborated with Genelec and ALC NetworX to develop the most appropriate solution. Within a couple of months of R&D work, Genelec had come up with their first prototype AoIP-enabled loudspeaker, the RAVENNA/AES67 4020A compact, active loudspeaker."

"Held in Kontiolahti, Finland, the Biathlon World Cup 2015 came to a close on 15 March,with the German team winning three gold and two silver medals, and finishing the contest second to France in the final medal table. Finnish public broadcaster YLE had used an IP-based Commentary System with ten Lawo Commentary Units (LCU) – including onsite support – from rental company Audio Broadcast Services (ABS) for television coverage of the event. The fully digital Commentary System is based on RAVENNA Audio-over-IP networking technology that enables the use of standard IP networks for interconnecting venues and devices. The ABS/Lawo team in Kontiolahti installed the LCUs in less than three hours, and deployed pre-prepared configurations with the idents.

"LOS ANGELES—A three-day AES PlugFest in Germany last December to test and demonstrate the interoperability of AES67 implementations with16 different networked-audio products indicated 15 were based on RAVENNA technology."

"Yet another network savvy interface from the Swiss manufacturer; Jon Thornton encounters a son of Horus."

Read about Merging's newest I/O interface and how RAVENNA fits in there ...

IP has been regarded as the future for broadcasting in both studio distribution and broadcast centre-to-transmitter links for the last 10 years. GatesAir is the former Harris Broadcast division of the Gores Group for network management, digital audio console, studio to transmitter links (STLs) and transmitters for radio and large-scale, single frequency transmission in TV. Rich Redmond, chief product officer for GatesAir, explains: "On the studio connectivity side of audio broadcasting, the debate over the last few years has been whether to go with Dante or RAVENNA.

RAVENNA, conceived by Philipp Lawo and produced by Lawo associate company ALC NetworX, is promoted as a more dedicated broadcast system.

GatesAir has gone the broadcasting route, announcing on 16 June that it had joined the RAVENNA community of partners. Redmond explains that the decision was influenced by RAVENNA’s compliance with the Audio Engineering Society AES67 standard for IP interoperability. ...

The [OSI] layer structure needs some explanation to understand how AES67 AoIP compares with Ethernet-based technologies. Andreas Hildebrand, senior product manager at ALC NetworX GmbH, provided a brief overview at the DTV Audio Forum.

Lawo’s cost-efficient and flexible Commentary Unit (LCU) was developed in close cooperation with Host Broadcast Services (HBS), a Swiss company specializing in producing multilateral video and audio feeds for TV and radio from world-class international sports events. The fully digital system is based on RAVENNA...

More than 2,500 individual events comprised the 34th “Evangelischer Kirchentag” (Protestant church convention) that took place from May 1st to May 5th in Hamburg. The closing service attracted around 130,000 faithful, as well as considerable interest from the media.

RAVENNA's appearance @ this year's NAB has been another big success! RAVENNA was perceptible from practically anywhere within the Broadcast audio section of the Central hall - the RAVENNA booth was clearly visible, shining in bright white, and numerous RAVENNA flags identifying RAVENNA partners were prominently placed throughout the aisles. The RAVENNA booth was worth a visit as all currently available RAVENNA-enabled products were on display. Needless to say that all products were in fully networked operation, demonstrating the RAVENNA capabilities.

Amongst already available RAVENNA-enabled products from Axia, DirectOut, Lawo & Merging Technologies, NAB visitors could witness a world premiere: SOUND4 introduced the first RAVENNA PCIe sound card for Windows! Also, on preview: Digigram's multi-network PCIe card supporting RAVENNA, Livewire and EtherSound, AETA's Scoop5 with RAVENNA option and the RAVENNA Virtual Sound Card Driver for Windows by ALC NetworX, which will be released for free download soon!

Another focus was on X192: While AES X192 Task Group chair Kevin Gross was present on the RAVENNA booth, ready to to answer all questions on X192 and how RAVENNA relates to it, ALC NetworX' Andreas Hildebrand gave a well-received presentation on the activities and status of X192 work during NAB's Broadcast Engineering Conference. For those who missed this opportunity, here's a quick overview on X192 and its relation to RAVENNA.

Hall 8 at this year’s IBC was awash with manufacturers displaying Ravenna branding, suggesting that the audio-over-IP networking technology could be approaching a tipping point. David Davies examines the present and possible future of Ravenna, and what it all means – if anything – for AVB.

Merging Technologies converters and DAW capture live recordings at a famous Italian venue - with the Prime Minister looking on.

PSNEurope caught up with Stephan Flock, CEO of DirectOut, during IBC 2012, a show that – in audio terms at least – was characterised by the rise-and-rise of the ALC NetworX-developed Ravenna networking technology. DirectOut was one of 19 Ravenna affiliates to be present at the show, and as Flock confirmed, is convinced that Ravenna has what it takes to become the new standard for audio-over-IP (AoIP).