Ravenna teams with Genelec to host AES67 education event

The Genelec Experience Centre showcases a comprehensive range of Genelec’s loudspeaker technologies (many of which form part of a full 11.1 immersive audio configuration) including their ground-breaking 8430 IP SAM studio monitors, making it an ideal environment to show off interoperability via AES67.

The evening kicked off with an introduction from RH Consulting’s Roland Hemming who provided an overview of audio networking in general, adoption levels across the industry and some examples of the types of projects, often very high profile, that rely increasingly on audio networking for reasons of quality, practicality, and cost-effectiveness. He then handed over to ALC NetworX’s RAVENNA evangelist, Andreas Hildebrand who explained what AES67 is, how it works, the close relationship between AES67 and RAVENNA, and why AES67 is important in today’s increasingly connected environment.

Hildebrand followed up with a live demo of an AES67 system using a Cymatic Audio uTrack24 multitrack recorder/player, an ARG switch, a Grandmaster clock from Sonifex, a RAVENNA Virtual soundcard, and the Genelec 8430 IP speakers. After demonstrating full interoperability amongst all RAVENNA-enabled devices running AES67-formatted streams, a Dante device (an AOIP box from Infomedia) was added to the setup and, with the help of the recently released and freely available RAV2SAP converter, Hildebrand showed streams running back and forth between the RAVENNA and Dante eco system.

“It was a hugely successful evening,” said Hildebrand. “We were over-subscribed but people came anyway, and then stayed on to chat to us and ask more questions for well over an hour afterwards, so we’re delighted. We will definitely be putting on more of these events in the future.” Co-hosts, Genelec, were equally pleased: “As a long-term RAVENNA partner we were delighted to host this event,” confirmed Howard Jones, international project manager for Genelec. “The size and quality of the audience shows just how significant IP has become in the world of audio.”

RHC’s Roland Hemming agreed: “It was all the more gratifying as we had a really high profile audience with heads of production from TV companies, national radio, post production, live events and installed sound. There is clearly a desire and a requirement for this type of education which is great news for anyone involved in audio networking.”

About RAVENNA:

RAVENNA is a technology for real-time distribution of audio and other media content in IP-based network environments. Utilizing standardized network protocols and technologies, RAVENNA can operate on existing network infrastructures. RAVENNA is designed to meet the strict requirements of the pro audio market featuring low latency, full signal transparency and high reliability.

While primarily targeting the professional broadcast market, RAVENNA is also suitable for deployment in other pro audio market segments like live sound, install market and recording. Possible fields of application include (but are not limited to) in-house signal distribution in broadcasting houses, theaters, concert halls and other fixed installations, flexible setups at venues and live events, OB van support, inter-facility links across WAN connections and in production & recording applications.

Unlike most other existing networking solutions, RAVENNA is an open technology standard without a proprietary licensing policy. RAVENNA is fully compatible with the AES67-2015 standard on High-performance Streaming Audio-over-IP Interoperability. Liaisons with standards organizations and industry alliances (e.g. AES, AIMS, AMWA, MNA, SMPTE and others) ensure the close alignment of RAVENNA technology with current industry trends.