Calrec Joins RAVENNA Community

Patrick Warrington, Technical Director, Calrec and Andreas Hildebrand, Senior Product Manager of ALC NetworX

ALC NetworX is pleased to announce that UK-based console manufacturer Calrec has entered into a RAVENNA partnership. With Calrec, as a principal market leader of state-of-the-art digital mixing consoles, the impact of RAVENNA networking technology enters a new dimension: manufacturers and end users can now be confident that RAVENNA IP-based networking is truly an open standard and receives broad support from more than just one mixing desk manufacturer.

The announcement comes in the wake of the publication of the AES67 Standard on High-performance Audio-over-IP Streaming Interoperability, which is fully in line with the fundamental operating principles of RAVENNA. Consequently, integration of RAVENNA opens-up a straightforward way for Calrec to establish a powerful and flexible gateway between their internal Hydra2 network and the AES67-based outside world.

Patrick Warrington, Technical Director, Calrec: “The excellent work by the AES’s X192 committee in its publication of AES67 has given the AoIP project a huge boost, allowing different manufacturers to design interfaces that they are confident will work with other manufacturers’ equipment. ALC NetworX’s involvement in drafting AES67 means RAVENNA interfaces will be directly compatible with AES67 equipment. While MADI continues to serve the industry extremely well, we expect to see AoIP interconnections providing a more flexible and elegant replacement in the near future, offering greater capacity, flexibility and multicast possibilities, all on an infrastructure shared with other services.”

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Andreas Hildebrand, Senior Product Manager of ALC NetworX, adds: “The increasing interest in the new AES67 interoperability standard just underlines the demand for open media networking standards. With every new manufacturer that comes on board, the appeal of RAVENNA is broadened exponentially. The decision of Calrec in particular, unquestionably one of the worlds’s leading suppliers of broadcast mixing consoles, to select RAVENNA as the path towards AES67-based media networking interoperability further validates RAVENNA’s approach of providing an open technology framework based on existing standards. Beyond already being compatible with AES67, RAVENNA offers manufacturers such as Calrec the pivotal freedom and flexibility to adopt the technology to their individual platforms or to add specific functionality as required.”

Calrec and RAVENNA will be showcasing at upcoming NAB 2014 on booth C1746 (Calrec) and C1311 (ALC NetworX).

About Calrec:
Calrec Audio is exclusively dedicated to excellence in audio mixing for on-air and live production, and has a range of broadcast audio consoles relied on by the world’s most successful broadcasters. Celebrating 50 years commitment to broadcast audio this year, the company designs and manufactures every element of its consoles at Nutclough Mill in Hebden Bridge, from sheet metal and PCB design through to network testing and commissioning. Today, broadcasters are demanding more versatility and integration from their audio equipment. TV companies want to ensure that their systems can produce programs efficiently and to required specifications. Broadcast infrastructures will continue to evolve, and Calrec continue to be at the forefront of this evolution.

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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 already compatible with the recently published AES67 standard on High-performance Streaming Audio-over-IP Interoperability.

About ALC NetworX GmbH:
ALC NetworX is an R&D company in Munich, Germany. A team of experts with excellent reputation from the Pro Audio industry and in-depth knowledge in networking technologies has been assembled to develop the RAVENNA technology platform. While ALC NetworX will continue to keep the lead role in the RAVENNA technology development, product implementations will be executed by individual partner companies. Current partner companies include AEQ, AETA, Archwave, arkona, Axia, Cordial, Digigram, Dimetis, DirectOut, DSA Volgmann, Genelec, Infomedia, Lawo, Linear Acoustic, LSB, Merging, MTS, Neumann, Omnia, Orban, Qbit, Schoeps, SCISYS, Sonifex, Sound4, Telos and WorldCast Systems. Interested manufacturers are welcome to join the RAVENNA partner community.

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