AES67 product expansion is continuing rapidly with RAVENNA options for several popular products

 

Glensound is following up on a very busy 2022 by enhancing several of the new products after feedback from customers and the market. The success of these new lines has encouraged the company to invest in new staff and technology to improve production efficiency to meet increased demand across its many product categories. A change in company operating hours is also helping to keep pace with orders for all the leading products, particularly AES67 based networked audio items.

The GTM eSports Gamers Interface was the most significant introduction at last year’s NAB and has been an immediate hit with major gaming companies. In addition to the SDI audio de-embedding capability already present, a request was made to add SDI embedding to the unit so that game audio and local analogue sources can be inserted for forward distribution. GTM provides a single device that combines multiple functions required to support interfacing and communication during an eSports tournament. A simple to use panel with three level mixes allows players to control their own audio mix quickly and easily, while headsets and headphones plug directly into the panel to deliver game audio, team comms and the player’s own voice. The device is fully remote controllable and configurable by tournament engineers. The system allows the game source audio to be picked up from multiple sources (SPDIF, USB, network, analogue etc.) depending on the tournament format, and supports multi-channel mixing pre-configurable inputs from Glensound’s Dante platform or de-embedded audio from an SDI connection.

The announcement at IBC that Glensound had joined the RAVENNA community opened the possibility to integrate with other similarly featured broadcast equipment and to work with higher sample rates. The process of adding this capability to many products is ongoing but the VITTORIA Network Audio Bridge has been an immediate success. This allows connection between two networks of different types, Dante or RAVENNA, in any direction with a Firewall in between. Higher RAVENNA sample rates can be input, and the two networks can be at different rates and operate asynchronously.

A direct microphone output has been added to the bestselling INFERNO Commentary Unit as an additional safety feature in case of network failure. This is a feature welcomed by the many broadcast users that have standardised on this popular IP connected unit.

Attention to detail leads to product enhancement and although it does not affect the performance of the beltpack units, a cosmetic upgrade featuring end bumpers ensures that the products stand up to the rigours of daily use. The following products have had this makeover: AoIP22, AoIP4O, AoIP4I, AoIP2M, AoIP22u, AoIP22 AES, AoIP44AES.

The recently introduced NOMAD and LODGE mobile telephone hybrids are also selling rapidly. Of particular relevance to customers in the USA, these are now available with a pre-registered module for use with leading cellular operators, Verizon, AT&T and US Cellular. This allows immediate hassle-free operation after the delivery of the product.

New product, the Express IP Mini X Commentary unit, is now shipping. This has the important addition of local analogue audio outputs as with INFERNO. This impressively featured compact unit caters for two commentators in a rugged desktop package. Dante/AES67 compatible, this unit has configurable talkback circuits, two microphone inputs with phantom power and compressor/limiter on each and four external monitor inputs. It is powered over Ethernet to minimise clutter in the operator area and has a very comprehensive headphone monitoring section handling multiple sources.

Reflecting on the continued success of the Glensound AoIP products, Managing Director, Marc Wilson remarked; “In addition to the flagship products that we can now offer in Dante or RAVENNA flavours, we have added this option to the DARK and BELLA ranges. Glensound offers the broadcaster an extraordinarily comprehensive range of products that allows integration to any AES67 network and expanding this capability is a major focus for the company in 2023.”

For more information, please visit www.glensound.co.uk