The What: Crestron’s DigitalMedia now supports the Dante audio networking protocol with its new input and output blades for 64X64 and 128X128 DM matrix switchers.
The What Else: Now shipping, the 4K HDMI and Dante Input Blade for DM Switchers (DMB-4K-I-HD-DNT) provides eight HDMI inputs, while the 4K HDMI and Dante Output Blade for DM Switchers (DMB-4K-O-HD-DNT) provides eight HDMI outputs with built-in 4K scaling. CEC embedded device control is possible with the addition of a control system.
A common application is for use with videoconference systems. Send content from a source—a laptop, for example—and connect it to the HDMI port of the DMB-4K-I-HD-DNT; internal processing extracts the HD audio and outputs as Dante over ethernet through the LAN port on the DM CPU blade. The audio is then sent to a local DSP (new Avia DSPs with Dante support from Crestron coming soon) in a conference room, which mixes the program audio with the microphones. The mixed audio is then sent out to a codec. The opposite setup, while not as common, is easy too: Dante audio goes into the LAN port on the DM CPU blade, is internally processed, and then sent out as HDMI to a local display.
Analog audio inputs and outputs are also enabled by connecting the optional Analog Audio Breakout Box (AUD-BOB-1602) to the Dante blades in the DM switcher. When the Analog Audio Breakout Box is connected to the DMB-4K-I-HD-DNT Dante input blade, the balanced analog audio input is then embedded with the digital video signal. Similarly, when the breakout box is connected to the DMB-4K-O-HD-DNT Dante output blade, the balanced analog audio output is extracted and fed into a sound system.
