German broadcasters distribute content with Axia
19 August 2011, Cleveland Ohio, USA
No less than 13 new DAB+ program streams have been launched in Germany since the beginning of August using a combination of Axia Audio AoIP networks and Fraunhofer IIS ContentServer delivery systems.
DAB+, the upgraded specification for DAB (digital audio broadcasting), is being widely adopted throughout Europe and Asia. DAB+ is now deployed in more than 20 nations. Broadcasters and listeners alike find that DAB+ has a significant aural advantage over “plain” DAB, thanks to more efficient audio coding, higher-quality audio reproduction and more robust reception.
Broadcasters who choose to distribute DAB+ content using Fraunhofer ContentServer will find another advantage built-in: native support for Axia Livewire IP-Audio networks. ContentServer connects directly with Axia AoIP networks and devices via a single Ethernet connection, providing broadcasters with a fast, convenient way to handle audio distribution.
Matthias Rose, Head of Marketing and Communications Audio and Multimedia at the Fraunhofer Institute, says it’s no accident that Axia and ContentServer are being deployed together. “Fraunhofer ContentServers are an ideal complement to Axia AoIP networks, because Livewire makes it so easy to integrate new devices with existing studio infrastructure.”
Thanks to their inclusion of Livewire, Fraunhofer ContentServer solutions seamlessly integrate into IP-based audio networks, eliminating discrete wired connections. This allows direct access to any available audio stream and, if required, dynamic switching between streams. Even surround sound signals can easily be supported. All this makes it very convenient for broadcasters to distribute clean digital audio throughout the broadcast plant, right up to the final broadcast encoding.
Fraunhofer IIS just one of dozens of Axia partners offering hardware and software products that integrate with Axia IPAudio networks; a full list is available at www.AxiaAudio.com/partners/.
Axia allows broadcasters to quickly and easily build audio networks using switched Ethernet to connect a few rooms, or an entire facility. Axia networks have a total system capacity of more than 10,000 audio streams, and can carry hundreds of digital stereo channels (plus machine logic and PAD) over a single CAT-6 cable, eliminating much of the cost normally associated with wiring labor and infrastructure. Axia networks are now in use in over 2,000 broadcast studios worldwide.
For more information, visit www.AxiaAudio.com or contact Clark Novak at Axia Audio by email atcnovak@AxiaAudio.com, or by phone at +1-216-241-7225.
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Axia, a Telos company, builds Ethernet-based professional IP-Audio products for broadcast, sound-reinforcement and commercial audio applications. Along with the popular Element 2.0 modular console for on-air, commercial production, audio workstations and personal studios, Axia products include the PowerStation integrated console engine, intercom systems, digital audio routers, DSP mixers and processors, and software for configuring, managing and interfacing networked audio systems.