Avid S3L - Core Audio - 64 Channels over AVB

[Peter]

Dear qlab mailing list 

I had yesterday the chance to get hands on the new Avid S3L FOH console. The fact that i think that it has some functionality qlab has too might be interesting but is not the reason i want to inform you about my experience. Now you can just plunge in a USB - Stick and select music and replay easily in Stereo with the userdefined keys.

The thing i find very interesting its that the AVB connectivity over Ethernet makes it possible to replay 64 Channels of Audio at once:

Pro Tools Recording and Playback Capabilities and Features
S3L and Pro Tools provide the following features:
• A direct digital connection (24-bit, 48 kHz Ethernet AVB audio) over a Cat 5e (350 MHz or higher required) Ethernet cable between your S3L system and a qualified computer running a compatible version of Pro Tools software
• Support for connection to the Ethernet port or Thunderbolt port (using an Ethernet-to-Thunderbolt adapter) on the Pro Tools computer
• Up to 64 channels of simultaneous I/O between your S3L system and Pro Tools, letting you record S3L system audio and simultaneously play back Pro Tools tracks through your S3L system
• An automatic one-for-one direct digital split of all assigned Stage input channels without needing to crosspatch or con- figure the VENUE software Patchbay
• Freely assignable Pro Tools I/O for recording output busses, submixes, Direct Outputs, and for playing back tracks from Pro Tools and monitoring a Pro Tools recording
(page 250 in the S3L manual)

 

So I asked immediately if this functionality is only for ProTools (11) - the Avid Staff told me this is an "open" standard in MacOS so it should be open to any other Software which is working with Core Audio.  Also the fact that the Standard is named Audio and Video Bridiging (even in the Avid manual) could mean that Avid has something of this combination in the pipeline. 

I know this is a FOH console not many can afford and will have in the future

But not too long ago some mentioned the troubles they had to get a high number of Channels into a Liveconsole - and worked their way around with MADI and other technologies- but no one will disclaim that this is much more neat than anything else.

Peter

[Paul Gotch]

On Thu, Oct 24, 2013 at 04:41:18AM -0700, Peter wrote:
> But not too long ago some mentioned the troubles they had to get a high
> number of Channels into a Liveconsole - and worked their way around with
> MADI and other technologies- but no one will disclaim that this is much
> more neat than anything else.

There is quite a war between AVB and other things. I'm in the camp of
you can't share critical pathways with other things so AVB requires its
own cat5 cables and ethernet infrastructure. It then comes with all the
downsides of that technologies. Therefore in general specialist
interfaces such as MADI are better.

Obviously such interfaces come with a cost which just using the generic
ethernet socket on a Mac and some softare doesn't therefore I accept
that at the 'value' end of the market audio over IP over cat5 is the
right thing. However Avid is hardly the value end of the market.

-p
--
Paul Gotch
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