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L-Acoustics Spotlights AVB Networking at AES

USA - The AES Convention’s technical programme has long been praised by seasoned audio professionals and students alike for its rich schedule of educational and training seminars offered at each gathering. This month, at the 147th convention and exhibition held at NYC’s Javits Center, L-Acoustics team members will be leading and/or participating in seven AES presentations, several of which will focus heavily on AVB (audio video bridging) networking and newly Milan-certified solutions, including the L-Acoustics P1 processor.

The first event, presented in room 1E13 at 9:00am on Wednesday, 16 October, will be a networked audio track panel session titled, “Solution-Based Approaches for Networked Audio in Live Production.” Moderated by Sound & Communications editor Dan Ferrisi, L-Acoustics director of electronics Genio Kronauer, one of the most recent members of the Avnu Alliance board of directors, and fellow panelists from Meyer Sound, Solotech, and other companies will share “how to” tips on working with Milan and AVB networking and practical use-cases from end users implementing Milan in live sound projects.

Kronauer will also participate in an Avnu Alliance-led session on 16 October for the Live Production Stage, starting at 2pm (LS04), titled “Milan Protocol: Deterministic AV Networks,” sharing an overview of the Milan product philosophy and benefits for the market, as well as case studies of live sound installations using a Milan network.

That same day, at 1:30pm in room 1E12, L-Acoustics product manager Scott Sugden will deliver a sound reinforcement track event titled, “Large-Scale Loudspeaker System Calibration from Simulation-Based Design to On Site Tuning.” The presentation will cover, among other things, the efficient implementation of the manufacturer’s Soundvision Autosolver tools, the benefits of Milan-compliant AVB networking as offered by P1, and the brand new M1 measurement platform, part of the upcoming LA Network Manager 3.0 release.

In the year since its debut, the multifunctional P1 AVB processor and measurement platform has firmly established itself as an indispensable tool for many audio pros. Designed from the very start to be compliant with Avnu Alliance’s new Milan interoperability protocol, P1 became one of the very first two products on the market to officially receive Milan certification through Avnu Alliance as a fully compliant Milan device earlier this year.

“Milan represents the pro AV industry coming together to define common protocols and ensure seamless interoperability between products, regardless of their brand,” says Kronauer. “What L-Acoustics and our fellow industry-leading manufacturers did with Milan was to take IEEE’s open AVB standard to a truly reliable and convenient ‘plug-and-play’ level, you simply connect a device and it works every time. This allows our users to focus on what they do best, which is creating amazing audio-video experiences for their clients and audiences.”

Designed to optimally deal with the real-time needs of professional media transport, Milan is a standards-based, user-driven deterministic network protocol that takes into account the specific needs of the pro AV market for moving time-sensitive, high-quality audio, video, and data across the network. Once network connectivity is established, Milan reserves bandwidth specifically for deterministic delivery, which ensures that users will never have a dropout or loss of information during a show or live performance.

Over the past year, numerous audio professionals have already enjoyed Milan’s benefits that the L-Acoustics P1 has provided, including tours for Hugh Jackman, Mark Knopfler, Madness, and Rammstein, as well high-profile installations at the Wells Fargo Center (home to the Philadelphia 76ers) and the iconic Hollywood Bowl.

According to Hollywood Bowl principal mixer and sound designer Fred Vogler, “There's a different show here almost every night and we have to stay on top of it every time. The Milan processors are easy to use and have a fidelity and a resolution that is really high. I've heard other types of digital transmission – we had AES in here – and it seems like the AVB Milan protocol is cleaner with enhanced fidelity, which makes it sound more natural. Also, in discussion with tours and other sound design folks that come through, we never get any pushback. We have to rely on it daily and alter or change it if necessary, so it is comforting to know that it's easy to use, has a great sound, and is something that, industry-wide, people are comfortable using.”

As a founding member of the Milan initiative, L-Acoustics has been able to build Milan into all of its amplified controllers and audio processors, concurrent with the development of the Milan standard.

The P1 processor is a unique, three-in-one unit that serves as a front-end processor, an audio matrix and bridge, as well as a system measurement and tuning platform, all in one convenient, robust package. The P1 takes the complex and hardware-intensive task of system optimization and streamlines it to a single piece of hardware, fully integrated with the industry-leading LA Network Manager software platform.

As a signal processor with equalisation, delay, and dynamics, its four analogue line inputs with premium A/D conversion assure the utmost sound quality. Integrating 20 inputs and 16 outputs in one rack space, the P1 can matrix, bridge, and distribute AVB, AES/EBU and analogue audio. Time-aligned redundant signal distribution guarantees artefact-free sound with the click of a button.

Updates to LA Network Manager will leverage P1’s four microphone preamps to create an analyzer that is aware of all system parameters. This technology enables system tuning without additional noise.

3rd October 2019

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