The broadcast industry is going through fundamental changes to infrastructure and connectivity with a goal to find greater efficiencies in how they work.

Much of the discussion is around the move from proprietary infrastructures, like Calrec’s Hydra2, to IP networks, and how they can boost productivity.

For most broadcasters, there are pros and cons with either option – but there needn’t be. In fact, there are countless options in between to smooth the transition.

Let Calrec plan that transition for you.

Proprietary Infrastructure

Proprietary Infrastructure

Intelligent, low latency, trusted, deterministic and discoverable networks.

IP Infrastructure

IP Infrastructure

Use COTS equipment, are video friendly, flexible, geographically diverse, cost-saving and future proof.

Calrec is helping broadcasters leverage their existing equipment to benefit from the efficiencies of an IP domain. Most broadcasters still use proprietary systems where they have made major investments – proprietary networks like Calrec’s Hydra2 are intelligent, low latency, trusted, deterministic and discoverable.

Meanwhile, IP networks use COTS equipment, are video friendly and are bringing the broadcast community together in a shared vision of the future. Calrec can advise on options to partially or fully move into an IP environment, and the advantages and challenges of doing so.

Calrec’s Gateway technology enables broadcasters to bridge between the efficiencies of IP while still benefiting from their existing equipment.

However deep you go, Calrec’s gateway technologies provide many ways to migrate to AoIP. All Calrec equipment can sit on an IP network, and all Calrec equipment can sit on a proprietary Hydra2 network. Or any combination of the two.

Migrate at your own pace with Calrec.

Proprietary / Hydra2 networks

Proprietary / Hydra2 networks

Seamless, scalable audio networking of audio mixing consoles with routers and IO interfaces

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H2/IP Gateway

H2/IP Gateway

Having the best of both; taking advantage of your existing equipment in your switch to IP

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IP Networks: ImPulse

IP Networks: ImPulse

ImPulse provides a simple upgrade path for Calrec Customers

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  • Calrec’s H2-IP Gateway provides an interface between a Hydra2 network and an AoIP network. It awards an extra control level that allows audio labels to be passed in both directions between the two networks along with control data.

    This gives Hydra2 users the ability to control gain of Calrec AoIP mic inputs, and AoIP users can control gain of Hydra2 mic inputs. The H2-IP Gateway is SMPTE 2110/AES67-compatible and expands Calrec’s range of AoIP solutions.

    The 1U gateway can pass either 256 or 512 channels of audio in each direction and multiple gateways can be used to increase capacity or to connect with multiple networks. For full hardware redundancy additional units can be deployed as backups.

  • Calrec AoIP unit

    The Calrec Audio over IP unit provides a Hydra2 AoIP interface carrying up to 512 x 512 channels using AES67/Ravenna.

    The unit can accommodate two modules and may be fitted with one or two 256 x 256 channel AES67/Ravenna modules, or one of each type as required. In addition to the standard Hydra2 redundancy each module also has both a primary and secondary 1GB IP connection, supporting hitless switching for redundancy.

    • Hydra2 AoIP interface carrying up to 512 channels using AES67/Ravenna across dual modules
    • Primary and secondary 1GB IP connections
    • Primary and secondary Hydra2 connections
    • Supports hitless switching

  • AoIP Modular I/O Controller Card

    Calrec’s AoIP Modular I/O Controller card fits into a standard modular I/O rack and can operate in either Hydra2 or AoIP mode. The mode is selected via a simple switch on the card making it dual purpose, allowing for it to be used on either network. Not only does this make a tailorable AoIP I/O solution for the ImPulse core, it also fits into existing Modular I/O frames so units can be upgraded in the field.

    The card provides two redundant pairs of 1G SFPs to allow 512 audio channels to pass without over-using bandwidth in AoIP mode.

    The AoIP Modular I/O Controller card is SMPTE 2110/AES67-compatible and expands Calrec’s range of AoIP solutions for new and for existing customers.

    Dante/AES67 card with network redundancy

    Calrec’s Dante/AES67 card provides an interface for routing audio in and out of a Hydra2 network into a Dante network. The interface is via RJ45 connectors housed within a 1-slot wide module.

    Dante is a self-configuring, plug and play, digital audio networking technology developed by Audinate. Dante uses standard internet protocols. The Calrec Dante modular I/O card operates over Gigabit (Giga/E) Ethernet.

    The card provides 64 input channels and 64 output channels (for a Dante network operating at 48 kHz or 44.1 kHz), or 32 input channels and 32 output channels (for a Dante network operating at 96 kHz) sample-rate converted down to 48kHz with the SRC’s permanently enabled on all channels.

    Two RJ45 ports (primary and secondary) are provided to give full redundancy on the Dante portion of the network.

    Waves Soundgrid IO card

    Calrec’s Soundgrid card provides 64 outputs from the Hydra 2 network to the SoundGrid network, and 64 inputs to Hydra 2 from SoundGrid at 48 kHz via a single Ethernet cable.

    SoundGrid is an Audio-over-Ethernet networking and processing technology developed by Waves. SoundGrid provides extremely low-latency, high-channel-count audio processing using standard Intel CPUs and 1 Gbps Ethernet networks for studio, live sound, and other real-time professional audio applications.

    Real-time audio processing is performed on standard Intel-based plug-in servers, running a Waves-customised real-time version of Linux.