Audinate announces Astoria PCI Express card at InfoComm 2010
Published: ASIA
US: Audinate has announced a new IP based Dante audio networking PCI Express sound card today at InfoComm 2010, which is taking place in Las Vegas. Named Astoria, the AVB-ready card works over standard Gigabit networks and has been described by Audinate CEO Lee Ellison as ‘an attractive IP-based alternative to Madi’.
The Astoria PCI Express card reportedly ‘unlocks a user’s recording and production potential’ by providing 256 channels of uncompressed, digital audio. Available for either PC or Mac platforms, it is being introduced by Audinate with the promise of ‘an unprecedented number of super low-latency Dante audio channels with support for all popular sample rates’. The card can support configurations for 128x128 bi-directional channels at either 48kHz or 96kHz sample rates, or 64x64 bi-directional channels at 192kHz sampling.
‘Following the success of the Dante Virtual Soundcard introduced last year, Astoria provides a premium Dante sound card solution for customers requiring ultra low latency and high channel count applications,’ explained Mr Ellison, adding that Astoria would ‘future proof your product by offering an upgrade migration path to AVB’.
Elsewhere at InfoComm, Audinate has also announced the availability of the DM-1 Dante audio network card for the NetMax hardware family in conjunction with Electro-Voice. The DM-1 may be installed in the N8000 or N8000-1500 chassis and is compatible with Audinate’s Dante Virtual Soundcard.
‘Audinate’s Dante and NetMax are a perfect fit,’ enthused Ethan Wetzell, Electro-Voice’s global DSP product manager, while Mary Cudmore, Audinate’s director of products, added that the partnership ‘increases available Dante solutions for digital audio routing and matrixing for applications such as broadcast, stadiums, club sound, houses of worship, and concert systems’.