Crestron announced today that DigitalMedia™ now supports the Dante™ audio
networking protocol with its new input and output blades for 64X64 and 128X128
DM® matrix switchers. Now shipping, the 4K HDMI® & Dante Input Blade for DM
Switchers (DMB-4K-I-HD-DNT) provides eight HDMI inputs, while the 4K HDMI &
Dante Output Blade for DM Switchers (DMB-4K-O-HD-DNT) provides eight HDMI
outputs with built-in 4K scaling. CEC embedded device control is possible with the
addition of a control system.
Two industry standards join together
Dante is the preferred industry networking protocol for transmitting HD audio over
Ethernet, adopted by more pro audio AV manufacturers than any other networking
technology. Now, with these two new blades, seamless, fully digital integration and
interoperability with DM, the industry standard for managing and distributing AV and
control signals, is possible.
A common application is for use with video conference systems. Send content from
a source, a laptop for example, and connect it to the HDMI port of the DMB-4K-I-
HD-DNT; internal processing extracts the HD audio and outputs as Dante over
Ethernet through the LAN port on the DM CPU blade. The audio is then sent to a
local DSP (new Avia™ DSPs with Dante support from Crestron coming soon) in a
conference room, which mixes the program audio with the microphones. The mixed
audio is then sent out to a codec. The opposite setup, while not as common, is easy
too. Dante audio goes into the LAN port on the DM CPU blade, is internally
processed, and then sent out as HDMI to a local display.
Analogue audio embedding and de-embedding
Analogue audio inputs and outputs are enabled by connecting the optional Analogue
Audio Breakout Box (AUD-BOB-1602) to the Dante blades in the DM switcher. When
the Analogue Audio Breakout Box is connected to the DMB-4K-I-HD-DNT Dante input
blade, the balanced analogue audio input is then embedded with the digital video
signal. Similarly, when the breakout box is connected to the DMB-4K-O-HD-DNT
Dante output blade, the balanced analogue audio output is extracted and fed into a
sound system.
Learn more
Seamless Dante audio support and interoperability with DM is now possible. Visit
the DMB-
4K-I-HD-DNT and DMB-4K-O-HD-DNT product pages for more information
including specifications, photos, pricing, and accessories.
