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Barix UPDATE #4

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:46:26 +0100

barix update

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		Barix AG \| Seefeldstrasse 303 \| 8008 Zuerich \| Switzerland www.barix.com \| T +41 43 4332211 \| +41 44 2742849 Barix Technology Inc. \| USA \| info@barix.com
	[date]

For those of you who also received our Update No. 3 today, welcome to a special feature of our newsletter machine! To be honest, we sent it by accident - even in Barix IT problems can sit in front of the PC! ;-)
Our latest Update follows below:

CEO's Editorial

New Products and Software

First Barix iPhone app

Integration: Informacast and Barix

Marketing and Instructional Videos from Barix!

Communications

Technology explained for mortals: Multicast

CEO's Editorial

Dear Reader and Barix User,

Time flies by! Our anniversary year – 10 years! - is nearing its end.
We at Barix, headquartered with significant staff in Zurich, Switzerland, saw our revenue currencies (Euro and USD) lose significant value against the Swiss Franc, in which we pay our employees and do our balance sheets. Fortunately, sales continue to grow strongly for us, which allowed us to offset all negative effects of the currencies. Recently, we released our first iDevice app through iTunes. Our team has been heavily trained on the underlying technologies, so expect more to come — soon. 2012 will provide the chance to see us at one of 15+ tradeshows worldwide. Come to our booth to get an in-person update about what is new at Barix. We start the tradeshow season in Amsterdam with a splash at ISE. New hardware and software products will be shown! Our motivated team looks forward to working with you in 2012. To receive first-hand, up-to-date information from Barix, please make sure you subscribe to our blog via RSS or on Facebook. Details can be found below. We send email newsletters only occasionally.

Happy Holidays,
Johannes Rietschel
CEO and Founder, Barix AG

New Products and Software

Due to customer requests, we have made product variants replacing the USB port with a MicroSD slot:

Exstreamer 100 with MicroSD card slot is now available as Exstreamer 105.
Exstreamer 110 with MicroSD card slot is now available as Exstreamer 120.
Exstreamer 200 with MicroSD card slot is now available as Exstreamer 205.

The Exstreamer 205 adds a significant new feature, not available in the -200 model: It adds an analog stereo audio input, useable for a local source to drive the built-in amplifier. In the future, encoding (PCM) for local streaming will also be supported.

All Exstreamer devices now ship with the Streaming Client firmware.

Barix now offers a standard software package, “IP Intercom”, for use in general intercom applications with a central master software. It provides a well-documented API so that the functionality of Barix devices running this firmware can easily be controlled via central software. This enables easy integration of Barix devices into third party IP Intercom and IP Surveillance applications.

First Barix iPhone app

The first official Barix iPhone App is now available in the iTunes App Store for download. Called “Reflector”, it serves as a client to the Barix Reflector Service, which is used by broadcasters worldwide for easy-to-use STL and contribution applications. The Reflector app allows the user to monitor the current audio feed, contact closure states and line statistics.

Click here for more details & download:

Reflector APP

iTunes Store

Integration: Informacast and Barix

Informacast from Singlewire is an IP based mass notification solution that is widely used for paging and emergency notifications in transport, schools, campuses and business alike. Barix developed specific firmware (available on request from us) which allows the use of our audio products with Informacast. The Barionet device family is supported with the standard firmware, for both contact closure monitoring as well as flash/light/strobe/lockdown activation via relays. Contact us if you need the firmware or have further questions !

Marketing and Instructional Videos from Barix!

Our first videos are now available on YouTube. As we add more, they will be announced on the blog. Of course, you can also subscribe to our the BarixAG youtube channel to be automatically notified when we post new movies. Stay tuned !

Communications

Email is a great tool, but not really suitable for frequent mass communication. Haven't you unsubscribed from various news sources just because they send information too often?
We at Barix are sending out newsletters like this one only occasionally to avoid the overload.There are better, more real-time and easier to manage methods than email!
For interactive communication between us and the community, we are using yahoo groups, to which thousands of customers are subscribed. These groups are used well, but for the majority of our customers, these might still carry too much information.
So, for those who only want specific information, whether firmware release information, tradeshow information, success stories or the like, we distribute all that information via the central “Barix blog”. You can subscribe to all information or a selection of topics, via RSS.
And, of course.... Facebook. We do have an active Facebook community and our Blog with all posts is mirrored to Facebook.

Links:

RSS: http://www.barix.com/content.php?contid=46

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barix-AG/114072898615635

Blog: http://www.ip-audio.info/

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/BarixAG

Technology explained for mortals: Multicast

The term ”Multicast” often is mentioned when VoIP paging or in-store audio distribution are discussed. Details are rarely understood by non-IT people.

So what is Multicast ?

Multicast refers to a method of distributing information on an IP network where receivers can explicitly “opt in”. This is in contrast to “broadcast”, where every device connected to the network will get the information — even if it does not want it, and “unicast”, the normal traffic destined for just one participant. Both “Multicast” and “Broadcast” distribution is only possible for “connectionless,” datagram-type information (such as UDP and RTP). A reliable “stream” protocol like HTTP or TCP can not use multicast. As you might imagine, “Broadcast” is a dangerous tool. With Broadcast, everyone on the network is bombarded with data/network blocks — even if there is no need for the information. This implies that Broadcast should not be used for regular data transfer, and is clearly a “local” function on a subnet/network. Imagine all Broadcast blocks were being distributed via Internet! With Multicast, the receiver has to opt in, and Multicast has a very limited reach over subnets (a couple of “hops”).

The protocol used to subscribe to multicast is “IGMP”. By using IGMP, a device announces that it wants to subscribe to a specific multicast address. The local routers on the network thus know that they have to pass on multicast traffic for that specific address. Other multicast traffic (other than explicitely opted in for) will not be forwarded, which can help avoiding overload.

Even smart switches nowadays try to make sure they only deliver required traffic to connected devices: They “sniff” or “snoop” the traffic of the device to find out if it requests multicast via IGMP. This keeps any unwanted traffic away from the device port (such as that multi-megabit video feed distributed via multicast) even if no router is doing IGMP.

So, how does a device know which Multicast address to opt in for ? Either the multicast address is fixed and hidden somewhere in the application, or it needs to be explicitely configured with the “Multicast address”. This information then is used for the subscription. Barix has implemented multicast and IGMP capability in most firmware versions since many years, and large Barix customers in the In-store and Paging markets use Multicast to distribute real-time audio feeds to thousands of devices.

Multicast is supported by practically all networks unless an IT department decides to block the functionality. However, Multicast distribution over the Internet is not possible. Barix has ways and methods to achieve this, though, with special “multicast routing” firmware and some other tricks. Contact us if you want more information!

Barix Season's Greetings

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:19:04 +0100

barix update

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		Barix AG \| Seefeldstrasse 303 \| 8008 Zuerich \| Switzerland www.barix.com \| T +41 43 4332211 \| +41 44 2742849 Barix Technology Inc. \| USA \| info@barix.com
	[date]

Global trading conditions remained challenging throughout 2010;

that's why we want to thank you for your contribution to our success, as Barix achieves another year of double digit growth.

This growth is made possible by having the right partners and customers, who challenge us, who praise the good, but can also make suggestions for improvements, who help us to continue to improve.

We thank you and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year,

we look forward to continuing to work together through 2011 and beyond,

Best Wishes,

All at Barix

Barix UPDATE #3

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:25:19 +0100

barix update

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		Barix AG \| Seefeldstrasse 303 \| 8008 Zuerich \| Switzerland www.barix.com \| T +41 43 4332211 \| +41 44 2742849 Barix Technology Inc. \| USA \| info@barix.com
	[date]

CEO's Editorial

Technology explained for mortals: Inevitable delay when distribution Audio over IP

Product announced: Extreamer 500

Zero Config STL over the Internet ? Broadcaster's Heaven!

CEO's Editorial

CEO's Editorial
Dear Reader and Barix User,

this Barix newsletter has - again - its focus on broadcast. Why ? Well - it's this time of the year where NAB takes place in Las Vegas, and if you don't plan to go there, this newsletter covers what we are introducing this year. If you currently are at NAB or plan to visit, our booth number is C1139, where we will be happy to show you the latest in Barix developments !
Last year, 2009, turned out to be a difficult year for many - and it also challenged us at Barix. We closed the year with around 17% growth in sales, less than planned but enough to confirm we are on the right track, and enough to allow us to continue to build up our company and structure to serve you, our customers, our most value-able asset, better !
As you know, Barix supplies reliable, low cost Audio over IP devices since many years, we have won awards and hold patents for our unique technologies. It's good to see that more companies adopt their products to support Audio over IP and it is also good that more companies come out with IP Audio codecs at affordable prices - this shows we are doing the right thing, and we will strive to continue to lead as the company which provides reliable value and innovation for an attractive price.
This month will be a record month for us, as a very large number of Exstreamer 1000 devices (4-digit) will ship for use in a high profile project to be announced soon .. which reinforces our leadership as one of the leading suppliers of affordable Audio over IP products in the broadcast Industry. Stay tuned for the full story !
In this newsletter, we will explain you why Audio over IP always will introduce a delay into the path, and the limits of what can be done over standard IP networks, we will take a closer look at our NEW Exstreamer 500, which should take the broadcast world by storm, being a lower cost sibling of the Exstreamer 1000 - but still maintaining the professional balanced audio and on board closures.
Also brand NEW .. the "Barix Reflector service", which is big news at NAB and will make life and installation of STL over IP networks for broadcasters much easier. This is featured in the "Software Application" corner. Or, again, if you are at the 2010 NAB show - stop by booth C1139 and we can show you how easy setting up STL links can be on an Apple iPad. This is a demonstration that spans only minutes - which is how easy we think setting up IP STL links should be - so you definitely will want to stop by.
Have fun reading, and i appreciate, as always, feedback !

Cordially,
Johannes Rietschel
CEO and Founder, Barix AG

Technology explained for mortals: Inevitable delay

when distributing Audio over IP

Whenever you transport audio over an IP network - this is true for every vendor and every technology, you will incur a delay. This is unavoidable. Why ?

Audio needs to be sampled into the digital domain at the encoder, and packetized to keep the network load in check. Depending on the application, codec used and the requirements, the amount of samples collected before sending will be between 1ms and roughly 100ms. This is the delay introduced by an optimized encoder, assuming no further processing or buffering, with PCM or low computational compression algorithms.
With MP3, an additional delay will be introduced, due to the time the processing of the collected frame into a compressed MP3 frame takes. With MP3, expect an additional processing delay introduced by the transmitter of roughly 20ms-60ms.

Transmission over the network: The block/frame of samples now needs to be sent over the network, potentially fighting with other traffic for bandwidth. On a local LAN, the delay will typically be quite low (msecs maybe), but beware .. if there is "sometimes" a fight over bandwidth/buffering in a switch or router, you may see average very low delays but the delay incurred by some packets could be substantially higher. The difference between the fastest and the most delayed packet is called "Jitter". For example, if the transmission of an audio block over the network takes a min. of 5ms and in the worst case 200ms, the "jitter" will be 195ms.

Reception at the decoding side: The D/A at the end of the data flow in the decoder must be constantly fed with samples at the sample rate. As the samples do not come one-by-one over the network, a buffer is unavoidable.
The buffer must be configured to a level which is higher than the worst jitter so that the D/A end never runs out of data. It typically makes sense to add a bit more to the buffer to consequently avoid an "out of samples" situation, as this is an (audible) fault, such as a chirp.
With MP3, the decoder processing must take place between the network buffer and the D/A. As the decoding functionality needs to work on the whole MP3 frame and cannot really start doing this before it is delivered complete, the network receiving buffer must contain a full MP3 frame before the decoding can be started. And as the decoding happens in "blocks", an output buffer "behind" the decoder for samples again needs to be established.

The last addition of delay is not really necessary technology wise, but a fact in Barix devices. We use a Main CPU for network tasks and a DSP driving the D/A, which turns the samples back to analog audio (and has a sample buffer implemented). The DSP is necessary for MP3 (and AAC etc etc) decoding, for PCM it mainly works as a pass-through. The interface between the main CPU and the DSP is quick and does not need much additional buffering, however, the DSP has an input buffer also.

DSP Sample buffer: This buffer can introduce a significant delay for low bitrate/sample rate streams. Depending on which Barix product you use, there are different DSPs "under the hood", with different sample/output buffers. As such, the Annuncicom and Exstreamer 500/1000 devices produce a much shorter delay than Exstreamer 100/110/200 devices.

So, at the end you have several sources introducing delay, with the buffering for network jitter being often the most significant one, but a "base delay", depending on sample rate, encoding format etc is always present. As you can figure from the above examples, if you have the bandwidth, it often makes sense to configure higher sampling rates and bitrate streams, as that will effectively lower the delay due to the fact that the constant (byte wise) buffers in the chain have a smaller through delay.

Overall, with the Exstreamer 1000/500 and the Annuncicom products, an end-to-end delay of around 50ms is currently the lowest. The software has not been optimized for very low delay. However, with optimized software, you can get the delay down to well below 20ms - that has been proven in our labs (for a specific project). We are in the process to bring this number down further, obviously, this can only be done by sending many more blocks over the network, so you need more bandwidth.
By sending samples every 1ms (1000 times per second !) over the network, delays down to about 5ms should be achievable with an optimal network with almost no jitter. We are currently testing out what is possible in the labs .. so stay tuned !

Any IP codec of any manufacturer is bound by the need for packetizing, and buffering against jitter. If you can show me a device from any manufacturer, which routes Audio over IP, works over a network with 50ms jitter, sends less than 100 packets per second and introduces an end-to-end delay from input to output of less than 10ms, this manufacturer has defied physics and i will be happy to buy you a beer and work for them :)

Product announced: Exstreamer 500

We are happy to announce a new member to the Exstreamer product range: The Exstreamer 500 ! Shipping will start late Q2 (June/July timeframe) in the US. The Exstreamer 500 will arrive as the ideal STL device for applications where analog, balanced audio needs to be sent reliably over an Audio over IP link, with the potential of including closures and serial data.
Nothing new you will say, you already have the Exstreamer 1000 for that. Right ! The Exstreamer 1000 continues to be available, and has its place - whenver you need a digital audio interface (AES/EBU) or highest audio quality at 48kHz sample rate, the Exstreamer 1000 will perfectly fit the bill. However, we figured many of you do NOT have a need for AES/EBU, which means that if you need balanced audio, they purchase a device which has too much (expensive) functionality on board.
So what is the Exstreamer 500 ? It is identical to the Exstreamer 1000 but leaves out the AES/EBU interface and the special A/D converter used in the Exstreamer 1000. The interface cables to XLR are included in the package (and price) as well as the power supply, and the Exstreamer 500 comes preloaded with STL and Reflector client firmware. At a sweet price point (cost is about two thirds of the Exstreamer 1000), the device gives you a cost effective solution for all Audio encoding/decoding needs where balanced audio signals are needed.
Being a universal device, suitable for both encoding as well as decoding, with contact closure inputs and outputs, balanced audio (stereo) and USB backup capability, the device will allow you to run practially all Barix Application firmware, being it the standard Instreamer application, the Streaming Client, full duplex Intercom applications or the STL package.
Barix is once again setting the standard for PROFESSIONAL, RELIABLE and COST EFFECTIVE solutions for STL links over IP networks with the Exstreamer 500.

Zero Config STL over the Internet ? Broadcaster's Heaven !

Barix did it again: we have brought STL over the internet to the next, easier to use level. With the Barix Reflector service.
As we know from the thousands of STL links using our devices, it can be a challenge for the broadcasting engineer to figure out all the configuration details, how to get static IP addresses, poke routers and firewalls, and it is typically a security risk to leave access to the web UI open for your STL devices - but how do you otherwise reconfigure devices remotely if there is a need ?
Now the Barix Reflector service comes to the rescue:
For many STL needs, the installation is as easy as 1-2-3:
1) Purchase two Exstreamer 500 (or load existing devices, Exstreamer, Instreamer, Annuncicom all can be used, with the Replicator client firmware)
2) Install the devices at source and stream destination, a working internet connection is of course required on both sides, but NO static IPs and NO mangling of firewalls !
3) Go online to the Barix Reflector Service web page (http://www.barixreflector.com), create a project, add your two devices (you need to know the MAC addresses), select which one is the Encoder and which one is the decoder - select the encoding bitrate and receiver buffer from a handful of easy to understand profiles, eventually adjust the audio levels and hit SAVE.
Within a minute, your STL magically configures itself, and audio starts playing out of the device at the streaming destination ! You can even move the devices to other locations, use them for remote contribution etc - the system JUST WORKS. We will showcase this at NAB with a 3G router - and if you don't show up, check out our short screencast which introduces the concept at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3jbdowTOkI (for download use http://www.barix.com/screencasts/barix_reflector.mp4).

Here you can find our NAB pressrelease in different languages: http://www.barix.com/news/971

Barix UPDATE #2

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:22:04 +0100

barix update

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		Barix AG \| Seefeldstrasse 303 \| 8008 Zuerich \| Switzerland www.barix.com \| T +41 43 4332211 \| +41 44 2742849 Barix Technology Inc. \| USA \| info@barix.com
	[date]

CEO's Editorial

Technology Explained: Ethersound

Product Featured: Barionet - used as a universal RTP replicator

Software Application

Partner Spotlight: Streamguys

Barix Application Story

CEO's Editorial

Dear Reader and Barix User,

this second Barix newsletter has its focus on broadcast. If you are at IBC in Amsterdam and have NOT yet visited the Barix booth - please come by, Booth 8.A38. Tell Marcel you have read the newsletter and you will be invited for a coffee ! And do not be astonished if you see some new faces there. Barix is developing well, even in these difficult years, and we are in the fortunate situation to be able to hire more talent. Our newest addition to the management team is Fabrizio Campanale, who started as Engineering Manager just a couple of days ago.

Barix works closely with OEMs in several markets that you would probably never expect us to be in. A good example is our development for Phoenix Contact in the Automation Market, the FL COM Server. We work with OEMs, service providers, distributors, content providers, and also hosting partners. And we are always open for more partnerships !
This newsletter, besides giving you the works on technical stuff like RTP/BRTP, also highlights one of our partners - Streamguys. Professional, high grade hosting/streaming providers who are not only a perfect resource for our customers, but also great guys to party and partner with !
One innovative solution offered in partnership with Streamguys is the realtime Ad Insertion Platform Adiosys, suitable for broadcast as well as retail applications. Find details below.
And, finally, we start to see a lot of traction in the European Broadcast market - our innovative, reliable and low cost solutions are widely adopted. One nice application, which is a bit off the mainstream of Barix applications, is highlighted in the feature story with ORF (Austria).

Well, time flies - expect our next newsletter soon, if you have comments or suggestions, please send them to me, I'm happy to hear back from you and I do read my email myself.

Cordially,
Johannes Rietschel
CEO and Founder, Barix AG

P.S: We have received feedback from an OEM recently that their Internet connection got clogged by too many employees listening to Barix Radio, our ad-free, great music test station ;) If you run into that problem, please contact us .. we have a small java based application which receives internet radio stations and rebroadcasts them on your network using RTP Multicast, so the load can be kept at 1x the stream rate ..

Technology explained to mortals: RTP/BRTP

In the Audio over IP applications, you often hear the term "RTP", which stands for "Realtime Transport Protocol". RTP is a UDP based transport protocol, suitable for Audio (and other) content, and was first published as RFC 1889 by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). The latest version is RFC 3550. Detailed info is available on wikipedia and other public sources. Too many terms already ? Don't bother, what you need to know is that RTP is an Audio Transport Protocol, based on UDP (IP).
Being strictly an IP based protocol, RTP will generally be transported over any network infrastructure or link which can transport IP.
UDP, as you probably know, is the "Datagram" transmission service of the IP protocol suite, in contrast, "TCP", is the reliable (stream) delivery method. Why would one use a transport based on an unreliable service such as UDP and NOT use TCP, then ? Well, quite simple .. TCP's reliability comes at a price. Due to the eventual need to ask for a retransmission (in case a block on the network is lost), the receiver needs to establish quite large buffers, so .. TCP based audio streaming is NOT suitable for "realtime" performance. It is very well useable (and often used) for Internet Radio, where large buffering is not a problem because there are no realtime requirements. For low latency applications, RTP is THE best method. RTP blocks may get lost in transmission, but Barix devices intelligently "mask" the lost block in the playback, overall timing is maintained.
RTP basically transmits the audio stream in equally spaced blocks, and uses a UDP datagram for each block. A small header containing a sequence number, timing information and a "payload type" (explaining what specific audio format is contained in the data part) is added at the beginning, which allows the receiver to check for lost blocks (sequence number) and also decode the content correctly (payload type).
BRTP is a Barix proprietary "wrapper" around RTP. A standard RTP stream needs to be sent to a specific IP Address/Port number. While that is good for Broadcast/Multicast applications and also on networks with no NAT towards the receiver, many applications now want to use low latency streaming over the Internet, and NAT routers are typically in the way. In addition, the sender may not even know the actual IP address of the receiver if he uses a dynamic IP address (DSL, Cable).
BRTP bridges the gap, here. The RECEIVER sends a specific request packet to the BRTP server (an Instreamer, for example), and the server responds with a standard RTP stream. Thus, BRTP combines the advantages of RTP with the ease of use of TCP/HTTP streaming, being NAT and firewall friendly.
Most Barix firmware versions support both RTP as well as BRTP.

Product featured in a special application:

Barionet - used as a universal RTP replicator.

As explained above, RTP is a very good choice to distribute audio in realtime, with consistent latency, over various network infrastructure. In many applications, broadcast or multicast is used to send the same audio stream to a number of devices. But what can be done if a stream needs to be sent to many devices, probably even within a corporate network, and multicast support is not available ?
Barix solved the problem a couple of years ago by introducing a special application firmware for the Barionet. This software turns a Barionet into a versatile RTP replicator, which receives a source stream via RTP or BRTP (redundancy switchover is also implemented), and forwards the stream to 100 devices max (at 64kbps Bitrate), individually. The list of targets can be entered by browser or pulled from a web server, and the device can otherwise be controlled via SNMP. The very low latency from receiving a source datagram to sending it to the destination (less than 20ms) allows cascading of multiple such RTP replicators, and with power requirements of below 2W this "IP Audio repeater" is green, too !
Thousands of streams have been generated in this way for years, for example, at REWE Austria and Gordon Food Services in Chicago, flawlessly ... So, if you are interested in that application, please contact us for further information.

Software Application

STL and Low latency ad insertion - ADIOSYS
STL - Studio Transmitter Link. That synonym is used often in the broadcast world to describe an application where an analog or digital audio signal is routed point-to-point from an origin (Studio) to the destination (Transmitter). Obviously, a solution designed for STL has a lot of use cases, not only in Broadcast and not only in Studio-Transmitter connectivity !
Barix offers a specific application firmware for STL installations. It is based on ... RTP for the stream delivery, because RTP can be used in a low latency application and is "timing reliable". The specific Barix STL application firmware for use in STL over IP installations supports serial data and contact closure transmission alongside the audio stream, a backchannel for closures and serial data, mutliple destination streaming from one source, and is specifically designed to be used on the Exstreamer 1000, Barix' high end Audio Streaming device with AES/EBU and high quality analog interfaces. The software can also be used on lower end Hardware (Instreamer/Exstreamer 100,110) but some functionality such as contact closure forwarding is then lost due to a lack of hardware capabilities.

Low Latency Adiosys System: this is another good application to showcase where RTP is needed. ADIOSYS is a server based application which can provide location specific content insertion into a standard audio stream, and was developed by our partner MOH Technology AG originally for the instore audio market. The latest addition, support for BRTP/RTP, now allows the use of Adiosys in broadcast and radio syndication, as the server latency is less than 20ms, and with RTP there is no buffering involved. Finally, a realtime solution which does only add marginal delay to an RTP based streaming solution, yet allows individualization of up to 1000 streams per server with ads, local content etc. ! For further information, check out our recent press release with MOH and Streamguys.

Partner Spotlight: Streamguys

Streamguys and Barix have been partners since 2006. Streamguys found the Barix line of encoders and decoders to be a highly reliable method for their customers to deliver audio. Streamguys are dedicated people providing streaming media services. Check out Streamguys and more of our great partners on the barix.com website.

Barix Application Story

This week we released an application brief to the press about various broadcast applications at ORF (National Austrian broadcaster) in Austria. First an Instreamer 100 was installed to multicast FM4's on-air broadcast signal as an MP3 stream within the station's intranet. ORF stated the price-to-performance ratio and high reliability induced them to specify the customized UdPlay software to decode the Instreamer-provided live signal and third party streams available to journalists on the same PC. ORF also uses the Barix Instreamer 100 to encode audio streams into MP3 for the broadcaster's web presence.

Here is a direct link to the story on our website

Barix UPDATE #1

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:38:27 +0100

barix update

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		Barix AG \| Seefeldstrasse 303 \| 8008 Zuerich \| Switzerland www.barix.com \| T +41 43 4332211 \| +41 44 2742849 Barix Technology Inc. \| USA \| info@barix.com
	[date]

CEO's Editorial

Technology Explained: Ethersound

Barix Relevance

Product Featured: Exstreamer 200

Software Application

Barix Application Story

CEO's Editorial

Dear [firstname] [lastname],

this is the first Barix newsletter – a milestone for us, but is it news for you? I think it is and here is why.
I understand you may get lots of newsletters, and obviously, we are all overloaded with email. So why yet another publication?
Well, you have some relation which is important to Barix – you may be a current user, a prospect, a distributor, or even a competitor, or just interested in our product. Whatever relationship, we do want to reach out to you, to help you stay informed on the latest developments in the audio world, to provide insights that can help you take advantage of our expertise, deliver you product news and technical background information on a regular basis.
We plan to produce a regular newsletter, covering technologies and their relevance to Barix products. We will explain briefly what we can offer in that space and share information on potential markets, software applications and case studies.
I am well aware that we are all overloaded with email and short on time. With that in mind, each newsletter will take a focused look on one specific technology, products, significant developments, software applications and case studies.
For example, this first newsletter covers the Ethersound technology – an exciting digital audio transport technology – and information on the Barix Exstreamer 200 audio decoder and a brief description of a nice realtime audio installation in a church in Switzerland.
Each newsletter will be relatively short – something you can read during a short commute. You should be able to read it in a 15 minute break.
We always welcome feedback from you on how we can ensure the newsletter is of use to you. If you don’t want to receive it, just let us know – but please take a few minutes to let us know why and of course we will unsubscribe you from our email list if you do not want to receive further newsletters (although we would clearly regret that and ask you to give us a brief explanation why). We will do our best to answer your emails quickly.

Happy reading of this first newsletter and please note that I will strive to answer your emails in person if you contact me.
Johannes Rietschel
CEO & Founder, Barix AG

Technology Explained: Ethersound

Ethersound is a unique digital audio transport technology, invented by Digigram. It is widely used in for stage/studio/concert/stadium applications in live sound environments where multiple audio channels need to be distributed over fast Ethernet links with synchronization and very low latency.
Ethersound is currently, at the time being, the one technology which provides the lowest, most consistent latency audio distribution over standard Ethernet. An end-to-end delay of much less than 1ms is achievable. Up up to 64 independent channels of 48kHz sampled, 24bit PCM audio can be carried, along with control and monitoring information.
Ethersound is NOT IP-based, and it can also not be used over ADSL, Wifi or similar technologies. Multiple versions of the standard exist, but the most common is ES100, which uses 100MBps (fast) Ethernet.
Ethersound devices are typically daisy chained, contributing devices (with audio inputs) MUST be used in a daisy chain operation. “Downstream” (receiving) devices can be also interfaced via switches. Ethersound needs practically the full 100Mbps performance of Fast Ethernet. It can not be shared with IP devices, however, an Ethersound “downstream” distribution can be done on a 100Mbps performance VLAN.

Technology Brief

Ethersound
100Mbps bandwidth needed
very low latency
Using Ethernet Standard, Daisy Chain
network dedicated, not IP based
48kHz Sample rate, 24bit
up to 64 Channels share one link

Barix Relevance

During the last year, Barix has implemented ES100/spkr, an “output only” variant of Ethersound, in various products. Any Exstreamer or Annuncicom can now also operate as an Ethersound endpoint, serving as a low-cost, low-latency play-out device in Ethersound systems. The devices are fully compliant with the standard, fully licensed, and controllable by Ethersound management software from Digigram.
Up to 2 channels can be decoded and played out by the Exstreamer and Annuncicom 1000 devices, the channels can even be dynamically selected using an infrared control, a wall mountable volume/source control or a serial interface.
All Exstreamer and Annuncicom devices sold since January 2009 are licensed, and the standard software contains the Ethersound implementation, selectable in the setup, so no firmware load is necessary.
OEM: All Barix IP Audio Modules are technically capable to run the Ethersound firmware. A one-time license and registration with Digigram is necessary for OEMs who want to use IPAMs in their applications – the Ethersound licenses necessary for the IPAMs are included in the Barix IP Audio Module pricing.

Product Featured: Exstreamer 200

The Exstreamer 200 – as every Exstreamer series product – is a network audio decoder, equipped suitable to receive audio over the network. It supports various protocols, and outputs outputting the decoded analog audio signal either via its headphone interface, an S/PDIF optical link, or – most important – via its built in power amplifier, providing up to 2x25W output power to connected speakers (4 or 8 Ohm).

Amplifier: The power amplifier that is integrated in the Exstreamer 200 is an efficient low loss class “D” type digital amplifier. Active cooling of the device is not required.
Power: The provided 24V power supply or any other standard, regulated 24V power supply can be used to achieve full output power. If less output power is sufficient, a lower voltage power supply can be used. At the min. operating voltage of 12V, the Exstreamer 200 still delivers 2x4W into 4 Ohm, enough to fill a nice room with excellent sound!
PoE: The Exstreamer has been tested and can be used with an external PoE converter such as the D-Link DWL-P50. This adapter retrieves PoE power from a switch and supplies the Exstreamer with 12V max. 12W – an ideal combination with the device.
Audio Formats: Since a recent DSP upgrade, the Exstreamer 200 supports even more audio formats, including AACplus V2, Ogg Vorbis, MP3, uLaw/aLaw/PCM and WMA.
Firmware: All standard and BCL firmware written for the Exstreamer product family will run on the Exstreamer 200.
Accessories: The Exstreamer 200 comes with the power supply and a Barix remote control (it has a built-in IR “eye”). If an external IR receiver is necessary, the Barix IR kit can be acquired independently. A mounting bracket is available for easy wall mounting. The VSC (volume source control), a wall mountable unit with 2-digit display and selection knob, fits well with the Exstreamer to add local room control if IR is not suitable.
Applications: The Exstreamer 200 is typically used in applications where 4/8 Ohm loudspeakers need to be directly addressed/driven, such as being it in schools, corridors, hotel rooms, camera poles, or multi-zone/multi-room audio distribution solutions for clubs, saunas, health clubs. An ideal device to drive two monitoring speakers, the Exstreamer 200 is a good choice in Ethersound Audio Systems.

Data sheet (http://www.barix.com/Exstreamer_200/451/)

Software Application

No specific Barix Software Application for use with Ethersound exists. So this section is intentionally kept empty in this newsletter.

Barix Application Story

Stadtmission St. Gallen – Barix On Site with Ethersound

This March, we released an application brief to the press about one of our first Barix/Ethersound installations — in a Swiss church of all places! We got word of in Switzerland. The installation uses Annuncicom 1000 devices to distribute live audio from one central building to multiple network connected areas. According to our customer, the installation saved a lot of money and the audio quality and (low) delay are perfect.
The Annuncicom 1000 has been selected due to its balanced audio outputs and the number of additional relays available.

Here is a direct link to the story on our website (http://www.barix.com/news/651/)