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MillimeterChoosing a Digital Audio Solution that Simplifies Workflow
Mar 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Chandler Collison, director of marketing for Aviom
The advantages of moving to a digital workflow promise increased flexibility, more predictable fidelity, and less hassle when systems need change. But many users have discovered that digital systems simply trade one set of hassles for another — and often at significantly higher upfront costs. So if you're thinking about changing to digital connectivity, it's important to understand what you're getting into. The benefits can be real and invaluable, but digital solutions differ dramatically in terms of how they affect your workflow and in their ability to be scaled for system expansion.
Setting up and reconfiguring
One of the strengths of analog is that it's about as plug-and-play and intuitive as you can get. While those who work with digital audio learn to adapt to a new workflow, the problem with many digital systems is that the setup they require is more familiar to IT experts than audio experts — and it certainly isn't intuitive.
Consider how easy it is for an experienced analog audio engineer to look at an analog console and figure out what's going on. Contrast that with the number of good engineers we've all seen standing at a digital console scratching their heads while they navigate through menu after menu and screen after screen. The key is to choose a product with a simple interface that also delivers increased power and flexibility.
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A simple user interface is also essential for making the system easily reconfigurable. If one of the benefits of digital is that the system is easy to reconfigure when the requirements of a performance or recording session change, a digital system that doesn't quickly adapt to those unanticipated changes has failed to deliver on the promised flexibility.
Physical layout
The real goal for digital is that your data can get anywhere in the system no matter how it's connected. Most Cat-5 digital audio systems impose significant restrictions both on the design of the network and on the ability of the devices in it to communicate bidirectionally. True modularity, combined with the ability to reconfigure in the field without complex programming, is critical to maintaining real adaptability. Changing configurations; moving to a new location; creating tie lines between rooms, floors, or buildings; or scaling your system to meet new needs such as the addition of a broadcast or recording room can be quick and inexpensive when you can eliminate the need for costly and time-consuming rewiring.
Audio performance
The final factor in choosing a digital solution, which is easily (but unwisely) overlooked, is audio fidelity. Digital audio introduces two critical concerns that play no role in analog systems: latency and clock. Some latency and clock jitter is unavoidable in a digital system, and both have a natural tendency to accumulate as a digital signal is passed from device to device. The most significant results can be an audible loss of fidelity or untenable delay across the system.
From a workflow standpoint, the user has to be either vigilant in how the digital system is actually deployed (which restricts flexibility and ease of use) or sure to select a digital system designed at its core technology level to effectively combat the accumulation of latency and jitter — without imposing more rules on layout and use.
There's no question that the digital workflow has simplified the jobs of many, but some digital audio technologies have introduced significant challenges as well, making for a more complicated workflow and limiting scalability. Because users' needs typically expand quickly once they make the transition to digital, the best choice for most users is a modular system that allows for truly lossless digital splits and simple reconfiguration without reprogramming and without a restriction on network size or layout. Careful selection of equipment is critical for all users, from the most experienced professionals for whom down time is exorbitantly expensive to houses of worship that rely on volunteers to run the audio system. No one wants to introduce unnecessary complexity. And no one should settle for it.
Chandler Collison is the director of marketing at Aviom, the developer of the A-Net digital audio networking protocol and manufacturer of the Pro16 and Pro64 series audio networking and personal mixing products.
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.