DirectOut GmbH is a company headquartered in Mittweida, Germany, and one of the leading specialists in pro audio connectivity, networking and bridging solutions for broadcast, studio, live and installed sound applications. The company’s product range, marketed under the brand of DirectOut Technologies, offers solutions that build bridges between different audio worlds and make systems and formats more flexible.
As an audio networking technology for IP-based network environments that continues to gain wide industry support, Ravenna continues to gain market adoption thanks to its direct support for AES67 (allowing interchange with Dante) and ST 2110 standards, and the fact it uses standardized network protocols and technologies, being able to operate on existing network infrastructures. DirectOut was one of the original Ravenna launching partners, and since then it has been an essential supplier of conversion solutions from and to MADI and other audio formats.
The DirectOut EXBOX.RAV converter was a popular addition to the company’s established EXBOX range since it was launched in late 2020. This solution is based on DirectOut’s proven RAV2 board, also available as an OEM product and already adopted by other manufacturers. The compact size of the EXBOX series (1/3 of an 19” rack), combined with the robust housing and redundant power supplies, makes the EXBOX.RAV a practical, affordable solution to migrate baseband audio to IP.
Featuring four gigabit ports with an internal switch and PoE, plus three MADI ports in BNC, SC and SFP format, the DirectOut EXBOX.RAV converter offers bidirectional conversion and routing of up to 64 audio channels, with built-in SRC functions (FastSRC) and automatic redundancy switching (EARS). In addition to fully supporting Ravenna with a wide range of configuration options, it also supports NMOS for stream and device discovery and connection management.
“We’ve been a Ravenna partner since day one,” says DirectOut CEO/CTO Claudio-Becker-Foss. “We were totally convinced by Ravenna’s open approach and its use of existing and publicly available standards. Our congratulations go to the fantastic team at ALC NetworX, the company behind Ravenna technology, who had a vision of next-generation broadcast technology and brought it to life. Even now, ten years later, Ravenna remains the cutting-edge solution of the market, both in terms of performance and reliability.”
ALC NetworX, based in Munich, Germany, is the development entity responsible for the technology platform and offering implementation support to partner companies, such as DirectOut. Andreas Hildebrand, Ravenna evangelist at ALC NetworX is equally pleased to mark the anniversary. “Ten years with Ravenna should definitely be celebrated!” he says.
“Thanks to all at DirectOut for their unwavering commitment over the last decade which has resulted in a range of reliable, functional products that fully support Ravenna/AES67 and SMPTE 2110. Many, many companies have been able to make the transition to a stable AoIP workflow thanks to DirectOut and companies like them. Better still, we get an amazing Ravenna-green limited edition EXBOX.RAV to mark the occasion – what’s not to like!”
www.directout.eu
www.ravenna-network.com
