SoundCraft Vi DANTE User manual

ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.1 
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ViDANTETMCardUser&SetupGuide
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TheSoundcraft®ViDANTE™cardisa64x64interfacebetweenaVi
seriesconsoleandanyDantecompatibledevicefromHarmanor
other3rdpartymanufacturer.Thecardisavailableintwoversions:
LocalRack/CSB(D21m3Uformat)andViStagebox(6Uformat).Note
thattheStageboxversionisanIOcardonlyanddoesnotallowyouto
connectaStageboxtotheconsoleusingDanteinsteadofMADI.
DanteprovidesadigitalaudionetworkthatusesstandardInternet
Protocolsoverboth100Mbpsand1GigabitEthernet.Danteuses
audioindependent,highaccuracynetworksynchronizationstandards
toensureallDantedevicesaresynchronizedatalltimes.Danteruns
onstandardcomputernetworkinghardware,anddoesnotrequire
dedicatednetworkinfrastructure.
TheAudinateDanteVirtualSoundcardsoftwareallowsconnectionof
aPC/MactoaDanteaudionetwork.Thissystemallowsthecomputer
torecordfromandplaybacktotheDantenetworkusingmost
commonDAWpackages.DanteVirtualSoundcardusestheEthernet
portonthecomputertocommunicatewiththeDantenetwork;no
specialhardwareisrequiredotherthaninstallingDanteVirtual
Soundcardsoftware.OneDVSlicensetokenisprovidedFOCwiththe
card,thislicensecanonlybeinstalledononespecificcomputer.
AdditionalinformationabouttheDANTEsystemincludingthelatest
softwareset‐upandtoolsmaybefoundontheAudinate®website
http://www.audinate.com/
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ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.1 
ConfiguringTheDanteCard
InamannersimilartoCobraNet™,patchingontheconsolemakesaconnectionbetweenconsoleI/O
slotchannelsandupto64channelsontheDantecard.ConnectionsbetweentheDantecardsareset
usingatool,inthiscasetheDanteControllersoftwarefromAudinate®.Ascommunicationacrossthe
Dantenetworkisessentiallybetweennamedcardsandchannelstheconfigurationmustbecorrect
toensurecardstalkandlistentothecorrect/desiredchannelsontheDantenetwork.
Thisuserguidesummarisestheprocessandprovidesasimpleworkedexample;fullsetupdetailsand
configurationtoolsaredownloadablefromtheAudinatewebsitewww.audinate.com.
InadditionitisnecessarytosettheclockstatusoftheDantecardbothwithinthenetworkandin
relationtotheconsolehardware.Thisisdescribedbelow.
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ChannelCountSetup
TheDantecarduses64inand64outchannelsbydefault,butcanberestrictedtouselessinputor
outputchannelsifrequired.ThismaybenecessaryonViconsolesinordertoavoidexceedingthe
192in/192outchannellimitofthelocalrack(orthe64in/64outchannellimitiffittedinaVior
CompactStagebox).Forexample,ifonlyoutputchannelsarerequiredontheDantecard,theinput
channelscanbesetto0,tomaximisethenumberofinputchannelsavailableforothercards.
TheDIPswitchS1ontheDantecardmainPCBisusedtosettheinputandoutputchannelcount,in
stepsof8chsfrom0‐32channels.Refertothediagramonthenextpagewhichshowsthelocationof
thechannelcountDIPswitchS1andthefactorydefaultsetupof64in/64out.Tocreateother
channelcountsettingsthatarenotmarkedontheswitch,addanytwoor3switchsettingstogether,
ietoselect48chs,the32and16switchesshouldbemoveddowntotheselectedposition.Notethe
maximumchannelcount(inputoroutput)is64andminimumiszero.
SyncSetup
TheDantecardcanactaseitheraMasterclocksourcefortheDantenetwork,orasaclockslave.If
thereisonlyoneconsoleonthenetwork,thiswillgenerallybesetastheclockmasterforthe
network,butincaseswithmorethanoneconsole,orwhereanotherdeviceactsastheclockmaster,
itwillbenecessarytosettheconsole'sDantecardtobeaclockslave.TheDanteclockmaster/slave
statusissetupusingDanteControllersoftware(seelaterinthisguide),butinadditiontotheDante
clocksetup,thecard'sclockstatuswithintheconsolehastobeset.ThisisdoneusingaDIPswitchS2
ontheDantecardmainPCB.Refertothediagramonthenextpageforthelocationandsettingof
thisswitch.
MIX: SelectthispositiontomaketheDantemodulelocktotheconsole'sinternalWordclock,only
tobeusedwhentheDantecardissetasthePreferredMasterfortheDantenetwork.
Thissettingisthefactorydefault.
CARD: SelectthispositiontomaketheconsolelocktotheDantenetworkclock,tobeusedwhen
theDantecardissetupasaslaveonthenetwork.Note:Inthiscase,aBNCwordclockcablemustbe
connectedfromtheWordclockOutBNCconnectorontheDantecard,totheconsole'sWordclockIN.
NotethatitisalsonecessarytosetuptheclockingschemeoftheDantenetworkcorrectly,toavoid
audioclicksanddropouts,pleaserefertothesectiontitledDeviceStatusandClockStatusinthe
followingpages.
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DIPswitchesS1&S2LocationDiagram
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Refertothepreviouspageforinformationonthefunctionoftheseswitches.
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Note!Switchespointdowntoselectchannelcount–
ignorethe‘ON’legendonswitchbody!
Diagramshowsthedefaultsettingof64in/64out

ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.1 
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SettinguptheDantecardforoperationonthenetwork
Asmentionedearlier,itisnecessarytouseasoftwaretoolconnectedexternallytothecard,inorder
torouteaudiofromthecardto/fromanotherDante‐enableddevice.
1. Download&installthelatestsoftwarefortheViconsolesfromwww.soundcraft.com.
(SoftwareVersionmustbe4.7.5.205orlater).Withearlierversionsoftheconsolesoftware,
theDantecardwillnotberecognisedbytheconsoleandwillnotappearinthepatch.
2. DownloadandinstalllatestDanteControllersoftwarefromwww.audinate.com.
3. ConnectaMac/PCtotheDantecard,thismaybeviaaswitch/routerordirecttoeitherthe
PRIMARYorSECONDARYports.TheLINKindicatoronthecardwillbegintoflashindicating
anactiveconnection.
NOTE:AcrossovercableisnotrequiredasthenetworkportsontheDantecardwill
automaticallysortoutthetransmitandreceiveconnectionstotheotherdevice.
NOTE:Ensureanyfirewalloperatingonthenetworkportofthecomputerisswitchedoff.
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4. StarttheDanteControllerapplication,afterafewmomentsascreensimilartotheone
belowwillappear:
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UsingDante
ThefollowingsectionscoverbasicsetupanduseoftheViDantecards.Fordetailedinformation
regardingDantepleaserefertoinformationonAudinate’swebsitewww.audinate.com.
NetworkView
Routing–Matrixviewofrouting(clickona
‘+’symboltoexpandthematrixview).
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ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.1 
DeviceStatus–DisplaysinformationaboutdiscoveredDantedevices;doubleclickadevicenameto
enableitsconfiguration.
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ClockStatus–ViewandeditDanteNetworkclockconfiguration.
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ClockRolecolumn:
Settingasingle‘PreferredMaster’willensurethatdeviceisselectedastheclockmaster,iftwoor
moredevicesaresetfor‘PreferredMaster’themasterwillbeelectedbytheDantesystem.
NOTE:ClockStatussettings(master/slave)applytotheclockingoftheDantenetwork,therefore
attacheddevicessuchasconsolesmustbeclockedto/fromtheDantenetworkasappropriateor
requiredinanygivensystem.
Itissuggestedthatinmostsimplecaseswithoneconsoleconnectingtoperipheralequipment(ega
computerrecordingdevice)viaDantethattheconsoleissetaspreferredmaster,whichmeansthat
theitem‘SlavetoExternalWordClock’mustalsobechecked’.Iftherearetwoormoreconsoles
connectedtogetherthenobviouslyonlyoneshouldbesetaspreferredmaster.
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‘SlavetoExternalWordClock’:
WhencheckedtheDantecardwillclockfromtheconsoleinternalwordclock,ifnotcheckedthe
consolemustbeclockedtotheDantecardorsystemwordclockasappropriateorrequiredinthe
givensystem.NormallythisisachievedbyconnectingashortBNCjumpercablefromthewordclock
OUToftheDantecard,tothewordclockINoftheconsole.
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NoteonClockstatuswhenconnectingtheDantecardtoaVi3000console’sDanteinterface
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TheVi3000consoleincludesabuilt‐inDanteinterface,andassuchhasthecapabilityfortheconsole
toautomaticallyslavetotheinternalDantecard’sclock,whentheVi3000’sDanteinterfaceissetto
‘slave’clockstatus(ieanotherdeviceissetasPreferredMaster),andthesetting‘SlavetoExternal
wordclock’isNOTchecked(ieconsoleactingasslavetoDantenetworkclock).Thereforewiththe
Vi3000,anexternalBNCjumpercableisnotrequiredandtheconsolewillautomaticallyswitchto
indicate‘Dante’astheclocksource(viewableintheMenu‐SyncpageoftheVi3000).
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Failuretosetuptheclockingschemeofthenetworkcorrectlyislikelytoresultinaudioclicks
duringoperation.

ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.1 
DeviceView
TheDeviceViewallowsviewingandeditingofa
selectedDantedevice.
Receive–Thistabpresentsinformationaboutall
channelsbeingreceived,andchannelsavailable
tothecurrentdevice.Thetabisarrangedinto
twoareas:
ReceiveChannels:ListstheRxchannelsintheleft
paneofthewindow.Itshowswhetherornottheyare
connectedand,ifconnected,thechanneltheyare
connectedtoandthestatusofthatconnection.
AvailableChannels:Ontherightpaneofthewindow,liststheTxchannelsfromotherdevicesthat
areavailableforsubscriptionbythecurrentdevice.YoumaydraganddropAvailableChannelsto
ReceiveChannels.
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Transmit:Thistabisusedtoviewandeditthe
transmitconfigurationofadevice.
TransmitChannels:Theareaontheleftpaneofthe
tabshowstheTxchannelsforthedevice,andany
user‐definedchannellabel.Itallowstheuserto
createlabelsfortransmitchannels.Inputtothe
tableisfilteredtopreventillegalcharactersfrom
beingusedinchannellabels.TochangeaTx
channellabeldoubleclickonthelabelandtypeina
newone.Txchannellabelsmustbeuniqueona
singledevice.


ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.1 
Status:TheStatustabisusedtoviewinformation
aboutaDantedevice,thisinformationmaybe
requiredfortroubleshootingandcheckingsoftware/
firmwareisup‐to‐date.
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DeviceConfig:Thistabonthedeviceviewallows
viewingandeditingofthefollowingdevicespecific
parameters.
RenameDevice:AllowsrenamingoftheDantedevice.
SampleRate:48K–thisisfixedandcannotbeedited.
Latency:Allowsselectionofanappropriatelatency.
NOTE:The0.15msecsettingisunavailableonVi
Dantecardsastheseincludeaninternalswitch.
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FactoryReset:AllowsremoterebootoftheDanteinterfaceandtoreapplyfactorysettings.Following
arebootitisrecommendedtopower‐cycletheconsoleincludingdisconnectionoftheACpower
cord.FactoryResetwipesthefollowingdeviceconfigurationsettings:
User‐defineddevicename
User‐definedchannellabels
Clockconfiguration(clockmaster/externalclockmastersetting)
StaticIPaddresses
Redundancyconfiguration
Sampleratesetting(includingpull‐up/down)
Latencysetting
Anyexistingaudioroutes


ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.1 
NetworkConfig:Thistabenablesviewingand
editingofDanteRedundancymode.
SwitchedMode‐WhensettoSwitched,the
secondaryEthernetportwillbehaveasa
standardswitchport,allowingdaisy‐chaining
throughthedevice.
RedundantMode‐WhensettoRedundant,
thedevicewillduplicateDanteaudiotraffic
tobothEthernetports,allowingthe
implementationofaredundantnetworkvia
thesecondaryport.Inthiscasecaremustbe
takentoavoidaccidentlymakingany
connectionbetweenthetwoparallel
networks.
Note:AlldevicesonaDantenetworkMUST
besettothesameMode(Switchedor
Redundant),otherwisethenetworkwillnot
functionreliably.
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DantePresets
AlthoughpatchingtoandfromtheDantecardintheconsoleisstoredaspartofashoworpartofa
cuetheconfigurationandroutingoftheDantecardsandDanteaudiostreamsisnot.
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IntheeventaDantecardisreplacedor
similar,the‘new’cardwillrequire
configuring,thismaybedonemanuallyorby
loadingapreviouslystoredpresetfromthe
‘File’menuoftheDanteControllersoftware


ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.1 

ConnectingDanteDevices
ThefollowingexampleillustratestwoVi1consoles‘House’and‘Monitor’.
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Audioinputsaresenttothemonitorconsole,thesecanbeconnecteddirectlytotheconsoleorviaa
stageboxattachedviaaMADIcardtothemonitorconsole.
AdirectoutputfromeachinputofthemonitorconsolefeedstheFOHconsolewhichispatchedto
receiveaudiofromtheDanteoptioncard.
TheFOHconsolemixisreturnedtotwosparechannelsofthemonitorconsoleandthedirect
outputsofthoseinputsareinturnpatchedtothesystemoutputs;onceagainthesecanbedirectly
ontheconsoleorattachedviaaMADIcardtothemonitorconsole.
ThelinkbetweentheDantecardsmaybeviaaswitchasshownwithasolidgreenlineordirectfrom
cardtocardasshownbythedottedgreenline.
NOTE:OnceconfiguredthePCisnotrequired.
NOTE:Dantemayoperateinredundantmode,thisisnotshownforsimplicity.

ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.1 
AlternativeOptions
OnceaudioisintheDantedomainthepossibilitiesbecomenearendless,inthisalternativesystem:
AllsystemoutputsleaveviaaDanteenabledprocessorsuchastheBSSBLU806
Anadditionalconsoledoesalivestereomix‐downforwebstreamingorsimilar
AlaptoprunningtheAudinateVirtualSoundcardmakesamulti‐trackrecording
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