PESA Expands Enterprise DRS Audio Distribution System to Accommodate Growing I/O Needs

Audio channel capacity requirements have grown significantly for live event production, with the increased use of multi-channel surround sound and multi-lingual broadcast support. PESA, a leading designer and manufacturer of professional audio and video distribution solutions, today announced its Enterprise DRS audio distribution system can now support up to 7,680 inputs and 7,680 outputs, making it one of the industry’s largest audio routing systems.

PesaAvailable now, the upgraded system will be demonstrated at InfoComm 2014 (Booth C6014), which runs June 18-20 in Las Vegas, Nev.

PESA’s DRS Enterprise Exchange Engine (EDXE) has been enhanced to support up to five interconnected units. Each EDXE chassis supports up to 1,536 inputs and outputs of various formats connected directly to its CAT5 I/O ports, and each unit can now connect with up to four additional EDXEs in a star topology with full duplex communications between units. Previously limited to 4,608×4,608 I/O, existing systems can be expanded in the field with a firmware upgrade and the addition of two SFP fiber transceiver modules.

“Consumers continue to demand more audio channels and more elaborate audio presentations for their home viewing experiences,” explained Chuck Tillett, PESA president and COO. “As the art of capturing sound at a sporting event continues to evolve, you need larger and larger I/O capacities at the venue. Mics on officials, mics on players, game commentary in multiple languages – all these audio sources add up quicker than you’d expect. Our Enterprise DRS audio distribution system can now accommodate 7,680 audio inputs and outputs, and they can be expanded in the field.”

A wide variety of audio signal formats are supported, including unbalanced, 75 ohm AES over coax, balanced 110 AES over twisted pair with individual plug connectors, and mass terminated ELCO-style connectors. For interconnection to popular audio consoles, analog mono or stereo over twisted pair and MADI over coax are also available. Plus, time code is offered over coax or twisted pair terminations.

The Enterprise DRS system integrates seamlessly with PESA’s Cheetah video routers, which provide access to the full 256 audio channels available in the video signal. Low latency eliminates lip sync errors associated with embedding or de-embedding audio to the video signal path. Embedders and de-embedders provide Level B and ASI pass through for maximum compatibility with installed solutions. Other audio processing tools – including delay, gain control, audio swap, sum and difference signals, and invert on individual input and output channels – are included with the Enterprise DRS and can support the embedded signal path.

Available in a variety of cost effective system configurations starting at 128×128, the Enterprise DRS system can support new system elements as audio needs grow while maintaining the original equipment investment. It supports full EDXE redundancy, and the distributed architecture provides greater protection against individual unit failure. Automatic error detection with built-in CRC checksums determines signal validity and supports seamless operation between redundant signal paths.

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