SoundCraft Vi DANTE User guide

Brand: SoundCraft

Model: Vi DANTE

Type: User guide

SoundCraft Vi DANTE is a 64x64 audio interface that connects a Vi series console to Dante-compatible devices. It allows for digital audio networking using standard Internet protocols over Ethernet, eliminating the need for dedicated network infrastructure. With Audinate Dante Virtual Soundcard software, you can connect a PC/Mac to the Dante network for recording and playback using common DAW packages. The card supports flexible channel count setup and clock synchronization, ensuring seamless integration with other Dante devices.

ViDANTETMCardUser&SetupGuide

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/

ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.3

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.

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0‐64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 main clock source for the Dante network, or as a synchronised

clock.Ifthere is only one console on the network, this will generally be set as the main clock

source for the network,butincaseswithmorethanoneconsole,orwhereanotherdeviceactsas

themain source clock,itwillbenecessarytosettheconsole'sDantecardtobeasynchronised clock.

TheDanteclock sync 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 synchronised to the network. Note: In this case, a BNC wordclock cable must

also 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.

ViDanteCardUser&SetupGuideV1.3

DIPswitchesS1&S2LocationDiagram

Refertothepreviouspageforinformationonthefunctionoftheseswitches.

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V1.3

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.

4. StarttheDanteControllerapplication,afterafewmomentsascreensimilartotheone

belowwillappear:

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).

DeviceStatus–DisplaysinformationaboutdiscoveredDantedevices;doubleclickadevicenameto

enableitsconfiguration.

ClockStatus–ViewandeditDanteNetworkclockconfiguration.

ClockRolecolumn:

Settingasingle‘PreferredMaster’willensurethatdeviceisselectedasthemain clocksource,iftwo

ormoredevicesaresetfor‘PreferredMaster’themain clock sourcewillbeelectedbytheDantesystem.

NOTE: Clock Status settings 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 ‘Sync 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.

‘Sync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.

NoteonClockstatuswhenconnectingtheDantecardtoaVi3000console’sDanteinterface

TheVi3000consoleincludesabuilt‐inDanteinterface,andassuchhasthecapabilityfortheconsole

toautomaticallysynctotheinternalDantecard’sclock,whentheVi3000’sDanteinterfaceissetto

‘sync’ clock status (ie another device is set as Preferred Master), and the setting ‘Sync to External

wordclock’ is NOT checked (ie console synchroni sed 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).

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V1.3

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.

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V1.3

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.

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.

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V1.3

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.

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.

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

ConnectingDanteDevices

ThefollowingexampleillustratestwoVi1consoles‘House’and‘Monitor’.

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V1.3

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

SoundCraft Vi DANTE User guide

SoundCraft Vi DANTE User guide

SoundCraft Vi DANTE User guide

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