Announced yesterday at InfoComm Las Vegas 2016 are the results, based on what we believe is every current networked audio product. We have had even more support this time from protocol alliances who have had the opportunity to input and amend the data.
You can find the products using our app too, and by using the in-app purchase you can download the entire dataset into a spreadsheet.
So, here are the results for June 2016, how many manufacturers have licensed each protocol:
Remember, being a licensee does not mean a manufacturer will ship a product using that protocol.
As we have said in previously, for AVB we have only counted manufacturers in the ‘Pro AV’ market. We have excluded those in automotive, consumer and industrial industries as they are not relevant to us.
Dante now has 300 manufacturers signed up, RAVENNA 48 and AVnu 21.
Count of products:
There are a total of 1267 networked products, although that number is continuously changing with many products having the option of supporting more than one protocol.
753 products support Dante
373 products support CobraNet
223 products support proprietary networks
117 products support RAVENNA
107 products support EtherSound
14 products are AVB certified
We must allow for some human error in our results as some manufacturers provide poor information and counting products is not the most entertaining of tasks! We think that even allowing a percentage or two for human error our results are still a very realistic indicator.
As we mention every time we do this, we set out some rules for counting devices as this proved not to be as easy as we thought. When is a product a product? When is something a different product? The consensus is that we are being fair, but we are always happy to discuss.
These are the rules we set out:
• We have investigated products that appear to be shipping. It’s sometimes difficult to see if products are discontinued or if they are yet on the market. We have done what we can to verify whether each product is available for purchase
• We have included every SKU of a product. If a company sells a 2 x 600W amplifier and a 2 x 1200W amplifier they are counted as two products, because they would have a different use
• Where the same product is available to purchase in a variety of card configurations, such as a processor that is 16 in 16 out, 8 in 24 out, 24 in 8 out etc., this is counted as one product as the overall channel count is the same
• Where a similar product is available in different models 8 in 8 out, 12 in 12 out, 16 in 16 out, or a mixer with different input channel counts then these are counted as separate products as they would have a different use
• We have not included hacks, circuit boards, OEM kits or something that it not an actual product sold on its own or, at a user level, allows a product to become networked. However details of these items are included in our app to assist manufacturers wishing to adopt audio networking into their products
• We have included hardware interface cards that fit into products to enable an actual product to become networked. Such a card is counted as one product even though it can be used in a wide range of hardware. This is the main reason why our numbers are different to those published by Audinate as they include interface cards in their totals
• A software driver or program that enables a Mac or PC to support a particular network protocol is counted as one product
• Where a manufacturer’s network interface card fits into many audio products we have counted each shipping product, because that interface allows the product to become a networked audio device
Manufacturer Activity
8 manufacturers ship products that are AVB certified
40 manufacturers ship products that are CobraNet certified
112 manufacturers ship products that are Dante certified
12 manufacturers ship products that are EtherSound certified
14 manufacturers ship products that are RAVENNA certified
The future for Audio Networking
We plan to continue doing this survey, being the only comprehensive reflection of audio networking in the industry. In the next survey we will also include AES67 compliant products and OCA compliant products too.
Our app
In order to help people specify networked audio products we have released an iOS app allowing you to search for ‘Dante amplifier’ or ‘CobraNet Mixer’. You can build shopping lists of equipment for projects and export them. We’ve even included data on a number of proprietary protocols and the ability to search for AES67 compliant devices.
The new version of the iOS app of networked audio devices has just been released, with a new look and even more devices listed than ever before. It is the ideal tool for anyone wanting to know about networked audio equipment. Users can search for a product category, manufacturer and audio protocol to find the right equipment for your next project. An in-app purchase lets you download the entire data set to do detailed product analysis.
Manufacturers can submit or correct product information by contacting us at: info@rhconsulting.eu
Buying our app, and especially buying the in-app purchase, directly helps pay for this research. If you find this information useful then your support is appreciated to help sustain it.