Hardware options

Audio capture hardware units are installed in the radio studio to capture audio from the mixing desk / final output and send this over the internet as the contribution stream to our platform.

We provide two versions of optional audio capture hardware to customers in South-Africa:

• Community hardware - for community, church and student stations,
• Commercial hardware - for larger commercial or regional radio stations.

Differences between hardware

Both of these units will ship pre-configured for the customer's stream and perform the same basic function, but differ in various ways:

Audio input/output

Both the community and commercial hardware provide dual-XLR audio inputs, with passthrough XLR outputs to enable the unit being deployed in an analog audio chain.

Hardware

The community hardware consists of a Raspberry Pi in an off-the-shelf plastic casing using a seperate Focusrite USB audio adapter connected to provide the audio input/output.

The commercial hardware is also based on the Raspberry Pi platform, but is housed inside a custom branded steel enclosure with integrated XLR audio input/outputs. This is more robust, reduces clutter in the studio and fits nicely into a server rack. This unit also ships with an attached Wifi adapter.

Networking

In order to send the audio stream to our platform, the hardware unit requires access to the internet.

The community hardware requires connecting with an ethernet network cable to a router that support DHCP for IP assignment.

The commercial hardware also requires a DHCP enabled network, but optionally supports connecting via Wifi.

Wifi contribution can be convenient for remote broadcast scenarios, but for studio installations we recommend using the ethernet port for connectivity.

In addition to DHCP, both units requires the network firewall (if any) to allow outgoing traffic on specific ports.

Management & User interface

The community unit has no user interface available.

The commercial unit has a web user interface available, where users can change the audio profile being used and monitor the volume and latency. This interface is available via the LAN or Wifi network.

Remote management

Both units allow remote management and debugging by our technical team. This may require specific ports being open on the network firewall.

Feature matrix

Pricing & details

Pricing for these units are available on our stream pricing page.