Dante Via Turning Your PC into an I/O device

New Software by Audinate, Dante Via transforms Macs and PCs into networked I/O devices.

The new software allows you to build a complete, standalone audio system of networked PCs without the need for any dedicated Dante-enabled hardware to be present on the network.

Any computer instantly becomes a networked audio I/O device.

It will also remove the need for short reach point-to-point analog and USB cables by allowing you to create a flexible audio bridge for your computer to connect with legacy USB, FireWire and Thunderbolt audio interfaces and turn them into networked devices. Best of all you won’t need additional hardware, as the software transmits and receives audio via your Ethernet port, allowing you to easily connect to the Dante network.

Speaking at the AV Networking World conference, on the eve of InfoComm, Aidan Williams, the company’s CIO, explained: “[You could have] a USB microphone connected to a computer running Dante Via, then a signal can go into the computer via USB, into the Dante network, across to another computer, and then get played out again, using the built-in soundcard, through a set of speakers. So with this we can make a Dante network out a set of computers and their associated soundcards.”

With Dante Via you can easily distribute or loopback audio via the network from any application such as Cubase, Pro Tools, Nuendo, Logic, Reaper or even Skype.

“Dante Via opens up endless imaginative use cases,” said Gary Southwell, Audinate’s Vice President of Product Management. “Audio from USB microphones, or any audio interface, can be routed to other rooms in the building. Dante Via extends networked audio from facilities like classrooms, houses of worship, conference rooms, to overflow rooms. You can even monitor individual streams from the network for music instruction and audio system setup applications.”

So according to the company’s CIO, it can use the “built-in sound card”, whether that means any generic sound card or the use of a Dante Virtual Sound Card in your machine isn’t terribly clear. We’ve asked Audinate and will update our readers once we find out. UPDATE: Audinate have gotten back to us to confirm that Dante Via is definitely a stand alone app. Still no word on price as yet. We’ll keep you posted.

Dante Via will be commercially available in Q4 2014. If you’re lucky enough to be at InfoComm you can stop by Audinate’s booth C11929 for a demonstration of Dante Via.

Excerpts from Press Release