DirectOut

The layer that keeps the show on air

DirectOut builds the hardware that sits between everything else: format conversion, routing, monitoring and redundancy. It is not glamorous equipment, and that is rather the point. When a MADI link fails or a network path drops, this is the layer that decides whether the audience notices.

The company was founded in 2008 in Mittweida, Germany, by a team of working sound engineers led by Stephan Flock, and the development team are still practising engineers. That shows in the product: the feature set reads like a list of problems someone has actually had at 2am rather than a specification written in a marketing meeting. DirectOut hardware bridges MADI, Dante, RAVENNA, AES67, SoundGrid, Milan and SMPTE ST2110, which in practice means it is the box that makes two incompatible systems talk.

The range at 7HERTZ

• PRODIGY.MP: the modular multifunction platform, combining conversion, routing and a scalable DSP core in one frame with configurable I/O. The flagship for broadcast and large-scale live.
• PRODIGY.MP Unlimited Activation: unlocks every software licence available for the PRODIGY.MP, including future options. It must be bought together with the frame.
• MAVEN.A: the same DSP engine and module family in 1RU, launched for decentralised installs and smaller systems where rack space is the constraint. Three option slots covering network modules and converters.
• ACE: audio processing and conversion in a compact frame.
• EXBOX.MD: format conversion where a full platform would be overkill.
• Network modules: DANTE.IO MKII, DANTE.SRC.IO MKII and the dual DANTE.DANTE.SRC.IO for Dante, and MILAN.SRC.IO for Milan and AVB. They fit the PRODIGY series and MAVEN.A.
• MADI and AES modules: BNC.IO, SFP.IO, MADI2.SRC.IO and MADI2.BNC.SRC.IO for MADI, with the SFP coaxial BNC transceiver, and AES4.SRC.IO for AES3 with sample rate conversion on every input, plus the DSUB25.AES50 patch cable.
• Analogue modules: AN8.IO for eight balanced line inputs and outputs, and MIC8.LINE.IO and MIC8.HD.IO for eight remote-controlled mic preamps with line outputs.
• USB.MADI: a USB-C audio interface built into an SFP module. It turns a MADI SFP slot on a DirectOut device into a 64-channel soundcard for DAW or plugin host connection, without adding rack space.

Where it fits

Broadcast facilities, OB trucks, large-scale live production and installed systems where multiple audio formats have to coexist and failure is not an option. In the region, DirectOut is in service at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, and PRODIGY.MP handled redundancy for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah.

Buying DirectOut in the UAE and GCC

Redundancy is a design conversation, not a purchase. As official distributor we supply, configure and support DirectOut systems from Dubai, and we would far rather work through your signal flow at design stage than troubleshoot it on a show day.