Digital audio routing - a mature technology
C. Robin Caine · 1994
At the IBC conference in 1986, three speakers introduced new ideas on the routing and distribution of audio signals. These referred to handling analogue and digital signals together and included the use of converters, TDM (time division multiplex) techniques and high speed links on fibre optics. At that time, the AES/EBU signal format was quite new and the MADI standard not heard of. There were few items of equipment fitted with AES/EBU interfaces at the AES convention in New York a year later. Since that time, many AES/EBU systems have been installed. The application areas and characteristics of crosspoint and TDM routers are now understood and the MADI standard has been exploited for distribution and routing in addition to its original purpose as a multi-track interface. The paper presents the system issues concerning the routing and distribution of AES/EBU digital audio.