Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

ImPulse AoIP processing and routing engine Q&A

17/12/2020

How does it work in terms of IP upgrade path?

Taking the IP upgrade path first, central to the design of ImPulse was the need to embrace open IP standards and COTS IP. Our Hydra2 networking technology is very successful at what it does; removing the hard ties between control room and studio, allowing for audio to be shared flexibly, eliminating rigging and teardown time, and easily plug and play. It provides lots of flexibility and has enhanced many workflows as a result.

But broadcasters want shared networks that allow for the exchange of audio and video more directly, between devices from different vendors, to streamline workflows and reduce cabling/connectivity formats. Hydra2, being proprietary, means it cannot share audio directly with non-Calrec devices. It also does not pass over standard IT switches; consolidating connections to stage-boxes requires relatively expensive Calrec routers so customers tend to run quite a lot of dedicated fibre on larger systems.

To reduce the amount of fibre being run for passing proprietary data, many broadcasters leverage CWDM technology, multiplexing signals by using different frequencies of light for each so they can travel down the same piece of fibre. This alleviates some of the installation overhead and costs, but it still requires format conversion and interfacing to pass media between kit from different vendors. The use of open IP standards for transporting media massively reduces the cost and physical space required for the multitude of connectivity formats that are in use for audio and video today.

Ideally, customers want to be able to use the office LAN and even public internet and Wifi, so that devices can be conveniently connected from anywhere, and this will come, but critical live broadcast demands low latency which requires a well-managed network configured for ST2110/AES67 use to safeguard content while allowing for flexible workflows for day-to-day operational needs. Video presents a huge amount of data compared with audio, but that data only needs refreshing 60 times per second for high quality, whereas each audio channel needs to be processed 48,000 times per second at least to present a quality output.

A key point of ImPulse is that it offers a migration path. Broadcasters do not need to jump to IP with both feet overnight. Many of our customers have made a significant investment in Hydra2-based Calrec hardware over the last decade or so. Open standards prevent customers having their purchasing decisions forced by their previous investment, allowing for choice in each control room while maintaining facility-wide connectivity, but we do not want to write off existing investment in hardware.

To support the migration to IP:

Existing Apollo/Artemis control surfaces can be upgraded to work with ImPulse processing cores.

Existing Hydra2 I/O boxes can be converted to run in either Hydra2 or AES67/ST2110 AoIP mode, allowing customers to upgrade their existing I/O investment to work natively with ImPulse. It also allows remote/outside-broadcast companies that have a large stock of I/O that gets shared/reallocated between jobs, to switch it out on a job-by-job basis, using the same hardware for a Hydra2 job or an AoIP one.

Our H2-IP Gateway provides a bridge between Hydra2 networks and AoIP networks, passing audio, control data and labels between the domains - Hydra2 users can access and control audio in the AoIP domain and vice versa, leveraging the benefits of IP within an existing infrastructure.

As a broadcast vendor, it is very important that we both maintain existing systems and support our customers to migrate at a speed at which they feel comfortable.
LINK: https://calrec.com/news/impulse-processing-and-routing-engine/...
See more stories from calrec

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

02/06/2026

Cobalt Digital to Showcase End-to-End IPMX Ecosystem at InfoComm 2026, Making ST 2110 Easy for Pro AV

blueCORE standalone processors headline solutions designed to simplify the trans...

02/06/2026

Monetizing the Archive: How Cantemo's JIT Playback Eliminates the Proxy Bottleneck

If you've kept up with this article series, you know by now where to start w...

02/06/2026

Calrec Scales ImPulseV for Greater Choice in Virtualised Workflows

With new DSP configurations and flexible licensing options, Calrec is removing the barriers to virtualised audio, giving broadcasters the freedom to scale produ...

02/06/2026

Marketing Architects Expands Relationship With Nielsen To Include Integration of Media Data Engine on a National Level

The TV agency was one of the earliest adopters of Nielsen's local television...

02/06/2026

Riedel Networks Taps Gudrun Scharler as CEO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/06/2026

Grass Valley Enables Sky News Australia s Cloud-First New...

Grass Valley today announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP to transform its newsroom produc...

02/06/2026

STUDIO TECHNOLOGIES INTRODUCES NEW MODEL 385 MIC INTERCOM...

Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, announces its new Model 385 Mic/Intercom Beltpack. The Mode...

02/06/2026

Gudrun Scharler Appointed CEO of Riedel Networks

The Riedel Group today announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 2...

02/06/2026

Magewell Levels-Up All-in-One Content Production with Lau...

More signals, higher quality, and outstanding ingest and streaming flexibility deliver professional results in a small, all-in-one footprint...

02/06/2026

Modena Showcases farmerswife at Mediatech 2026

farmerswife will be featured on the Modena Media & Entertainment stand at this year's Mediatech Africa 2026, giving visitors an opportunity to explore the l...

02/06/2026

PTZOptics showcases intelligent video ecosystem at InfoCo...

PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17 19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...

02/06/2026

Roku Launches the Roku Soccer Zone

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/06/2026

FCC Sets Deadlines for Comments in ABC License Renewals

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/06/2026

Studio Technologies Introduces Model 385 Beltpack

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/06/2026

Gerald Jerry Pierce, Architect of Modern Digital Cinema, Dies at 73

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/06/2026

Why TAG matters in digital advertising

Trust has become a commercial issue With global advertising spend forecast to exceed US$1 trillion this year*, the commercial consequences of weak governance co...

02/06/2026

RT is Supporting 12 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this June

June sees Ireland's cultural calendar in full bloom, as RT Supporting the Arts showcases a vibrant and wide-ranging programme spanning music, theatre, visu...

02/06/2026

New seasons of The Traitors UK and US now available to stream on RT Player

After The Traitors Ireland launched in 2025, Irish audiences proved to have a taste for the global hit reality show. This Bank Holiday Monday fans can indulge e...

01/06/2026

CBS Sports UEFA Champions League Today Studio Show Heads to Budapest for Final as Transcontinental Popularity Grows

In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...

01/06/2026

AudioShake Launches End-to-End Copyright Compliance System for Mixed-Media Audio

Designed to solve a common problem in broadcasting, the automated workflow detects, identifies, removes, and documents copyrighted music AudioShake has introdu...

01/06/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Stats Perform's Charles Kaplan on 30 Years of Opta, a Busy Summer of Soccer, What's Next

The sports-analytics company combines its data with proprietary AI to help leagu...

01/06/2026

Production Music Awards 2026

Category line-up & sponsors announced Photo: Paul Clarke The Production Music Awards (PMA) have announced that submissions are now officially open ahead of...

01/06/2026

Evolve Nest Acoustics from Excite Audio

New hybrid sample/synthesis instrument revealed Excite Audio have just released the latest instalment in their Evolve series, which has been developed in co...

01/06/2026

IK Multimedia release Royal 45 Legends Signature Collection

Latest TONEX expansion captures three rare vintage amps The newest addition to IK Multimedia's ever-growing TONEX line-up introduces a set of three incr...

01/06/2026

Scaler Music Carbon Electra 2

Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...

01/06/2026

SBS confirms its broadcast sponsors for FIFA World Cup 2026

SBS confirms its broadcast sponsors for FIFA World Cup 2026 1 June, 2026 Media releases SBS has secured Hyundai, Hisense, Macca's, Rexona, bet365, Com...

01/06/2026

Rohde & Schwarz Satellite Industry Days 2026 guided by the motto From Earth to Orbit

Rohde & Schwarz Satellite Industry Days 2026 guided by the motto From Earth to ...

01/06/2026

ASG Advances Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/06/2026

Scripps Stations Go Dark on DirecTV

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/06/2026

MARSHALL ELECTRONICS POWERS SEAMLESS AV EXPERIENCES WITH...

Marshall Electronics is showcasing a comprehensive lineup of next-generation POV cameras, purpose-built to power today's connected AV environments, at InfoC...

01/06/2026

Adobe Announces Concept to Vector

Adobe Announces Concept to Vector Deepa Subramaniam June 1, 2026 0 Comments One of the biggest frustrations we hear from designers is how difficult it...

01/06/2026

Vampire Feature Night Patrol Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio

Vampire Feature Night Patrol Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton June 1, 2026 0 Comments Colorist shapes dark, gritty tone for horror thri...

01/06/2026

U.S. Broadcasters Ready for Most Complex FIFA World Cup Ever

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/06/2026

Broadcasters Prepare for Nation's 250th Birthday Bash

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/06/2026

Broadcasters Reveal What Makes C-Band Alternatives Right for Them

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/06/2026

IAMT to Offer New Educational Sessions at InfoComm 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/06/2026

NewsNation Launches New Podcasting Studio and Podcasts

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

01/06/2026

SES Launches Multi-Orbit Satellite Connectivity on Mexico's Viva

Luxembourg, June 1, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, launched fast and reliable multi-orbit satelli...

01/06/2026

NVIDIA Jetson Brings Agentic AI to the Physical World

Agentic AI is getting physical. At COMPUTEX on Tuesday, NVIDIA announced NVIDIA JetPack 7.2 and NVIDIA NemoClaw support on NVIDIA Jetson. JetPack 7.2 brings a...

01/06/2026

Why Financial Institutions Are Converging on Transaction Foundation Models to Build Their Own Intelligence

Financial institutions have spent years building AI: fraud models, credit models...

01/06/2026

Simplifiez vos workflows avec FLAPI. Paris. 2 juin 2026

Mardi 2 juin 14h00 FilmLight (ARRI), 10 rue Ren Boulanger, 75010 Paris Rejoignez-nous pour d couvrir comment FLAPI (l'API FilmLight) peut transformer e...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

31/05/2026

Olivia Prez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona

Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with...

31/05/2026

Netflix Wins 15 Awards at the Canadian Screen Awards - See Photos From Inside Our Photo Suite

Back to All News Netflix Wins 15 Awards at the Canadian Screen Awards - See Pho...

31/05/2026

Taiwan's Industry Titans Turbocharge World's AI Infrastructure Buildout With NVIDIA

Taiwan is home to more than 500 NVIDIA ecosystem partners. More than 1 million N...