RH Consulting, an audio consultancy and networking expert, has been counting networked-audio products and licensees since 2013. It has done so in order to chart the adoption of audio networking in the pro-audio, AV and broadcast markets. Universally recognized as the benchmark for tracking trends in networked audio, the report covers all the major protocols. This includes Dante, RAVENNA, AVB, Milan and others.
This year’s report comes in two parts. First, there are the headline totals. More comprehensive data on protocols, compatibility and rate of adoption will follow in a few weeks. Part one logs a total of 3,306 networked products currently shipping from 420 manufacturers. That number is going up all the time. There have been nearly two new products every day in the past year.
“We were pleased to note that the current pandemic doesn’t seem to have had a great impact on new product launches,” RH Consulting’s Roland Hemming declared. “Dante, for example, has passed the milestone of 3,000 shipping products.” There is also a modest increase in the number of RAVENNA products, and better data also reveals more RAVENNA manufacturers than previously logged.
Another significant development for the 2021 report involved saying a final farewell to CobraNet. CobraNet’s products were no longer counted during 2020. “This wasn’t without a little tug at our heartstrings, as CobraNet technology was absolutely pioneering in its time,” Hemming said. “It was the first commercially successful audio-over-Ethernet implementation, and audio-networking technology would not be where it is today without CobraNet. However, CobraNet modules have been officially declared end-of-life, and CobraNet developer Cirrus Logic does not recommend its use in future designs.”
For more details on what the first part of the report reveals, along with how the data is compiled, visit https://rhconsulting.uk/blog/networked-audio-products-2021.
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