MADI distribution
Introducing MADI TP
ROUTING ACROSS DIFFERENT FORMATS
As MADI systems grow, they may require a central router
to distribute and merge streams and individual channels.
The MADI Router is a device that can be used to split MADI
signals into several outputs, or combine audio channels
from several inputs into one signal.
The MADI Router has a variety of different MADI connectors
- four optical, four coaxial and four twisted pair (TP) - which
may all be used independently with their complete
channel counts, even running at different clocks.
MADI COAXIAL
MADI OPTICAL
EXT
MAIN
EXT
MAIN
TWISTED PAIR
TWISTED PAIR
Technical background
RME’s MADI TP implementation uses standard Layer 1
Ethernet technology. That means that the signal itself
remains stable and is encoded for maximum stability over
long distances, just like on a computer network.
Common network switches cannot be used with
MADI as they require more complex Layer 2 or Layer 3
network audio protocols, which in turn increase latency
and complexity.
While TP cables are not part of the official MADI standard,
RME decided to add them as a third option since they are
cheap and widely available. And they come with another
benefit. Apart from containing two MADI streams (one in
each direction), they can also provide power to attached
devices. That means attached devices do not require
an extra power supply, but instead make use of the
redundant PSU of the MADI Router.
MAIN and EXT ports
Each RJ45 port features a complete 64 channel sender
and receiver. On the ADAT and AES Router and Converter
products, there are two RJ45 ports labelled MAIN and
EXT. Why? The difference is simple: their pinout is
crossed. So the MAIN port could be explained as an IN/
OUT port, while the EXT port is an OUT/IN port. Therefore,
it is necessary to connect the EXT port of one device with
the MAIN port of another device. If two EXT-ports were to
be connected, an ethernet crossover cable must be used.
Including TP into your existing setup
The twisted pair cables offer a convenient way to extend
your MADI system with a new range of digital routers and
converters.
The ADAT Converter in our example below extends the
MADI Router by 8 ADAT light pipe I/O. The MADI Router
can access each of the 64 inputs and outputs individually
with its internal routing matrix.
The AES3 Converter shows another great extension as
it can be configured to be either sending or receiving
64 audio channels, or sending and receiving 32 audio
channels at the same time.
AES3 CONVERTER
ADAT CONVERTER
If you require more optical or more coaxial connectors,
you can simply add one or two more MADI Routers or a
MADI Converter to the system - which does not increase
the system latency by a single sample.
Four internal matrices can access all 768 input channels
and create a new 64 channel output signal from them.
This can then be sent to any number of MADI outputs
required. This means that these four internal matrices
act like four additional, internal inputs - resulting in 16
possible sources for each physical MADI output port on
the device.
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Summary of Contents for MADI Converter
Page 1: ...Usage and Applications...
