Aviom introduced its Pro64® Network Manager™ PC application at this year's InfoComm. While the Pro64 Series is uniquely designed with a simple, front-panel user interface that makes it possible to design sophisticated networks without PC-based programming, the company is releasing a control application for those users who desire centralized control and status monitoring. A demo version of this software is now available for download along with a video tutorial on how the application works on our Network Manager page.

This new intuitive, easy-to-use graphical interface provides global and device-specific information to the user, allowing simple management of even complex audio networks. With Pro64 Network Manager, users have remote control of every Pro64 device in a network using a PC connected to the I/O module set as the Control Master. Both network settings and audio parameters for each device can be managed from one location, simplifying network management, streamlining the workflow, and increasing the flexibility of the network as a whole.

Pro64 Network Manager connects to a Pro64 audio network via RS-232 and makes use of the network's built-in Managed Mode to simplify tasks related to supporting and configuring Pro64 networks. All network settings can be monitored, including channel activation and routing, internal/external clock source, sample rate, m-control?, firmware version, Virtual Data Cables?, and channel naming.

"In designing the Pro64 Network Manager, our goal has been to make the application as intuitive as possible from the user's perspective, building on the inherent strengths of the Pro64 hardware," Aviom's Product Research and Development Manager, Ray Legnini, explains. "The addition of this application increases the flexibility of the Pro64 Series by giving our users even more setup options to meet their specific needs."

Download the demo version of Pro64 Network Manager now.

Aviom is pleased to announce that Denny McLane will now act as the company's sales director for the western US. McLane will be on hand to meet with customers in the installation market at InfoComm 2009 Booth 6117).

McLane comes to Aviom with more than 20 years of experience in the audio industry. After starting his career as the owner of a sound contracting and rental company, McLane went to work as a product manager for Aphex Systems, director of sales and marketing for LCS Audio, and most recently as regional sales manager in the western U.S. for BSS Audio, a brand of the Harman Pro Group.

With its Pro64® Series, Aviom has expanded its product lines to include a broader range of digital snake and audio networking solutions in addition to its industry standard monitor mixing solution. McLane will help to further promote this product line in the territory. "Denny's experience in the industry, and in audio networking sales in particular, will benefit the Aviom team, our channel partners, and the customers in his region," says Mike McGinn, Aviom's VP of sales and marketing. "His technical knowledge and experience in training will be particularly useful as we continue to develop our training programs and as we reach out to more consultants, installers, and design-build firms."

Aviom has expanded its international sales force with the addition of Nick Williams as the International Marketing and Sales Director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Williams will be based out of London.

Williams brings to Aviom his extensive experience in pro audio sales and marketing with specific experience in digital audio and audio networking. Most recently Williams was the EMEA sales director for Harman Pro, but he has also served as the European sales manager for Tascam and as managing director/co-owner of Music Connections Hertfordshire, a dealership specializing in computer-based recording systems.

By devoting more resources to international sales, Aviom expects to significantly increase its market share throughout the world. "Nick's experience in the industry and in this area of the world in particular will serve the Aviom team, our distribution partners, and their customers well. We are committed to providing an increased level of support throughout our international markets, excited to have Nick join our team, and looking forward to the opportunities before us," says Mike McGinn, Aviom's VP of sales and marketing.

Aviom has expanded its Applications & Technical Training Program. The initiative was originally launched last summer, and this year, we have significantly expanded the program to include multiple interactive webcast sessions each month. Since the beginning of this year, we have been hosting five or more of these sessions per month. Our new expanded initiative features two training programs: one set of sessions designed for contractors, consultants, and other audio professionals and a second set designed specifically for end users.

The training seminars cover everything from monitor mixing to getting started with digital snakes to advanced audio network design and have included Lowering the Stage Volume in the House of Worship, Aviom's Pro64 Series: The Next Generation of Digital Audio Connectivity, Aviom Solutions for Schools & Theaters, and Integrating Aviom and Your Yamaha Digital Console. Courses for both professionals and end users are listed monthly on our Training page.

Aviom's consultant liaison and training manager Jeff Lange teaches most of the classes. Lange explains, "The courses we started offering to consultants and contractors last year were very well received, and we were overwhelmed by the response we got when we offered the first webcast to end users. The interest in digital audio distribution and networking continues to grow, and providing reliable information is critical so that contractors and consultants can implement the technology effectively and users can take advantage of all the power of these systems. Moving more to webcasts this year has allowed us to reach more and more professionals than ever before, and also to begin providing the same support to end users with content generated specifically for their needs."

Training continues to be a top priority for Aviom in 2009. "Both Aviom's Pro16® and Pro64® Series offer simple and flexible solutions to high-fidelity audio connectivity needs," Lange continues. "People have come to rely on Aviom for its Personal Mixing systems, and now they are turning to our digital snakes and audio networks because the benefits of A-Net are just as meaningful to users in these applications."

Aviom is pleased to announce that Fault Line and Mac West Group have joined our team of rep firms. Both firms provide sales teams with extensive experience in systems contracting, sales, design, studio recording, and live production work in the pro audio industry. Fault Line will represent Aviom in northern California and Hawaii, while Mac West Group will cover southern California and southern Nevada.

Rocky Giannetta, Fault Line's principal, says, "We are excited to add Aviom to our portfolio because of the unique benefits that Aviom connectivity solutions provide to designers and users."

As we have expanded our product lines to include a broader range of digital snake and audio networking solutions in addition to our industry standard monitor mixing solution, our customer base has expanded and our products have been used in more diverse environments, so the need to work closely with consultants, installers, and design-build firms has grown. Mac West Group's principal, Steve McNeil, explains, "The addition of Aviom to our existing product line card will give us the opportunity to provide our customers with new solutions that simplify digital audio."

"As market leaders in digital audio networking, Fault Line and Mac West Group will be excellent partners in our ongoing effort to provide unprecedented support to contractors, consultants, and systems integrators," says Shawn Stahmer, Aviom's national sales director, US and Canada.

In his new podcast series, Networked AV for Sound and Video Contractor, Bennett Liles is interviewing experts on the challenges of moving audio, video, and control signals.

In Show 2 of Networked AV, Liles interviews Aviom's director of marketing, Chandler Collison, about m-control™ for Yamaha Digital Consoles.

With m-control, engineers can remotely control Aviom's 6416m Mic Input Module from a Yamaha digital console. In his conversation with Liles, Collison describes the different control options for the 6416m and the simplicity and flexibility of the Pro64® network as a whole.

Listen to the Networked AV Podcast.

In February, Aviom's new 6416o v.2 Output Module will be available. The output levels featured on this new Pro64® Series output module simplify connectivity with other manufacturers' mixing consoles, amplifiers, powered speaker systems, and recording devices, and increase the flexibility of Aviom's high-fidelity digital audio networking solution.

The 6416o v.2 is compatible with a wide range of signal level requirements, making it ideal for live sound reinforcement, broadcast, and other audio distribution applications. Each channel on the 2U rack-mount 16-channel digital-to-analog converter has a four-position output level switch with settings for +24, +18, and +4dBu line-level, or mic-level output, as well as three-segment level metering. With the 6416o v.2, complex installations are easy to configure and manage by specifying the channel/slot range within a Pro64 network.

The new Pro64 output module can be used anywhere that analog outputs are required in a system: on stage or at front of house in a digital snake, in the studio, or even in the most complex audio networks. If required, a digital split can be easily achieved by adding a second 6416o v.2 module to any system.

In addition, the 6416o v.2, like all of Aviom's Pro64 Series products, features Virtual Data Cables?, offering simultaneous distribution of up to 14 channels of non-audio control data to any device in a Pro64 network. The 6416o v.2 provides VDC connectors for MIDI In, MIDI Out, RS-232, and GPIO.

With the release of a major firmware upgrade for Pro64®, m-control? for Yamaha® digital consoles is now available. With m-control, a user has direct access to the preamp settings on Aviom's 6416m Mic Input Modules from the user interface of most Yamaha digital consoles outfitted with a 6416Y2 A-Net® Interface Card.

The m-control feature offers another control path for Aviom's Pro64 Series mic pre. All settings on the 6416m can also be set from the device's front panel, as well as controlled remotely from any point in the network with the MCS handheld controller. A single MCS can be used for up to 64 channels of mic pre control, and multiple control points can be set in a single network. All three control methods can be combined freely in the same system, allowing system designers and operators a range of choices.

Ray Legnini, Aviom's product research and development manager, explains, "This is a feature we've been asked for since the release of the 6416m and 6416Y2. Users have raved about the sound quality and simplicity of the Pro64 system, but they've wanted an even more streamlined workflow. Providing access to the preamp settings from the Yamaha console and through the console's scenes is a tremendous timesaver for engineers."

To utilize m-control, all Pro64 Series products must be updated to the m-control firmware.To learn more about m-control or to download the firware updgrade, please click here.

The AV over Fiber podcast produced by SVC contributor and freelance AV specialist Bennett Liles features experts and users. In this week's podcast, Aviom's consultant liaison and training manager, Jeff Lange, talks about how fiber can be integrated into an A-Net® network for long-distance applications.

In this discussion, Lange explains the flexibility of Aviom's A-Net and the ease with which fiber optic connectivity can be integrated into A-Net applications. Lange describes the MH10f Merger Hub, which supports bidirectional parallel Pro64® connections with integrated fiber optic connectivity. He also talks about the fiber media converters that can be used with Pro16® A-Net to extend cable lengths for installations with these products.

Liles and Lange also discuss what makes the A-Net protocol different from other digital audio protocols.

Listen to the AV over Fiber Podcast.

On July 10 and 11, 2008, the German association VDT (Verband Deutscher Tonmeister) presented its workshop "Networked Systems in Live and Post Production" at the German public service broadcast station Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich, Germany. This event was intended to give an overview on different solutions for the transmission of audio and control information to audio professionals from various market segments, including theater, broadcast, and live sound.

On the second day of the workshop, Aviom's Carl Bader presented a lecture on "Audio Networking Applications with Aviom's Pro64® Series." The workshop covered the design criteria for Pro64 A-Net: simplicity, flexibility, fidelity, and reliability. Bader also explained how to build a Pro64 network and showed example applications using the network technology.