System integration
Consider how audio will be routed through your system and how much flexibility you will need.
In most cases, you will need the Assistive Listening stream to be distinct from the front-of-house mix (see What mix to broadcast during the show). This means having an auxiliary or separate mix bus with its own outputs from the sound desk.
If you need more than one transmitter to provide adequate coverage of your venue, consider how the audio will be routed to multiple transmitters.
Planning for flexibility
Consider whether the source of audio being fed to the Auracast transmitter(s) will need to change over time. For example, this could be because
- different mixing desks are deployed (e.g. to support different microphone techniques or sound engineer preferences),
- the configuration or layout of the venue changes, or
- your venue hosts touring shows.
Top tip: If your venue hosts touring productions, you will need to be flexible about how audio is routed into your Auracast system.
However, we recommend that you are firm about what audio is routed to your system. If the touring company cannot supply an appropriately mixed Assistive Listening feed, then the accessibility of your venue will be compromised.
Example setups
In a simple setup, a basic mixing desk can connect directly to an Auracast transmitter using a line level analogue interface. The transmitter can be configured so that Auracast streams have static broadcast names. No day-to-day interaction with the transmitter is necessary. However, Assistive Listening should never be treated as ‘fit and forget’ – ongoing System monitoring is essential.
In an advanced setup, several audio streams from different parts of a building can be distributed using networked audio over IP (e.g. Dante). For different shows, or even at different times throughout the day, the audio that is broadcast over Auracast in different parts of the building can be selected and metadata can be updated to provide information about the broadcast audio.
Equipment that integrates well
Some transmitter manufacturers offer tools or application programming interfaces (APIs) which can make reconfiguring equipment straightforward for non-technical staff. These capabilities are being improved regularly through software/firmware updates so check with manufacturers to see how their products would work in your environment.