Barix Partners with Digigram on New EtherSound™ Initiative
Barix to implement Digigram ES-100/spkr solution into Exstreamer IP audio decoders, bringing EtherSound™ technology to new markets
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, January 30, 2008 – Barix AG, a pioneer in IP-based audio, intercom, monitoring and control, today announced that it is partnering with Digigram to bring EtherSound™ technology, a widely-used digital audio transport technology developed by Digigram, to new markets including security, transportation and other public address applications. Digigram has recognized Barix as a launch partner for the technology, with Barix implementing the ES-100/spkr technology within its successful Exstreamer IP audio decoder and IPAM modules for OEM partnerships.
The ES-100/spkr, a variant of the network audio standard EtherSound, enables manufacturers to implement EtherSound in new devices for a fraction of the cost while keeping typical EtherSound control and administration features when a fully features ES-100 or ES-Giga implementation is not required. Digigram unveiled the ES-100/spkr solution at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) show in Amsterdam this week, with Barix also unveiling the technology at its ISE booth.
“As a major and innovative player in the markets we target with ES-100/spkr, Barix was an ideal and obvious launch partner,” said Philippe Delacroix, Digigram's President & CEO. “We are confident that our joint efforts will speed up the proliferation of EtherSound in markets where low-latency and other typically-EtherSound features were just a Holy Grail until now. That’s why we are really delighted to welcome Barix among our community of proactive EtherSound licensees and to add a new EtherSound Implementor allowing manufacturers to quickly integrate network audio connectivity in their products.”
EtherSound™ offers superb audio quality, low latency, and mission-critical redundancy for digital audio transport in live sound applications. Digigram developed the ES-100/spkr solution to define a variant that could co-exist and interoperate with ES-100 or ES-Giga networks for markets with other priorities, including live paging and background music for public address systems. ES-100/spkr products will fit nicely into portions of EtherSound networks where only unidirectional streams and audio-out devices are required, such as terminal network branches with public address networks or monitoring-only systems.
“Barix is pleased to join Digigram in its efforts to bring the exceptional audio quality and platform efficiency of the EtherSound™ protocol to new markets,” said Johannes G. Rietschel, CEO and Founder of Barix AG. “Barix has succeeded in implementing ES-100/spkr technology in software in the Audio Devices in record times, which enables our customers to use Barix products in either IP or EtherSound environments. OEMs using the Barix IPAM modules can now join the EtherSound community and offer their products in both EtherSound as well as IP installations. The combination of low cost, high reliability network audio decoders from Barix and EtherSound technology is ideal for many applications. Barix has found a professional technology partner in Digigram and our joint offering will help spreading the EtherSound and Barix offerings further in markets including security, transportation and, general paging/public address markets,” Rietschel continued.
About Barix AG (www.barix.com)
Barix AG, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, specializes in the
research, development and manufacture of IP-based audio and data
distribution, communication, monitoring, control, and automation
hardware solutions for commercial, industrial, security and military
applications. Barix’s smart, reliable, compact, stand-alone components
stream and communicate over standard network infrastructure and
Internet, for local or worldwide networked solutions, eliminating the
need for extra wiring and PCs. Barix provides customers with a wide
range of additional services, including private labeling, licensing and
OEM engineering.