How To Set Up A Dante Network

How to set up Dante audio networking in your worship ministry building

In this commodity, I show how you can use Dante networking so that you can transport multi-channel, depression-latency digital sound over an ethernet network.

It'due south a great organisation and using this in our ain ministry has and so many advantages. We've been able to:

• Simplify our entire tech setup

• Employ Dante to send sound to and from computers running Ableton Live, Mainstage and our front-of-house mixing console

• Eliminate the demand for audio interfaces

• Get high quality audio with very little latency

Our original setup:

Before nosotros used Dante, nosotros had to spend then much time on Sunday mornings connecting and setting upwardly our complicated sound system.

We were going from the USB port on the computer > sound interface > an analogue ophidian > our stage box > forepart-of-business firm console

Just writing it out is exhausting.

But one time we started using Dante, things got so much improve.

Now:

The audio point is digital.

And we don't utilise any interfaces for our Ableton Live or Mainstage rig.

Instead, we created a Local area network (LAN) consisting of just ethernet cables and switches which can send a loftier band width amount of audio really fast.

At present, we've simplified the process from 5 steps to 3 steps:

Sound goes from USB-C ethernet dongle on the computer > Ethernet network > then direct into the sound console.

How to create the Dante Audio Network at your church

Now let's swoop into the gear and software y'all need for setting this up for yourself.

Gear

1. Dante Soundcard app for your forepart-of-firm mixing console

We bought the Dante Soundcard app that works with the x32 and m32 line of consoles which costs around $600.

Information technology's expensive, simply totally worth it.

This carte transforms your digital mixing console into a Dante enabled device and so that when you plug the Ethernet cable into that console, it shows upwards on the Dante network.

Once the console is in the Dante network, you tin can outset easily routing audio to and from all the other devices you accept on the network.

2. Network switch

This system doesn't work over Wi-Fi so yous need to create a LAN using network switches and Ethernet cables.

Network switches are fairly inexpensive–nosotros got two of them $15 each.

We put one at our tech berth, 1 upwards on the stage and that gave us all the flexibility and ports we demand to network these computers.

Then you're gonna want to get some Ethernet cablevision to connect everything. Cat 6 cable will work just fine.

iii. Dongle

Finally, if y'all have an all Mac ecosystem like us, you'll need a few dongles to make sure you lot can go from USB-C to Ethernet or Thunderbolt to Ethernet or even USB to Ethernet.

Just make sure you have all the appropriate dongles to plug in the Ethernet cables into your computers since they no longer create Ethernet ports on computers anymore ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3. Dante Via App

Finally, you'll want to go the Dante Via app.

This one isn't completely necessary, but what'southward absurd about the Dante via app is it's flexibility. Information technology can transport audio straight from applications like ProPresenter anywhere in the Dante Network.

For our setup, this means we don't have to plug our laptop into our sound panel using the headphone jack on the estimator.

Instead, nosotros can actually ship digital sound from ProPresenter directly into our front-of-firm mixing console.

Getting the organization up and running

At present nosotros'll connect all of this and get the network upward and running.

one. Install the Dante sound carte du jour for your digital mixing console

This only took me 5 minutes. But pop our the existing audio card and put in the new sound card.

This sound carte also gives y'all 2 Ethernet ports. That allows you to create a backup system for your audio.

In our example, information technology'southward not super necessary because Dante is really reliable and we just stick with the main one.

4. Select the input and output devices on the estimator running Ableton Live

On the computer running Ableton Live :

Select Preferences > Audio > Select the input and out > Choose Dante Virtual Soundcard for both Input and Output

You can also configure your outputs if you're going to run them all in mono, stereo or a piffling bit of both.

For our setup, we keep it uncomplicated with 4 outputs going from Ableton Live to our front-of-house mixing engineer.

• Aqueduct 1–Clicking guide

• Channel 2–Bass heavy tracks

• Channel 3 & 4–All of our other tracks in stereo

• When you wait at your Dante network using the Controller App you can run across that ProPresenter shows up as an selection

7. Configure everything on the figurer running the Pro Tools rig

Our last calculator is our Pro Tools rig.

We're merely sending all 32 channels of audio out from our forepart-of-firm mixing panel to the Dante Network and then it goes straight into Pro Tools.

In Pro Tools software:

• Select Dante as the Sound Engine > make sure you have all of your inputs routed to the proper tracks.

• Once you have all these devices up and running and they're on the Dante network, then you can spend some time making these configurations in the Dante Controller app.

10. Configuring the Dante Controller app

In the Dante controller app you lot'll run across two lists:

Dante transmitters–Lists devices that are sending audio out.

Dante receivers–Lists devices where audio can be routed into.

You just utilise their intuitive grid to tell it that you desire:

These 4 outputs from the Ableton Alive estimator to get into these four inputs on our front-of-business firm mixing console.

And so you just repeat that aforementioned process for all the devices you have on the network

Here's how we have the menu input configured on the digital sound console:

• For the inputs–the audio coming in to the lath–nosotros have information technology routed then that we're using our digital stage box. We have a 32-channel digital stage box–but nosotros're only using the start three banks of 8 channels. That gets u.s. to 24 channels of inputs coming from that stage box.

• I reserved the last choice for bill of fare input 1-8 and so we're only using the outset 8 channels of our Dante inputs that we have for the sound panel. That gives us plenty of channels we demand for Ableton Live, Mainstage and ProPresenter.

Here'southward how we have the card output configured on the digital audio console:

• We accept the same thing channels ane-25 on our stage box. They're are going straight to the carte output to go into Pro Tools.

• And then for card output 25-32 nosotros're but sending those 8 channels from the digital card–the 8 channels coming into the digital card.

Recap

It may be a picayune hard to wrap your heed effectually all this, but once you lot get information technology up and running, you'll be able to customize it to fit your worship ministry needs.

I'd love to hear from yous on my Churchfront YouTube channel about your tips, tricks and communication for getting this upwards and running.

If you want to acquire more most the tech side of worship ministry, cheque out Worship Leader Tech School which provides online training for worship tech teams.

You'll find a wide selection of courses led by me and other experienced teachers. As a part of this community, you'll be able to personally connect with united states during our part hours and with other members to hash out your ministry needs.

I'd dearest to connect with y'all and conversation about how nosotros tin help you abound yourself and your team.

Click here become all the details and take hold of full access.

Source: https://churchfront.com/blog-churchfront/dante-audio-networking

Share this post