In this blog today, we are going to talk about using Audiofusion with Power-Over-Ethernet (POE). Our technology utilizes standard networking protocols, which means that Audiofusion users can take advantage of “off-the-shelf’ networking gear to connect SoundCaster to stationary musicians with a solid, hardwired connection. This blog uses two conversations I had during a demo of the technology to compare the cost of the hardware currently in use at a local church in Austin, TX to the cost of the Audiofusion System using POE.
Matt Jones at Hill Country Bible Church
Brandon Leafblad: My name is Brandon Leafblad, and I’m the co-founder of Audiofusion Systems. Today, we’re going to discuss a demonstration we did using an iPad on stage. We powered it using “power over ethernet”. This provides both a charge and audio over a single cable. I’m here today at Hill Country Bible Church of Austin, TX with my friend, Matt Jones.
Before we go into using the Audiofusion wireless in-ear monitoring system, I wanted to ask Matt about the gear they are already using in this space. This isn’t your main stage for adult worship. This is a secondary auditorium that you use for smaller ministry gatherings. It’s used quite a bit on Sundays and throughout.
So, Matt… tell me a little bit about what you guys are using to do monitoring in this room.
Matt Jones: Sure, Brandon. So right now, we’re currently using LiveMix, which is the individual mixer that band members have on stage with them. With LiveMix, it allows us to have 24 individual channels that a musician can control. It can be used wirelessly, or with a wired connection.
Brandon Leafblad: Okay… So here on stage you have several stations the musicians can connect with. And I think you have what?… Five LiveMix CS-Duo consoles here on the stage that will serve two musicians per console?
Matt Jones: That’s right.
Brandon Leafblad: Okay. So how does the audio get from the musicians to their ears.
Matt Jones: So, every single instrument on stage – whether it’s a vocal mic or a guitar or drum mic – eventually ends up as a mic cable going directly into our digital console. From our digital console there’s a Dante Card in the mixer that will send it onto the “Dante Network”.
From there, we pull it down using LiveMix’sown network switch. On that switch, there is also a Dante card that will take a Cat 5 cable and connect to the network. So over CAT 5, it’ll send the 24 channels to each mixer that each band member will be allowed to control… coming out of their individual mixer.
There are headphone ports on the front and the back – one being a 3.5 millimeter and the second being a quarter inch out… so you can be wired. But you can also have it sent over via wireless. This is done by sending it back through the CAT5 port into a hub. Then the signal goes out of that into another piece of hardware… sending analog out into a wireless transmitter.
Brandon Leafblad: So, this looks like the command center for your stage. Tell me a little bit about what you’ve got going on here in this box…
Matt Jones: Yeah, this is the main hub. So, from out of the digital console (that controls the audio for the house):
Once the audio is inside this Mix-16, it goes out through each of these ports to each LiveMixCS-Duopersonal mixer on stage…it’s what each band member will use. Each port delivers audio for two mixes that two musicians can share. They have the option to be wired out of the individual mixer, or they can send it back into a DA-816 unit.
What this DA-816unit does is sends analog audio out through quarter-inch connections. It can be plugged directly into wireless transmitters, such as the Sennheiser EW 300 IEM G3 units.
Brandon Leafblad: Okay, so you have five transmitters here for five of these Sennheiserwireless packs. And your system here – with five LiveMix CS-Duounits – can service five musicians hard-wired… and five musicians wireless.
Tyler Andrews at POE Texas
Now, I’m also here today with Tyler Andrews of Power over Ethernet Solutions (POE Texas). A lot of worship musicians already use an iPad on stage… but using this power-over-ethernet to lightning adapter from POE Texas, we can now turn our iPad into a hard-wired personal monitoring system.
So Tyler, tell us a little bit about how this works…
Tyler Andrews: Power-over-ethernet works because you combine the data signal of your network with the power needed to keep the devices charged. This device converts the data and power from your network into the lightning adapter that plugs right into your iPad.
Brandon Leafblad: Now can I charge the iPad AND run audio for Audiofusion with a single cable?
Tyler Andrews: Yes, definitely. You’re getting a secure wired network. You’re not having to rely on wireless communication. And you’re not having to deal with a whole bunch of cables with multiple, awkward cable adapters. You have one device that goes power-over-ethernet right into the iPad.
Brandon Leafblad: Perfect! Tell us how it works.
Tyler Andrews: So, go ahead and power on your iPad. Make sure and login to it before you connect your power-over-ethernet to an iPad adapter. That allows the iPad to configure automatically when you plug it in the first time.
Go to the display and brightness tab in your iPad settings and select the “auto lock”. I recommend setting it to “never”. Then select your Touch ID and Passcode. At the bottom there is a setting called “USB Accessories”. Turn on the USB Accessories selection to allow the iPad to continue to charge, and do “data communication” even if the screen locks.
Once you set those two up, you’re really ready to roll. Our device will automatically get an IP address for it using DHCP. If you would like to adjust your network settings, simply click on the ethernet tab in the settings and you’ll see POE Texas.
You can then decide whether you want to assign it automatically, or whether you want to set a “manual IP address” or a “fixed IP address”.
After that… you’re all set up ready to go. You can use your Audiofusion software how you’d like.
The setup is fairly simple. Once you already have your router in place – whether you need four connections, four musicians, or four iPads – all you need is a four-port POE mid-span. It’s a device that you can simply set near your router. You run one cable from one port into it and then you have another cable coming out to your iPad. That gives you one port.
Then you could use the second port of your router, etc. The key here is that you use the switching function of your router that you already have. Then we just add POE from the four-port mid-span or injector.
If you have more than four ports – like six or eight – then we’d recommend stepping up to a POE switch. With the POE switch you simply run one cable from your router into the uplink port on the switch. Then you can have up to eight ports of power and data coming out of this device.
It’s a very simple setup. And with the switch, you get the added benefit of a screen and control buttons. This allows you to get a little finer control of the POE and the data communication.
Brandon Leafblad: Our customers may already be accustomed to having a router on stage for Audiofusion. Most of their iPads and iPhones are connecting wirelessly. But if they wanted to have a solid charging audio connection directly from their router to their iPad… how much would that cost using the devices from POE Texas?
Tyler Andrews: Well with the Quartet Package… where you would have four devices or less… you simply need our AT-4 48-Volt 60 Watt. This runs at $64.99, and that adds the POE to the existing data ports on your router. Each of the adapters are $84.99.
If you need more than four ports, we recommend stepping it up to an eight-port switch. Our eight port switch costs $249.99 and it gives you eight ports of POE. This provides control of all of the POE on all the ports…and some data management right here live on your switch. Then you add as many of the $84.99 GAF Lightning PD devices as you need.
So looking at all the gear needed for the setup, here’s what your total and itemized cost would be for the setup:
5 Wired & 5 Wireless Musicians
| WiFi Router Linksys AC5000 | $250.00 |
| GPOES-10-8-55V 130W | $250.00 |
| 5X GAF-Lightning-PD | $425.00 |
| 10X Audiofusion Connections | $999.00 |
| TOTAL | $1,924.00 |
Brandon Leafblad: Perfect!
Now we’ve gone through this demonstration on how to use your iPad on stage using power over ethernet. You don’t need any other personal monitor mixing boxes.
Your iPad becomes your “personal monitor mixer”, and you can have a hard-wired connection for all the musicians on your back line. You can still use wireless for your front line… using your wireless router on stage.
I want to thank POE Texasfor helping us with this demonstration today. I also want to give a shout out to Hill Country Bible Church of Austinfor hosting us here to do this demo.
If you’ve never used our Audiofusion in-ear monitoring system and would like to see it in action firsthand, we provide the ability to try it for free in “Gear Test Mode” so you know it will meet the needs of your band or worship team.
