Lawo has introduced the HOME mc² DSP app, a new microservice- and server-based audio engine equivalent of the company’s A__UHD Core FPGA processing platform.
The HOME mc² DSP app can be used with mc² mixing consoles or to provide a (virtual) mixing system at the press of a button wherever audio processing is required at short notice. It incorporates the features of the A__UHD Core platform in a CPU-based package in allowing operators to set up mc²-grade DSP processing with high granularity.
The new app also benefits from the agility afforded by the abstraction of processing functionality from the hardware in leveraging Lawo’s Flex licensing and subscription model, allowing users to reallocate subscription credits to any available HOME App, whether audio or video, for tighter budget control. It is also easy to “move” from one location — for example, the production hub — to another, such as an OB truck or a remote location.
HOME mc² DSP’s primary purpose is to provide audio processing in situations where no A__UHD Core is available or where remaining within the HOME Apps realm is more practical. With the app, setting up a processing core with the required number of DSP channels for a variety of use cases is designed to be quick and easy.
Despite its CPU-based technology, the app is stated to perform at the same low latency as its hardware companion. All capabilities and characteristics are similar, so switching between the two — hardware-based A__UHD Core or the mc² DSP app — is possible at the push of a button in the HOME UI.
Further, the app automatically scales with future CPU developments and can provide several thousand DSP channels where needed. With support for mono, stereo, 5.1, and NGA Immersive Mixing formats; a flexible number of AUX, GRP, and SUM buses; and much more, it’s the app-based “alter-ego” of the A__UHD Core. Any HOME App can be stopped at any time, freeing up server capacity, Flex Subscription credits, and reducing power consumption in the process.
“HOME mc² DSP leverages the unique granularity and flexibility of the HOME Apps platform regarding input and output media transport protocols,” says Christian Struck, Lawo senior product manager, audio infrastructure. “It will support mixed-format SMPTE ST2110, NDI, and SRT production environments, and newer formats that may become relevant further down the line. There are no plans to discontinue the A__UHD Core as it remains the processing tool of choice for audio-only workflows in a live-sound context.”
Lucas Zwicker, senior director, workflow and integration, CTO Office at Lawo, adds. “The introduction of the HOME mc² DSP app is the next milestone in Lawo’s audio history. This is not a lift-and-shift implementation of an existing product: HOME mc² DSP has been carefully reengineered from scratch to cope with tomorrow’s requirements regarding converged audio, video and commodity-based processing infrastructures. Of course, we deliver the sonic performance our customers have come to expect from mc² mixers.”
