Questions & Answers

StudioLive Series III Rack: Windows AVB

+3 votes
6,152 views
asked Oct 15, 2017 in StudioLive Series III by marcuswhybrow (300 points)

My question is: Does Windows 10 now support AVB natively?

I want to multi-track record a StudioLive 32R over AVB as the press release implies:

An AVB Ethernet connection enables you to network compatible computers and stream up to 55 (StudioLive 32R and 24R) or 32 (StudioLive 16R) channels of audio to and from a Mac® or Windows® PC

But in an April 2016 question AlexTinsley states:

As of this time, driver/software support of AVB audio on Windows is only available through solutions from third party vendors ...

Now that it's October 2017, assuming I have an AVB compatible (i210) ethernet port, has Windows 10 got my back natively? Or does PreSonus now have Windows 10 AVB drivers? Or do we still have to turn to third parties for AVB to PC communication?

2 Answers

0 votes
answered Nov 13, 2017 by jspring (10,770 points)
 
Best answer

No, Windows 10 does not have native support for AVB audio. The only option for a Windows computer would be a third party solution like the Echo NIC-1.

From a technical standpoint, AVB support on Windows has nothing to do with what the AVB device on the other end of the network is, and so an "AVB Driver" would by nature not be specific to any Presonus product, Series III or otherwise. An "AVB Driver" would turn a Windows computer into an AVB Endpoint, and would bridge AVB to ASIO, for use by audio applications on Windows.

The development costs of writing an AVB driver for Windows that would turn a Windows PC into an AVB endpoint able to send and receive AVB audio with any other AVB device on the network would be significant, meaning that it would definitely not be something that could be given away for free.

PreSonus has no current plans or means to create an "AVB Driver" solution for Windows, and even if possible, it would likely just mean a similar product to the Echo NIC-1, likely including a similar hardware network card component, and likely for a similar price. 

0 votes
answered Sep 12, 2018 by nikolassehman (540 points)
Audioscience makes a virtual sound card that will enable windows devices to send audio over avb(similar to dante virtual soundcard).

http://www.audioscience.com/internet/products/avb/hono_avb_vsc.htm
...