Audinate, developer of the industry-leading Dante® AV networking technology, and NXP® Semiconductors have collaborated to introduce a new reference design kit for the popular NXP i.MX 8M Mini QuadLite SoC – providing Dante audio-over-IP to OEMs as on-chip software.
Solutions developed for standard computing hardware platforms such as ARM are increasingly becoming the most cost-effective and flexible way to design and deliver AV products, shifting the industry from purpose-built hardware. Powerful, compact multi-core applications processors such as the i.MX 8M Mini QuadLite are capable of delivering Dante connectivity across entire families of products with lower costs and far greater versatility.
Audinate now provides a cost-effective and space-efficient means to deliver Dante AV-over-IP technology in these modern software-driven devices. With minimal additional hardware and low marginal costs, Dante Embedded Platform fits where other hardware solutions won’t, giving customers immediate access to thousands of available Dante-enabled products from hundreds of OEMs in countless installations.
The Dante Embedded Platform Reference Design Kit for NXP’s i.MX 8M processors will be validated by Audinate for Dante performance, and lets OEMs design for Dante with confidence. The i.MX 8M Mini QuadLite processor offers four Cortex-A53 cores, one Cortex-M4 core with flexible memory options and a variety of high-speed connectivity interfaces, ideal for AV-over-IP applications.
"Audinate sees a shared opportunity as the AV industry migrates to products running on standard computing architectures," says Joshua Rush, SVP of Marketing at Audinate. "The NXP i.MX 8M applications processor provides a powerful and flexible platform that's widely used in AV, and the addition of the validated support for Dante-as-software is truly a win-win for developers and end customers alike."
"NXP is pleased to work with Audinate, bringing Dante software to the i.MX 8M Mini applications processor," says Amanda McGregor, Senior Product Manager at NXP. "This approach gives product developers who use the i.MX 8M Mini the opportunity to add Dante to their products, providing the high performance and efficiency that makes the i.MX 8M Mini a leader among AV manufacturers."
The Dante Reference Design Kit for NXP i.MX 8M Mini QuadLite processor is expected to be available in Q4 2019. For more information, visit www.audinate.com
