New Zealand-based wireless connectivity and audio specialist Virscient has announced the release of LiveOnAir — an innovative technology that enables ultra-low-latency audio over low-power wireless links. The company says LiveOnAir changes the game for key applications in live performance (for example, in digital wireless microphones and in-ear monitors), gaming, and other innovative audio scenarios.
These use cases fundamentally require low latency to ensure an optimum experience, and existing technologies do not meet this need. Additional latency in live performance scenarios can result in a disconnect between performer and performance, with mixed/monitored audio poorly synchronized with real-time events. Similarly, in gaming applications, latency and audio quality are critical to the competitive advantage — undue delays can limit a gamer’s ability to react to their environment.
LiveOnAir delivers high-quality audio over long- or short-range wireless links with an analog-to-analog latency of less than five milliseconds. The system supports a range of topologies, codecs and RF options, allowing optimization for the specific requirements of any given use case.
Virscient offers a complete hardware/software reference design for low-power digital microphone applications based on Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF5340 dual-core Bluetooth low-energy SoC. Virscient’s LiveOnAir solution for nRF5340 allows OEMs to rapidly deliver high-performance wireless audio solutions supporting ultra-low-latency transport of 24-bit / 48 kHz audio with a compact and simple hardware BoM.
“We have been delivering solutions to high-end audio and wireless companies for almost 20 years, and fundamentally understand what the market requires,” says Virscient CTO Dr. Dean Armstrong. “We are investing heavily to build our IP portfolio, and LiveOnAir is the first of a number of developments that we believe will change the landscape for wireless and connected audio.”