Virscient, a company specializing in wireless connectivity and audio technologies, announced the release of LiveOnAir – a technology that enables ultra-low latency audio over low power wireless links. According to the New Zealand-based company, LiveOnAir changes the game for key applications in gaming, in live performance – including digital wireless microphones and in-ear monitors – and other audio application scenarios requiring tight synchronization.
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 the ability of the gamer to react to their environment.
According to Virscient, LiveOnAir delivers high-quality audio over long- or short-range wireless links with a latency of less than 5 milliseconds from analog input to analog output. The system can support a range of topologies, codecs, and RF options that can be optimized for the specific requirements of any given use case.
For low-power digital microphone applications, Virscient offers a complete hardware/software reference design 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/48kHz audio with a compact and simple hardware BoM.
“LiveOnAir is a ground-breaking solution that enables ultra-low latency wireless audio at new levels of performance, efficiency, and simplicity,” says Dr. Dean Armstrong, CTO of Virscient.
“We have been delivering solutions to high-end audio and wireless companies for almost 20 years, and fundamentally understand what the market requires. Virscient is 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.”
Virscient provides wireless connectivity solutions for the world’s leading semiconductor and product companies, and develops secure embedded software for connected systems, designing hardware from silicon to PCB/product-level. LiveOnAir evaluation kits are available today with a range of codec and RF options including Bluetooth, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), and other protocols.
