Dante manages Synchron Stage Vienna audio signals

Synchron Stage Vienna returns to the forefront of cinema 82 years after its opening with a Dante Audio Network (Audinar).

Originally built in 1941 as part of the “Vienna Film City”, Synchron Stage Vienna was one of the world’s leading recording studios for recording film scores with large orchestras. The Vienna Symphonic Library (VSL), a company specialising in the development of orchestral sample libraries and music production software, acquired the building in 2013 and completely renovated it in the following two years, returning it to its original purpose of orchestral recordings. Today, Synchron Stage Vienna occupies an area of more than 2,000 m2 and offers ample space for several studios, control rooms, instrument storage and artist lounge areas. Audinate’s Dante audio protocol and its benefits (low latency transmission, ease of signal routing and high adoption rate among professional AV system manufacturers) have been a key part of this space transformation process.

During the Synchron Stage Vienna refurbishment, VSL identified the need to simultaneously playback and record up to 144 channels at different sample rates, from 48 kHz to 192 kHz, on multiple digital audio workstations (DAWs). The recordings had to be made with the lowest possible latency and minimum setup time in order to record multiple sessions in a single day. System designer WSDG (Walters Storyk Design Group) and integrator TSAMM provided the technical solution for VSL’s audio requirements. Mario Reithofer, director of integration company TSAMM, talks about the process: “A MADI-based system serving around 500 channels at 192 kHz would introduce too many routing issues and potential points of error. We had discussions with a number of manufacturers offering audio-over-IP (AoIP) products before we found one that was able to accommodate VSL’s requirement. It also happened to be a Dante-enable product which was perfect for our needs.”

Today, Synchron Stage Vienna has two control rooms connected to the huge 540m2 main hall and the smaller B stage, as well as several projection and editing rooms. Both rooms have several DAWs interconnected via Dante, allowing up to six different sample rates to traverse the audio network at any one time. Extensive testing was carried out to ensure the lowest possible system latency, which was 0.7 milliseconds. This low latency was especially important for film production representatives and composers who attend remote live recording sessions at Synchron Stage Vienna to accommodate their recording schedules.

Bernd Mazagg, VSL’s technical director and chief recording engineer, is delighted to have found the solution he was looking for in Dante: “Synchron Stage Vienna is a beautiful architectural space befitting its status as a leading scoring stage. With Dante’s low latency and huge number of supported endpoints, it was the obvious choice for connecting all the rooms and equipment together.”