A technical collaboration between the global Video-over-IP connectivity standard NDI and audio software company LAMA (Lean And Mean Audio) has resulted in the NDI Virtual Soundcard, which emulates the functionality of a physical soundcard without the need for any additional hardware to support the transport of high-quality, low-latency audio over standard IP networks.
NDI Audio streaming supports multiple audio channels to allow the routing of complex audio set-ups across a network. Providing software-defined connectivity, it enables an audio application to interact with any PC as if it were a standard hardware soundcard, enabling a computer to send and receive NDI Audio using a conventional Ethernet port.
‘One of the most compelling advantages of LAMA NDI Virtual Soundcard is its accessibility,’ says LAMA co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Ewan Cameron. ‘Supporting up to 16 inputs and outputs, this free tool makes NDI Audio accessible to a wider range of users, from hobbyists and small content creators to educational institutions and professional broadcasting companies. For users with more advanced audio workflows, we will also be releasing a 64-channel version as a paid upgrade.
‘This approach not only simplifies the setup and reduces the costs associated with live production and streaming, but also enhances the flexibility and scalability of audio workflows. We believe this level of accessibility will encourage more users to explore the possibilities of NDI-enabled audio production workflows.’
The LAMA NDI Virtual Soundcard leverages the same NDI protocol that revolutionised video production by enabling high-quality video to be transmitted over standard computer networks. By extending this capability to audio, the LAMA NDI Virtual Soundcard brings the same efficiencies to audio users. Turning a computer into an NDI-enabled device empowers users to network multi-channel audio with minimal setup and integrate with audio applications including digital audio workstations, live sound mixing consoles and other audio processing software.
‘LAMA’s development of the NDI Virtual Soundcard is a testament to the ongoing software-defined innovation within the growing NDI community and introduces a host of benefits,’ says NDI President, Daniel Nergard. ‘It is very relevant in today’s increasingly remote and distributed working environments, helping to facilitate remote production workflows and enabling real-time, low latency collaboration between teams in different geographical locations ─ and with no additional equipment needed.’
To promote widespread adoption, the LAMA NDI Virtual Soundcard supports all the major sound card drivers, including Microsoft Windows’ WDM, Apple’s Core Audio and the ASLA driver for Linux. It also supports the ASIO driver specified by Steinberg and widely used in professional DAWs.
