Ultra-low-latency audio over Bluetooth wireless
Virscient has launched an ultra-low-latency audio technology for low power wireless links with a reference design from Nordic Semiconductor.
LiveOnAir is aimed at digital wireless microphones and in-ear monitors used for live performances as well as gaming, and other audio scenarios.
LiveOnAir delivers high-quality audio over long- or short-range wireless links with a latency of less than 5 milliseconds from analogue-to-analogue. The system can support a range of topologies, codecs, and RF options that allow to optimise for the specific requirements of any given use case.
Additional latency in live performance scenarios can result in a disconnect between performer and performance, with mixed/monitored audio poorly synchronised 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.
For low-power digital microphone applications, New Zealand-based Virscient offers a complete hardware/software reference design based on Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF5340 dual-core Bluetooth Low Energy SoC. This 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.
“LiveOnAir is a ground-breaking solution that enables ultra-low latency wireless audio at new levels of performance, efficiency, and simplicity,” said 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.”
LiveOnAir evaluation kits are available with a range of codec and RF options including Bluetooth, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), and other protocols.
