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INTRODUCTION TO AUDIOSWITCHER SERVER

AudioSwitcher Server is a flexible audio control software tool designed to enhance operations and development workflow within the complex and dynamically changing environments of A/V research facilities, computer music studios, and multi-purpose media spaces. 

AudioSwitcher Server combines flexible audio mixing and routing, network and MIDI i/o, and a clean and intuitive graphical user interface, within a powerful preset-based automation system. Software Controls and presets are built and modified via simple configuration files with an intuitive syntax, allowing for easy management of variable hardware configurations. AudioSwitcher Server can be remotely controlled using the provided AudioSwitcher Control software, user-designed clients communicating over standard network protocols (OSC, UDP, TCP/IP, UDP Multicast), and one or more MIDI devices.

Let's say you have a multi-purpose room with the following equipment:

• 1 Blu-Ray player (with 5.1 audio output)
• 4 wireless lavalier microphones
• 1 video conferencing unit (with 2 channels i/o)
• 1 MacPro for custom audio work (with 8 channels of i/o)
• 1 Linux or Windows machine for graphics and visualization work, with occasional need for stereo audio output
• 1 hardware audio mixer with 8 channels of i/o. 
• 8 loudspeakers

Ideally, all devices in the room need to be able to send audio out to any number of the 8 available loudspeakers. Additionally, some devices, such as the video conferencing unit and the MacPro, need to receive audio from various sources as well. You want all audio to pass through one central hub, allowing easy control over the entire system without having to physically patch cable. Assuming you have a Mac or Windows computer with enough digital and/or analog audio inputs and outputs, AudioSwitcher Server is designed specifically to facilitate control of idiosyncratic configurations such as the one listed above. The software is designed with scalability and portability in mind, and will therefore function equally well in a variety of scenarios, ranging from very simple to complex i/o configurations.

Summary of Functionality:

• Flexible hardware-to-software i/o channel mappings
• Powerful preset-based automation system
• Simple configuration files for overall server setup and preset definitions
• Mute, Solo, and Delay controls for all input, bus, and output channels
• Custom Max patch insertion at end of signal chain for all input, bus, and output channels
• Limitless input-to-bus and bus-to-output submixing (replacing more traditional DAW bus assigns, sends, and returns)
• Group fader assignments for input, bus, and output channels
• Simple end-user control of one or more servers via AudioSwitcher Control software (with support for multiple simultaneous client connections)
• User-defined network and MIDI i/o "bindings" of server controls (levels, mutes, solos, presets, etc.)
• Custom network message creation, storage, and delivery to remote destinations (i.e. OSC, UDP, and TCP/IP, UDP multicast messages sent to other servers, 3rd party software, etc.)

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