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Block Reference

EXP2x Dante Rx Input Block

How to Use

An EXP2x Dante Input block represents a single channel of digital audio signal received at a Dante port on the EXP2x device.

Adding the Block to Your System
  1. Click the Processing tab to open the Processing Workspace.
  2. In the palette area, click the I/O tab.
  3. In the palette, find the EXP2x device you want and then the Dante Port (Rx) category. Click and drag the appropriate Dante input channel block onto your Processing Map.
  4. note: An EXP2x does not appear in the I/O palette until it has been added to the system in the Hardware Workspace.

    tip: Hold down Shift then select multiple Dante input channels, one at a time, to drag in groups of blocks.

  5. Wire the block's output to the appropriate block in the system.

note: Unlike other input blocks, you cannot change a Dante input block name or channel name from Halogen. These names come from the Dante network and you use the Dante Controller software supplied by Audinate to configure the EXP2x device properties. https://www.audinate.com/products/software/dante-controller

Configuring the Block
  • Open the Dante Input block's properties by double-clicking the block or hovering and clicking the properties icon that appears in the upper right of the block's title bar. The Dante input block has no configurable properties, but from this dialog box, you can do the following:
    • View the Dante network clock Sync Status When on, this means the Dante network clock is arriving successfully locked at the EXP2x.
    • View the name, status, and audio signal meter data for each Dante input channel that you've added to the processing map for the associated EXP2x device. Use Dante Controller software to edit or troubleshoot and of these settings.

    note: Unlike the property dialogs for other types of HAL system input channels, which show information for a single channel, the Dante Input properties dialog shows all of the input channels that you are using for a particular EXP2x.

User Interface Elements
Dante Input Block

EXP2X Dante Input Block

UI Element Purpose

Dante device name

(EXP2x-Hotel in this example)

The Dante device name of the EXP2x connected to the corresponding EXP port on the HAL device.

Output node

(Satellite TV Audio in this example)

The Dante network supplied name for the input channel.

note: Even though the Dante device name and channel name are provided by the Dante network, Halogen saves them in the configuration file for convenience when you are working offline with Halogen.

Dante Input Block Properties

EXP2x Dante Input Properties

 
UI Element Purpose

Sync Status LED

Shows green when the Dante network clock sync status is locked, otherwise is off.

This LED corresponds to the LOCK LED on the front panel of the EXP2x device.

note: This LED is functional only when you are connected to a HAL device which has an attached and configured EXP2x on a Dante network.

Input channel

The Dante Input properties dialog shows the set of input channels that you have placed on the processing map for a particular EXP2x device.

Each input channel contains the following properties:

Channel Name - the Dante-supplied name for the input channel.

Channel status LED and status label - This LED is functional only when you are connected to a HAL device which has a configured EXP2x on a Dante network. The LED and label indicates the Dante network status for the input channel and can have the following values:

Halogen LED

Halogen Text Label EXP2x Front Panel ACTIVE LED Description
Green : Solid Connected Yellow : Solid The connection is established and fully functional.
Yellow : Solid Warning Yellow : Flashing

The subscription is unresolved, typically because the transmitting device is not visible on the network.

For example: the transmitting device has been removed or switched off.

tip: Use your mouse to hover over the LED or text label to see a tooltip describing the warning. See Some Possible Dante Warnings and Errors below.

note: Use Dante Controller software to investigate and resolve the warning. Most often, the latency or sample rates of the receive and transmit devices do not match in Dante Controller.

Red : Solid Error Yellow : Flashing

An error has occurred.

For example: there is insufficient bandwidth to establish the subscription.

tip: Use your mouse to hover over the LED or text label to see a tooltip describing the error. See Some Possible Dante Warnings and Errors below.

note: Use Dante Controller software to investigate and resolve the error.

Off

Off

Off

The channel is not subscribed to a Dante flow.

In Progress Off Channel subscription is underway but not yet complete.

note: The LED and Label are functional only when you are connected to a HAL device which has an attached and configured EXP2x on a Dante network.

Meter data - When connected to a HAL device, shows signal meter data for the input channel.

Some Possible Dante Warning and Errors

Some warnings and errors are listed below. Use Dante Controller to investigate and troubleshoot problems:

  • Still preparing the subscription or connection
  • Incorrect channel format – source and destination channels do not match. Are they the same sample rate and latency in Dante Controller?
  • Unresolved – cannot find this channel on the network
  • Could not communicate with the Transmitter
  • No more flows (RX) - receiver cannot support any more flows. Is the receiver subscribed to too many different devices?
  • No more flows (TX) - transmitter cannot support any more flows. Reduce fan out by unsubscribing receivers or manually switch to a multicast flow using Dante Controller.
  • Receive bandwidth exceeded - receiver can't reliably support any more inbound flows. Reduce the number of subscriptions or look for excessive multicast flows in Dante Controller.
  • Transmit bandwidth exceeded - transmitter can't reliably support any more outbound flows. Reduce fan out by unsubscribing receivers or switching to multicast.