Overview
This article will discuss the audio functionality of the DGX when using the Audio Insert/Extract (AIE) boards.
DGX audio options
The DGX is a video switcher, that by default, carries embedded audio on the video stream, with no independent audio routing.
To achieve this, additional audio boards are required, of which there are 3 options
Audio Insert/Extract boards (AIE) - https://www.amx.com/en-US/products/dgx-aie
Audio Switching boards (ASB) - https://www.amx.com/en-US/products/dgx800-1600-asb (see https://support.polar.uk.com/a/solutions/articles/25000024569)
Dante Audio Switching boards (ASB-DAN) - https://www.amx.com/en-US/products/dgx3200-asb-dan
AIE board configuration
The AIE board has 16 line level stereo audio ports that can be set to either insert or extract audio from the corresponding video input or output board using external audio sources/mixers etc. The boards can be used individually, i.e. just on the output side.
Example: Extracting audio from AIE input port 1, will extract the embedded audio from the video source connected to video input 1.
Note: The DGX800/1600/3200 support 1 AIE board on the input side, and 1 on the output side. As a result, you can only insert/extract audio on the first 16 video ports of the DGX3200, so ensure you consider this when designing the system and which ports require external audio processing. The DGX6400 supports 4 input and 4 output boards and is therefore capable of inserting/extracting from all 64 inputs and outputs.
The configuration of the board is achieved by setting the dipswitches for each individual port to either Enable/Disable and Insert/Extract.
As the boards are hot swap-able, you can change this configuration at any time by removing it from the DGX frame without having to power it down.
AIE use case scenarios
Input set to Extract:
In this scenario, audio from an input is extracted from the video stream and can be sent to an external mixer/DSP. Extracting takes a copy of the audio, it does not remove it from the video stream so it will still be presented on the video output.
Input set to Insert:
Setting an Input to Insert will result in the incoming audio from your external audio processor replacing the embedded audio on the video stream. In the below image, the video from Blu-Ray 1 is now routed to the output side with the mixing desk audio embedded onto it.
Output set to Insert:
Setting an Output to Insert will result in any video source being routed to that output having its audio replaced by the audio connected to the corresponding AIE port.
Output set to Extract:
Extracting from an output will take a copy of any source routed to that output to be able to route to an external DSP etc. The source audio will also be routed to the output and be able to be heard at the sink.
Combining Inputs and Outputs
As each port on the input and output side can be individually configured, they can be used to provide fully flexible audio routing with the addition of an external audio switcher.
The example below shows the extraction of the Blu-Ray audio from input 1, routed to a DSP and then inserted back into the DGX on output 1, and in addition this audio could also be inserted onto other outputs (or inputs) or to a loudspeaker.
