Audinate is tackling global supply chain issues by lobbying chip manufacturers and offering drop-in replacements for its Brooklyn and Fremont modules.
The maker of Dante networking technology points out that semiconductor analysts report that the global supply chain challenge is largely a demand issue more than a supply issue with AV particularly affected due to its smaller size compared to consumer, automotive and military.
It adds that in the third quarter of 2021 a chip used widely in the AV industry suddenly became unavailable. “An already challenging situation became even worse during Q3-21 and left manufacturers scrambling to find solutions,” said Mathew Mornington-West, chief operating officer of Audinate. “Parts that weren’t supposed to be end-of-life for another five years were suddenly no longer available.”
Audinate said that despite these challenges, it has shipped more units of its chips, cards, and modules (CCM) through May 2022 than through the same period in the prior year. “There is a delta between reality and perception,” said Mornington-West.
To counter the problems, Audinate is using its strategic partnerships with chip suppliers - including Xilinx, NXP and SkyWorks (formerly Silicon Labs) - to lobby for increased allocation of chips on behalf of the more than 500 Dante manufacturer licensees.
Audinate also announced Brooklyn 3, the next generation, drop-in replacement for the Brooklyn 2 module, as well as Fremont 3, the replacement for the Dante AV Fremont module. Samples for both products will be available in the coming months, and production is expected to start in October this year. Audinate is also evaluating alternative options for its Broadway and Ultimo products.
Finally, Audinate has seen adoption of its software offerings with Dante Embedded Platform and Dante IP Core accelerate in recent months as manufacturers look to reduce the number and type of chips they need to procure and diversify their designs with different chip manufacturers. Dante Embedded Platform is a Linux software solution running on off-the-shelf ARM & x86 processors from a variety of chip manufacturers, while the IP Core allows manufacturers to run the Dante image on a variety of pre-qualified FPGAs.
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