# Dante certification



## Pip (Sep 29, 2019)

Hey all!! I wanted to accomplish a couple things with this post.

Firstly, I’d like to pat myself on the back and brag about my completion of the Dante Certification Level 3 by Audinate. That was fun! 



Secondly, I’d like to offer that if anyone wants to discuss Dante networking, I’d be excited to have a conversation about it. Also, I’d like to say that I recommend the Dante certification to anyone working with network digital audio nowadays. Definitely take it if you work with Dante.

Cheers

Pip


----------



## macsound (Sep 30, 2019)

Its something that has intrigued me for a long time but outside of a Yamaha Tio, I've never built my own system.
Thought starting out with Dante Via would be a good idea, but then thought that might make it harder to conceptualize than if I started with hardware.

What goes into being certified? Mostly corporate stuff or theatrical based applications too?


----------



## TimMc (Oct 1, 2019)

macsound said:


> Its something that has intrigued me for a long time but outside of a Yamaha Tio, I've never built my own system.
> Thought starting out with Dante Via would be a good idea, but then thought that might make it harder to conceptualize than if I started with hardware.
> 
> What goes into being certified? Mostly corporate stuff or theatrical based applications too?


Dante certification is about getting (and keeping) devices connected to each other in increasingly complex networked systems. It's application-agnostic; it doesn't matter if you're routing audio around a TV studio, school, theater or theater complex, theme park, stadium or arena or a touring system.

Dante, unlike most other forms of digital audio distribution, uses the OSI model and is fully TCP/IP compliant and *can* run on almost any data network having sufficient bandwidth; sometimes that's a dedicated network and sometimes it piggy backs on the installed LANs.

You can study and take the Level 1 exams on line, IIRC. Audinate (Dante's inventor) holds physical training sessions, too. If you've got a fairly good grip on OSI-compliant networking already, a lot of Level 1 will seem redundant.


----------



## Lextech (Oct 1, 2019)

Level 2. Of course being the person I am I took both Level 1 & 2 after designing and installing a Dante network system in my main space.....


----------



## macsound (Oct 1, 2019)

I understand the uses for Dante, but usually when a subject is being taught, they frame the learning in a certain situation (such as corporate) to explain the details.


----------



## What Rigger? (Oct 1, 2019)

I'm slowly going through the Level 1, just because it's becoming a real thing at my gig and sometimes I get to run iPad faders. Who says riggers can't learn stuff?


----------



## josh88 (Oct 1, 2019)

macsound said:


> I understand the uses for Dante, but usually when a subject is being taught, they frame the learning in a certain situation (such as corporate) to explain the details.


Its either in person or just online tutorials and its not geared towards corporate or theatre, its basically a networking class/IT class that centers on how it works with audio.


----------



## TimMc (Oct 2, 2019)

macsound said:


> I understand the uses for Dante, but usually when a subject is being taught, they frame the learning in a certain situation (such as corporate) to explain the details.


Audio distribution is application-agnostic. Whether on a corpy gig in a hotel ballroom or a rock tour or a theatrical show, there is much more that is similar than dissimilar and Audinate presumes we are smart enough to know what is not the same.

Kind of like a liberal arts education - you will be able to apply principles and empirical data to reach an appropriate conclusion.


----------



## macsound (Oct 2, 2019)

TimMc said:


> Audio distribution is application-agnostic. Whether on a corpy gig in a hotel ballroom or a rock tour or a theatrical show, there is much more that is similar than dissimilar and Audinate presumes we are smart enough to know what is not the same.
> 
> Kind of like a liberal arts education - you will be able to apply principles and empirical data to reach an appropriate conclusion.


Maybe it's just because the conversation is happening through text which inherently lacks emotion, but I'm asking legitimate questions and your responses seem very hostile.


----------



## josh88 (Oct 2, 2019)

macsound said:


> Maybe it's just because the conversation is happening through text which inherently lacks emotion, but I'm asking legitimate questions and your responses seem very hostile.


I don't think he is, the answer is just that it's not really framed in anyway. The potential use cases are similar but also pretty different depending on how networked a system is or if something is tied into say an actual embedded network somewhere. They just present all the information and the user taking the course really can ignore some of it if they think they'll never run into that scenario in a theatre setting for example.


----------



## TimMc (Oct 3, 2019)

macsound said:


> Maybe it's just because the conversation is happening through text which inherently lacks emotion, but I'm asking legitimate questions and your responses seem very hostile.


Nope. I'm saying that what Audinate teaches is not tied to any particular form of end use. One learns the what and how - it is presumed that one already has a *why* in mind. If application-specific training helps you learn, that's all fine and dandy.

Edit ps: successful use of Dante seems to be a combination of TCP/IP network management and managing device bandwidth use, followed by device configuration. Applications could be a theater, hotel conference center, hockey arena or retail store - each have different *audio* needs - but the way Dante works is the same. In designing a networked audio system you still make the same decisions about where you need inputs, where you need outputs; about microphones and loudspeakers, etc. as you would if the audio distribution were analog. It's a great time to be in audio and networked signal distribution is well worth your time and attention no matter how you ultimately apply your knowledge.


----------



## Lextech (Oct 4, 2019)

Actually even in theater use we often need to deal with the same problems that the AV guys do. How about the backstage feed and the need to duck program for the page mic. Lobby speakers need a feed for some events and wouldn't it be nice if the pre show music in the house and lobby were the same. Oh and add a mic in he lobby for that talk after the show for donors. Dante lets you do all this and more and more importantly in this business quickly. I had a HDMI extender lose audio in an overflow situation and with the house open, in less then ten minutes, most of which involved having to go to my office for my bag of tricks, set up an audio feed over Dante. I do have CAT and Fiber tie lines between spaces so that helps but Dante made my life easy. So embrace Dante and take the classes and learn. The more you know the easier your life becomes.


----------



## spiwak2005 (Oct 4, 2019)

Thanks to this thread I have now started taking the courses. I don't have any Dante devices yet but definitely see the advantages. Plus when I told my boss I took the Level 1 Certification, he told me to "go buy a couple dongles". Thanks, boss.


----------



## JohnnyAmos (Mar 26, 2020)

I just started the process online yesterday.


----------

