Editor’s Note: Visit Apantac at InfoComm 2026 next week at Booth #C7459. Commercial Integrator editors will be in attendance all week covering the show!
As broadcast and pro AV continue to converge around IP, audio infrastructures are moving steadily toward Dante and AES67. That shift creates a practical issue: immersive formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X arrive as compressed bitstreams over HDMI, whereas networked audio systems expect uncompressed PCM channels. Apantac’s DA-HDTV-Dante-Tx-UHD aims to bridge that gap, decoding embedded HDMI audio into discrete channels ready for routing across Dante and AES67 networks.
In this Commercial Integrator Q&A, Apantac’s founder, president and CEO, Thomas Tang, explains why compressed audio decoding has become a critical piece of modern workflows and what it means for integrators building today’s broadcast and pro AV systems.
Commercial Integrator: From the Apantac point of view, why is compressed audio decoding becoming increasingly important in modern broadcast and pro AV workflows, particularly when integrating immersive formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS into Dante and AES67 environments?
Thomas Tang: Modern broadcast and pro AV systems are transitioning from traditional audio infrastructures toward Audio over IP (AoIP) architectures built around standards such as Dante and AES67. At the same time, content creators and broadcasters are increasingly delivering immersive audio experiences using compressed formats including Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, DTS:X, and other advanced codecs. These immersive formats are typically transported as compressed bitstreams over HDMI or embedded within video signals, while AoIP systems require uncompressed PCM audio streams for distribution.
The transition from compressed consumer delivery formats to professional AoIP workflows therefore requires an intermediate decoding stage. Without decoding, Dante or AES67 networks cannot directly route or process compressed audio because networked audio devices expect linear PCM channels.
Apantac’s DA-HDTV-Dante-Tx-UHD addresses this requirement by acting as a bridge between HDMI video sources and professional AoIP networks. The unit accepts HDMI 2.0 signals carrying embedded compressed audio and decodes formats such as Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, and DTS:X into discrete audio channels. These channels can then be transmitted into Dante networks and interoperable AES67 infrastructures.
For example, a media player delivering Dolby Atmos content through HDMI can immediately become a source for distributed audio routing across an entire Dante network without requiring dedicated and expensive AVRs.
The result is simplified integration, improved scalability, and a seamless transition from compressed immersive formats to enterprise-grade networked audio ecosystems.
Commercial Integrator: What technical advantages does the Apantac DA-HDTV-Dante-Tx-UHD provide when converting HDMI embedded immersive audio into Dante and AES67 streams?
Thomas Tang: The Apantac DA-HDTV-Dante-Tx-UHD provides several technical advantages by combining HDMI signal handling, audio decoding, and AoIP transmission into a single inexpensive platform.
First, the device supports HDMI 2.0 video up to UHD resolutions while simultaneously extracting embedded audio streams. Rather than merely passing compressed bitstreams, the system decodes and render them into multichannel PCM outputs suitable for network transport.
The decoder supports immersive and legacy formats including Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Surround, DTS, DTS-HD, and DTS:X. This broad compatibility ensures support for both consumer media sources and professional playback environments.
After decoding and rendering, the unit can output from stereo pair up to sixteen audio channels through Dante, allowing routing, mixing, monitoring, and recording across networked audio infrastructures. Because Dante environments increasingly require interoperability with open standards, AES67 compatibility becomes equally important. AES67 enables communication between Dante and third-party AoIP systems, supporting broader integration with broadcast consoles, intercom systems, and IP audio infrastructures.
Another advantage is the inclusion of HDMI loop output functionality. Video can continue downstream to displays and projectors while audio is independently distributed over the network.
Operational efficiency is also improved because the DA-HDTV-Dante-Tx-UHD removes the need for devices such as AV receivers. The result is reduced cost and space. The DA-HDTV-Dante-Tx-UHD can be 1/5 of the cost of an AVR.
Commercial Integrator: How does decoding Dolby Atmos and DTS:X into Dante improve workflow flexibility for broadcast and control-room environments?
Thomas Tang: Traditional immersive audio systems were often designed around dedicated playback chains where compressed audio remained tied to local decoders and speaker systems. While effective for fixed installations, this architecture limits routing flexibility and scalability.
By decoding Dolby Atmos and DTS:X into Dante streams, the workflow becomes fully networked. The DA-HDTV-Dante-Tx-UHD is discoverable by the Dante Controller. Once audio enters the Dante domain as discrete PCM channels, it can be routed anywhere on the network using standard audio management tools.
For example, decoded channels may feed production consoles, monitoring rooms, recording systems, intercom environments, confidence monitoring stations, and remote production facilities.
Similarly, esports venues and live event productions frequently require audio to be distributed across multiple locations. A single game console, replay server, or media source carrying DTS:X content can become a centrally routable Dante source serving production teams, announcers, streaming encoders, and venue sound systems.
AES67 interoperability extends these capabilities even further by allowing integration into broader IP ecosystems beyond Dante. Broadcast facilities already operating AES67 infrastructures can ingest decoded immersive audio without redesigning existing networks.
Commercial Integrator: Why is the convergence of broadcast and pro AV accelerating demand for products such as the Apantac DA-HDTV-Dante-Tx-UHD?
Thomas Tang: The historical separation between broadcast and pro AV infrastructures is rapidly disappearing. Broadcast environments increasingly adopt AV-over-IP technologies such as ST-2110 with AES 67, while pro AV installations demand broadcast-level reliability, interoperability, and scalability.
Immersive audio content is now common across streaming services, gaming systems, OTT platforms, digital signage, sports venues, corporate presentation systems, and entertainment environments. Much of this content arrives as compressed HDMI audio carrying Dolby Atmos or DTS-based formats.
Meanwhile, professional audio infrastructures are moving toward Dante and AES67 because these technologies simplify routing, reduce cabling, support remote production, and improve system scalability.
The Apantac DA-HDTV-Dante-Tx-UHD sits directly at the intersection of these trends. It converts consumer-facing immersive content into professional network audio streams while maintaining compatibility with modern AoIP ecosystems.
Instead of treating immersive audio as an isolated playback technology, the DA-HDTV-Dante-Tx-UHD transforms it into an accessible network resource. Audio becomes transportable, routable, monitorable, and recordable across an entire facility.
As broadcast and pro AV continue converging toward IP infrastructures, products that bridge compressed media formats with Dante and AES67 networks will become increasingly important components in future system designs.
