09 26th, 2011| 
When Barix announced the Reflector Service, our customers wondered what this would be useful for …
Barix is well known for its Audio over IP streaming products such as the Exstreamer. So far so good – the devices are perfectly useful and reliable for a host of IP Audio applications, from STL (Studio Transmitter Link) to Paging, Intercom and Surveillance applications.
The AoIP (Audio over IP) devices from Barix are easy to configure and use, but setting up Audio Distribution over the Internet is not very easy for non- IT techies.
In addition, “static IP” addresses are needed for a reliable link – something often not easily available from the ISP, if at all, or at a cost.
Barix realized there is something to do .. and invented the Reflector Service. Because we are not hosting providers – this is not our core know how – we teamed up with the leading, high quality partner Streamguys to provide a reliable service to Broadcasters and other customers who easily want to set up a point-to point or point-to-multipoint audio distribution solution over the internet.
StreamGuys are a professional hosting organisation with all the necessary infrastructure in place to operate and support the service 24/7. Customers who are interested in the Reflector Service just need to purchase a Barix encoder and a Barix decoder device (for example, 2x the Exstreamer 500, which can serve both purposes). Depending on the device type, firmware might need to be loaded to support the Reflector service (Exstreamer 500 comes preloaded !).
From there, things are very simple – at least for 90% of the customers:
– Install the encoder and the decoder at the locations between which you want to establish the audio feed
– Go to the reflector website, set up your project, add the two MAC addresses of the device, specify encoder and decoder
– you can do some tweaks in regards to the encoding quality, attenuation, output level and buffering, if you dislike the defaults
.. and that’s it ! The devices will, within seconds, start establishing the tunnel for audio and contact closure forwarding and streaming will commence.
The “zero config” capability of the devices, of course, only works if your local network where these are installed supports DHCP and a “free view” of the internet. This is the case in most places where a DSL or cable router is used. If you need to manually configure an IP address, net mask, router, you can of course do so using a standard web browser.
To find out more about the Barix Reflector Service, visit http://www.barix.com/Reflector_STL_made_simple/1551/
To sign up for a trial, customers can simply request an account using the following links:
US Customers: http://us-reflector.streamguys.com
European Customers: http://eu-reflector.streamguys.com/
StreamGuys will then contact the customer and arrange all the necessary details.
So, do not limit your imagination about where to use the Reflector Service to Broadcast, Studio Transmitter Links ! The service can universally be used where Audio needs to be reliably transported from “a” to “b” over the Internet, being it for contribution, commentary or STL in the Broadcast area, being it for remote surveillance, or being it to deliver Audio to a remote bus or train station … wherever you want to distribute Audio over the Internet, the Barix Reflector solves the mystery of IP and lets you focus on the important things of your business !
Johannes