RCF has announced a new version 5 update of its RDNet networked management platform delivering sound system control and monitoring that includes a streamlined workflow for grouping self- and externally-powered systems with color coding for ease of identification as well as optimized device discovery with quicker drag-and-drop functionality to make it easier to manage hybrid systems such as a configuration using both GTX and TTL loudspeakers.
In addition, new control and display capabilities of RDNet are a result of enhanced integration with RDNet Measure, RCF’s four-input dual-channel FFT audio analyzer that measures magnitude, phase, RTA, coherence, and impulse response, supplanting the need for external analysis software. There’s also improved Measure-enhanced user interface that includes an advanced EQ visualization with amplitude/phase response plots and real-time FFT analysis, plus a new “Overall” function which simulates EQ response over Phase/Magnitude measurements.
The timesaving “Automatic LF Alignment” subwoofer group phase adjusts function and “Fill/Delay Align” temporal alignment function allows for aligning big systems more quickly directly from system loudspeaker group (line array, subs, clusters or fills) impulse response measurements.
RDNet control and monitoring of every connected device/object in an RCF system, and it can now operate as RDNet-OE (Over Ethernet). Initially deployed on XPS amplifiers, RDNet-OE integrates RDNet into an existing Ethernet infrastructure for control of networked devices throughout a large venue or a facility with networked gear in diverse locations.
RDNet-OE runs simultaneously with and in parallel to RDNet control of devices running on RCF’s proprietary network protocol and connected to the host computer via Control2 or Control8 interfaces. Version 5 also introduces a new cloud infrastructure to save and recall projects and measurements remotely.
System sound design, configuration, setup and optimization are designed to be straightforward with RDNet, including acoustic simulation of the array configuration. The software provides the system curvature and weight, system rigging points and cabinet angles required for successful system deployment. Guided subwoofer configurations cab help the engineer to set up subwoofer cardioid, arc or endfire subwoofer configurations in one pass, while the Bass Shaper function fine-tunes the desired timbre on low frequencies.
An additional feature is an incremental control that shapes the Air Absorption Compensation to maintain sonic character with changes in humidity or temperature, such as with a sound check on a sunny day and a concert on a humid night. RDNet runs on Windows computers, and version 5 is available now as a free download.
