ObCom Protocol

Control and monitoring of professional audio equipment is fast becoming a necessity. Networking technology provides a vehicle that can enable many advances in total system performance, from basic tuning and configuration of loudspeakers to complex array control or emergency system availability surveillance. Combining networked operation with self-powered cabinets provides a system that not only match the performance of a traditional controller / amplifier / loudspeaker set-up but can also provide significant advantages for all the partners in the supply chain. Whilst the technology has not yet matured, it is difficult to believe that this is not the way of the future.

Linea's response to the challenge is ObCom. Far more than just an external messaging system - our engineers carefully considered whether the world really needed yet another protocol. However, they decided that there was a requirement for a modern legacy-free object oriented system. This protocol had to be suitable for both small and large systems, locally connected, connected via the internet or both and easy to use for designers, installers and operators.

ObCom is a low overhead protocol meaning that, in addition to implementation on high performance platforms like PCs, it can run effectively across slow networks and be embedded inside devices that do not have a lot of computing power, for example radio networked wall mounted controllers.

In addition to being suitable for transport over any networking infrastructure, ObCom technology can extend to the heart of a device. For example, in a rack-mounting unit ObCom can be used to connect the main processing board to its front panel control surface. As a result of using ObCom, the unit can be controlled locally, or if connected to a network, remotely and from multiple locations simultaneously.

Currently Linea Research supports ObCom over RS232, RS485 and both 10mbs and 100mbs Ethernet. When Ethernet is used as the network medium, ObCom communicates natively using TCP/IP enabling seamless connectivity over the Internet.