[Jack-Devel] Ethernet-based audio interface using (net)jack idea

Dear all,

In light of the conversation started by Leeloo on Gmane
(http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.comp.audio.jackit/24049), I am trying
to piece together an idea for prototyping a similar system.

I've spoken briefly with Jeri Elsworth (a well-known electrical
engineer and general gadget wizard!), and she has made recommendations
on what FPGA-based hardware I could tackle this project with, but I
think before I can proceed, I need to gather some more of the high-level
questions that I'll need to ask and research in order to get started.

The basic premise, like leloo's, is to create a multiple channel audio
ADC that transports it's data to a slave computer via JACK (over
Ethernet) for recording. There seem to be a lot of audio interfaces out
there that use either Firewire or USB, but often don't support
cross-platform compatibility. I suppose my partial intent is to create
something like the Open OpenSound Controller, where the machines can be
built by anyone, and tailored to their needs.

So, my basic knowledge of JACK so far is that it will communicate with
an audio device that it is connected to, and transfer that data to its
intended destination. If this were to be done in a FPGA environment,
what would be a good approach of connecting the ADCs to JACK?

Secondly, what do I need to know in terms of sending JACK's network
output over Ethernet? I'm looking at a board that has a built-in
Ethernet interface, but will I need to tell the FPGA to send the data
in a particular format (say, TCP or UDP)?

I've done a couple of weeks of research so far, but I'm sure there are
useful resources on the Internet that I've not yet stumbled upon. If
anyone has any particular suggestions or advice, please let me know!
I'm starting with very little experience as a developer, so this may
take a while, but I do hope to come up with something useful and
functional, as well as using this project as a learning exercise.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Dan

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