Silent Events, Silent Conferences and Tours: What makes Auracast different?

Silent Events, Silent Conferences and Tours: Which radio system fits?

Silent Events are no longer a niche format. Silent Disco, Silent Conference, factory tours, city tours, simultaneous interpreting: In all these cases, sound is not distributed via loudspeakers, but directly to the ears. The only question is, by which means. This article sorts the systems that are actually used in the market – and shows what changes with Auracast.

What is actually used

Anyone planning a Silent Event will encounter a manageable number of systems in practice.

Analogue UHF radio is the workhorse of the industry. The classic Silent Disco headphones with their bright channel colours predominantly operate like this: one transmitter per channel, usually three channels, receivers directly in the headphones. Robust, cost-effective in terms of inventory, tried and tested.

Digital radio in the 2.4 GHz band or based on DECT has established itself especially in tours and interpreting technology. Better audio quality than analogue radio, often more channels, partial encryption, and in some products a return channel for the group.

Infrared is the classic of conference interpreting. Still widely used in conference centres with interpreting booths today, because it transmits many channels cleanly and the signal does not leave the room. It plays hardly any role for mobile formats.

Wi-Fi and app-based streaming runs over the house network to the guests' smartphones. This saves rental devices, but is completely dependent on network quality and introduces a delay that is disruptive in live formats.

Auracast is the latest addition: broadcast audio as part of the Bluetooth standard, with a crucial structural difference – transmitters and receivers no longer necessarily come from the same manufacturer.

Overview of the systems

Scaling: the area determines the number of transmitters, not the limit of the system

When it comes to range, people often think the wrong way around. The question is not how far a single transmitter can reach, but how many access points an area needs.

Auracast is designed for this. Multiple transmitters can provide the same content and cover an area in cells – comparable to Wi-Fi access points. The receiver selects the best access point and switches as it moves. For the guest, it remains a channel; technically, another cell takes over in the background.

This fundamentally changes the planning logic. A festival site, a multi-storey conference centre, a museum with a convoluted layout, or an industrial site cannot be covered by a single strong transmitter, but by a sensibly placed number of cells. Where the crowd is dense, the cells are placed closer together – short distances to the next transmitter are more effective than more power from a single one.

This is where a dedicated receiver pays off. It can manage the switch between cells in a targeted and predictable manner, rather than leaving it to the guest's device to determine how well that works. For the organiser, this means: planned coverage instead of chance.

An inventory that works everywhere

The structurally most important difference lies not in the tone, but in the compatibility.

With UHF, infrared and digital radio, receivers and transmitters only match within a product family. Those who build a stock commit to a manufacturer – and to their prices, availability and product cycles.

Auracast receivers follow an open standard. They work with any Auracast installation, regardless of whose transmitter is running there. A stock is therefore no longer an accessory to a system, but an independent operating resource.

Multiple channels, without more hardware

A Summitwave TX transmits up to six streams in parallel. For a silent conference with three tracks, a bilingual tour or an event with original sound plus translation, one device is sufficient.

This can be further developed over multiple cells: In one zone, a different programme runs than in the next, without the need to set up separate systems. A venue can thus simultaneously serve a stage, a lecture room and a tour.

Silent conference: multiple programmes in one room

In a silent conference, multiple lectures, workshops or discussions run in parallel in the same room. Each participant chooses the channel they wish to follow. What would have previously required three separate rooms takes place in one hall, without the programmes drowning each other out.

Broadcast audio is built exactly for this. Switching is done directly at the receiver – those who want to switch between two sessions change the stream, not the room.

For the organiser, it is crucial that the output remains simple. Receivers are programmed via the docking station before the event, distributed at the entrance and then collected again afterwards – a process that event staff can manage without training.

Security: send openly or encrypt

Broadcast audio initially means: the signal goes openly into the room. This is exactly right for a silent disco. However, it is not suitable for an internal company meeting, an investors' event, or a confidential negotiation with interpretation.

Auracast has the answer for this in the standard; it does not need to be purchased separately. A stream can be encrypted with a broadcast code, and the transmission is secured with AES-128. Without this code – four to sixteen characters – the stream is discoverable but not eavesdroppable. The code can be issued at the entrance, printed on the agenda, or provided as a QR code.

Both run alongside each other: a transmitter can simultaneously broadcast an open channel for the audience and a closed one for an internal circle.

For comparison: analogue UHF radio is fundamentally unencrypted. Anyone in the vicinity who sets a receiver to the same channel can listen in – even outside the premises. Infrared solves this physically, as light does not pass through walls; reliably, as long as the room does not have a glass front. With digital radio systems, it depends on the product. Auracast is the only system in the field where encryption is part of the specification and not part of the price list.

Latency: here Auracast does not win

To be fair: analogue UHF radio and infrared transmit practically without delay. Auracast is digital and therefore not quite as fast.

For practical purposes, this is not critical – the delay is low enough that image and sound remain in sync, which matters for live stage, film, or lecture. But it is not an argument in favour of Auracast.

Latency becomes significantly more critical with WLAN and app solutions, where it additionally depends on network load and thus becomes unpredictable.

For rental companies: the inventory becomes universal

For companies that rent event technology, the crucial point is the inventory – and that remains the business.

An inventory of UHF, infrared or digital radio receivers is tied to the transmitters of the same manufacturer. It can only be rented out together with its own system. If a system is already in place at the customer, the own inventory is worthless there – and conversely, every new order is tied to the same product family.

With Auracast, this binding is eliminated. An Auracast inventory works on any Auracast installation, even where the fixed technology comes from someone else. From a system-bound accessory, it becomes a universal operating resource that can be distributed across more orders.

In addition, there is the range of formats. Silent conference with three tracks, simultaneous interpreting at the congress, factory tours, silent cinema, hearing support at a conference: the receivers are the same, only the stream is different. An inventory serves business areas that previously required multiple systems.

In day-to-day business, the process also counts. The Summitwave RX comes with a docking station that charges and programmes four receivers simultaneously: the correct stream is played once to all devices, not to each one individually. This keeps the setup time between two jobs short and makes the output at the entrance a single action.

If you are checking the setup of an Auracast inventory: contact us. That is exactly what the RX is built for.

Footnote: two side effects

Two things happen with Auracast incidentally, without the need for additional technology.

Guests with their own devices. Anyone with Auracast-compatible earbuds can listen to an open stream with them. For the organiser, this is a relief in terms of expenditure, not a replacement for stock: only what you provide yourself can be reliably planned.

Accessibility. The same stream reaches Auracast-compatible hearing aids and cochlear implants directly. What is a separate project with all other systems – laying induction loops, procuring special receivers – is here a feature of the system that is already in place. For those interested: in detail in Auracast – the successor to induction loops and telecoils and in When the hall broadcasts.

Conclusion

The established systems have their strengths: analogue UHF radio is tried and tested and inexpensive in stock, infrared transmits many channels clearly in a closed hall. Both work – within their respective product families.

Auracast shifts three things simultaneously. The stock is no longer tied to a single manufacturer. The area is scaled via transmission cells, between which the receiver switches itself, rather than through a single strong transmitter. And encryption is included in the delivery instead of being on the options list.

For organisers, this means planned coverage even on large grounds. For rental companies, it means: a stock that fits more orders.

Test Auracast for your format

Are you planning a silent event, a conference with multiple tracks, or a multilingual tour? We will look at your setup and show you how an Auracast signal path fits in – including a cell concept for the area and a realistic assessment of how many receivers you need.