Got Questions?
We've got answers.
At Protostream, we believe that clarity builds confidence. Whether you’re curious about how our remote audio solutions work, the benefits of ARCA, or how we can simplify your next production, this FAQ page is here to give you the answers you need. With decades of experience in live audio and a team that’s solved countless production challenges, we’re here to make sure everything—from corporate events to immersive audio projects—runs seamlessly. Don’t see the answer you’re looking for? Reach out to us directly—we’re always happy to help. Explore our FAQs below and discover how Protostream delivers Live Audio. Anywhere.
Do you operate anywhere else in the world other than the US?
We operate all over the world! Each use case varies. There is not a one size fits all scenario for this type of service.
How many Protostream devices are needed?
At least two, but can be as many locations as needed
Do you need anything else other than an ARCA or Gemini?
Some peripherals are required depending on your use case, like speakers for monitoring, recording software, typical studio environment gear.
How many people does it take to setup? How big is it?
One person can set up the unit onsite. The ARCA fits into a pelican 1535 air (overhead bin size). The GEMINI is is a 1ru unit.
How much time does it take to setup?
The streams and the mixing engine can be programmed before the gig, so that when the ARCA or GEMINI arrive on site, the only thing that needs to happen are plugging in power, internet, and a connection to the audio network.
What is the quality of the audio being transferred over the internet?
48k/24bit, fully transparent and uncompressed… As if you were receiving the audio at your console onsite.
What kind of mic pres can you use when capturing analog mics?
Any pre of your choosing. We just need to convert the signal to Madi, Dante, or Ravenna to get it over the internet to its destination.
How much bandwidth is required?
We use streams in 8 channel chunks for the best audio resolution, and each 8ch stream is about 10Mbit/s. For a full 64ch channel stream it would be 8 x 8ch streams for a total of 80Mbit. You can use as much or as little of that bandwidth as required by your specific use case. However, we spec 10Mbit more bandwidth for each scenario to account for control traffic, etc.
What about backup scenarios? What if the internet goes down?
We love backup solutions! In the event of an internet failure, we custom tailor backup solutions for each event that we do.
Redundancy. What about redundancy?
Redundancy is a dark rabbit hole we venture down quite often. The unfortunate answer is that “it depends”. It depends on several things, and most of which are on the “event” side of things. Does the event location have redundant internet? Power redundancy? Do you have time to test the redundancy? Your studio or capture location may be setup for all of these things, but if the originating location doesn’t have any of these redundancies in place, then you are only half redundant from beginning to end anyway. This is where some creative backup solutions come into play, and also where custom tailored “redundancies” come into play.
What else can you do once connected to the event site audio network?
Once connected to the network, anything on the audio network can be manipulated remotely: comms programming, RF coordination, dante network labeling and patching, etc.