The Studer Compact CoreLink Card broadcast audio mixing core in standard PCIe short format, runs on COTS servers, resulting in massive cost and space savings. Leveraging technology from the IT industry, Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) servers are general in purpose and much less expensive than custom-made hardware. By using a COTS server, the Compact CoreLink Card reduces costs, increases flexibility, and allows for massive scalability.

In broadcast studios and outside broadcast trucks, space and weight are at a premium. Every rack unit counts. A significant benefit of this groundbreaking processing core technology is the flexibility to choose the size of the server that will house the Compact CoreLink Card. In facilities with tight space requirements, the Compact CoreLink Card can be placed in a compact server, resulting in massive processing power in a small form factor. For example, a 1 RU server with appropriate CPUs can be used to process up to 600 mono-equivalent mixer channels.

Standard servers with the required processing power are readily available, and broadcast studios are already using them to run many other applications within their facilities. Customers can select servers independently of the Compact CoreLink Card, allowing them to remain consistent with the rest of their infrastructure in order to save time during set-up, configuration, and maintenance. This dramatically simplifies upkeep and the sourcing of spare parts.

By having the power to select their own servers, customers can identify their own processing needs and upgrade whenever their requirements change. As processing power grows, there is no need to completely replace a system - by keeping the Compact CoreLink Card and replacing the COTS server.