ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Fibre-optic audio network

Optocore

Optocore · 1996

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

Optocore is a fibre network for real-time audio, video and control, designed by Marc Brunke, patented in 1993 and first shown in 1996. Built on AES3 and MADI, it was licensed to DiGiCo from 2002 and to Clear-Com for its ProGrid line from 2014.

Introduced
1996
Category
Fibre-optic audio network
Intended use
Redundant transport of audio, video and control for touring and broadcast
Production
Marc Brunke; Optocore GmbH, Munich, incorporated 2003

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    One of the first fibre networks built for live audio, with redundant rings.

  2. 02

    Its use inside DiGiCo systems such as the [[digico-d5-live|D5]] spread it across touring.

Engineering record

Standards
Built on AES3 and AES10 (MADI)[2]
Timeline
Patented 1993, products 1996, 2 Gb capacity in 2012[3]
OEM use
DiGiCo from 2002; Clear-Com ProGrid from 2014[3]

Original pricing

No reliable period price located

2026 equivalent

Not calculated without a reliable original price.

Public price evidence was not sufficient to publish a defensible original figure.

Use in the field

No named deployment could be tied to this exact item by a checked source yet. Know of one? Suggest it on the contribute page.

Manuals & original documents

Sources

  1. 1OPTOCORE: 20 Years of Pioneering HistoryOptocore · archive · 2013
  2. 2About UsOptocore · reference
  3. 3The Fiber Infrastructure Solution for the Pro Audio IndustryOptocore · brochure · 2023

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