Introduction to Artisto
Artisto is On-Hertz's software-native audio production platform for building, routing, processing, mixing, monitoring, and controlling live audio workflows.
Think of it as an audio mixer with benefits: routing, processing, contribution, automation, custom interfaces, and integration all running in a flexible software environment.
Instead of being limited by fixed hardware surfaces or monolithic mixer architecture, Artisto lets broadcasters assemble production workflows from modular audio nodes. These nodes can be connected to create anything from a simple mix engine to complex distributed production systems with contribution, monitoring, automation, and third-party control.
Artisto is operated from a browser, so engineers and operators can access the right interface for their role without being tied to a single physical surface. The Designer web app is used to build and configure audio pipelines, while turnkey or custom operational interfaces can expose only the controls needed for day-to-day production.
The platform is API-first and designed for integration. Artisto can connect to wider broadcast workflows, orchestration systems, hardware controllers, and third-party software through its documented APIs and bridges to protocols such as MIDI, RTP-MIDI, Ember+, and Cerebrum.
Artisto also supports modern contribution and transport workflows, including SIP, WebRTC, SRT, NDI, HLS, Icecast, SMPTE ST 2110, and multiple audio devices. Its software-based architecture can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, on bare metal or virtualized infrastructure, traditionally or containerized.
The full product sheet can be found here.
We also recommend our YouTube channel for examples of how customers use Artisto in real production environments.
Technical requirements
Host
Artisto can run on physical servers or on virtual machines, under Windows or Linux (Docker).
This section focuses on the system requirements for physical or virtual hosts. For more details on the deployments, check the corresponding page for Windows or Linux (Docker).
Warning
For performance and stability reasons, with ST 2110, the use of Linux is strongly recommended.
Physical Servers
System requirements:
- Operating system:
- Windows 11 Pro or Windows Server 2022 or later
- Ubuntu Server 24.04.2 LTS or Red Hat Enterprise 10 or later
- Processor: Intel Core, Xeon or AMD Ryzen with at least 6 performance cores and 3 GHz of base clock or superior
- RAM: at least 16 GB (32 GB recommended)
- Storage: at least 512 MB
- Web browser: Chrome or Firefox version 100 or later
Notes
- On-Hertz recommends using a processor with a higher clock frequency over a processor with a higher number of physical cores.
- Audio quality does not only depend on a fast processor. The main challenge is to achieve the lowest possible audio latency, which depends on several factors. In order of importance:
- The quality of your audio device and its drivers
- RAM performance, in terms of access time
- The performance of the motherboard, in terms of bandwidth to the busses and interfaces
- If you run the user interface (web browser) and the Artisto engine on a single PC, we recommend that you opt for a separated graphics card with dedicated memory.
- On-Hertz can guide you in selecting equipment.
Warnings
- The microprocessor clock frequencies listed in the table above are base frequencies and not maximum Turbo Boost frequencies. Furthermore, the Turbo Boost feature must be disabled to ensure optimal operations of Artisto.
- For customers implementing ST 2110 production workflows:
- a machine with a minimum of 8 physical cores + 1 core per 8 streams is required,
- a NIC that supports hardware timestamping is mandatory,
- we recommend using Intel’s X710 network adapters.
- On Linux, to ensure the best performances, Artisto relies on functionalities provided by the kernel, hence the importance on running on a recent version of the kernel (>= 6.x.y). Established distribution like Red Hat provide long support for older kernels and thus only Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 provides a recent enough kernel.
Virtual machines
For applications that have fewer constraints on audio latency, for example playout or contribution, using Artisto in a virtual machine on an enterprise class type-1 hypervisor such as VMware ESXi or Proxmox is a very practical and effective solution.
System requirements:
- Operating system: Windows 11 Pro or Windows Server 2022 or later; Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS or later (with a kernel >= 6.x.y)
- Processor: at least 6 vCPU (8 recommended)
- RAM: at least 16 GB (32 GB recommended)
- Storage: at least 512 MB
- Web browser: Chrome or Firefox version 100 or later
Warnings
- When deploying Artisto on a virtual machine (VM), it is important to ensure that the number of virtual cores remains unchanged; otherwise, your license will become invalid. For the same reason and to achieve the best performance, you must also pin the threads of the VM (which correspond to the virtual cores) to the physical cores.
- ST 2110 may require more vCPU.
- To ensure the best performances, Artisto relies on functionalities provided by the kernel, hence the importance on running on a recent version of the kernel (>= 6.x.y). Established distribution like Red Hat provide long support for older kernels and thus only Red Hat Entreprise Linux 10 provides a recent enough kernel.
Audio interfaces
Professional PCIe, USB or "virtual" interfaces are highly recommended. For evaluation purposes, you can of course use your computer's internal audio interface.
Under Windows, Artisto supports WASAPI and ASIO APIs. With the exception of internal interfaces (e.g. Realtek chips) whose ASIO drivers are sometimes unstable, ASIO is recommended in all other cases.
Under Linux, Artisto uses ALSA. Please verify that the driver for the audio interface you plan to use is available for your chosen Linux kernel and distribution.
Examples of physical interfaces:
| Brand | Model | Description | Linux driver available | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RME | HDSPe MADI | 128 channels PCIe MADI card | Unofficial | |
| HDSPe MADI FX | 390 channels PCIe MADI card | Unofficial | ||
| MADIface USB | 128 channels USB2 MADI interface | |||
| Digiface Ravenna | 256 channels USB3 Ravenna/AES67 and MADI interface | |||
| Digiface Dante | 256 channels USB3 Dante/AES67 and MADI interface | |||
| Digigram | LX-MADI | 64 channels PCIe MADI card | ✓ | |
| VX1222e | 12 Channel PCIe AES Digital/Analog | Buffer size must be set in the Digigram control interface | ||
| Focusrite | RedNet PCIeNX | 128 channels PCIe Dante/AES67 card | ||
| Marian | Seraph M2 | 256 channels PCIe MADI card | ||
| Clara E | 512 channels PCIe Dante/AES67 card | ✓ |
Warnings
- Internal audio cards and low-end audio interfaces can significantly impact the overall performance of Artisto due to the quality of their audio converters and drivers.
- Artisto is compatible with 32-bit floating point audio interfaces such as the Zoom UAC-232 provided you use their appropriate ASIO driver. The advantage of this type of interface is that there is no need to adjust the gain of the microphone preamps.
- When selecting a USB device, we recommend FPGA-based ones such as those from RME.
- Most PCIe audio cards are full height. Some rackmount server models only allow the installation of half-height cards. It is therefore necessary to check this point when selecting the server and its audio interface.
- RME Digiface models have a USB 3.0 interface. Make sure your server offers such a port.
- The Marian Clara E requires Artisto Engine to be set in Multi Audio Device (MAD) or ST 2110 mode.
Examples of virtual interfaces:
| Brand | Model | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Audinate | Dante Virtual Soundcard | 64 channels Dante (non AES67 compatible) virtual card |
| Axia | Livewire+ AES67 IP Audio Driver | 24 channels Livewire+/AES67 virtual card |
| Lawo | RƎLAY VSC Virtual Sound Card | 8 channels Ravenna/AES67 virtual card |
| RƎLAY VPB | Ravenna/AES67 virtual card and routing matrix |
Warnings
- Artisto works great with an Audinate DVS on a VMware ESXi virtual machine, but you will need to purchase a special license for the DVS. It is not possible to activate a DVS with a code purchased online on a virtual machine. You must go through an Audinate reseller.
- To date no solution is available under Linux !
- Keep in mind that ultra-low latency AoIP transport protocols such as AES67 or Dante need an external PTP time source, usually in the form of a hardware device, to work. In the majority of cases virtual sound cards can therefore not be used to exchange streams directly between servers if no time reference is available.
Audio interfaces & VMs
In the case of virtual machines, you have two possibilities:
- Use one of the virtual cards listed above
- Not use any audio interface
The second possibility may surprise you, but some applications such as interview recording via SIP or WebRTC for example potentially do not need local audio inputs or outputs. In such cases, Artisto uses an internal software clock that simulates that of the operating system's audio API in the case of physical or virtual audio interfaces.
Please refer to the Service configuration chapter for audio backend type selection.
End-user device
On-Hertz web applications can be operated using a browser from any laptop or desktop computer, or in some cases from a tablet or a mobile phone, connected to the same network or via the internet.
Below you will find the required configurations.
iOS tablet or mobile
- iPhone X or iPad of 9th generation or later
- iOS/iPadOS 15 or later
- Safari 14.5
Android tablet or mobile
- Android 13 or later
- At least 4GB RAM
- A 4-core processor with a minimum clock speed of 2GHz
- For a tablet a 12-inch diagonal screen and for a phone a 6-inch diagonal screen are recommended
- A Chrome or Firefox browser version 100 or newer
Computer or thin client
- Operating system: Windows 11 or macOS 12
- Web browser: Chrome or Firefox version 100, or Safari 14.5, or later
- Display: touchscreen of at least 24 inches with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 or higher