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DANTE Input Mode Explained

💡 Dante Input Mode defines the type of audio entering your Hub via the network. Dante converts audio into data packages that travel over standard internet cables, and Hub needs to know if that data is a human voice or a media track so it can apply the correct processing.

Note: Media/Mic mode is also available on FLEX inputs. 

Where on the Hub can you find this?

To adjust these settings for each of your Dante channels, navigate to:
IN -> DANTE -> CH1-4 -> INPUT MODE

The first Hub version (HAS-00162) has 2 Dante outputs only (no Dante inputs).
The latest Hubs have 4 Dante inputs and 4 Dante outputs regardless of Hub’s channel count.

What is it for and why? 

This setting acts as a flag for the Hub's internal brain. It determines whether the incoming audio should go through the Autolevel and Automixer algorithms or not.

Microphone Mode
Tells the Hub the audio is a voice. It sends the signal through the Autolevel algorithm (to balance quiet and loud speakers) and the Automixer (which prioritizes the loudest active voice).

Media Mode
Tells the Hub that audio is music or video sound. It bypasses all voice processing. What you send in is exactly what you get out.

Why would you need it?

Use Microphone mode if you’re bringing in audio from an external mic (+ preamp) like a 3rd-party ceiling mic or another external microphone system via Dante. This ensures that the external mic benefits from the same leveling as your Catchbox mics.

Use Media mode for background music, video presentations, or PC audio. You don’t want the Hub trying to level or auto-mix a music track.

When is it Useful?

Hybrid Classrooms
If you have the Plus system connected via Dante, setting it to Microphone mode ensures remote students hear the professor clearly at a consistent volume.

Conference Rooms
If you are playing a YouTube video or a presentation through the room system, keeping it in Media mode ensures the audio quality remains natural and unprocessed.

💡Avoid the Volume Battle
If you accidentally set a music track to Microphone mode, the Automixer will see that music as the primary loud voice. It’ll prioritize it so heavily that your actual Catchbox microphones might be pushed to the background, making it impossible to hear the presenter.

Always keep background music on Media.

Factory/Default Setting 

Media

🔦 Simple Analogy 

The Postal Service analogy.
Think of Dante as a postman delivering 1 000 packages every second.
Input mode tells the Hub what’s inside those packages.

  • If you label it Microphone, the Hub treats it like a fragile vase (a voice) that needs careful handling and positioning.
  • If you label it Media, it treats it like a sturdy book, it just delivers it straight to the shelf without touching it.