Lawo mc² Series Audio Console

Driver Maturity

Production

Recommended for normal production use.

Caution

Compatibility Note: This information is a general guide and may be incomplete, may not match a specific project implementation, and is subject to change as supported products and versions evolve. Confirm the exact implementation and requirements for each project with Riedel and the relevant equipment vendor, then validate the required functions end to end in the target environment before deployment.

Minimum hi Version: v2.2.0

Overview

The Lawo^® mc²^™ series integration uses Ember+ for Crosspoint routing and the parameters published by the console.

Network Requirements

Connection Model: Outbound from hi
Multicast / Unicast: Unicast only
Firewall: Allow outbound TCP from hi to the console on Port 9000 by default.
Callback: No inbound callback to hi is used.
Security: Keep the plaintext control connection on a trusted management network.

Standards Conformance

Standard	Conformance	Notes
Ember+ (Lawo)	Glow DTD parameter tree per Ember+ spec	Open community specification used as a de facto standard widely adopted

Operator Workflow

UI Surface in hi: Inventory, Parameter Control, and Control Panels
Signal Scope: Audio routing and Parameter Control
Routing Semantics: hi exposes the Ember+ matrix and parameters published by the console.
Notes for Operators Familiar with the Vendor's Own Tooling: The exact controls available in hi are defined by the console's published Ember+ tree. Use Lawo tooling for DSP design and show-file configuration.

Connection Details

Property	Value
Protocol	Ember+
Transport	TCP
Default Port	9000
Authentication	No credentials are configured by this hi integration
Encryption in Transit	None - Ember+ uses plaintext TCP no TLS defined
Connection Model	Persistent TCP with subscription
Required License	hiBase
Traffic Flow	Outbound from hi

Required Configuration

Parameter	Description	Default
Host / IP Address	IP address of the mc² console	-
Port	Ember+ TCP Port	9000
Overwrite Names	Update changed labels in hi when hi reconnects to the console set at runtime	Yes
Refresh Labels	Operations button that reads the labels from the console again and updates hi available at runtime	-
Reinitialize Router	Operations button that disconnects the routing control connection and restarts initialization available at runtime	-

Device-Side Setup

Follow Lawo mc² Series Audio Console Integration Configuration for the device-side and hi-side configuration steps.

Supported Features

Feature	Access	Exposed Operation and Scope
Ember+ Crosspoint Routing	Read/write	Read routing state and set exposed Crosspoints.
Parameter Tree (GetDirectory)	Read-only	Discover the tree and read values exposed by the mc² Ember+ provider.
Parameter Values (Set)	Per-parameter access	Write only parameters the provider marks writable.
Parameter Subscriptions (Subscribe / Unsubscribe)	Read-only updates	Subscribe to and receive exposed value changes; unsubscribe removes the hi subscription.
GPIO Matrix Routing	Read/write	Read and set Crosspoints on the global GPIO matrix of the console.
Source and Destination Labels	Read-only updates	Name Ports from the Lawo user labels of the signals, and update the names when the console reports a changed label.

Device Coverage

Tested With identifies devices that have been tested with hi. Device-specific configuration, firmware, and feature support can affect results.

Tested With

Lawo mc² Series

Known Limitations

Redundancy is not supported by this hi integration.
Consoles that run MCX, release 10 or later, use the mc² UHD Series integration. This integration reads the legacy Ember+ tree at 4.1.0 and 4.1.1.
Validate the available Ember+ tree and matrix behavior during commissioning.
The published tree differs between mc² software generations. Confirm that the console release exposes the parameters and matrices that the project needs.
hi names each Port from its Lawo user label. A signal without a user label appears as Input or Output followed by its number.
hi sends an Ember+ keep-alive request every 5 seconds, and it disconnects when the provider does not answer within 10 seconds. hi requires the provider to answer keep-alive requests.

What's Not Supported

Firmware updates and DSP design - use the vendor's native software, such as its show-file editor or channel-configuration tool.
Offline scene and show-file programming remain in the vendor tooling.
Audio metering visualization beyond basic level readback where exposed by the protocol.
Ember+ Functions, including Qualified Functions, and function invocation. The Ember+ specification defines them from Glow 2.20, and hi never sends an Invoke command.
Ember+ Templates, including Qualified Templates, and template references. The specification defines them from Glow 2.40. hi requests all fields of each element, and it does not resolve template references.
Matrices at other paths of the Ember+ tree. hi reads only the audio matrix at 4.1.0 and the GPIO matrix at 4.1.1.

Trademarks

Note

Lawo and mc² are trademarks of Lawo AG.

RIEDEL Communications is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially partnered with Lawo unless explicitly stated.