Summary
Williams AV's seven-page guide to the network its WaveCAST systems need to stream venue audio over Wi-Fi to phones and Wi-Fi receivers, in unicast or multicast mode.
Key findings
- States that unicast mode supports up to 45 users and multicast mode up to 1,500, and that the maximum may be limited by network hardware, configuration or the DHCP server. Multichannel units such as WaveCAST EIGHT work only in multicast.
- Explains that unicast sends a separate copy of the stream to each listener (30 copies for 30 people) and is easier to set up, while multicast sends one copy per channel but needs network equipment that supports it; for multicast it recommends enterprise-grade routers and access points, saying consumer-grade routers do not work well.
- Gives about 30 kbps of Wi-Fi bandwidth per listener in either mode, plus 128 kb per device for background content when the app first connects.
- Says live audio streaming buffers only 2-3 packets ahead to avoid lip-sync delay, so a lost packet cannot be recovered and is heard as a drop-out.
- Lists network settings: voice-level QoS (DSCP 46, EF), IGMP snooping for multicast, the lowest possible DTIM setting (higher settings make the audio arrive in bursts), fixed access point channels, 5 GHz access points, a signal no weaker than -80 dBm, a separate VLAN or subnet, and guest-network isolation opened so phones can reach the server. It notes that encryption uses bandwidth and substantially reduces the number of successful connections.
- Warns that some phones leave a Wi-Fi network that has no internet access and switch to mobile data, losing the audio, and suggests airplane mode or turning off private addressing and random MAC addresses; its checklist says "Networks ideally should have access to internet".
- Notes that access points differ in the maximum number of client connections they allow, so the network must carry every user in the space with adequate bandwidth, and that if the enterprise network cannot be configured as required, "an independent or segregated network may be an option".
- Lists Apple iOS 9.1 or newer and Android 6.0 or newer as the supported receiving devices, with Blackberry and Windows not supported.
- Lists the ports to open (80, 3300, 3301, 3302 and 3303), quality of service set to voice or higher, and recommends a separate or isolated LAN, subnet or VLAN.
- Says channel hopping by access points can cause quick audio interruptions, that guest-network isolation is usual and must allow the server, and, for phones that drop a network without internet, suggests airplane mode or turning off mobile data; private-address settings are among optional adjustments for that case.
Limits
A maker's network guide: the user limits are the maker's own, given without test conditions, and it gives no latency figures. No date is printed; the revision code is TCH 040I-1223, and the year comes from the PDF's creation date (15 January 2024). The maker's WaveCAST C product page linked this revision on 9 October 2026.
Read the original
williamsav.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TCH-040I-Wavecast-Network-Guide-1.pdf
Cited in
- Auracast, hearing loop, infrared, RF or Wi-Fi: which suits which room?Disputed
- How much delay does Wi-Fi streaming add, and when does it matter?Not reliable yet
- What does Wi-Fi streaming need from the venue's network and from listeners' phones?Partly answered
- What works in stadiums and arenas, and what do the rules ask of them?Partly answered
Cite this source
Williams AV. WaveCAST Network Guide for Consultants and IT Professionals (TCH 040I). 2024. https://williamsav.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TCH-040I-Wavecast-Network-Guide-1.pdf (accessed 9 October 2026).
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