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Audio software modernization

Key achievements

Hardware digital transformationAudio techFuture-proof modernizationTech debt

The team we worked with at Hotovo are top-class in outsourced development — technically adept and efficient. But more importantly, they are friendly and personally committed to customer success.

Neil Phillips, Senior Product Owner at Audinate

Client

Audinate is the global leader in professional AV networking technology. Its award winning Dante® AV over IP (AVoIP) platform is widely adopted across industries including live sound, commercial installation, education, broadcast, public address, and recording. Dante replaces traditional connections with a computer network to effortlessly transmit video and hundreds of channels of audio over Ethernet with perfect digital fidelity. Hotovo supported Audinate with audio software modernization of its core Dante applications, Dante Controller and Dante Director.

Case study

The need

Audinate initiated a comprehensive audio software modernization of its core applications — Dante Controller and Dante Director — including a visual and user experience overhaul to align them with updated branding guidelines, introduce modern design patterns, and ensure a more consistent and accessible experience for users across platforms. To support the introduction of new UI components and features in the web application, a migration to a modern front-end build and testing toolchain was also required.

Core issue

Reskinning the Dante Controller was challenging due to its foundation in Java Swing. The application itself is technically complex, tightly integrated with networked audio systems, and has evolved significantly over time. On the web side, the introduction of a new design system required using a new UI library. To maintain compatibility and enable continued development, the team migrated to a modern build tool and restructure parts of the frontend architecture.

Our solution

We partnered closely with Audinate’s internal teams to implement a pixel-perfect refresh of both applications, modernize development practices, and resolve usability issues.

Delivered a complete visual and UX refresh of Dante Controller and Dante Director.
Introduced dark mode and multi-language readiness in the desktop application.
Migrated to Vite and Vitest, significantly improving build and test speeds.
Resolved 150+ UI/UX inconsistencies, improving usability, accessibility, and visual polish.
Established a consistent design system across web and desktop interfaces.
Enhanced long-term maintainability and future development velocity.

Dante Controller (Desktop)

Integrated full dark mode support and laid the groundwork for multi-language readiness.
Applied new Audinate branding, including updated logos, colors, typography, and iconography.
Reskinned all major interface components, including:
Rounded input fields, buttons, and scrollbars.
Updated dialog windows, status indicators, and routing views.
Redesigned tab layouts and tooltips.
Replaced outdated icons with a new, accessible set supporting visual consistency across features.
Aligned interface behavior and visual style with high-fidelity design proofs provided by Audinate’s branding partner.

Dante Director (Web)

Conducted a full UX audit and resolved more than 150 issues across layout, spacing, alignment, and component behavior.
Migrated the application from Create React App to Vite for faster builds and better compatibility with modern UI libraries.
Replaced Jest with Vitest for improved test performance and integration with the new build system.
Standardized component interactions, including: Drop-down behavior, tooltip alignment, toast notifications, and filters, and Sidebar padding, icon sizing, and responsive layout behavior.
Implemented intelligent text handling, including middle ellipsis clipping and prefix trimming for device names in dense views.
Replaced legacy icons and improved mobile responsiveness for better cross-platform usability.
Improved search, filtering, onboarding flows, and fallback states for better user feedback and interaction consistency.