MARCH 2023 // EBOOK

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AVOIP: NETWO R K
HOW TO BUILD YOUR
 MARCH 2023 // EBOOK svconline.com

SOUND&VIDEO
CONTRACTOR
R E V I E W S | T E C H N O LO GY | A P P L I C AT I O N S

CTS

AVOIP: NETWO R K
HOW TO BUILD YOUR
 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK

THE ALLIANCE CONNECTION

Networks are also made of people

I
ndustry associations support the technical development of networked AV and also the relationships
that drive our industry. Whether collaborating on standards and committees, certifying products and
people, putting on events and demos, lobbying, training, writing, and researching, the people who
participate in these associations are all striving for better networks--both the technical and the human variety.
They also have agendas and business goals, some advance open standards while others support the use of
proprietary standards. If you want to participate in an association, it’s important to find the fit that advances
your work, career, client satisfaction, and of course your network.

Integrating pro AV standards, whether
open or proprietary has always been chal-
lenging. Our systems integration is not
as easy to wrangle as broadcast and film,
because in those disciplines the destination
screens are limited and defined, the end
user experience is really not that compli-
cated, it’s omni-directional, and production
is relatirvely straightforward; “producers”
and the “users” are pretty clearly differen-
tiated. So while the technical evolution in
digital broadcast and film has been quite
remarkable, it’s also been much easier to
coalesce than Pro AV. Likewise, IT profes-
sionals operate in a more three-dimensional
sphere of use cases, but they don’t deal with
the signal demands and integration com-
plexity of AV.
Pro AV operates at the intersection of the
hardest parts of content and IT. Images and
sound must rival and exceed broadcast at
times, and interactivity demands a level of
sync and signal management that IT doesn’t
face. Pro AV often has bidirectional users, or
multi-directional, and often multiple campuses
that must operate in tandem. And for some, it
all has to go on the road.
Our partners in broadcast and IT may won-
der why our challenges with interoperability
are so much more difficult than theirs, but
we know that “one standard to rule them all”
is probably not real. The process of trying to
reach for that has advanced the industry in
fundamental and ongoing ways and will con-
tinue to do so. Here’s a brief roundup of some
of the key industry AVoIP associations and
a bit of perspective from people who are in
leadership roles.
AIMS ALLIANCE
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS)
self-describes as “an industry consortium
led by broadcast and pro AV engineers, tech-
nologists, visionaries, vendors, and business
executives. It’s dedicated to an open-standards
approach that moves broadcast, media, and
Pro AV companies quickly and profitably
from legacy systems to a virtualized, IP-based
environment.”
AIMS advances IPMX (Internet Protocol
Media Experience), a proposed set of open
standards and specifications to enable the
carriage of compressed and uncompressed
video, audio, and data over IP networks for
the pro AV market. It includes provisions for
control, copy protection, connection manage-
ment and security.
AIMS is the marketing arm for a constel-
lation of independent non-profit organizations
behind IPMX. These organizations include
the Video Services Forum (VSF), inventors
of the documents that later became SMPTE
ST 2022 and 2110; the Advanced Media
Workflow Association (AMWA), creators
of the NMOS control protocol; and SMPTE,
where much of the work goes to become an
actual standard.
AIMS founding members include Grass
Valley, Imagine, Lawo, SAM and Nevion.
Membership has grown to approximately
66 companies; among the most active mem-
bers are Matrox Video and Macnica, with
other full members including AV Pro Edge,
Canon, Panasonic, Telos, NBC Universal, and
Yamaha among others. Associate members
include many familiar names—AJA, Barco,
Sony, Disney, Cisco, Clear-Com, Genelec,
and more.
AVNU ALLIANCE
Founded in 2009, the Avnu Alliance
self-describes as “a community creating an
interoperable ecosystem of low-latency, time-
synchronized, highly reliable networked

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 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK
devices using open standards, supporting
the foundational technology of IEEE Audio
Video Bridging (AVB)/Time Sensitive Net-
work (TSN) base standards.” Avnu Alliance
promotes the adoption of the IEEE 802.1
Audio Video Bridging (AVB), and related
open standards, over various networking link-
layers, with an emphasis on supporting deter-
ministic networks. The organization creates
extensive test procedures and processes for
interoperability.
Created by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE), AVB is a set of
standards which defines the necessary mecha-
nisms to ensure deterministic and synchronous
behavior on Ethernet networks. This way, it
can be guaranteed that time-sensitive traffic,
such as real time audio, can be sent over Eth-
ernet networks with bounded latency and with-
out interfering traffic affecting its delivery. Of
special value in converged networks (networks
that are shared between several subsystems
such as audio, IT/data and video), is no further
need to isolate the subsystems in order to guar-
antee congestion free operation. Control data
and media streams can co-exist on a single
network port and two redundant networks are
easily supported.
In 2018, the association began co-creating
Milan, for Media Integrated Local Area Net-
working with its pro audio members, includ-
ing AVID, L-Acoustics, Meyer, Biamp and
d&b. Milan is the application layer built onto
the AVB network protocol that adds a frame-
work of interoperability for professional A/V
devices: While AVB addresses issues at the
network infrastructure level, such as synchro-
nization and quality of service (QoS), Milan
is application focused on the unique require-
ments of media networking including reliabil-
ity, stability, scalability, and audio quality.
Because it is based on AVB technology,
Milan networks require an AVB capable net-
work infrastructure, in other words, AVB
capable switches, available from a number of
manufacturers, including Luminex, Cisco, and
Extreme Networks.
Avnu’s founding promoters are Cisco and
Intel; the 51+ members include Meyer Sound,
L-Acoustics, Biamp, Texas Instruments, and
NETGEAR.
HDBASET ALLIANCE
Founded in 2010 by LG, Samsung, Sony
Pictures, and Valens, the HDBaseT Alliance
is a not-for-profit organization advancing the
standardization and promotion of proprietary
HDBaseT technology. Through collabora-
tive work groups, exclusive committees, and
events, the alliance has spent over a decade
influencing the future of long-distance multi-
media connectivity.​​
HDBaseT’s signature 5Play solution facili-
tates the simultaneous distribution of uncom-
pressed ultra-high-definition A/V, USB 2.0,
Ethernet, control, and power over a single
field-terminated, standard Category cable for
distances up to 100m/328ft.
The initial specification of the standard,
HDBaseT 1.0 offers extension of 1080p up
to 100m/328ft., UHD 4K up to 90m/295ft.,
as well as Ethernet capacity of 100 Mbps. Its
5Play feature set offers the delivery of audio,
video, Ethernet, control, and 100 watts power
over a single Category cable. Although Spec
1.0 requires a minimum compatible cable
type of Cat 5e, Cat 6 is recommended.
Released in 2013, HDBaseT 2.0 built on
the success of its predecessor by increas-
ing distance capabilities of UHD 4K@30
4:4:4/4K@60 4:2:0 for up to 100m/328ft. USB
2.0 extension support was added to 5Play as
part of the rebooted versiont. In addition to
signal distribution over a minimum of Cat-
egory 6a cable, Spec 2.0 also supports opti-
cal fiber as an additional option for longer
distances.
Making its debut in 2019, HDBaseT 3.0
is the most advanced generation of HDBa-
seT. With a doubling of its uncompressed
data rate, HDBaseT 3.0 claims to be the
only technology to allow for the extension
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of fully uncompressed 4K@60 4:4:4 up to
100m/328ft. Additionally, its Ethernet capa-
bilities were expanded from 100 Mbps to a
full-duplex Gigabit. HDBaseT 3.0 recom-
mends Category 6a U/FTP in order to recog-
nize its full capabilities and potential.​
HDBaseT membership numbers over 200
manufacturers, software developers, and
services.
SDVOE
The SDVoE Alliance (Software Defined Video
over Ethernet) self-describes as “a nonprofit
consortium of technology providers collabo-
rating to standardize the adoption of Ethernet
to transport AV signals in professional AV
environments, and to create an ecosystem
around SDVoE technology allowing software
to define AV applications.”
The alliance seeks to standardize adoption
of Ethernet to transport AV signals in profes-
sional AV environments; enable a hardware/
software platform that offers applications
better tailored to individual needs; enable a
system architecture that is more flexible, reli-
able, and cost-effective than point-to-point
connectivity and circuit switches; facilitate
true AV/IT convergence, allowing high qual-
ity AV networks and data networks to share a
single infrastructure; bring ecosystem part-
ners – equipment manufacturers, software
developers, chipset designers, and system
integrators together under a single banner to
foster collaboration, educate the industry, and
offer training.
Steering members of the SDVoE Alliance
are Black Box, IDK Corporation, and found-
ing members Christie Digital, NETGEAR,
Semtech, and ZeeVee. The full 50+ member
roster includes leading manufacturers in Pro
AV including 18 new members in 2022 includ-
ing Datapath, QSC, and Yamaha, and most
recently AVPro Edge.
 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK

MINDSHARE
Some thoughts from alliance leaders
Ongoing development and dialog among alliance members, as well as competing philosophies and competitive
claims stir the network pot and influence the industry.

LIKE AV OVER IP, ONLY BIGGER

By Andrew Starks
If you’re old enough to remember the late 80’s, you might recall descrip-
tions of something called “The Internet.” It was a vague notion of a sort
of network that was difficult to comprehend. The most popular attempt at
explaining it involved a future where you could “access all of the books
in the Library of Congress, right from your computer!” Most Americans
hadn’t accessed a single book from their local library in the past year,
yet somehow accessing a library in DC with their modem was supposed
to bring home the fact that the Internet might be a big deal someday, at
least to someone.
At that time, millions of computer users had modems and dialed into
Bulletin Board Systems (BBS). I spent many an hour playing online
games (Trade Wars anyone?), visiting chat rooms, and downloading
free software. CompuServe, Prodigy and America Online were multi-
million-dollar businesses that dominated the paid services space. This
“Internet” was just a bigger version of that, right?
Once IP networks and the common suite of internet protocols became
the only way to tie information systems together, humanity entered into NewTek’s NDI, while Pro AV is encumbered with more than a dozen
the information age. Now, our personal and business lives are com- capable, yet incompatible choices for low-latency video and audio over
pletely disrupted by its absence. We once bought tapes, then CD’s, and your network. The result is a market that is analogous to the pre-internet
now we download whatever we want for $9.99 a month or for free with reality described above.
commercials. No longer do we know how to get anywhere because our Over the past year, it has become clear that IPMX, which builds on
phone does that for us. The Internet has changed almost everything, even SMPTE ST 2110 and AMWA’s NMOS APIs, is shaping up to be the
though the Library of Congress still requires your physical presence to standard that not only meets the needs of Pro AV, but also to become
browse its collection. the standard that is used in both production and presentation workflows.
Conceptions of the internet prior to its arrival reveal a pernicious ten- With one open standard for low-latency video and audio over any net-
dency of people to substitute an understanding of transformative tech- work, for any purpose, the effect of IPMX will not be just like other AV
nology with something that is more like what they already understand, over IP solutions, only bigger. It will be transformative.
only bigger. Examples of library access didn’t illuminate anyone and the What’s a product manager to do? How can you position your company
Internet was not like a bigger Prodigy or AOL. While there are techni- to take advantage of this transformation, instead of being run over by it?
cal details that made them different, these details also didn’t reveal the While it is impossible to predict the precise effect that IPMX is likely to
essence of it, or its impact. have on the Pro AV and Broadcast industries, I’d like to highlight four
Imagine being a product manager for one of the Big Three paid ser- areas of interest.
vices companies. Why didn’t they flourish in the world created by inter-
net standards? What could their product managers have done to help Innovating on top of IPMX
their companies manage this shift, besides buying a crystal ball? IPMX wraps up and extends existing standards to make AV over IP
In Broadcast and in Pro AV, a similar transformation is on the hori- more accessible for more use cases, which includes the basics that Pro
zon. Broadcast is bifurcated between the SMPTE ST 2110 standard and AV customers have come to expect in AV over IP: a base codec (JPEG-

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 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK

XS), USB extension for KVM, officially supported HDCP 2.3, device
discovery and connections, and sane handling of EDID information.
What’s left for a manufacturer to do?
To start, while IPMX specifies the base codec that must be present,
it does not preclude alternative codec support. If higher compression or
some other tradeoff is required for certain applications, manufacturers
are free to meet that demand while remaining interoperable.
Also, the NMOS APIs make it simple for one vendor to discover and
connect any other vendor’s devices, but it does not replace the need
for control systems. In fact, NMOS enables control systems to provide
unique capabilities by including guidelines on how to extend it and to
coexist nicely with existing protocols. In this way, there is a simple,
RESTful way to advertise extended control capabilities in your prod-
ucts. By following the patterns in NMOS, you make it simpler for cus-
tomers to integrate and scale your products.
Enabling Software and Virtualized Environments
In Pro AV, there is a long history of software customization and IPMX
will help to accelerate this trend. That’s because it is designed to be
implemented in both hardware as well as software. With IPMX’s Phase
2 technologies, like support for WAN and wireless transmission, IPMX’s
future includes on and off premise, as well as mobile deployment. As a
result, it’s likely that Pro AV product lines will include much more soft-
ware, virtualizing some equipment that was once hardware.
What is more, even though making finished products that can be
turned on and used will remain important, Pro AV manufacturers will
need to emphasize their software development kits (SDK) and APIs as
a product, even more than before. Including NMOS and IPMX in your
platform strategy will give you, and your customers, access to a huge,
open ecosystem where customers can compose your product with others
to create unique solutions to difficult problems. A robust software story
will be required in order for your company to take advantage of it.
Presentation, Production & Playing
Consider the AV activity happening in today’s schools, stadiums, uni-
versities, businesses, and even in the home. In every corner of life,
people are using AV to produce, present and consume content. The dif-
ferences between broadcast AV, professional AV, and even consumer
AV tell us less about the customer and more about the context that the
technology is being used within. At times, everyone is a producer of
content, everyone wants to tell a story like a professional, and everyone
wants to be immersed in the experience of it. Wouldn’t it be great if your
product lines could be a part of all of that? Prior to IPMX, these worlds
did not mix.
IPMX’s broadcast origins mean that the features required for live and
interactive production have been thought through. The work done to
extend the standard into pro AV is focused on supporting asynchronous
sources, presentation workflows, and making things generally easier to
deploy and use. Critically, this is being done while keeping an eye on
interoperability between both presentation and production systems.
With IPMX, your products will be used in all of the contexts that
your customers use AV products. Video is just video again. For manu-
facturers, this dramatically increases the total available market for your
products, which means fertile ground for creative product managers. It’s
time to rethink market definitions and what is possible.
Get Involved
Some may caution against open standards, but history is pretty clear on
their track record for success. Will IPMX be the standard for pro AV?
Only time and customers will tell, but all signs point to “yes” as momen-
tum continues to build towards what now seems to be inevitable.
Companies that take the time to plan for this disruption are the most
likely to benefit from it. One way to do that is to get involved in the stan-
dards process. Even though much of the core work has been completed,
there are many areas where your company can contribute to the effort.
Just as important, you’ll have a firsthand, early understanding of the
standards before they hit the market and that’s a priceless advantage over
competitors that take a “wait and see” approach.
Perhaps best of all, you can say that you were part something so trans-
formative, it could only be described as, “Like AV over IP, only bigger…”
Andrew Starks is Director of Product Management, Macnica Ameri-
cas and joined executives from Grass Valley, Imagine Communications,
Yamaha, Matrox, and Lawo AG on the board of the Alliance for IP Media
Solutions (AIMS) in 2020. The AIMS Alliance is a non-profit trade orga-
nization founded to foster the adoption of the IPMX open standard for the
transition to IP media. IPMX is based on proven broadcast standards and
specifications, extended to brinig accessibility, flexibility, and affordabil-
ity to AV Over IP for Pro AV.

IP Showcase@NAB Show
BOOTH W2867 WEST HALL
Now in its eighth year, the IP Showcase has
evolved into a must-see exhibit for anyone de-
ploying IP technology. Over the years, AIMS and
other major technical and standards organiza-
tions have taken advantage of large industry
events like the NAB Show to highlight vendor
products, technical presentations, and real-life
case studies of IP deployments, while providing
attendees with networking opportunities with ac-
cess to the experts that make open IP standards
a reality.
In the IP Showcase Theater industry profes-
sionals give 20-minute presentations on case
studies and other topics. In addition, the “IP in
Action” wall will be back, with information about
different IP installations that have taken place.
People on the ground will be available to an-
swer questions about today’s hot topics, such as
ground-to-cloud, cloud-to-ground, and of course,
the IPMX set of open standards. This is part of an
overall social aspect of the IP Showcase. A new
meetup section will be an open space with flex-
ible seating, where attendees can come in and
host conversations.

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 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK
FPGA VS. ASIC
By Justin Kennington
We talk a lot about SDVoE being sustainable, flexible, and available. These
days, availability might be the rarest and most valuable of those attributes.
After all, AV professionals cannot do their job without installation equipment.
SDVoE products are widely available, while many proprietary AV-
over-IP products are back-ordered for over a year. Many of the indus-
try’s most prominent manufacturers are failing to meet their customers’
demands due to component shortages. It’s challenging for them to obtain
the chips needed to build products. Why?
As you can imagine, today’s consumer demands have accelerated the
need for semiconductors. In 2021, the global semiconductor industry
shipped a record 1.15 trillion semiconductors.
These core devices come in three primary flavors, including CPUs,
FPGAs, and ASICs. The type of device used has a massive impact on
availability. Let’s start by understanding these devices.
The CPU
The most familiar device is a CPU. It is at the heart of the PC or mobile
device. A CPU, or central processing unit, is a hardware device that
executes a series of predefined instructions. The instructions are wide-
ranging and allow a CPU to perform any computational task possible.
A CPU can also change tasks virtually instantaneously. Although, the
overhead of running pre-defined instructions means that a CPU (yes,
even your blisteringly powerful 24-core monster) is relatively slow and
power-hungry compared to the other chips. For this reason, AV-over-IP
streaming on a CPU is relatively new and rather rudimentary, though it
is possible and likely to gain popularity over the long term.
The FPGA
An FPGA, or field-programmable gate array, shares some of the flex-
ibility of a CPU, but achieves this in a vastly different way. An FPGA
is programmable hardware, which means it does not run instructions.
Instead, the programmer re-shapes the hardware to perform a specific
task. An FPGA can be programmed to perform any computational task
with very high performance. It can only change tasks by being repro-
grammed. The extra transistors that make the FPGA incredibly flexible
add cost and power consumption to the package. FPGAs are great for
high-performance applications, but volumes are relatively low.
The ASIC
An ASIC, or application–specific integrated circuit, is optimized to
compute one single function or a set of functions. It does nothing except
what it was initially built to do, and that’s all it will ever do. It performs
with the highest performance, lowest power consumption, and lowest
per-device cost possible.
Why would anyone use anything else? Well, sometimes, the flexibil-
ity of a CPU is essential. For a minute, imagine a PC that could only run
Microsoft Word. Additionally, developing a single ASIC costs $10 mil-
lion or more. They’re very cheap after the first one, though.
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AV Supply Chain
Now, how does this impact the AV supply chain? As mentioned above,
FPGAs are a great choice when the cost of developing an ASIC is not
justifiable. For a single AV manufacturer, it is impossible to justify
spending $10 million upfront to develop an ASIC. Instead, using an
FPGA makes a lot of sense. Manufacturers pay more per unit but practi-
cally nothing upfront. Performance is good and the power consumption
issues, fans, and special PoE adapters become something that’s widely
accepted. The business model works, but only in the pre-pandemic world
when all chips are easy to source all of the time.
Currently, the entire semiconductor supply is in a crunch as the mar-
ket for complex chips, such as microcontrollers, microprocessors, and
FPGAs does not have enough supply to meet today’s growing demand.
Due to their flexibility, FPGAs are important to all electronics manu-
facturing industries – not only professional AV. Now that these chips
are limited, they are being rationed to the highest-volume customers.
An example is the automotive industry chip shortage. Who do you think
gets to the front of the line for FPGAs? DVI Gear or General Motors?
This is said with love and respect to DVI Gear, who doesn’t have this
problem! For specific FPGA devices, customers report an average lead
time of 52 weeks or one year. Does that figure sound familiar?
On the other hand, ASIC devices are built to perform one single func-
tion, limiting customers for a particular device. Who needs an AV-over-
IP-only chip? Pro AV manufacturers only!
Today, SDVoE is powered by the BlueRiver ASIC from Semtech, a
Steering Member of the SDVoE Alliance. A BlueRiver ASIC combines
AV processing, encoding/decoding, and network connectivity onto a
single chip, which interfaces to the SDVoE API in a standardized way
– regardless of who integrates the ASIC into their product. The combina-
tion of BlueRiver ASIC and SDVoE API gives SDVoE products natural
interoperability.
The chip is limited to the Pro AV environment, demand is easier to
predict, and it has not been subject to the significant shocks seen in other
electronics industries (or, more pertinently, in the combination of other
electronics industries). A BlueRiver ASIC is available and shipping
today to companies across the community.
The flexibility, availability, and sustainability of BlueRiver ASIC are
exactly why SDVoE members have products in stock and ready to ship.
As a result, the SDVoE Alliance is poised to support a global customer
base with a flexible ASIC solution to meet customer delivery demands
amid ongoing supply chain disruptions. 
Justin Kennington is the president of the SDVoE Alliance
 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK

EDUCATION, TRAINING, AND

CERTIFICATION
uilding your network means building your skills. In addition to AVoIP opportunities

B with AVIXA, CTS programs, and manufacturer training in AVoIP, industry alliances
provide a gradient of skill-building courses and certification. SKILL SET

SDVOE ACADEMY AVNU KNOWLEDGE BASE CISCO CCNA CERTIFICATION

The SDVoE Academy maintains a library of
courses in video, networking, systems design,
and sales. Self-paced lessons and case studies
cover video and networking basics, system design
considerations and sales tips. There’s a track that
leads to SDVoE Design Partner certification.
The Avnu Knowledge Base provides self-help
access to subjects such as bounded latency,
reserved bandwidth, distributed timing, and
transport protocol as well as whitepapers on
a range of subjects, architectural guidelines,
IEEE, specifications, and FAQs. Also included
are underlying specifications for AVB, TSN,
and the application layer for Milan.
CCNA certification is designed to educate and
demonstrate knowledge needed to navigate
the ever-changing landscape of IT. CCNA
exam covers networking fundamentals, IP ser-
vices, security fundamentals, automation and
programmability. CCNA validates the skills
required to manage and optimize today’s most
advanced networks.

HDBASET ALLIANCE ACADEMY AIMS RESOURCES DANTE CERTIFICATION

The HDBaseT Alliance Academy is an inter-
active learning center that offers a range of
course, including many that qualify for AVIXA
and CEDIA RUs. You can self-serve webi-
nars and recommended reading, work with an
accredited trainer, or get your own HDBaseT
Master certification.
The AIMS Education Library is a resource for
learning about IP technology for broadcast and
Pro AV operations, including videos and presen-
tations by members and partners. Topics include
video codecs, security, test and measurement
basics ST 2110 and other related specifications
from AES, IEEE, JT-NM, and AMWA. AIMS
also maintains a rich resource collection of pre-
sentations from past events and installation case
studies.
Dante certification is of the classic AV net-
working certifications for audio and now
extended to Dante AV. Now in its “Second
Edition” this update includes evolving indus-
try trends as well as new Dante features that
have come about after the program’s inception.
You can easily browse to see what’s new with
a certification that will always be educational
and valuable.

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 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK

C TS

AV+IT 12
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GETTING DOWN TO REALITY

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 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK
By Eric Wenocur, Lab Tech Systems
he industry is abuzz with talk of AV-over-IP, voice-over-IP, audio or video-over-IP. Getting away
T from baseband native signals, by moving sound and picture as network data, has advantages in
certain situations. And even if you’re not doing “something-over-IP” in a system, just about every
device or processor of any complexity has a network jack for configuration or transferring data. The predicted
“convergence” of AV and IT is upon us one way or another.
What this means for people working in AV, broadcast, live production,
and any technology-based media field is huge. Manufacturers of equip-
ment are trying to make things easier with auto-configuration capabili-
ties and deeper instructions, and you might skate by for a while, but
there is so much going on behind that RJ45 jack that networking skills
are becoming as important as any other skills in AV. We need to become
fluent--or at least functional--in a new discipline.
I am no networking guru. I’ve learned a lot about a few areas, a little
about a few more, and some things are still only vague concepts. I can do
what I need to most of the time, but I also must interact with IT profes-
sionals at various points. Being able to speak their language is of great
value, especially when you want to put 128 channels of Dante audio on
their network! But seriously, even when we get past the “AV versus IT”
mentality, overlapping into that world is necessary and unavoidable.
MESSING AROUND WITH NETWORKS
Looking back 10+ years, the phrase “knows enough to be dangerous”
might have applied to me. If you’ve set up a home network (and probably
helped your friends and relatives with theirs) the basic parameters of
IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS are familiar. Networks of
limited size and scope have pretty similar parameters, and I succeeded
setting up some clients’ networks by following rote rules and leaving
unknowns at their defaults. Even so, the true meaning of those param-
eters was mysterious, and the number of unknowns in the menus of a
A
router or switch was daunting.
My attempts at intuiting meaning with my own logic were hopeless. I
recall wondering why IP addresses came in so many different combina-
tions, with different “subnet mask” settings. Not to mention that the sub-
net mask might appear as four groups of digits, or as /##. Are gateway,
router, and bridge interchangeable? Can a network switch handle traffic
from different IP address groups (subnets)? Why are they even called
subnets? Isn’t DNS just about the internet? And the alphabet soup! TCP,
UDP, DHCP, MAC, NIC, ICMP, IGMP, ARP…
But this was before every piece of equipment had a network con-
nection, and the demands on the network itself were fairly simple, so
I managed. When it came to doing something more sophisticated, like
setting up a firewall, I sought the help of a couple networking experts
(and watched over their shoulders trying to grasp what was going on). I
now realize that I must have caused some confusion for them because I
really didn’t understand the lingo. As with any vocation, the vocabulary
and usage of words is unique and evolved with the practice. Ever talk to
someone who does TV lighting and grip work?
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MARCH 2023
Eventually I realized that this situation was untenable. Fortunately,
my lack of understanding had not resulted in any disasters, but I was
frustrated and did not feel I could do the best for my clients. Around that
time SMPTE (the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers)
perceived the growing need among TV and broadcast professionals and
began offering Cisco’s CCNA courses with a member discount. Taking
some of those courses was, to be honest, a revelation. Suddenly things
started to make sense!
KEY CONCEPTS
One of the key points I learned from the courses is about the OSI and
TCP/IP Models, which describe the underlying process of how data gets
from an application in one place to an application in another, through
local and wide-area networks, using layers and encapsulation. We tend
to focus a lot on IP addresses, and it may seem like that’s the key to net-
working, but there is much more going on. If you enter basic IP address
info, and the equipment works correctly on the network, it means a lot
of other things are working correctly as well. It’s worth an investment to
get a basic working knowledge of those models.
Another important concept is that all of networking is built on pro-
tocols; that is, a set of rules for doing something. Protocols--many of
them defined in standards--are part of every layer in the networking
model, sometimes for narrow functions (like Network Time Protocol)
and sometimes as the basis of general operations (like Transmission
Control Protocol, as in TCP/IP). There are umpteen protocols in use, and
more being developed all the time to accommodate special functions.
Some protocols, such as AVB (Audio Video Bridging), exist to help us
get sound and picture through networks that were not designed for the
high-bandwidth and time-critical data of media.
The CCNA courses also introduce the CLI, or Command Line Inter-
face. Cisco’s CLI runs in much of their equipment and is also used
elsewhere. But you can use a command line to perform useful tasks in
Windows (Command Prompt) or MacOS (Terminal). In Windows, for
example, the ipconfig command is a reliable way to find out the network
parameters assigned to a computer by DHCP. Command line is also nec-
essary to send “pings,” one of the most basic network troubleshooting
tools. (Linux is natively command-line driven and has its own command
language, which can also come in handy at times.)
Getting back to lingo, to make matters especially difficult there are
terms used in networking that are also used in AV but mean something
quite different. Table 1 has a few examples. Even the term “network” can
be used both casually and explicitly, depending on the context.
 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK

WHERE DOES IT END?

I am not specifically endorsing Cisco CCNA, that’s just one option. Other organizations
offer similar classes, as do colleges, community colleges, etc. I suppose you can also
learn a fair bit on your own, but classes provide a structure, incentive, and possibly an
instructor to help.
Where does it end? Well, of course, it doesn’t! The CCNA program includes a set of
courses that can lead to a basic certification, and there are several levels of certification
above that. Other organizations, such as CompTIA, also offer networking certs. Some
of these might be important if you’re looking for a position in IT, but I’ve never wanted
to go that route.
Do I remember and use all the bits and pieces I learned several years ago? Certainly
not. Even IT pros often have multiple help tools (and Google searches) open while doing
complex tasks. But getting a handle on the basic principles has been incredibly useful for
building and troubleshooting AV and production systems. Plus, as with any discipline,
once you understand some key concepts it’s easier to find and grasp new information
when its needed. You will feel empowered.

TABLE 1, GLOSSARY OF CONFUSION

TERM AV AND PRODUCTION NETWORKING

MEDIA Audio or video content (or the physical carrier of content) OSI Layer 1, the physical (or wireless) component that
carries network data

SWITCH/SWITCHER Electronically connects video or audio equipment outputs Directs data between devices on a network at Layer 2 (Data
to inputs Link)

ROUTER/ROUTING Same as above, in an I/O matrix configuration Connects networks by directing data at Layer 3 (Network)
SWITCHER/MATRIX
ROUTER/MATRIX SWITCH

PORT A physical connection on a device (jack, socket, terminal) A numerical identifier for a process or service at Layer 4
(Transport). Also used in the conventional physical sense.

CONNECTION A physical or wireless link for sending signals between two Describes whether communication between devices uses a
devices bi-directional protocol (like TCP) or simply sends data one
way as best effort (like UDP).

NETWORK That thing that’s causing all the trouble! Two or more devices connected via a networking protocol,
such as ethernet. Or the totality of a networked system. Or
an IP address that represents a logical network.

BASEBAND Video or audio signals in a native format such as analog, Generic term for high-speed internet to the home or office.
SDI or AES/EBU.

HDCP Hi-Definition Copy Protection -- a protocol that prevents Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol -- used to
unauthorized viewing of copy-protected content automatically assign addresses and other parameters to
devices in a network

STATIC Stable, fixed, unchanging Assigned by a user or protocol to be a fixed value

DYNAMIC Changing, unpredictable Assigned by a protocol as needed (as with DHCP)

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 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK

INTEGRATING NDI
By Eric Wenocur, Lab Tech Systems

y first experience with NDI, NewTek’s software NETGEAR M4300-series switches, one in the event space

M platform for video over IP, was to install the soft-

ware tools on my office computers and see how
it behaved. Very cool, actually. Sending a live
and one in the control room. The switches have lots of 1Gb
ports and are linked via their 10Gb ports to provide a large
pipe between the rooms. CAT6A cable works just fine at the
video stream and some colorbars between the two comput- distance involved, but the switches also support fiber SFPs.
ers was fairly painless. On my home network the NDI apps SKILL SET Managed switches, with solid multicast support, are pretty
found each other, signals moved—it was impressive, but also much required in order to reduce stream duplication and
really simple. ensure mDNS for device identification. The backplane band-
Soon after that I got involved with a rather complex hybrid event proj- width of the switch needs to be sufficient for all the expected traffic
ect where NDI seemed like a good way to move a lot of signals around- on the 1G and 10G ports, which is another reason why robust switches
-doing away with most point-to-point SDI wiring. NDI could essentially are necessary. Both switches also support POE on half the ports, which
take the place of an SDI matrix router, sending signals wherever they is helpful (almost required) for all of the NDI cameras and converters
needed to go over the Ethernet network. Flexibility and ad-hoc configu- deployed. (Note that POE is really convenient but comes with its own
rations are areas where video-over-IP can be a win. caveats for power capacity of the ports and the switches overall.)
In this case there are at least four cameras and four displays in the With NDI, the ability for a receiving device to simply “ask” for a
event space. These are connected to a control room with computers for stream from a sending device is both a blessing and curse. It’s easy to
a software production switcher (live stream), several Zoom partici- get signals where you need them, but every new connection could be
pants, video playback, on-stage videowall, and tech control. Plus more another 130Mb stream in some part of the network. Depending on net-
displays. Since this is a high-quality production environment, standard work topology there may be choke points where too many streams cause
NDI compression is used, at roughly 130Mb/sec for 1080p60. The sys- trouble.
tem includes a large number of NDI-HDMI and NDI-SDI converters in An example of this is a computer running software to create multiv-
both rooms. iews (such as Birddog’s NDI Multiview app). Every source that appears in
a multiview grid is an incoming stream to that computer, as are the mul-
PRODUCTION NETWORK tiview outputs to displays. So an 8-source window is potentially using
The “production network” for this system is part of a VLAN in the orga- over 1000Mb of data throughput on the computer’s NIC and the switch
nization’s overall network, butit has its own switches for all the A/V port, far exceeding the 800Mb typically recommended for a 1Gb inter-
and control traffic. Switches are the heart of a network, and a major face. Would it make sense to do multiview with the more-compressed
consideration for deploying NDI on a large scale. Here we have two large NDIHX? Maybe, but that assumes the devices involved support it (and

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 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK
can produce both full and HX streams at the same time, in the case of
cameras). These setups can easily require connectivity greater than 1Gb,
as well as a fairly powerful computer for all the encoding and decoding.
The key point is that making NDI connections willy-nilly is not with-
out consequence; if you see the video, there’s a stream coming from
somewhere. Multicast may save some bandwidth on the source side, but
every receiver of that source is still getting its own stream from a switch.
Of course, manufacturers are touting 4K NDI products, which is great
if you need it, but exacts a huge price on bandwidth (250 - 400Mb/s per
stream).
I’ll also note that while the “plug and play” approach of NDI is nice
initially, it can be tedious with a large number of endpoints. Sources and
destinations don’t appear instantly and it’s not always clear who’s who.
Within NDI applications, such as Birddog’s Central control app, end-
points use their system names. Clicking one (say for a camera) will open
that device’s configuration page in a browser. But if you want to access
the config page without using an NDI app you must know the device’s
IP address. So assigning static addresses, and keeping an accurate list,
is advisable. (I do not know if using the NDI Discovery Service would
alleviate this.)
DIFFICULTIES
Except for the NDI Tools package, the project described here uses
mostly P200 robotic cameras, Studio NDI and Mini converters, and
software from NDI-centric manufacturer BirdDog, due to their compre-
hensive product line (and availability at the time). There are also some
Panasonic production cameras with SDI-NDI converters. Displays are
fed with HDMI or SDI via more converters. While many aspects of the
system worked fine from the outset, problems that arose included video
stuttering, NDI endpoints not showing up in software applications, unre-
sponsive or crashing software, and simply general confusion about how
things were supposed to work.
I suspect that one underlying reason for the difficulties is the fact that
NewTek owns the platform specification and is free to change it. Every
NDI endpoint--hardware or software--uses the NDI core software, and
evolution of the NDI core may or may not sit well with products from
other manufacturers, who must play catch-up (much like computer appli-
cations and operating system changes).
Some products were simply new or recently released, which primarily
manifested as inconsistent behavior or functions not working. But also
by uncertainty about how hardware and software should behave, and
 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK
how certain parameters should be set. Adjusting to changes in NewTek’s
NDI core could account for some of this, and I expect product maturity
has improved things as well.
It is also the case that features touted by NewTek, or anyone else,
may depend on a particular version of NDI, or particular configura-
tions within devices. It’s fairly easy to inadvertently end up with slightly
incompatible components. We were building a system initially in 2021,
during the break-in of NDI 4, and at one point had to review all the
NDI endpoints and make sure everything was on compatible versions.
Naturally NDI 5 began showing up soon enough, but it was clear that
immediately upgrading any of the components would be unwise. The
“latest and greatest’ is not always best.
Compatibility is also an issue with the protocols supported by net-
work switches and NICs, and the variations of those protocols. NDI
depends greatly on some protocols, like mDNS, that may not be fully
implemented in some equipment, so old hardware might cause trouble.
In the course of shaking things out for this system, the switches were
updated to newer firmware with features and setups specifically for A/V
over IP. This reduced headaches caused by subtle feature mismatches, or
having an out-of-date version of some obscure underlying protocol. Tech
support at the companies making these switches is also better equipped
to assist with problems specific to A/V over IP. (Kudos to NETGEAR
for taking this on because A/V over IP--including NDI, Dante, AVB and
others--is dependent on the correct functioning of Ethernet switches.)
When this project began, we found a handful of docs from NewTek
and other manufacturers which attempted to recommend best practices
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for an NDI system. Advice often conflicted, or mentioned concepts that
were not quite explained. This created confusion in troubleshooting
video issues because it was hard to determine if there was a problem
with an NDI endpoint, the switch firmware, the switch configuration,
or if we were just trying to do something that could not work! I will add
that bad cables--always the first line of tech support advice—were never
a problem (and rarely are if you’re conscientious).
To be frank, sometimes I had the impression that nobody fully under-
stood NDI--except perhaps the design engineers at NewTek (who I did
not expect to be able to reach). But, like so many new technologies,
things are stabilizing. A white paper issued in June 2021 summarizes
various aspects of how NDI works. It’s a bit unfinished in places but
generally useful if you understand networking concepts.
In the end it was a combination of upgrading network switches,
upgrading computers, maintaining software compatibility, and persis-
tent attention to switch configuration that cleared up most issues over the
course of a couple months. Needless to say, this was “one man’s experi-
ence” on a particular project, so others may take exception. Trouble-
shooting tools are becoming available, but the networking aspects of
NDI are not insignificant, particularly when deployed in a large system.
Demand for the kind of functionality provided by NDI has risen
quickly, and so has the number of companies adopting NDI in their prod-
ucts. NDI provides a useful “middle ground” between SDI and ST2110
(or other video-over-IP approaches that are not tailored toward produc-
tion). I will certainly consider using NDI where it fits, knowing that
implementation might be more complicated than expected.
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 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK
OPEN MIC
Thoughts on AV Over IP
SAMUEL RECINE, AIMS PRO AV
WORKING GROUP CHAIRPERSON
What is the most important feature of your AVoIP
roadmap and why?
Now that the VSF TR-10 open specifications are
published for IPMX and cover uncompressed media
for IPMX and ST 2110 networks, as well as CBR
mezzanine compression for IPMX and ST 2110 net-
works, the next road map items to further expand IPMX in 2023 include
adding support for VBR to expand the choices of sub-frame latency mez-
zanine codec options and to add H.264 and HEVC workflows.
This codec expansion work is important because it will help drive
many useful IP-to-IP simple and bulk transcoding options. The mar-
ket expects AV-over-IP assets on IPMX networks to be able to connect
software and hardware endpoints as flexibly as possible. By providing
more options for media conversions we can achieve all the useful gate-
ways we need, including sharing content across different network types
(example: ST 2110 to/from asynchronous enterprise AV/IT networks);
converting protocols (example: proprietary protocols to/from IPMX);
converting media (example: codec A to/from codec B); and more. By the
middle of 2024, the gateways available for IPMX will allow substantial
mixing of asset types and different brands on an IPMX network.
What is the primary obstacle to AVoIP adoption?
Some AV-over-IP approaches are hardware centric. Some are software
centric. And all the proprietary protocols create islands of incompatible
endpoints.  concerned more with overall system up-time, total cost of ownership,
Standards and open specifications, like IPMX, are there to solve the
portability problem between high-performance specialized Pro AV
assets and mass market enterprise AV assets.  Because Matrox is optimizing for the latter, we’re not typically
What do you think the most important, potentially little-discussed,
issue is for the future of AVoIP?
Software.
The market for PCs went from 30 million systems per year to 400 mil-
lion systems per year once application-specific drivers were replaced by
open standards. The emergence of APIs and standards hardware devel-
opers to concentrate on specific value-add and allowed software devel-
opers to explode with millions of useful applications.
The AV-over-IP market is currently held back by thousands of prod-
ucts that have no means to be connected to one another. Removing that
obstacle through standards is what will build the large AV/IT software
economy to follow.
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RON BERTY, MANAGER, BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT, MATROX 
What is the most important feature of your AVoIP
roadmap and why?
All Matrox AV-over-IP software and hardware
products and platforms are leveraging standards
and open specifications, including uncompressed
AV-over-IP product lines, sub-frame latency sub-
1Gb/s AV-over-IP product lines, and H.264 and HEVC product lines.
A vendor can offer very elegant tightly-coupled experiences between
products from their own brand. But the AV/IT infrastructure market
wants these products to be well-behaved on their networks so that assets
can be managed for cybersecurity in a common way, and different types
of assets from different brands can be mixed as needed by various appli-
cation requirements. 
Between Matrox support for open standards and the inclusion of com-
plete developer tools on top of the already rich suite of plug-and-play
software, it is typical for Matrox products to be selected as part of multi-
technology projects.
What is the primary obstacle to AVoIP adoption?
Matrox is experiencing robust year-over-year growth of AV-over-IP
adoption.
Perhaps the market can be viewed on a spectrum. At one extreme,
projects are handled as self-contained applications. At the other extreme,
AV/IT managers are trying to manage large groups of assets and are
cybersecurity, in-facility and remote assets, and the most efficient man-
agement of custom projects and site-specific workflow personalization.
involved in duke-outs between 20 brands that can do the same thing in
a proprietary way.
We try to build bridges between things.
So we’re extremely busy in AV-over-IP right now.
What do you think the most important, potentially little-discussed,
issue is for the future of AVoIP?
Even the most demanding experiential Pro AV applications now
already leverage best-in-class software and hardware from different
areas including IT, broadcast, and Pro AV.
The arrival of open standards like IPMX will only amplify the ability
to use the right tools for the right job while simultaneously shielding
customers from limitations within islands of proprietary solutions.
 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK
GARTH LOBBAN, DIRECTOR OF
MARKETING, ATLONA
What is the most important feature of your AVoIP
roadmap and why?
Atlona’s AV over IP roadmap will bring con-
tinued enhancements to our existing OmniStream
portfolio while expanding the line in ways that add
more capability, connectivity, and scalability to an
industry-leading platform.
The most important stop on our roadmap is our OmniStream 2.0
technology update, which enhances the capabilities of the over 17,000
OmniStream endpoints in use today. This no-cost update offers
increased performance and delivers high-quality video streaming
with minimal artifacts, ensuring that system owners can preserve
their investments well into the future. Additionally, high-efficiency
coding enables multiple 4K streams over 10 Gigabit uplinks between
network switches, making it a flexible solution for different network
infrastructures.
With this update, AT-OMNI-121 decoders now feature multiview
window processing, allowing users to display up to four sources on
a single screen. Another valuable feature is the ultra-fast switching
between 4K/60 video streams from OmniStream encoders, which helps
to ensure a seamless viewing experience.
A side benefit, but important aspect of the OmniStream 2.0 technol-
ogy update is its ability to promote sustainability by keeping existing
products working with firmware updates. By allowing system owners
to update their existing OmniStream encoders and decoders to the latest
firmware, they can avoid the need to replace old, out-of-date gear and
reduce e-waste. No other manufacturer has added this much value to an
existing product line.
BOB MICHAELS CEO ZEEVEE
What is the most important feature of your AVoIP
roadmap and why?
Regarding our AVoIP roadmap: security is chief
among the feature and functionality enhance-
ments we’ll be rolling out in our 2023 product
offerings. With SDVoE and other AVoIP signal
distribution solutions living on IP networks, secu-
rity concerns remain at the top of everyone’s list.
We look to build on our established record of industry leadership in
safeguarding network integrity--whether operating on a dedicated net-
work or on a shared internal network.
Beyond that, we will be focusing on extending the industry’s most
comprehensive range of AVoIP signal distribution solutions – from hud-
dle rooms to the largest pro AV integration projects – with models that
offer seamless compatibility and performance in smaller deployments
such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams rooms.
21
MARCH 2023
PAUL HARRIS, CEO/CTO, AURORA
MULTIMEDIA
What is the most important feature of your AVoIP
roadmap and why?
When it comes to AV over IP the most important
feature is the one the customer requires.To do this,
we try to accommodate as much as possible into one
unit for the possibility of just about any need.
When you break it down there are the basics, great image quality and
ease of use. From there, it is the little things that make a big difference.
In the case of Aurora products, we minimize SKU by using transceiver
technology which eliminates stock disproportions and helps trouble-
shooting. The use of Software Dante eliminates the need for semicon-
ductors that are hard to get and gives an easy upgrade path. Finally,
there are the features that can vary for different clients like windowing,
videowall, image rotation, scaling, seamless switching, security, low
power, wall plate versions, and more.  
What is the primary obstacle to AVoIP adoption?
Lack of standards does make it more difficult, but education solves
everything. Too many companies competing for the same market space
and the one with the best product and best education will come out in
front. Availability does not hurt either these days.
What do you think the most important, potentially little-discussed,
issue is for the future of AVoIP? 
The lack of addressing low bandwidth with high bandwidth simultane-
ously to better deal with unified communications. Currently, most up-
and-coming standards only focus on a specific market segment and not
the whole. Either it is 1G or 10G or sometimes both, but where is the
10/100 for remote or local recordings? For a standard to take properly
it must address all bandwidths and features that have become part of
normal expectations.
DANIEL PRAX, DIRECTOR DIGITAL
MARKETING, BLACK BOX
What is the most important feature of your AVoIP
roadmap and why?
As we are closely monitoring the AVoIP market
development, there are a variety of features that are
important to our customers. One stands out as par-
ticularly crucial: central management of the AVoIP
system. With the increasing complexity of modern AV systems, central
management has become an essential requirement for any AVoIP solu-
tion. The ability to manage and control the entire AVoIP system from
a single interface simplifies administration, improves efficiency, and
reduces the risk of errors and downtime. Black Box MCX AVoIP solu-
tion provides a comprehensive management platform that allows users
to monitor and control their entire AVoIP system from a single interface.
 AVOIP: HOW TO BULD A NETWORK
This includes the ability to manage and configure devices, monitor per-
formance and usage, and troubleshoot issues. In addition to central man-
agement, Black Box AVoIP solutions offer a range of other features that
are also important for today’s AV systems. These include intercompat-
ibility with other AV systems, providing both 1G and 10G-based solu-
tions to accommodate varying AV quality needs and video standards,
future-proof signal support for HD/4K/8K, and flexible deployment for
future requirements.
In the past, the market offered “island solutions” with a discrete func-
tion, but customers today expect flexible solutions for a multitude of
application scenarios such as classic AV extension, AV switching, video
wall management, digital signage, and more. Our focus is on developing
those types of solutions with an eye on plug-and-play design – to make
installation quick and easy, and offering maximum flexibility for future
expansion of AVoIP systems. This includes offering AV transmitters/
receivers with combined HDMI/DisplayPort interfaces as well as USB
and audio support.
What is the primary obstacle to AVoIP adoption?
The lack of standards makes it difficult for manufacturers to produce
interoperable AVoIP products. This means that users cannot easily mix
and match components from different vendors, which increases the cost
and complexity of AVoIP systems. The lack of standards also makes it
difficult to guarantee the quality of AVoIP transmissions, particularly
over long distances or across different types of networks. One solution
to this is cross-vendor standardization and alliances such as the SDVoE
alliance. Another obstacle to AVoIP adoption is that these systems typi-
cally require integration with other technologies, such as control sys-
tems, video conferencing systems, and network management systems.
Integration can be complicated, particularly when different technologies
use different protocols or interfaces. Running AV streaming media over
a regular corporate network can be a challenge due to lack of bandwidth
and/or security concerns. Also, with ever-increasing resolutions and
AV quality, better video compression algorithms and high-bandwidth
10/100G-Networks might be required.
Many users are comfortable with traditional analog or digital systems
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and may be hesitant to switch to a new technology. Additionally, AVoIP
systems require a certain level of technical expertise to install and main-
tain, which can be a barrier for some users. This is mitigated by the fact
that IP is a non-proprietary protocol and IT experts can help implement
those systems. This in turn converges classical IT and AV management.
What do you think the most important, potentially little-discussed,
issue is for the future of AVoIP?
Some of the most important and potentially little-discussed issues for
the future of AVoIP are the impact of emerging technologies such as 5G
and edge computing as well as wireless extension in general. 5G net-
works promise to deliver ultra-fast speeds and low latency, which could
greatly improve the quality of AVoIP transmissions. Edge computing,
which involves processing data closer to the source rather than in a cen-
tralized location, could also improve the performance of AVoIP systems.
However, the integration of AVoIP with these emerging technolo-
gies presents its own set of challenges. For example, the distribution
of AVoIP signals across 5G networks will require new protocols and
standards to ensure quality of service and security. The implementation
of edge computing could also require new hardware and software con-
figurations to support AVoIP systems.
Another important issue is the increasing demand for remote col-
laboration tools and the impact this will have on AVoIP. The COVID-19
pandemic has accelerated the trend towards remote work and virtual col-
laboration, which has increased the demand for high-quality audio and
video transmission.
AVoIP technology is well-suited for this purpose, but it will require
continued development and refinement to keep up with the evolving
needs of remote workers and virtual teams. 5G will overall have a
huge impact on wireless distribution of AV signals and is opening
doors to wireless extension, since it is the first wireless standard
that can deal with the bandwidth requirements for high quality AV
transmission. However, security concerns, the emerging industry of
private 5G networks, and market adoption times are currently still
making cable-bound 1/10-G AVoIP solutions the primary choice for
customers.
 AVOIP: NEW PRODUCTS

PRODUCTS DVIGEAR DN-300

AVPRO EDGE’S MXNET
This 10G SDVoE platform supports audio, video, USB, KVM
and control signals. AVPro Edge is an adopting and contributing
member to the SDVoE Alliance. AVPro highlights the “green”
aspect of MXNet 10G devices, claiming they run 75% cooler than
FPGA designs, reducing the environmental impact large-scale sys-
tems might otherwise impose. MXNet 10G’s system performance
enhancements include imperceptible, ultra-low latency HDMI 2.X
distribution, effortlessly transporting signals of up to 4K/60Hz 4:4:4
artifact-free, with multi-channel audio codecs plus control informa-
tion. A/V signals may be distributed, matrixed from any encoder
to multiple decoders, and configured for multi-viewing or multi-
window video walls. KVM, USB, and control signals such as CEC,
IR and RS-232 may be openly routed from any input to any output.
Debuted last year, this addition to the DisplayNet platform was designed
to deliver a major breakthrough in performance, versatility, and value
for AVoIP applications. Based on the latest SDVoE technology, the
DN-300 delivers HDMI video distribution with limitless scalability,
zero-frame latency and zero image artifacts. These units support near-
seamless switching and distribution of HDMI signals with resolutions
of up to 4K/60p (4:4:4) with 8-bit color, or 4K/60p (4:2:2) with 10-bit
or 12-bit color.  Like other DisplayNet products, the DN-300 provides
independent multi-layer routing of HDMI audio and video signals, as
well as bidirectional Analog Audio, USB 2.0, IR, RS-232, and 1GbE
Ethernet. The DN-300 is a single unit that provides switchable Transmit-

ter/Receiver operation, PoE+ support, and dual (copper/fiber) network

interfaces that enable signal extension distances of up to 100 meters
(328 ft.) with CAT-6A twisted pair and up to 30 KM (18.6 miles) with
single-mode fiber. The DN-300 includes auxiliary H.264/5 video out-
put streams that provide support for viewing source thumbnails and for
remote viewing/recording with resolutions of up to 1080/30p. KVM
routing supports full-bandwidth USB 2.0. Fanless and ultra-compact;
4x units fit a single 1U of rackspace. DisplayNet also includes software-
defined MultiViewer and advanced Video Wall engines that power a
wide range of applications without the expense and complexity of ancil-
lary products. Compatible with third-party controllers as well as full
interoperability with other SDVoE products.

BLACK BOX MCX G2

The MCX G2 series from Black Box is the next generation of the company’s MCX
multimedia distribution and management system. The MCX G2 series features the
performance of the original S9 and S7 series but adds several market-leading fea-
tures including best-in-class source-to-screen latency (less than 18 microseconds),
one-port or two-port encoding devices, a video loop-through connection, USB-C
and three-port USB 2.0 connectivity, and PoE capability. These features provide for
a more flexible solution, faster design/implementation, and lower overall cost. The
Black Box MCX takes advantage of SDVoE and modern 10 GbE infrastructure to
allow AV and data payloads. Rather than deploy an entirely new network, users can
take advantage of the software-defined solution to leverage existing infrastructure
for delivery of better-quality audio and video, which can translate to greater customer
satisfaction and faster time to revenue.

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MARCH 2023
 AVOIP: NEW PRODUCTS

MATROX VIDEO CONVERT IP Pro AV market’s emerging set

In December, Matrox Video shipped of open standards and specifica-
the ConvertIP standards-based, IPMX- tions for AV over IP, the IPMX-
ready encoders and decoders. The award- ready ConvertIP encoder/decoder
winning ConvertIP encoders/decoders line facilitates the integration of
provide AV systems integrators with new products and platforms into
AV-over-IP design flexibility to build existing or future networks while
interoperable, scalable, and cost-efficient supporting 4K60 4:4:4 IP signal
AV infrastructures. Featuring multiple transport. Combining encoder
connectivity options—including HDBaseT—compressed and uncom- or decoder functionality on compact, PoE+-powered devices further
pressed support, and a fanless design, these standalone devices support simplifies integration efforts, while ConvertIP’s fanless and redundant
lossless, zero-latency 4K signals over 1, 10, and 25 GbE AV-over-IP design ensures reliable 24/7 operation across a wide range of AV/IT
networks. Built on Internet Protocol Media Experience (IPMX), the environments.

ATLONA OMNISTREAM 2.0 lag-free IMAG; encoder dual stream-

In a unique move, Atlona has reimagined ing over 1 GbE; and encoder thumb-
a seven-year-old product and rather than nails. The features are available across
discontinue it, enhanced it with new fea- the OminStream endpoints, now and
tures. OmniStream 2.0 is a free firmware for the future with new part numbers.
update for its existing AV over IP plat- From the judges: “This demonstrates
form that brings enhanced video quality, Atlona’s commitment to integrators as
decreased latency, fast switching, a reduction in Gigabit Ethernet band- it enhances its already powerful OmniStream 2.0 hardware solution.
width utilization, plus additional features. At the heart of this update is The value in the latest upgrade is the ability to support 4k60 4:4:4 on
the new VCx codec that supports 4K60 4:4:4 video over Gigabit Ether- 1G infrastructure allowing you to enhance existing products in the field
net; decoder Multiview for layouts at each decoder; Ethernet link test- or achieving greater cost savings when bidding against other vendors’
ing; ultra-low encode-to-decode latency of less than 1 frame (<3 ms) for product lines.”

AURORA VPX-TC1 PRO SERIES and the HDMI output

This series is designed to provide an advanced
1G IP streaming solution, utilizing Aurora’s
new Mimix CODEC technology. Mimix com-
pression allows for near perfect reproduction
of video and graphic images at resolutions up
to 4K60 4:4:4 over 1G networks. It has only one frame (16.6ms) of latency
and seamless switching for fast lag-free content; power consumption is
as little as 8 watts. It does this with no fan and a small form factor.
Audio, video, data, and control can be sent securely to one or many units
using off-the-shelf 1G RJ-45 Ethernet switch. When the VPX-TC1 is
set up to be a transmitter, the 2 HDMI inputs become a source switch
becomes a potential
loop out. When set up
as a receiver, a user can
select the local HDMI
inputs or an IP source.
Seamless switching of the sources further enhances the presentation.
Regardless of how the VPX-TC1 is set up, the audio can be de-embed-
ded at any location, and/or be sent to or received from a Dante-enabled
device. The USB is also flexible, working as a KVM and/or a high-speed
data transfer (100Mbps) for memory sticks & cameras. Each VPX-TC1
USB feature can also be set as a host or a device.

ZEEVEE ZYPERUHD60
New in February, the ZyPerUHD60 platform delivers pixel-for-pixel reproduc-
tion of compressed 1080p HD and full 4K@60 4:4:4 UHD resolution content
with ultra-low latency over a standard 1Gb Ethernet network via off-the-
shelf IP switches. It is ideal for distributing compressed video up to 4K,
audio and control signals for smaller deployments including Zoom and
Microsoft Teams rooms. It eliminates the need for a separate AV network
or equipment for the distribution of video and other AV content.

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