Unbiased Explanation of AV-over-IP

It's not easy, it's not lossless compression and Rome was not built in one day. However, it IS the certain future for ProAV and Broadcasting Industries. Moreover, indications have been observed that those two branches are moving towards a merger. There is still NO STANDARD that everyone has adopted for transferring AV signals (Audio, Video, Control and Power) over the network. There are various approaches to accomplishing this task, and unfortunately, none of these diverse choices are compatible with each other.

Does it sound scary to you? Particularly for those who are stepping into or intending to transition to AV-over-IP. Gary Kayye's webinar vividly outlined his vision of an ideal AV over IP world for us, in a clear and understandable manner. Below, we've highlighted a few key points that we've extracted. We trust that this information will prove somehow beneficial to you:

• In the present and even the near future, the most common and widely available internet bandwidth is 1G, and this is beyond doubt.

  Network bandwidths of 10G, 100G, and even higher are mostly deployed in niche applications such as data center facilities, control rooms, broadcasting, and other scenarios. Additionally, according to Gartner's network communication market report, by the year 2025, 1G network bandwidth will still account for over 80% of the global network bandwidth.

• Which one is better for AV over IP solutions, 1G or 10G(or higher)? There is no panacea! It depends on your needs!!

  The 10G camp operators repeatedly emphasize the need for 4K60, ultra-low latency, 4:4:4, higher bits, and HDR. In the end, everything comes with a cost. Let's assume a very common scenario: A meeting room is just for conducting meetings, displaying slides, Excel sheets, webpages, etc. For these tasks, 1080p is already more than sufficient. Can 4K make meetings more efficient or bring more productivity? Will the operational efficiency of corporate collaboration improve due to differences in 4K or 1080p resolutions? I believe the answer is negative!

  Gary summarized the timeline of widespread AV over IP adoption in various application scenarios, which is one of the most important key points in this webinar:

• Embracing Standards: IPMX vs. SDVoE

  Currently, there is no common standard within the 1G AV over IP camp. Most manufacturers using the 1G solution are mostly acting independently. Several leading manufacturers (such as Matrox and Macnica) have begun to form the embryonic stage of an alliance, and in the past two years, this alliance (AIMS Alliance) has led to the sudden rise of the 1G open protocol, IPMX. And very interesting, Gary prophetically compared IPMX and SDVoE in the webinar. In my opinion, it's a bright and winding path for IPMX: 1. The future path of 1G is still long; 2. The alliance of protocols is accelerating its maturing.

• The ProAV industrial insiders should proactively deploy internet management technology as early as possible.

  Currently, most professional audiovisual integration companies possess a limited understanding of internet and information security. Their knowledge is often unilateral, relying mostly on past project experiences and a trial-and-error approach. While they may have a general idea of how to use these technologies, they lack a solid theoretical foundation or a systematic method for designing comprehensive network architectures. When faced with large-scale projects or cybersecurity issues, not only is there a risk of the AV systems breaking down, but there is also a potential for a cascading disaster affecting other information systems on the premises. Therefore, in the webinar, Gary emphasized that all AV industry players should proactively deploy network management technology and personnel. And I deeply believe so.