68 AV OVER IP I f you had to date-stamp the year in which the AV industry truly began its long and fruitful journey with IP technologies, then you might well select 2006. For it was then that Audinate introduced Dante – an AV over IP (AVoIP) technology offering high-quality, low-latency digital audio distribution – crucially, over standard IT network switches and infrastructure. Nearly two decades later – with Dante subsequently diversifying into networked video, not to mention its Dante AV solutions – it is still a key technology in pro AV, with over 4000 products being Dante-enabled. The growth trajectory of Dante has been especially noteworthy, but there have been plenty of other milestones in media networking along the way. In 2009, the Avnu Alliance was established in order to promote the adoption of the AVB (Audio Video Bridging) standards. Although highly regarded, AVB did not immediately take off in the same way as Dante due to its requirement for
dedicated network switches – which, for a long time, were both expensive and not produced by many vendors. However, the technology has witnessed a resurgence since 2018 following the announcement of AVB Milan – a new, user-driven protocol. Meanwhile, the last decade has also seen a growing convergence between IP networking for broadcast and pro AV. Incorporating several existing standards – such as the Video Services Forum’s TR-03 and TR-04, as well as AES67 for audio over IP interoperability – SMPTE ST 2110 was published in a number of parts, beginning in late 2017. Aimed initially at broadcast and distribution facilities requiring quality and flexibility, ST 2110 has since been incorporated into Internet Protocol Media Experience (IPMX) – a set of open standards and specifications geared towards IP networking in the pro AV market, with extra sector-relevant provision for control, copy protection, connection management and security. Increasingly, along with NDI, this tech looks like one to watch in many areas of pro AV. For this article, LIVE invites a group of leading vendors to reflect on the story of AVoIP to date, including those aspects that have surprised them the most; their own IP-related milestones; and what impact the cloud and AI – among other current developments – are likely to have on the AVoIP deployments of the future. RAPID INDUSTRY ACCEPTANCE Robbie Bruce, director of product at Barco, indicates that the rate of adoption of AVoIP has been particularly surprising: “Many experts initially predicted a longer timeline for widespread adoption of AV over standard 1Gb Ethernet networks.” He credits ‘proprietary solutions like NDI and Dante’ with lowering entry barriers and enabling broader adoption, but
Many experts initially predicted a longer timeline for widespread adoption of AV over standard 1Gb Ethernet networks”
Lawo’s A__UHD Core (below) features low-noise cooling; and the Home Multiviewer (bottom) makes better use of resources
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