AV-over-IP has been growing in popularity in the last few years. More and more AV projects are being handled by IT staff who feel quite at home with switches, routers and IP-based content. They have realized that there are some real benefits to using AV-over-IP.

Cost Savings

The use of commodity network routers/switches and Cat5/6 cables that are either already in place or are easy to find results in huge cost savings.

Many Video-over-IP endpoints can take advantage of Power over Ethernet (PoE) which allows them to be powered from the network switch. This eliminates costly and bulky power supplies and cabling to help simplify installation.

Distance

The need to integrate disparate sources that can be miles away is a problem for traditional, baseband connectivity. Networking infrastructure for AV-over-IP can be built across much greater distances, eliminating any distance restrictions.

Scalability

One of the key benefits of using AV-over-IP equipment is that there is no limit to the number of devices that can be connected. Some systems may require a router for every certain number of endpoints which adds some cost to the overall system.

Other, more intelligent systems, such as Zio Enterprise AV-over-IP platform, auto-enumerate and distribute the management across all devices negating the need for a centralized server.

As more encoders, decoders, multiviewers or wall processors are needed, they can simply be connected to the network. Some systems, such as Zio, make the process of adding new devices even easier by auto-detecting them, providing plug-and-play operation.

If the ports on a network router are all filled, another router can easily be added to increase capacity.

Flexibility

Networks are present everywhere around the world which allows AV-over-IP products great flexibility. They can either share the existing data network or use their own, dedicated AV network. There are many tools available to separate the AV data from the standard office data to ensure both get the bandwidth they need to be most efficient.

Interoperability

One of the benefits of having AV equipment on the same network as other devices is the ability to interoperate. A Smart TV, for example, can pull content directly from a media server IP camera, or Zio encoder and display it in a window along with today’s weather in a hotel lobby.