Harman Professional Demonstrates Preview of End-To-End Ethernet AV

  • Bringing to fruition over three years of research and development as well as comprehensive participation and leadership in the IEEE AVB 802.1 Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) Task Group initiative, Harman Professional demonstrated Harman HiQnet products streaming Ethernet AV in a technology preview at Pro Light & Sound in Frankfurt, Germany last month. The company showcased several new Ethernet AV products, including a dbx SC 32 digital matrix processor and a Crown CTs amplifier, all connected with an Ethernet AV.
  • The demonstration followed Harman’s participation in the IEEE 802.1 AVB workshop with AVB Task Group co-members at the 125th AES Convention in San Francisco. Presenters included Robert Boatright, director of research, Harman International; Matthew Xavier Mora, software engineer; and Michael Johas Teener, technical director and plumbing architect, Broadcom Corp — all members of the IEEE 802.1 AVB Task Group.
  • “This announcement is the product of considerable labor, remarkable inter-company cooperation, and uncommon leadership by a group of dedicated engineers at the IEEE AVB 802.1 AVB Task Group,” says Rick Kreifeldt, vice president, Harman System development and integration group (SDIG).
  • The IEEE 802 working groups, a coalition of leading technology companies from professional audio and video, semiconductor, networking, computing, and consumer electronics have been working on protocols that allow the building of standards-based networks with the appropriate quality of service for high-quality audio performance and production. This new set of standards, developed by the IEEE 802.1 (AVB) Task Group, provides three major enhancements for 802-based networks:
  • Precise timing to support low-jitter media clocks and accurate synchronization of multiple streams
  • A simple reservation protocol that allows endpoint devices to reserve the bandwidth in a path to guarantee quality of service for audio/video streams
  • Queuing and forwarding rules that ensure that audio/video streams will pass through the network within the delay specified by the reservation
  • The enhancements enabled by IEEE 802.1 standards require no changes to the Ethernet lower layers and are compatible with all the other functions of a standard Ethernet switch. As a result, the entire Ethernet ecosystem is available to developers — in particular, the various high-speed physical layers (up to 100 gigabit/sec in current standards), security features (encryption and authorization), and advanced management (remote testing and configuration) features.

The AVNetwork staff are storytellers focused on the professional audiovisual and technology industry. Their mission is to keep readers up-to-date on the latest AV/IT industry and product news, emerging trends, and inspiring installations.