SCN: How long have you been with this company, and what are your responsibilities?
Lisa Barlow Flournoy: I joined DVIGear formally in 2013. As marketing support manager, I oversee our marketing initiatives. My role includes developing brand and product marketing materials, managing digital content and coordinating our trade show presence. I also work closely with our technical and customer support teams to provide product support and ensure a smooth experience for our customers.
SCN: DVIGear celebrated its 25th anniversary back in 2024. What’s the secret to your longevity?
LBF: Founded in 1999, DVIGear was an early player in the digital video connectivity market. Over time, the AV market moved from analog to digital, and the number of “pedestrian” connectivity products grew exponentially. As the market swelled, it moved into a commodity model that emphasized high volume sales with low profit margins. One of our fundamental corporate tenets is to provide unique and innovative product solutions. Rather than investing in commodity products, DVIGear resolved to focus on engineering its own value-added products, maximizing design and development based on the needs of our customers.
SCN: What is something that most end users still don’t quite understand when it comes to AVoIP?
LBF: Many AV customers don't understand the intrinsic value that AVoIP offers. At times, there seems to be a reluctance to embrace new technology. Another aspect of AVoIP that people may not understand is the difference between the types of systems, 1GbE versus 10GbE, utilized by the SDVoE standard.
One of the largest budget considerations in an SDVoE system is the number of endpoints (Tx and Rx) required. While a 10GbE Ethernet switch is more expensive than a 1GbE switch, the added cost is negligible when looking at the overall system price. A much larger concern is the cost of the Tx and Rx endpoints, as many are required for most systems. Further, an SDVoE AVoIP system provides more capabilities and better quality with no or minimal compression.
SCN: What makes the DisplayNet platform unique in the AVoIP distribution space?
LBF: We believe that DisplayNet is unique because there is no other product in the AVoIP market that has the combination of features, flexibility, and ease of setup that we offer. Like some other products, DisplayNet is based on SDVoE technology; however, each manufacturer decides what SDVoE features will be used in their product line, and how they will be implemented. DisplayNet is known for its robust but flexible implementation of the SDVoE 10GbE platform. It boasts highly advanced software, including sophisticated, responsive, web-based documentation built into our DisplayNet Server.
Driven by the user experience, DisplayNet software development is a core strength of DVIGear’s AVoIP platform. For designers and installers, the DisplayNet Manager emphasis is on configuration ease and optimized user experience. For end users, the same qualities are focused on execution via DisplayNet Controller, which is newly released software for end users to utilize a DisplayNet system on a day-to-day basis in a production environment. It focuses on fewer options and simplified functionality.
SCN: How does DisplayNet Manager simplify system setup?
The SDVoE model is very compatible with our corporate culture in that it emphasizes flexibility to design unique solutions and provide added value.
LBF: DisplayNet Manger is highly intuitive and web-based, with built-in, context-sensitive documentation. Our development team actively uses AI to optimize documentation and code. Many hundreds of hours of refinement have been geared to optimize the user experience. Layout, menus, organization, built-in documentation, and warning screens all contribute to facile use of the platform.
Who is the user? A system designer, system engineer, or installer doing setup and configuration work. Software that is not as intuitive as DisplayNet can be confusing, hence time-consuming and frustrating to employ. Documentation that is not integrated into the system likewise degrades the user experience. DisplayNet documentation is context sensitive, intelligently routing the user to applicable Help subsections.
SCN: DisplayNet is built to support SDVoE workflows. What made you commit to that standard?
LBF: The SDVoE model is very compatible with our corporate culture in that it emphasizes flexibility to design unique solutions and provide added value. The attributes that SDVoE offers are in line with what DVIGear believes in as a company: high quality, minimal compromise, and an emphasis on flexibility, versatility, and added value. We’ve been working with the SDVoE team for over 10 years and have a long-term relationship and stellar track record with the platform. Longevity is a key aspect of committing to the standard. The dedication to and hours spent with this platform underscore the importance of this refining and executing this solution for our clients.
SCN: I’ve seen DVIGear as part of esports demonstrations at trade shows. How important is the esports market for you?
LBF: While esports have not been core in the DisplayNet wheelhouse, applications such as Formula IP racing have been a fun—and fast—way to demonstrate the real-world advantages of SDVoE, which are high-quality imaging and zero latency. Latency can be a big problem on other AVoIP systems, but not with SDVoE.
SCN: Beyond esports, what are some of the more common deployments for DisplayNet?
LBF: Command centers with many sources and displays are one of the most important applications, such as monitoring utility pipelines and traffic, transportations systems, and emergency response centers. Another vital deployment is professional production studios that require high-resolution imaging and collaboration among many artists, engineers, and other users. Flawless AVoIP workflow facilitates the need to work with one another in real time. SDVoE technology enables easy sharing of digital workflow and screens in demanding creative environments. DisplayNet, with our emphasis on responsive software development, has been able to help transform the business of creative content development in ways that were not possible before.
SCN: So, is AVoIP the future of Pro AV?
LBF: AVoIP is certainly an important part of the future of Pro AV. Given the diversity of our field, its needs, and applications, there will always be more basic solutions that make sense. These may be smaller applications with more limited scope, such as the commodity products we discussed earlier. DisplayNet allows tremendous functional versality. Conversely, in commodity products that require application engineering to work with the hardware features, the hardware becomes the limiting factor.
AVoIP products are very powerful in creating systems that have many diverse capabilities. It's very scalable in that it is easy to add more sources or displays. AVoIP will continue to be a good approach because it uses Ethernet technology to handle AV applications. Because the Ethernet market is so immense and ubiquitous, using it as the backbone for AVoIP systems is a sound, future-proof way to design complex systems.
