AVT Question: Please share insight into the current state of networked AV and control; what you see as barriers to entry; and what advice can you offer on how AV/IT managers can overcome limited resources or a lack of buy-in.
Thought Leader: Fred Morgenstern, Vice President of Technology at Neutrik Americas
Neutrik comes at networked AV and control from a different angle than most companies. First, we ask whether it needs to be rugged? Is the environment unpredictable, with the possibility of accidental disconnection? Only after those questions have been answered does Neutrik get involved. If ruggedness is required, then the Neutrik portfolio is broad enough to encompass everything from RS232 signaling all the way up to and beyond 100 Gb/s fiber optic transmission. That whole range of speeds is active now in the AV market. At the slow end, simple switch signaling remains necessary. On the extreme other end of the speed spectrum, the connective requirements between UHD OB trucks, for example, are simply massive.
The one word that comes to mind when I think of AVoIP/AVoIT trends is 'more.'" — Fred Morgenstern, Vice President of Technology at Neutrik Americas
Our product sales tell us that IP technologies are challenging and often displacing DMX and AES/EBU signals; that audio, video, and lighting are ever more commonly converging onto shared-switch architectures; that 10 Gb/s Ethernet is becoming the standard both for current requirements and for future-proofing (even for such slower-speed requirements as multichannel digital audio, which currently operates quite happily on CAT 5e networks); and that the appetite for discrete fiber strands is only growing in tandem with increased sophistication in the broadcast realm, ranging from sports broadcasting, to government facilities, to houses of worship.
The one word that comes to mind when I think of AVoIP/AVoIT trends is “more.” Everyone is demanding more: more integration of formerly disparate signaling, more transport options, more speed, more storage, more leading-edge products, and more interoperability. Neutrik leads that movement in the ruggedized connectivity space. Responding to those customer demands for more is integral to our product development roadmap.
AV Technology's Thought Leader Series on AVoX
Check out what other industry thought leaders have to say about the state of networked AV. A full list with links can be found at the bottom of the On AVoX, the Intro Article
