Aaron Todd, founder and lead developer of OpenAVC, is on a mission to disrupt Pro AV control.
Currently in beta, his free, hardware-agnostic AV control platform is designed to run on standard hardware using Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker, or Raspberry Pi. Among other features, OpenAVC allows users to design touchpanels visually, create equipment action sequences in a visual editor, monitor devices, and simulate room builds. An optional AI assistant can help with programming as well.
Rather than simply copy the approach of established market leaders, Todd wanted OpenAVC to be a different experience. "I knew that if we came up with a control platform that was expensive and that it worked the same way, then there's no point in that whatsoever. I wanted to do things better in a lot of ways," he added, "because most people who are AV programmers … they're not super happy with the way those systems work."
Programming and driver building are done through a browser-based integrated development environment (IDE). While much of today's Pro AV components are built on proprietary elements, many include open APIs, so Todd said you can "build a layer between the control platform and the piece of hardware." The user interface is accessible through a browser or an Elgato Stream Deck (if you want tactile button control).
Todd began building OpenAVC in March, and he already have close to 150 drivers for his platform. "To me, the hardest part about control obviously is the driver because everyone talks different languages," he explained, "and that's the same across no matter what hardware you're running it on."
"I'm a big fan of open source, so I like whoever's using it to be able to look at and investigate exactly what's running," he said. And because the platform is open source, he's also had some help. "I've had some contributors who have just built drivers as well for just equipment that they're wanting OpenAVC to support."
Todd said the platform and optional OpenAVC Cloud service (for remote access) are currently being tested, and he has a pilot program with a few universities that specifically asked to test the platform. "A lot of universities are big fans of open source," he noted. The OpenAVC roadmap calls for the solution to be out of beta by the end of the year.
Watch SCN's exclusive interview below.
