HDBaseT, SDVoE, AVB-For integrators, there is no shortage of AV network paths. Use our research to determine which network AV solution to use.
In terms of audio-visual network and audio-visual distribution, integrators have more choices than ever before.
As far as network AV connection standards are concerned, there is HDBaseT, which allows transmission of uncompressed high-definition AV, power, USB and control via a single cable.
Then there is SDVoE (Software Defined Video over Ethernet), which is a newer technology that can be used for AV distribution via an existing Ethernet network.
Then there is AVB- or audio-video bridging. This technology initially satisfies the need to ensure that audio data packets are delivered in the correct order and to reserve bandwidth for priority routing.
Each standard has its industry supporters, who assert that its specific technology is a technology that can promote the development of the industry now and in the future.
However, for integrators, the most important issue and ultimately the issue that should be informed of their choice is which standard can best meet the needs and budget of their customers.
This is usually not a black or white issue, especially between SDVoE and HDBaseT.
"There are variants of HDBaseT that are very similar to SDVoE," said Paul Zielie, Harman Professional Enterprise Solutions Manager, who taught AVIXA the network AV distribution system.
He said that both standards can "provide a lossless video system so that you can't see the compression effect, so it's very good."
He added that the advantage of HDBaseT lies in its installed user base, which in turn contributes to interoperability between HDBaseT products, backward functional compatibility, and extensive industry expertise for network expansion.
The HDBaseT standard was originally developed by chip manufacturer Valens, and the first specification was finalized in 2010.
In view of its long history, HDBaseT enjoys huge appeal in the audiovisual industry.
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An industry trade organization with 200 members, all of which are HDBaseT equipment manufacturers certified for interoperability.
As a standard, HDBaseT can transmit ultra-high-definition video and audio up to 328 feet through a single cable.
As Daniel Shwartzberg saw, HDBaseT is a simple, reliable and proven technology that AV integrators can deploy to various commercial implementations.
Shwartzberg, director of customer experience at HDBaseT Alliance, said: "It allows integrators to replace a large number of cables with one cable."
Eliminating dedicated cables simplifies installation, improves cost-effectiveness, and eliminates the need for encoders and decoders.
Shwartzberg said that with HDBaseT, "we are talking about convergence and expansion, all without losing any data."
"There is no compression in HDBaseT-the content that enters one end of the link comes from the other end of the link, and in the middle, we convert it to our own protocol, but this is only used for transmission over Cat-5 cables."
To use HDBaseT, you need to use a matrix switch to switch between different inputs and different outputs.
The scope of implementation can be a simple point-to-point expansion from a single source to a single display, or it can be distributed on a wider network involving multiple inputs and multiple outputs of networked AV.
HDBaseT is non-blocking, and all outputs and all inputs are routed.
In addition, HDBaseT can perform USB and AV distribution at the same time-a typical use case is a conference room system equipped with multiple microphones, noise reduction functions and collaboration software.
Contrary to popular belief, Shwartzberg said that HDBaseT can be controlled, managed and monitored over an IP network.
Customers who already use HDBaseT who want to upgrade or add rooms can do so in the most cost-effective manner by leveraging the existing infrastructure.
Robert D'Addario, president of Cleerline Technology Group, a provider of system cabling and installation solutions, agreed to some extent.
He said: "HD is a great tool for existing infrastructure in the toolbox for installers."
"If you need new cabling during the specification phase of the project, it would be foolish to avoid using optical fiber, and the SDVoE solution allows more options for using optical fiber in current endpoint solutions."
But Shwartzberg touts the number of options for HDBaseT as the main advantage of the technology because it promotes flexibility that other standards cannot currently provide.
He said: "There are too many manufacturers selling interoperable HDBaseT products, so installers can choose."
"They don't have to buy equipment from a particular supplier, they can search for the product that best suits the customer's needs at the price they want to pay."
The promise of SDVoE is obvious in its name: As a ready-made software-defined technology, SDVoE provides "the advantages of the IP infrastructure itself," said Justin Kennington, the company's president.
It is a 40-member non-profit organization responsible for promoting the concept of “audiovisual distribution traffic should move on the IT network”.
Kennington said, in fact, such systems have greater flexibility and scalability, "over time, they can grow with the growth of business needs."
By networking AV and IT-eliminating a separate network-costs are reduced.
He explained: "You have only one network, one infrastructure for design and deployment, maintenance and management."
Zielie said that as a relatively new object, SDVoE is not as widely deployed as HDBaseT, but "it is a good successor to the same types of applications used by HDBaseT."
However, he did list some restrictions related to Ethernet. "With SDVoe and any online media where you use more than 50% of the pipeline, you must first unsubscribe the video you are receiving, and then subscribe to the next one, otherwise the pipeline will overflow."
Zielie said that if the integrator wants to use SDVoE on multiple switches or multiple WANs, it is possible, although there are many ideas for specific use cases.
He said: "SDVoE is a great technology for large frame switchers, but it is actually not very well applied to enterprise networks." "SDVoE will not be suitable for the topology of IP networks."
According to Kennsington, SDVoE does provide flexibility. He believes that the architecture of the SDVoE system is "super simple", "each video source has an encoder, each video display has a decoder, and the middle is the network."
No matrix switch is required.
Moreover, whether it is a meeting room, a digital operating room, a stadium, etc., the architecture of each system implementation remains unchanged.
"If you continue to grow, you may want to add some hardware, but from a basic point of view, you can decide what functions you need-expansion and switching, video scaling or other video processing (such as video walls) without having to buy these Each of the functions requires a specific piece of hardware." Kennington said.
"It's just that the software is different." What determines the function of the SDVoE system is to change the software, not to buy, move or add basic hardware.
Karl Johnson, senior product manager at Christie Digital, recently developed an SDVoE-based system for customers and pointed out that the integration of functions is an important advantage.
He said: "You don't need to buy a multi-viewer and a large number of receivers, you can upgrade and add a multi-viewer to monitor signal sources and combine them."
As a founding member of the SDVoE Alliance, Christie Digital is promoting the market for SDVoE-compliant devices. Recently, the company launched its Terra product, which supports the end-to-end delivery of 4K uncompressed video over 10G Ethernet.
Johnson believes that the ability of SDVoE to combine functions will actually become the "killer application" of the technology, thereby promoting its adoption.
As a relatively new standard, the adoption of SDVoE still provides a learning curve for integrators and even their customers.
D'Addario said that integrators need to "have a lot of experience and knowledge in video and audio networks in order to maximize the potential of SDVoE."
From the customer's point of view, SDVoE can represent a different way of AV processing.
Kennington said: "For two decades, discussions on the integration of network audio and video and IT have been going on, and now SDVoE is here."
"AV and IT staff will need to work together when designing the system, and AV need to understand how to manage bandwidth and pay attention to the security of devices on the Ethernet."
Although those who advocate HDBaseT and SDVoE seem to admit that each standard has its own unique advantages, audio-video bridging is not the case. Audio-video bridging is generally not regarded as an audio-centric standard because it cannot solve the urgency. Customer issues to distinguish yourself.
In essence, AVB is concerned with ensuring that audio and video are delivered simultaneously.
Kennington said: "AVB uses two IEEE protocols to ensure that the signal is correctly timed or at least arrives in a way that is easy to correct."
The second aspect of AVB-it has a route reservation protocol to ensure that the network will find a path to ensure that bandwidth is blocked for priority communication. With these attributes, AVB can provide accuracy that cannot be achieved by other standards.
He said: "The challenge of AVB is that it can be used with the IEEE protocol only if your network switch supports the IEEE protocol."
Kennington added that in most cases, the AV side of the house is unlikely to specify the switch to be used on the Ethernet.
He said: "The IT director doesn't want to unplug all Cisco switches, but replace them with AVB-enabled switches."
If more AVB-compliant products are available, this situation may be different. Shwartzberg of the HDBaseT Alliance says he doesn't know many vendors in the AVB market.
German speaker and amplifier manufacturers are one such supplier.
. Henning Kaltheuner, the company's head of business development and market intelligence, said that AVB provides enhanced features designed to address "serious limitations of conventional Ethernet."
Kaltheuner said that although Ethernet is the ubiquitous AV network technology, it is "not deterministic-the arrival of data packets cannot be determined or guaranteed."
This is just a shortcoming that AVB aims to solve. He said: "AVB is very suitable for use in AV equipment where timing is critical, and requires extremely high reliability without dropping the line," he said.
Think of a large concert venue with many speaker systems and multiple amplifiers.
"If these systems are in the same room or display the same media, they must behave as one system," Kaltheuner explained.
Kaltheuner participated
, A group of manufacturers will further promote AVB for use in professional AV and other industries by creating interoperable open standards for low-latency, time-synchronized, and highly reliable networked AV equipment.
Although Kaltheuner admits that AVB deployment for network AV distribution is affected by product shortages, the Avnu Alliance is actively working on this issue. Recently, the alliance announced the development of the Milan network protocol to ensure that devices used for professional media applications can work together.
As a result, Kaltheuner said: "There are different solutions on the market," adding: "As a standard, AVB is the long-term prospect of upgrading Ethernet with products designed for 15 years."
Supporters of any given standard will naturally declare that the standard they support is the best for their network AV client. However, this in turn has caused great confusion among integrators who are looking for the best solution for their customers.
It’s easier to rank the various criteria according to the utility, but the truth is much more subtle. Integrators should evaluate each criterion based on the best use scenario for their customers.
"...They pack the boxes by not looking at what is available in the audiovisual distribution..."
Usually, AVIXA staff lecturer Marcus Yarborough said that integrators will use a standard for a specific project, “They will continue to use it. Although it’s not a problem, they don’t see what it is. It can be distributed through AV.”
As Yarborough has seen, there is not much difference between the standards for most network AV distribution applications.
He said: "Ten percent of the time, there is something in the application that should guide you to use one technology rather than another."
Shwartzberg echoed this view.
He said: "Integrators must correctly understand customer needs. If you understand the technical advantages and customer needs, then you will make the right decision."
Megan Santosus (Megan Santosus) is a freelance writer in the Boston area.
Cisco supports AVB, FYI
No need to "unplug those Cisco switches"-Cisco now supports AVB! You may need to upgrade, but if you choose, you can stay with Cisco. Other companies such as Extreme Networks can also make excellent AVB switches.
For video AVB, one thing to consider is that because the AVB firmware automatically configures the switch, the setup and control are very simple. By using AVB with Biamp Systems products, you can install a Dante audio card on one of the Biamp servers, and extract/output the Dante audio stream when AVB audio cannot meet your needs. The best of both worlds!
Not mentioned yet, but what is worth discussing is the ability to send Dante audio through HDBaseT and the difference between HDBaseT and IPBaseT.
According to different application scenarios, HDBaseT, AVOIP, SDVoE, AVB will be a good choice. I personally prefer HDBaseT.
The missing part of this article, or a good reason for another article, is what is the level of support from well-known software companies about these products? Like Final Cut, Adobe Premiere?
The technology should support advanced multi-view and video wall functions, PIP, PAP, advanced audio routing without additional processing hardware, and can be switched instantly without delay. Therefore, the audio/video routing always defined by the software will It is the best choice to maintain this technology. For a longer time, it should also support 1Gig, 2.5Gig, 5Gig, and 10Gig applications, which can be achieved immediately through downgrading and upgrading technologies
The necessary places have been marked
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This one-hour webinar will discuss the basics of fiber optic cables, how their bandwidth capabilities support current and future AV formats, and the guidelines for specifying and installing fiber optic cable products.
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