The Challenge It should no longer surprise anyone to see IT vendors showing up in the AV space. This often begins in videoconferencing installations. So does the trend toward Unified Communications (UC), including Lync deployments, come as good news or bad news for AV integrators? It’s an important question, as UC is mostly IT and services, not[…]
People mention UC a lot in corporate settings these days. What is it? And should AV integrators be involved? The UC (Universal Communications) conversation often begins when a customer asks you to integrate a conference room into their Lync deployment. Let’s talk for a moment about what they are asking for, and why. So What[…]
Valens updated HDbaseT by announcing the Colligo HDBaseT family of chips at ISE recently. They now support native USB 2.0, HD audio, transmission of 4K video over Cat-5/6 cables up to 100m in length, and add single- and multi-mode fiber transport over distances up to 10km. Not a bad spot to ask whether HDbaseT is becoming a[…]
Update: Firefox just released Hello, which is free to use, and is what you would expect from a WebRTC app: free, no plugins, no account, connect with anyone who has a WebRTC-enabled browser such as Firefox, Chrome or Opera. When you start a conversation a window opens showing a self-view until the person you[…]
In March 2011, the IEEE 1733 standard was approved for publication. It specified how to transport Layer 3-encapsulated AV data. The awesome Layer 2 Quality of Service (QoS) provided by the IEEE 802.1 AVB standards is one of the best things to come with this standard. Also big: the standard is reliable, well known, what[…]
Some basic facts about the AVB standard: NOT proprietary: Good news, open standard, everyone understands. Manufacturers, like Pakedge will make products that support the standard, and will back their products up with their usual strong after sale support directly. Same will go for others who produce AVB capable equipment. NOT a whole lotta V: AVnu[…]
So how does AVB work? Timing is everything in AV. . In your office or conference room, you have become accustomed to video and audio that behave in a certain way. You will not, for example, put up with video that takes 10 seconds to begin playing, nor would you accept video if it’s audio was delayed even a[…]
What is it? In an ideal world, all video and audio would just hop onto the nearest network, to be pulled accessed anywhere that network goes, bandwidth permitting. With network bandwidth increasing by the day, why not? Because IEEE 802.1 standards are needed to make this happen. See, data networks typically give you the data when they can,[…]
Crazy flexible new system, check it out: The new CAT-Linx cards, which easily install in any available slot of the Linx Prime switcher chassis, with DVI/HDMI and fiber cards. Using Power over HDBaseT (PoH) technology, CAT-Linx I/O cards provide 48 VDC of power directly to endpoints through the same cable that carries signals, (no external[…]
In 2012, Polycom introduced the new Group series rooms sytems, consisting of the Group 300, 500 and 700. These new systems joined the Polycom room lineup consisting of the HDx7000, 8000 and 9000. You may be wondering what the differences are between the two series, and when to sell one vs the other. Here[…]