The combination of rooms, like so many other programs that have benefited from the evolution of the audiovisual, was once a plug-and-play proposal. One-to-one connections have become 8×8, with more I/O imaginable as the matrix switched governed the frame. Today, sending AV signals over the Internet Protocol (AV-over-IP) completes the AV industry’s transition to a completely virtual and fully flexible format.
“I think the market is disappearing for giant mainframe matrix switches,” said Michael DiBella, director of product sales marketing for Crestron. Closed ecosystem. There’s a migration that moves away from that for AV-over-IP.
Dennis Pappenfus, CEO of integration company AV Fluid Sound, knows firsthand the demanding situations faced by multi-room rooms. As part of a recent major renovation at the Rolling Hills Casino and Resort in Corning, California, Fluid Sound designed and implemented an AVoIP formula in a new 5,720-square-foot event, assembly and convention area where ease of use is a prime sale.
“Generally, the casino as a whole can do things on a schedule, or control can do things on a schedule,” Pappenfus said, “but the booth manager or bartenders in certain spaces can only see the screens that are applicable to their domain of responsibility. “
[Is AVoIP at a tipping point? A Man’s Opinion] (opens in new tab)
The network-based formula uses a modular method for video distribution, pairing the display with a simple and compact VBS-HDIP-508POE or VBS-HDIP-518AVP receiver from Just Add Power that mounts on the back of the display and source with a transmitter. Not only does the formula provide ultra-low source-to-screen latency and instant switching between any HDMI solution source, but it also eliminates costly cables from all presentations to a back-end header.
With Crestron TSW-570-X-S wall-mounted touchscreens, casino workers can choose and distribute media from a variety of video assets, add DirecTV receivers and BrightSign virtual signage media players housed in 4 IDF network cabinets, on 60 screens and two video walls. “We send those resources to all the other video terminals, monitors, projectors and video walls that employ an IP backbone,” Pappenfus said, “but we use a pretty giant Cisco transfer backend as a backbone to distribute those resources to the IDF cabinets. . “
The 40GB trunk bureaucracy is the backbone of the AV system, connecting the 3 IDF cabinets to the output aspect of the system, which supports an area that can be divided into five separate meeting rooms. Pappenfus said he was able to integrate all of the casino’s resources into the meeting. Room screens. In the past, adding access to dozens of resources required a giant switching network, however, the hardware is particularly reduced with AVoIP.
The flexibility of the event center is due in large part to its AVoIP system. “They can go to one of the stressed touch screens mounted on the wall or use the control touch interface and say, ‘Hey, I want to watch the Super Bowl on those two 165s. ‘ one-inch projection screens,'” Pappenfus explained. “Now they just moved the available usage instances for this meeting room with presentations to portable bars and some other kind of profit center. Just Add Power’s fully expanded API allows the programming process to be elegant and transparent while making it equally undeniable for casino staff to use.
[AVoIP Standards: The Struggle to Get It Right] (Opens in a new tab)
Another merit of the Just Add Power formula is the ability to use the receiver to control the display, either with serial control and CEC control over HDMI. “Casinos tend to think of screens as a towel, a disposable product that they’re going to use until it needs to be replaced, which is pretty quick considering they’re on all the time,” Pappenfus said. “So look for a combination of high-end advertising presentations and price presentations. same path.
The biggest challenge in running the Rolling Hills Center, as well as many other multi-room AVoIP arrangements, was securing access to the Internet bandwidth that such an installation can allow. And it’s not just Rolling Hills: bandwidth is an industry-wide concern. “We’re seeing more devices coming in, which means more traffic, an explosion of video conferencing,” DiBella said. “And that’s just a big load on a network. “
“The bandwidth is huge now when it comes to making video,” said Michael Lindo, AV formula engineer at IVCi. encoders and multiple clustered switches, and you’ll see how easily [you can] run into bandwidth issues.
[AV over IP for Enterprise Organizations] (opens in new tab)
The explosion of new devices in networks, while slowing in some contexts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, adds even more strain to the bandwidth challenge. With 8K screen resolutions on the horizon, DiBella sees adapting this extra bandwidth consumption as a barrier to AV installations. Memories of the push to upgrade services to 4K presentations are new in his mind.
“[With 4K], everyone rushed to upgrade their infrastructure, but there was no content,” DiBella said. “So, at the beginning of the market, other people spent a lot of money to upgrade. in.
During this run-up to the pandemic, corporate meeting rooms were the trending trend in AV, and the industry rushed to meet the challenge of bringing consumers to the forefront of technology. “You had this change in the market, so you came up with this concept. of, ‘I want to build 500 collection spaces that look the same and put those 4K screens in,'” DiBella said. “And what I learned is that you probably don’t want 4K in a 10×10 room on a 42-inch screen to demonstrate a spreadsheet. “
According to DiBella, the perspective of 8K is mostly in video walls and command-and-control environments where end users can fully appreciate the technology. in the lobbies,” he said. And now it’s really an important way to make logos and talk and also create a party inside the office. “
In a position like Rolling Hills with superior bandwidth, this content can surf the net without hindrance. “If you’re only sending direct-to-network TV video to a few 55-inch screens, do you want to send 4K?”Pappenfus asked. ” Maybe not. But if you’re sending a video to a giant 4K video wall, $500,000 in the middle of a casino, well, you want to make sure the source content is in the best solution and looks amazing.
[The ABCs of APIs] (opens in new tab)
Another element, Pappenfus said, is making sure that all stakeholders, adding IT, perceive what it will mean to position audio and video traffic on the backbone for other critical traffic passing through the system.
“It’s mandatory to have a technically competent IT team if you’re a VA contractor doing something vital in terms of length or integration into a customer’s backbone in the area of AV over IP. A competent IT team in a customer’s area can be separated if it has a long enough column,” he said. “Let’s say we’re passing by to a convention hall on the other side of campus, or a demonstration point in a living room. We can tell them that this bandwidth will never exceed a concert. “
In the end-user world, regardless of the I/O or bandwidth required for aggregate network traffic via AV, ease of use remains paramount. “Audiovisuals are no longer an afterthought, it’s a mission-critical system,” Pappenfus said. “Where the rubber meets the path in the user experience is what’s on the screen and what you choose with your finger. And if it’s not just stupid and very intuitive, that’s where we see problems. »
Jim Beaugez is a freelance and content author for the audiovisual, professional audio and music industries. His paintings have been published through Systems Contractor News, Pro Sound News, Mix, Radio World and The Recording Academy, as well as Rolling Stone, Smithsonian. , Guitar World, Guitar Player and other important publications. In the past he worked in communications for the professional audio and music tools industries.
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