Image Credit: Brett Sayles

Kramer, a longtime provider of audiovisual solutions, has recently acquired ZeeVee Inc., bolstering their portfolio of AVoIP solutions in particular. ZeeVee has been committed to innovating and improving AVoIP technologies as a whole, acting as one of the founding members of the SDVoE Alliance. The acquisition of ZeeVee is a signal of the growing interest in AVoIP for AV solutions, potentially superseding some of the more popular technologies and methods available today for AV providers.

While the convergence of AV and IT continues to be an ever-present topic in pro AV, AVoIP is one of the largest parts of that convergence. The SDVoE Alliance, for example, is a consortium of companies developing new standards for AVoIP technologies, advocating for providers to replace matrix switch solutions with Ethernet solutions. This potentially represents a seemingly low-key change that, in reality, has massive implications.

Setting up an AVoIP Sandbox allows you to test and improve configurations

Bringing Down Barriers

As mentioned earlier in the year, a major sticking point of the AV industry has been the prevalence of so-called "walled gardens", or product ecosystems that preclude the use of any products or solutions that exist outside of the ecosystem. By changing the standards of broadcast technology to Ethernet, SDVoE significantly opens the pro AV market to a wider amalgamation of solutions, products and services. Niche standards and capabilities still exist, and the Alliance recognizes that, but using Ethernet as a standard offers massive boons, such as an open API and a wider pool of equipment that can be used.

AVoIP also benefits providers and integrators from a diagnostic resolution perspective. Products and services existing on an AVoIP-based system are digitally networked, meaning that network managers can quickly and easily identify which devices or portions of a network are experiencing issues, and why. Stirling University recently utilized AVoIP technology in this capacity, reducing what was a time-intensive and laborious process to a responsive system that greatly cuts down on the length of the support workflow.

While results on the adoption of AVoIP are still inconclusive, these steady strides help make the case for its place as a mainstay of AV. For AV pros, it becomes increasingly important to understand how networking and AV come together, including both the relevant solutions and proper support for the end user. Clearly, as evidenced by this acquisition, Kramer recognizes this same potential, looking to add to its portfolio of provider solutions.