There is no doubt that multiroom AV has moved from the analog to the digital world. But as integrators ramp up their AV-over-IP installations, they will likely face several key questions from clients and from their own design teams that must be answered to build a solid multiroom AV system.
The team from Zigen Corp. gets these questions every day from integration companies across the nation. From its headquarters in Lake Balboa, Calif., Zigen offers technical support and design assistance to dealers for their AV-over-IP projects. Among the more common areas where questions are received include:
- The pros and cons of using AV-over-IP versus analog and how does the wiring topology differ?
- What is the expandability of an AV-over-IP system and can you mix and match 1080p, 4K and 8K displays in a single system?
- Which applications are best suited for 1G versus 10G systems and how do you determine which is best for the client?
- What are the differences between fiber and copper as a transport medium for an AV-over-IP system? How do you determine which is best for the client and the application?
- What criteria should an integrator be using when selecting HDMI cable?
- How does having a single ecosystem make designing and supporting an AV-over-IP network easier for an integrator?
Recently, CE Pro posed these same questions to the team at Zigen Corp. Ed Dellalyan, owner and lead engineer (a former integrator himself), Larry Uichanco, senior hardware design engineer, and Vanessa Zitzmann, marketing & sales, offered their advice to integrators.
“An AV-over-IP network has the distinct advantage of being able to use an existing network infrastructure to distribute, extend as well as crosspoint AV over IP,” notes Uichanco. “One other advantage of AV-over-IP systems, such as our IP Logic system, is that is can distribute videowalls as well as multiview while traditional systems are pretty much single-purpose systems. Traditional equipment also tends to be bulkier and more expensive.”
Watch this full 16-minute video to get all the answers, or you can watch individual questions in any of these 5 chapters.
- AV-over IP vs. Analog
- Wiring Topology and Product Selection
- 10G vs. 1G Networks
- Fiber vs. Copper
- Using a Single Ecosystem
