Gabi Shriki of HDBaseT joins us for this edition of CI’s 3 Questions.
CI: What’s your take on AV over IP? What are the key obstacles for AV-over-IP to overcome in order to be adopted in a more significant way?
AVoIP is not a single, standardized technology: it’s actually combining several technologies. In addition, current AVoIP solutions are using high bandwidth codecs to get higher-quality video with reasonable latency over IP networks. As these are restricted in bandwidth, AVoIP imposes a separate network on top of the corporate data network.
Another key point is the success of cloud collaboration platforms, such as Zoom and Teams. It replaces the need for a dedicated AVoIP network. The AV quality over these platforms is getting better, and it can run on existing data networks. AVoIP can be deployed together and coexist with HDBaseT, bringing significant benefits to the installers and end users.
CI: HDBaseT announced its latest standard, Spec 3.0, last year. Could you tell our audience more about this standard and what it can do for integrators?
HDBaseT Spec 3.0 is a major evolution of the already successfully deployed HDBaseT solution, while maintaining backward and forward compatibility. We keep the promise of being forward-compatible, too.
There’s so much in it, but key things include:
- It’s the only technology that can distribute uncompressed 4K60 4:4:4 for up to 328ft
- Interoperability – no manipulation on the frame metadata required
- A single HDBaseT point can act as a receiver or transmitter on the same chip, simplifying devices
Related: Hear Different HDBaseT Users Explain Why They Choose It
CI: How do integrators make the decision about which type of AV distribution solution deployment to choose? When to use AV-over-IP and when to use HDBaseT?
Integrators and installers need to picture the customer’s problem first, the user experience, etc. Those are the fundamental questions. Enterprise customers typically want collaboration spaces with solutions that enhance the user experience. Most solutions today leverage cloud-based technology.
HDBaseT can efficiently solve single-room distribution without AVoIP. To handle overflow of information coming from far away, with a need for high-quality, real time data, an AVoIP gateway product, combining HDBaseT and AVoIP ports, can solve that problem in a cost-effective way.
