‘Digital Sunset’ Spawns KanexPro’s AV over IP Products

KanexPro’s NetworkAV over IP Extenders line leverages H.264 codec compression, the latest 4K resolutions and appeals to both AV systems designers and IT directors in a post digital sunset era.

Tom LeBlanc Leave a Comment
‘Digital Sunset’ Spawns KanexPro’s AV over IP Products

KanexPro's NetworkAV over IP Extenders line includes EXT-AVIPH264TX and EXT-AVIPH264RX and EXT-AVIP120M and EXT-AVIP120MRX.

KanexPro has entered the AV over IP distribution category with its NetworkAV over IP Extenders line which will debut at Digital Signage Expo 2017 in Las Vegas.

The maker of matrix switchers and other AV connectivity solutions didn’t enter the AV over IP realm lightly, says product marketing manager Kashyap Khetia, adding that the new line:

  • Supports the latest 4K resolutions with point-to-point and multi-point to multi-point-to-point communications
  • Provides color critical resolutions
  •  Offers USB KVM support for remote device sharing over IP and optional compression levels and video formats, including H.264 Codec and MJPEG

Slated the ship this month are two NetworkAV over IP Extenders line sets of products. From press release:

  • EXT-AVIPH264TX and EXT-AVIPH264RX  — These use advanced H.264 codec as the compression type, which makes it occupy lower bandwidth and transmit over the LAN more smoothly. It supports 120m over single cat5e/6 cable at point-to-point, as well as multi-point to multi-point over Ethernet switch. The Extenders utilize Smart IP Address Setting Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and wide-band IR pass through to control the source (38khz to 56khz).
  • EXT-AVIP120M (Set) and EXT-AVIP120MRX – These are replacing previous KanexPro models to provide point-to-point and point to multi-point streaming with distances up to 120 meters and fully compliant with HDCP 2.2. The Extender Set includes EXT-AVIP4KTX – UltraHD 4K/30 AV over IP Encoder, EXT-AVIP4KRX – UltraHD 4K/30 AV over IP Decoder, EXT-AVIPH264TX – AV over IP 1080p/60 Encoder w/ POE, EXT-AVIPH264RX – AV over IP 1080p/60 Decoder w/POE, EXT-AVIP120M (Set) – AV over IP 1080p/60 Extender Kit and EXT-AVIP120MRX – AV over IP 1080p/60 Extender Receiver.

Why AV over IP? Why Now?

Now is the right time for KanexPro to launch an AV over IP solution, according to Khetia. The digital sunset, as opposed to the analog sunset, puts AV distribution on the cusp of something big, he says.

“These are two different things. Analog sunset was the component, the SV video, the VGA, the RGB connectors going away and replaced by the newest HDMI connectors.”

The Digital Sunset, meanwhile, will lead to digital interconnects such as HDMI, DVI, Display Port going away and being replaced by more affordable Ethernet, RJ45 or network cables, he adds.

Khetia discusses this in KanexPro’s press release, too:

“We believe that AV over IP will slowly and eventually replace all the digital connectors we use today such as, HDMI, DisplayPort Thunderbolt and other digital interconnects, which has led us to design products for the future of AV. AV over IP is quickly emerging and we are proud to provide integrators with a simple, yet professional, line extenders. Our AV over IP Extenders can be used in any application from digital signage to large scale AV over IP integration creating an array of source devices to be matrixed with several hundred displays with built-in controller software.”

Meanwhile, while Khetia acknowledges that AV over IP can still sometimes be a “dirty word” to some IT directors and AV systems designers, he says technology such as H.264 compression being built in make it far more compelling. He says he’s seeing IT directors come around on AV over IT.

KanexPro’s NetworkAV over IP Extenders line addresses both the AV and IT sides’ needs, Khetia adds.

“It has set up a switch which is dedicated for video, and then they have another switch which can be used for your day-to-day browsing or downloading, or whatever, or surfing,” he says.

He describes both parties having seamless integration.

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