San Jose, Calif.-based companies, Atlona and NETGEAR, announced they have joined forces. Together, the duo will simplify and accelerate AV-over-IP (AVoIP) deployments for its customers. Available through Atlona partners in the United States, the two companies will offer pre-validated, interoperable solutions that bring Atlona OmniStream AV-over-IP products together seamlessly with preconfigured NETGEAR M4250 managed network switches. The result is an out-of-the-box integration experience, according to a press release. It will help eliminate cumbersome and time-consuming setup and configuration processes for AV installers and technicians.
Advantages of NETGEAR switches from Atlona
Per a statement, setup and configuration times will reduce greatly as the NETGEAR M4250 switches from Atlona are ready to go with OmniStream encoders and decoders. Here, users can power up the switch and follow simple instructions to confirm settings and connect to OmniStream endpoints. This removes the need to configure DHCP address assignments, VLANs, and IGMP for multicast streaming. These are in fact, technically complex procedures that often stall AV-over-IP deployments.
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Customers who acquire NETGEAR M4250 products outside Atlona can benefit from a similar, out-of-the-box installation experience. They have to simply upload an OmniStream configuration file to the network switch. For more information, please refer to the OmniStream Certified Switches Guide.
“Working with NETGEAR, our customers can now come to Atlona for a complete AV over IP system without having to source the switch separately,” remarks Paul Krizan, product manager at Atlona for Networked AV. “Once in the field, our customers can deploy AV-over-IP systems quickly and without barriers, while the IT technicians responsible for system operation can easily monitor and manage their networked AV systems moving forward.”
Importance of AV-over-IP
The Atlona and NETGEAR partnership will address the increasingly diverse spectrum of AV-over-IP deployments. Atlona customers can order NETGEAR M4250 switches with 8, 24 or 40 ports to cover systems of nearly any size. Atlona will also offer NETGEAR SFP+ fiber-optic transceiver modules that fit into the switches for enterprise-level AV-over-IP networks. This will allow 10 Gb/s connections between switches for system expansion. Additionally, the NETGEAR IGMP Plus and other technologies will further streamline large-scale deployments with multiple network switches. Thus, it ensures that the switches work together for multicast streaming across the entire network without complex setup requirements.
“AV-over-IP is hitting every AV vertical today, and we offer an array of switch counts that will bring the flexibility of networked AV to any customer that wants it,” adds Laurent Masia, director of product line management, managed network switches at NETGEAR. “The customer that only needs a solution for one or two meeting spaces deserves the same benefits as the enterprise customer that needs aggregate switches to network content across multiple buildings on a corporate or university campus. Atlona shares the same spirit of scalability in their OmniStream platform, which are engineered for flexibility within networked AV deployments of any size.”
Masia notes that power over ethernet (PoE) capability will enable AV-over-IP installations where they weren’t before possible. He cites buildings and retrofit projects where new power outlets are required to support the system, as some examples. The NETGEAR M4250 switches by Atlona can also supply ample power to OmniStream endpoints from all PoE-equipped network ports. Additionally, IT technicians that manage the system can easily program schedules to power off individual ports. This effectively shuts down displays and videowalls powered by OmniStream products at the close of business, for example.
