Don’t let the seemingly-sarcastic title of this article fool you: open technology standards in the audio visual space seems to only come with positives, at least from the end users’ standpoint.
And it seems audio visual and meeting technology manufacturers are catching on, at least anecdotally. When I went to Integrated Systems Europe 2020 earlier this month, I kept hearing the terms “open standards” and “interoperability” bandied about by some of the leading manufacturers at the show.
Here are just some of the companies & products which stressed interoperability:
- Atlona – Velocity 2.0
- Nureva – Nureva Console
- Aurora – ReAX
- Matrox – Maevex
- Biamp – Devio
We spoke to two of those companies — Aurora Multimedia and Nureva —
Paul Harris, CEO of Aurora Multimeda & founder of ReAX standard
Harris isn’t just talking about integrating interoperability into his main company, Aurora and their products… he’s taking action by also founding ReAX, what he calls the “first non-proprietary IP Control based on AV/IT industry standards” which provides both integrators and end users more options that make sense for individual projects.
“If you talk to a lot of integrators, they’re an Extron house, a Control4 house, a Crestron house… Everybody is a ‘house’ of some kind, but it takes away their ability to have choice,” Harris explains.
“If one day they cannot sell that same product anymore, they have to start all over again with another one.”
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His ReAX standard can control a combination of brands to perform tasks together.
More information about ReAX from Aurora:
“ReAX is unique since it is not limited to a single manufacturer but to all who qualify. This is for the first-time, interoperability of not just protocols and structure, but the actual code itself. It is not limited there as IR libraries, macros, and more can all be shared and organized in a single location at the organizations’ website www.reax.org.”
Nureva’s Nancy Knowlton
Nureva has focused on meeting technology since its inception a few years ago. But something founder Nancy Knowlton says she’s noticed about that space is the growing demands from end users and technology decision-makers that systems be flexible and, if need be, work with technology they already have.
“The growing depth and breadth of our audio platform continues to address the needs of our expanding customer base for simple, reliable audio solutions that can be deployed throughout the organization,” she says.
“It’s not a question of if you can work with another manufacturer’s product, it’s how well you work; how easy, how seamless. We now feel it is imperative we play nicely with other manufacturers.”
Integrators: what do you think about open standards and interoperability? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
