Advanced Television

Video over Ethernet Alliance launch

January 13, 2017

AptoVision, Aquantia, Christie Digital, NETGEAR, Sony and ZeeVee announced that they have formed the SDVoE Alliance to standardise the adoption of Ethernet to transport AV signals in professional AV environments, and to create an ecosystem around SDVoE technology that allows software to define AV applications.

All AV distribution and processing applications that demand zero-latency, uncompromised video can benefit from SDVoE technology, which provides an end-to-end hardware and software platform for AV extension, switching, processing and control through advanced chipset technology, common control APIs and interoperability. SDVoE network architectures are based on off-the-shelf Ethernet switches thus offering substantial cost savings and greater system flexibility and scalability over traditional approaches such as point-to-point extension and circuit-based AV matrix switching.

SDVoE Alliance founding members bring different perspectives to the SDVoE initiative spanning the entire ecosystem with expertise in chipsets (AptoVision, Aquantia), switches and storage (NETGEAR), and AV end points (Christie Digital, Sony and ZeeVee). The SDVoE Alliance already benefits from over 35 shipping products and numerous installations in healthcare, enterprise, entertainment, hospitality, retail, houses of worship, government, military, industry and security.

“For years we have lived with the idea that ‘AV/IT convergence is coming’,” said Justin Kennington, president of the SDVoE Alliance. “The SDVoE Alliance and its technology finally provide the platform that is necessary to enable it. Using 10 Gb Ethernet hardware to move video with flawless quality and zero latency is only the beginning. The creation of a software platform enables the development of whole new classes of applications not yet conceived. True convergence is finally here.”

The alliance seeks to:

  • Standardise adoption of Ethernet to transport AV signals in professional AV environments
  • Offer end users increased flexibility, with applications more tailored to their particular needs, and the opportunity to reduce both capital and operating expenses
  • Enable more cost-effective architectures for AV signal distribution using Ethernet switches
  • Provide a reliable and more versatile alternative to point-to-point extension and circuit switches
  • Facilitate true AV/IT convergence such that high-quality AV networks and data networks can simultaneously share a single infrastructure platform
  • Bring ecosystem partners — AV equipment manufacturers, AV software developers, switch manufacturers, chipset designers, technology providers and system integrators — together under a single banner to foster collaboration
  • Bring awareness to new opportunities by educating the industry and offering training in the new paradigm

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