On AVoX: AIMS

Andrew Starks, Director of Product Management at Macnica and AIMS Board Member and Marketing Working Group Chair
(Image credit: Future)

AVT Question: Please share insight into the current state of networked AV and control; what you see as barriers to entry; and what advice can you offer on how AV/IT managers can overcome limited resources or a lack of buy-in.

Thought Leader: Andrew Starks, Director of Product Management at Macnica and Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) Board Member, and Marketing Working Group Chair 

Today, the biggest obstacle to the adoption of AV-over-IP technology is a lack of interoperable, open standards. With so many proprietary solutions out in the field, the obvious downside is not being able to send or receive video flows from the disparate systems that customers end up owning, either due to legacy or to the need to accommodate use cases that aren’t covered by one solution, such as live production and meeting room presentations. 

Today, the biggest obstacle to the adoption of AV-over-IP technology is a lack of interoperable, open standards." — Andrew Starks, Director of Product Management at Macnica and AIMS Board Member and Marketing Working Group Chair

The lack of interoperability exasperates this situation, resulting in the duplication of networks and exploding complexity at the control layer. For example, a multi-site organization that upgrades their systems over the course of years is likely to have multiple islands of AV-over-IP ecosystems with no clear path to creating a unified, manageable system from a user experience or maintenance perspective. As a result, everything becomes a special case for the IT department and the support desk gets swamped. 

Thankfully, there is hope on the horizon. The group of companies supporting IPMX, (Internet Protocol Media Experience) through the non-profit AIMS (Alliance for IP Media Solutions) is rapidly expanding, with companies such as Panduit, Barco, Lumens, Sencore, and AV Pro Global recently announcing their support. As this set of standards moves towards ratification and adoption, we can begin to see a world where video on the network is “just video” and the transport technology quietly fades into the background as it supports an incomprehensible number of use cases, many of which have yet to be dreamed. 

Just as it should be.

AV Technology's Thought Leader Series on AVoX

Check out what other industry thought leaders have to say about the state of networked AV. A full list with links can be found at the bottom of the On AVoX, the Intro Article

Cindy Davis
Brand and content director of AV Technology

Cindy Davis is the brand and content director of AV Technology (AVT). She was a critical member of the AVT editorial team when the title won the “Best Media Brand” laurel in the 2018 SIIA Jesse H. Neal Awards. Davis moderates several monthly AV/IT roundtables and enjoys facilitating and engaging in deeper conversations about the complex topics shaping the ever-evolving AV/IT industry. She explores the ethos of collaboration, hybrid workplaces, experiential spaces, and artificial intelligence to share with readers. Previously, she developed the TechDecisions brand of content sites for EH Publishing, named one of the “10 Great Business Media Websites” by B2B Media Business magazine. For more than 25 years, Davis has developed and delivered multiplatform content for AV/IT B2B and consumer electronics B2C publications, associations, and companies. A lifelong New Englander, Davis makes time for coastal hikes with her husband, Gary, and their Vizsla rescue, Dixie, sailing on one of Gloucester’s great schooners and sampling local IPAs. Connect with her on LinkedIn