/ Engineering · AV over IP
AV-over-IP
boardrooms, classrooms and houses of worship.
SDVoE, Dante AV, NDI — AV traffic on IP backbones that respect latency, jitter, multicast and PTP discipline.
- Default AV protocols
- SDVoE (video), Dante (audio), NDI (flexible)
- Network spec
- Dedicated VLAN, IGMP v3 snooping, PTP enabled
- Frame latency target
- < 1 frame end-to-end for live mixing
AV-over-IP is the architecture that replaced matrix-switcher cabling for boardrooms above ~16 endpoints, classrooms above 8, and any video-wall installation. The economics drove the shift; the engineering is what makes it work. AV traffic is real-time, latency-sensitive, heavily multicast. A LAN designed for documents and SaaS will not carry it without redesign. AV-over-IP needs dedicated VLAN, QoS marking, IGMP snooping with proxy reporting, PTP synchronisation for Dante and SDVoE, and switch hardware that supports the multicast group churn.
We deliver AV-over-IP on either a dedicated AV-LAN built for purpose, or on the corporate LAN with full documentation of the AV burden, agreed with the IT team in advance. Either way, the network specification is in the AV submittal, the multicast plan is documented, the PTP clock health is monitored from the audio DSP. The seams are where AV-over-IP installations fail; the engineering discipline at the seams is what makes them succeed.
/ Sample interoperability matrix
AV-over-IP + network design
AV-over-IP places real-time video traffic on the building's IP layer. Network design must accommodate latency, jitter and multicast.
| Partner system | Fit | Engineering note |
|---|---|---|
Wi-Fi 7 wifi-7 | Partial | Wi-Fi 7 carries wireless-presenter AV but not full SDVoE — wireless is for the last link, not the backbone. |
Cat6A Cabling cat6a-cabling | Native | Required for 10G AV trunks; SFP+ for spine-leaf at 25/40G as endpoint counts scale. |
Entity graph
Related entities in the engineering graph
technology
Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11be)
Current generation of Wi-Fi. Adds 6 GHz band, MLO multi-link operation and 320 MHz channels. Default for new premium deployments where dense-room capacity is the binding constraint.
infrastructure system
Cat6A Structured Cabling
Augmented Category 6 structured cabling — 10 Gbps over the full 100 m channel, rated for 25 years of service. The default for any new commercial or premium-residential cabling layer.
Interoperability
Related interoperability matrices
Services
Where this maps to services
Sectors
Where this matters most by sector
Engineering toolkit
Tools for this work
configurator
AV-over-IP vs HDBaseT
Six questions about endpoints, distance, growth, network, control and budget — and a scored recommendation between AV-over-IP and HDBaseT, with platform candidates.
calculator
Network & PoE Calculator
Sized to year-three load — switches, Wi-Fi 7 access points, PoE budget, Cat6A run count, project cost. Cisco / HPE Aruba / Juniper-class enterprise gear.
interactive
Rack & Architecture Explorer
A reference AV cinema rack, IT/network rack and BMS panel. Hover any unit and we tell you what it does and why it's sized that way. The boring rack that runs the room.
Methodology
Methodology principles cited above
interoperability
Interoperability is a constraint, not a feature
Vendor-lock saves money in year one and costs five times that amount in year seven. Open standards are the starting point.
design
Infrastructure first, devices second
Power, pathways and cabling outlive every device that plugs into them. Specify infrastructure for the building's lifetime, not the current device.
Glossary
Related glossary terms
AV
AV-over-IP
Audio-visual signal distribution over a standard IP network rather than dedicated cabling. Reduces matrix-switcher cost, allows large-scale routing, and integra…
AV
HDBaseT
An AV signal-distribution standard sending uncompressed video, audio, ethernet, controls and PoE up to 100 m on a single Cat6 cable. Workhorse format for boardr…
· Last reviewed 2026-05-17 · pillar
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Concept
Power over Ethernet (IEEE 802.3)
IEEE-standard delivery of low-voltage DC power over the same Cat-class cable as data. PoE+ delivers up to 30 W; PoE++ Type 3/4 up to 90 W — sufficient for IP cameras, APs, VOIP phones and small displays.
Service
IT & Networking
Wires the building's nervous system.
Concept
Cat6A Structured Cabling
Augmented Category 6 structured cabling — 10 Gbps over the full 100 m channel, rated for 25 years of service. The default for any new commercial or premium-residential cabling layer.
Tool
Network & PoE Calculator
Sized to year-three load — switches, Wi-Fi 7 access points, PoE budget, Cat6A run count, project cost. Cisco / HPE Aruba / Juniper-class enterprise gear.
Service
Enterprise Wi-Fi
Coverage you can measure, not just claim.
Tool
PoE Budget Calculator
PoE-powered device counts in — total watts, switch tier (PoE+ / PoE++ Type 3 / Type 4), and indicative SKU band out. 30% headroom built in.