Why Use AV over IP for Large Numbers of Displays

Where the need to distribute video to dozens of displays comes from

Imagine a stadium. It is only an illustration, but the same principle applies to any larger building. There may be dozens of displays in corridors and skyboxes, wayfinding screens, score repeaters, advertising displays, sound systems and public announcements. Some locations show the same content while others show something completely different. The content changes with every event, and over the seasons more displays and audio zones are added.

The same principle on a smaller scale applies to hotels, corporate campuses, hospitals, shopping centres and congress centres. All of them can contain large numbers of displays and audio zones that grow and change over time.

In this type of environment, the most important question is simple. Can the distribution system handle continuous additions and changes without causing something else to stop working?

What AV over IP brings when there are many displays

AV over IP answers that question through the way it is designed. Every video and audio stream travels across the network as an independent path.

• Each display receives its own video stream and maintains full 4K resolution regardless of what the other displays are showing.
• Every stream is independent, both video and audio. A microphone in one hall can send its audio to a different zone from the content shown on the displays without interfering with anything else.
• You can add another display, source or microphone at any time simply by connecting it to the network.
• Any source can be routed anywhere across the entire building.
• The complete system can be managed from one location. Every device has its own network address, allowing displays, sources and audio zones to be switched through software, including remotely, without someone physically walking through the building. With dozens or hundreds of devices, this is the difference between one clear overview and chaos.

In short, the system behaves like a building made of modules. Adding another display, audio zone or source means adding another independent participant rather than rebuilding the entire system. How this type of distribution works across a building and what the underlying network design involves is explained in our pillar article on video and audio distribution over the network.

What happens when conventional distribution is expanded

Conventional distribution through a central device works differently, and this becomes visible when the system is expanded. Two consequences repeatedly appear in practice and are often underestimated during design.

The first is the common denominator. In a conventional distribution system, the displays and source may need to agree on a common set of capabilities. When you add a display with lower capabilities, the system can sometimes fall back to that level and even your best displays suddenly receive a lower-quality signal. It is like an entire group adjusting to its slowest member.

The second is a black screen and a ceiling. Sometimes a newly added display fails to work and remains black because its native resolution differs from the rest of the system.

The result is that expansion can lead to degraded performance or an outage instead of simple growth. With AV over IP, these two issues disappear because every display receives its own independent stream. It does not need to negotiate one common level with every other display, so adding another endpoint does not disrupt the rest.

Visionary AV over IP and its two product series

The devices that provide this type of distribution are supplied by the US company Visionary Solutions. They are known as endpoints, compact devices installed at each source and display that handle the routing of video and audio over the network.

Visionary offers two product series:

• 4 Series is designed for high-quality Ultra HD video streaming.
• 5 Series is designed for greater colour depth and detail in the most demanding video applications.

Both are built around the principles described throughout this article: straightforward installation, seamless expansion, low latency and support for high-resolution 4K video. Visionary also offers dedicated networked audio solutions, allowing both video and sound to operate within the same overall system.

MediaTech selected Visionary for its AV over IP portfolio and plans to bring its approach to the Slovak market. We have followed its solutions for years at international trade shows, with the decision to introduce them locally being made at InfoComm.

When it makes sense and when it does not

Not every space needs this solution. For a single room with one or two displays, AV over IP is unnecessary and a direct connection will perform the same task at a lower cost.

It starts to make sense when at least one of the following applies:

• You distribute video and audio across several rooms or floors.
• You have a video wall or a large number of displays showing different content.
• The number of displays and audio zones is expected to grow.
• You need to manage and switch the entire building from one location.

In these situations, designing the distribution system as a network becomes worthwhile.

Frequently asked questions

Why not use conventional distribution through one central device? A conventional central device has a fixed number of outputs, and all displays may need to agree on a common capability level. During expansion, this can result in lower image quality or a display remaining black. AV over IP avoids this because each display receives its own independent stream. For small installations, a conventional central device remains the simpler and less expensive choice.

Does every display receive full 4K? Yes. Each display receives its own video stream and maintains full resolution independently of the others, even when another display in the system supports less. This removes the common denominator that can pull a conventional system down to the level of its weakest device. The resolution on a particular display is therefore determined by that display and its endpoint.

Is AV over IP only about video? No. It also carries audio. Video and audio travel across the same network, and individual audio streams can be routed independently. A microphone in one zone can send different audio from what is associated with the content shown on the displays. The same system can therefore cover both the video and sound layers of the building.

Can the system be expanded later? Yes, and this is its main advantage. Another display, source or microphone can be added by connecting it to the network, without rebuilding the rest of the system or replacing a central distribution device. Expansion therefore does not require shutting down the entire building. The available capacity is determined by the network design prepared at the beginning.

At what scale does it make sense? It starts to make sense when you distribute signals across several spaces, build a video wall or expect the number of displays and audio zones to grow. For one small room, a direct connection is usually sufficient. What matters is the number of spaces and expected growth rather than the size of the building on paper. Even a smaller building with two floors and a growing number of displays can already fall into this category.