Analog Devices, Barco, Pelagicore and Shure are lending their support to the organisation, which aims to advance audio-video bridging (AVB) technologies, writes David Davies. The AVnu Alliance promotes the adoption of the IEEE 802.1 AVB standards and the related IEEE 1722 and 1733 into professional AV, automotive and consumer applications.
The four new Promoter members further strengthen a roster of participants that already numbers some of the biggest names in the business. Founding Promoter Members are Broadcom Corporation, Cisco Systems, Harman International, Intel Corporation, Samsung and Xilinx, while other Promoter members include Applied Micro, Avid, Lab X Technologies, Marvell and Meyer Sound.
Barco CTO Jan Willem Brands (pictured) was among those to welcome the continued development of the AVnu Alliance. “Open networked visualisation solutions are the way forward in the A/V industry,” he said. “Barco is at the forefront of the convergence process of audiovisual and IT technologies and is therefore thrilled to join AVnu Alliance. The AVB standards aim to build more reliable and easier-to-use network-centric audio and video applications.”
The AVnu Alliance also recently hosted the first member ‘plugfest’, billed as the first step in the alliance’s efforts to ensure interoperability among AVB-enabled networked products.
“Our new members are very influential in our core markets of automotive, professional AV and consumer. They bring a diverse range of experience in providing audio and video solutions for demanding conditions,” said Rick Kreifeldt, AVnu Alliance chairman and vice president of Harman International. “Coupled with the success of our first plugfest, this clearly shows the momentum that we are achieving within AVnu Alliance.”
While it’s still early days for the mass adoption of AVB, products that support the technology are beginning to reach the market. For example, Meyer Sound recently announced plans for a new AVB-enabled digital audio processing and distribution platform, D-Mitri, and column loudspeaker, CAL, both of which are due for launch later this year. The US company’s executive director of digital products, John McMahon, recently commented that he expected to see related product developments from “more than a handful of manufacturers” during the next year or so.
