From Hardware Islands to Converged AV IT Platforms
The convergence of AV platforms with IT infrastructure describes the shift from isolated, hardware‑centric audio‑visual systems to software‑defined, networked environments where AV-over-IP routing, automation and management share the same tools and standards as enterprise IT. At InfoComm, that shift was visible in platforms that treat AV as part of a unified, IP-based operations stack rather than a specialty silo. Instead of separate control processors, matrix switchers and ticketing tools, exhibitors focused on AV automation platforms that run on standard networks and interact with common IT workflows. This move supports enterprise AV solutions that scale from single rooms to multi-site deployments, while giving IT teams familiar routing, monitoring and security models. From live entertainment to boardrooms and always-on attractions, AV is being designed as an integrated layer of the broader digital infrastructure, not an add-on that needs its own parallel ecosystem.
Visionary’s nexAV We-Cosystem: AV-over-IP Meets Node-RED Control
Visionary’s nexAV We-Cosystem is built for converged AV IT deployments, combining AV-over-IP routing and switching, audio DSP processing, room and enterprise control, device discovery and workflow orchestration in one software platform. The heart of the system is the Flex Architecture DSP framework and integrated Audio Engine, which uses template-based DSP workflows so teams can standardize designs yet adapt them for hospitality, conferencing or campus-wide enterprise AV solutions. Native Dante and AES67 support make it easier to plug the platform into modern networked audio environments. A key differentiator is the control layer founded on Node-RED, the open-source, flow-based tool widely used in automation and enterprise integration. According to Visionary, building on Node-RED gives nexAV continuous improvement at a scale closed platforms cannot match, while also aligning AV control logic with the same IP workflows and mindset familiar to IT operations teams.
XTEN-AV: AI as the Engine of Connected AV Operations
XTEN-AV brought the conversation upstream and downstream of installation with its AI-powered AV automation platform for design, proposals and project workflows. The company’s InfoComm message, “Design it. Deliver it. Service it. All inside XTEN-AV,” summed up its connected operations strategy. The platform now extends beyond system design and documentation to cover X-PRO Service, a framework for post-install management of service coordination, maintenance workflows, technician scheduling and long-term support relationships. According to XTEN-AV’s CEO, Sahil Dhingra, AV integrators continue to manage service calls and recurring maintenance long after the install, and those activities often live in scattered spreadsheets, email threads and separate ticketing tools. By consolidating these tasks alongside AI-assisted audiovisual project workflows and proposal generation, XTEN-AV aims to reduce manual coordination, cut redundant tools and give integrators and enterprise AV teams clearer visibility from initial design through ongoing operations.
Disguise and Partners: Integrated Workflows for Immersive Experiences
On the experiential side of converged AV IT, Disguise focused on tightly integrated workflows for live entertainment and immersive attractions. A new version of its web-based Mapping Matter projection mapping tool adds an extended projector library, LED tile and projection mirror integration, plus layer-based comparisons so designers can evaluate multiple setups in one project file. Disguise’s upcoming integration with Smart Monkeys’ ISAAC platform will let technical and non-technical users access, operate and monitor Disguise systems from a web browser alongside the wider AV system, including CMS, scheduling and infrastructure monitoring components. New Designer features—Looks and Compositions—expose show parameters and media lifecycle controls via API endpoints, aligning creative playback with IT-style automation and management. With its X1 software solution and VX servers on display, Disguise underlined how production workflows are moving toward software-first, network-aware environments suitable for always-on, multi-site attractions.
What Converged AV IT Means for Future Enterprise AV Solutions
Taken together, Visionary, XTEN-AV and Disguise point to an AV landscape where platforms look and act more like connected IT systems. AV-over-IP routing replaces fixed matrix hardware, while open frameworks such as Node-RED, Dante and AES67 anchor AV logic in the same IP fabric IT uses for other services. AI-driven AV automation platforms fold design, proposals, documentation and long-term service operations into unified workflows, turning one-off projects into manageable, recurring service relationships. Immersive content pipelines increasingly expose APIs for scheduling, monitoring and content changes, so creative systems can plug into broader operational dashboards and browser-based control tools. For enterprises, this means AV can be procured, monitored and scaled as part of the standard digital stack. For integrators, it signals a move from box sales to lifecycle management, where success is measured by uptime, usability and the ease of evolving systems over time.
