From Isolated Systems to Unified AV and Collaboration Platforms
Unified AV and collaboration platforms are integrated systems that combine media server technology, broadcast workflows, real-time object tracking, and enterprise video collaboration tools into a single, interoperable environment for live event production, remote communication, and interactive experiences. At InfoComm, this shift is visible across booths where tools once designed for separate markets—broadcast studios, touring shows, classrooms, and meeting rooms—now share IP-based workflows and control layers. Instead of treating live events, streaming, and video conferencing as separate islands, vendors are building ecosystems that move audio, video, and tracking data over networks using standards such as SMPTE ST 2110 and NDI. The result is a path toward consistent user experiences for operators and participants, whether they are running a complex multi-screen show, producing a lecture with multiple cameras, or joining a hybrid meeting from a laptop.
AV Stumpfl’s PIXERA GEN2: Media Servers Meet Real-Time Tracking and IP Video
AV Stumpfl’s PIXERA four GEN2 media servers show how media server technology is expanding from playback engines into central nodes for live event production and broadcast-style workflows. Designed for large immersive installations and XR or AR studios, GEN2 offers more processing headroom and an optimised chassis for multi-output work. The GEN2 RS model targets rental and staging with 16TB of NVMe SSD storage, dual 25GbE plus quad 1GbE networking, 12G-SDI I/O, framelock, genlock, and a Dante Virtual Sound Card for audio over IP. A key highlight is the integration with the zactrack PRO real-time 3D object tracking system. Tracking data feeds PIXERA’s Effect Engine so projected or LED content can follow performers and objects in real time, blurring lines between stage automation, visuals, and broadcast graphics in a single, responsive platform.
SMPTE ST 2110 and IP Workflows: The Glue Between Live Events and Collaboration
The adoption of SMPTE ST 2110 across platforms like PIXERA reflects how AV is moving toward native IP video workflows that serve both live event production and professional video collaboration. SMPTE ST 2110 separates audio, video, and ancillary data into distinct streams, making it easier to route signals between media servers, cameras, and conferencing endpoints across a network. AV Stumpfl is expanding PIXERA’s ST 2110 capabilities and plans a joint announcement with Matrox, underlining how media servers are becoming IP gateways for broadcast, live events, and large installations. In parallel, solutions that speak NDI, Dante, and Dante AV-H bridge ST 2110 environments with more IT-focused rooms and campuses. The common goal is to replace fragile point-to-point wiring with software-defined signal flows that can scale from a single meeting room to a multi-stage production or campus-wide network.
AVer’s Ecosystem: From PTZ Cameras to the CORE500 Collaboration Platform
AVer Information displays how professional video collaboration and production are converging through a connected ecosystem of cameras, encoders, and room systems. The MT500 is an AI-powered NDI matrix auto-tracking box that centralizes multi-camera workflows for lecture halls, divisible spaces, and boardrooms, offering intelligent camera switching, dual independent 4K outputs, and support for NDI, Dante, and Dante AV-H. According to AVer, the MT500 supports voice- and position-based tracking without wearable devices, simplifying multi-camera operation. Devices like the TR322 auto-tracking camera and medical-grade MD331UI PTZ camera extend this approach to training spaces and telehealth with 4K imaging, optical zoom, and flexible control. At the room level, the VB150 collaboration bar and CORE500 Windows-based Microsoft Teams Room kit bring cameras, microphones, speakers, and an 11.6-inch touch console together, turning meeting spaces into managed endpoints on the same IP-centric AV network.
Toward a Single Ecosystem for Broadcast, Events, and Enterprise Collaboration
Taken together, the offerings from AV Stumpfl and AVer at InfoComm highlight a trend: professional AV is moving toward unified ecosystems where live event production, broadcast-grade tools, and enterprise collaboration share the same backbone. Media servers with real-time object tracking now interact with IP cameras, NDI encoders, and SMPTE ST 2110 infrastructures. Room systems like CORE500 and collaboration bars such as VB150 are no longer isolated; they are potential nodes in a larger production workflow that spans classrooms, boardrooms, studios, and stages. As Andy Teoh of AVer notes, organizations need to “simplify collaboration and production workflows across a wide range of environments,” and the path forward is clear: standards-based IP, shared tracking and control data, and platforms designed from the ground up to support both immersive storytelling and everyday meetings within one connected environment.
