From Siloed Systems to Unified AV Control Platforms
Next-generation AV control platforms are software environments that combine AV-over-IP routing, media processing, device control, and IT-style monitoring so that live production, corporate AV, and retail media can be managed as a single, unified system rather than separate technology silos. At InfoComm, that shift shows up in platforms that blur lines between broadcast, live events, experiential retail, museums, themed entertainment and virtual production. Instead of one stack for touring shows and another for office or store installations, the new model treats AV as an application layer running on networks. This is pushing integrators to think less in terms of hardware endpoints and more in terms of workflows, APIs and user interfaces that can scale from a single room to campuses or multi-site retail estates. The result is a competitive race to deliver unified media management without adding complexity.
Stage Precision SP Grid: Low-Code Control for Hybrid Experience Venues
Stage Precision’s SP Grid ecosystem positions itself as a universal control and data hub for live events, studios and permanent installs. At the center, Grid Studio 2.1 introduces a low-code environment where integrators can assemble complex control logic and data routing without deep programming, while new password protection, always-on background monitoring and a warning system aim to keep projects secure and resilient. According to Stage Precision, SP Grid is intended to support “evolving demands of AV applications as the lines between broadcast, live events, experiential retail, museums, themed entertainment and virtual production continue to blur.” New Grid Extensions bring third-party connections directly into the platform, including NMOS discovery and routing for SMPTE 2110 workflows. For integrators, that means the same AV control platform that drives a studio or touring show can also manage camera calibration, media triggers and data exchange in hybrid retail and experiential installations.
Green Hippo Estuary: Live Event Production Software with IT-Ready Scale
Green Hippo’s Estuary Series, introduced by ACT Entertainment, targets large-scale live event production while borrowing concepts from IT-scale platforms. Built on the CALICO video processing architecture from tvONE, Estuary delivers one-frame, end-to-end latency, 10-bit/HDR processing and up to 256 layers of real-time visual control across LED canvases up to 64,000 × 64,000 pixels. It supports four canvases, multi-layered switching and an open control ecosystem that includes DMX/sACN, HippoNet, Companion and REST API, so media servers can sit cleanly in networked control schemes. Bob Bonniol of ACT Entertainment calls Estuary “the missing link,” arguing that it brings the power of a pixel canvas controller into the existing language of grandMA3 lighting workflows. For integrators, the significance lies in treating live event production software as a central media hub that can plug into enterprise control and automation through standard network protocols instead of isolated show systems.
Visionary’s nexAV We-Cosystem: AV-over-IP Routing Meets Enterprise Automation
Visionary’s nexAV We-Cosystem aims squarely at converged AV and IT environments, joining AV-over-IP routing and switching with audio DSP, room and enterprise control, device discovery and user-interface development. Rather than separating transport, processing and control, nexAV folds them into one software layer designed for hospitality, conferencing and enterprise-wide AV deployments. At its core, the Flex Architecture DSP framework and integrated Audio Engine support template-based workflows, with native Dante and AES67 for networked audio from single rooms to campus-wide systems. Visionary builds its control environment on Node-RED, the open-source, flow-based framework widely used in automation and enterprise integration. According to Visionary, this gives the nexAV We-Cosystem a path to continuous improvement at a scale closed platforms struggle to match, and it lets integrators design around operational requirements instead of vendor-imposed device or topology constraints.
XTEN-AV and Custom Channels: Convergence Reaches Retail and Service Operations
While media engines and AV-over-IP platforms catch headlines, workflow tools like XTEN-AV show how convergence extends into day-to-day operations. XTEN-AV started as an AI-powered platform for AV design, proposal generation, documentation and project delivery. Now, with its Connected AV Operations strategy and X-PRO Service, it is expanding into post-install service operations: service calls, maintenance workflows, technician scheduling and long-term support relationships all live in the same system as design data. This aligns with retail and enterprise expectations for unified media management, where content networks, store displays and meeting-room systems are tied to clear service and lifecycle records. The shift toward web-native, scalable tools means integrators can standardize processes across live event production software, enterprise AV integration and retail rollouts, using APIs and cloud services to move beyond spreadsheets and disconnected ticketing tools into continuous, data-driven AV operations.