In the digital signage industry, the demand for reliable solutions in the AV-over-IP market has grown in recent years, prompting tech companies to take bold new approaches. Userful has jumped into the AV-over-IP craze with a unique twist.
Advances in AV-over-IP technology have grown in recent years with the popularity of video conferencing platforms. Photo: i-Stock
In the digital signage industry, the demand for reliable solutions in the AV-over-IP market has grown in recent years, prompting tech companies to take bold new approaches.
Userful has jumped into the AV-over-IP craze with a unique twist.
The computer software company, based in San Ramon, California, has developed the Visual Networking Platform, bringing together a solution that the company believes could flourish in both the AV and IT industries. Daniel Hurtado, who serves as Userful’s product manager of applications, said the company tries to keep two key points in mind when designing AV-over-IP technology.
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«All the exciting things that we are doing, and are planning to do in the near future, in regards to AV-over-IP are possible because we have a software-defined, network-centric, platform approach,» Hurtado said in an email interview with Digital Signage Today.
Hurtado thinks the advancement and attractiveness of video in the past decade, along with breakthroughs in computer solutions, have formed the ideal atmosphere for software-defined AV-over-IP solutions.
«When I say that we take AV-over-IP to a whole new level, it is because we fully integrate the AV applications and tools that enterprise IT teams need to effectively support their organizations into their existing network infrastructure,» Hurtado said. «Basically, what we’ve done is bring the world of AV into the realm of IT, facilitating the end-to-end management of AV deployments for IT teams, whether it is their corporate digital signage, dashboard and data applications, mission critical operations centers, and more.»
The roadmap to developing an AV/IT solution began in 2018. Userful pinpointed a need to create an enterprise platform that could handle multiple applications, from digital signage to control rooms and meeting rooms. However, from core to edge, end-to-end management to content delivery, the platform had to have several features to meet the needs of both industries. That’s when Userful called LG Business Solutions.
After three years of collaboration and development with LG, the Userful Networking Platform hit the market last year.
«This isn’t just a bundled solution, Userful plus LG,» Hurtado said. «This is a fully integrated platform where our own uClient application is integrated into LG’s webOS displays.»
John Marshall, Userful’s CEO, said LG’s integration work on the project isn’t something to take lightly.
«That LG was able to integrate such IT protocols into its core firmware, at the heart of its media pipeline, was beyond impressive,» Marshall said in a press release.
One of the platform’s biggest advantages is its ability to provide network security. Through one platform, IT teams can use a single infrastructure to deploy, manage and control all AV applications, while also providing content control to functional departments.
«It’s a single point of management for IT teams,» Hurtado said. «That’s huge.»
Another platform feature that could separate it from other products is it’s AV solution. Not tied to a specific proprietary hardware, the platform is software defined for scalability and flexibility. The platform also features the REST API component for businesses and organizations to use IoT devices, cloud-based applications and local content.
The boom of video communications and engagement — especially in remote workplace settings — has boomed the past two years, fueling the need for more equipped AV-over-IP solutions.
«They need to be ready to efficiently support and manage the ‘tsunami’ of video content flooding their networks,» Hurtado said.
Based on a 2021 global report from Maia Research, the AV-over-IP industry will likely grow from $3 billion in 2021 to more than $51 billion by 2027. The enterprise sector, which includes corporate, education and government, is slated to make up 85 percent of the AV-over-IP market.
Looking ahead, Userful plans to continue working on ways to make IT communication easier and more efficient. In the digital signage space, Userful wants to expand its Emerald Signage application to cater to more than just the corporate market.
«We started with a focus on corporate digital signage, however customers have wide needs, so we will soon be growing the solution to a wider marketplace for digital signage, so soon we will be adding features that were being requested from markets like retail, where proof of play and data mapping are often needed,» Hurtado said.