Future-Proofing AV Installations with SDVoE Interoperability, Empowering Integrators and End Users

Matteo Capannolo
Marketing Manager for tt group

There are an estimated over 80 million audiovisual systems deployed worldwide across corporate, education, government and entertainment environments. Yet despite this massive footprint, interoperability remains one of the industry’s greatest challenges. For decades, professional AV systems have been dominated by walled gardens, or closed ecosystems where products from different manufacturers struggle to work together. The approach locks integrators and end-users into limited choices, drives up costs, and leaves systems vulnerable to obsolescence.

Today’s audiovisual end users expect the same openness and standardization they see in IT infrastructure. In networking, storage and computing, interoperability between vendors is non-negotiable. The interoperability enables organizations to scale, adapt and evolve without fear of being trapped by a single supplier. The audiovisual industry must meet the same standard to remain relevant and future-ready.

Historically, many AV-over-IP solutions have been built as closed systems. Even FPGA-powered devices marketed as adaptable cannot fully solve interoperability, especially as demands on audiovisual infrastructure grow. Integrators often find themselves forced to run multiple platforms to meet diverse needs, adding cost, complexity and maintenance overhead.

SDVoE takes a fundamentally different approach. As an open standard supported by more than 50 member companies and over 700 interoperable products, SDVoE allows integrators and end users to design systems that mix and match devices from various manufacturers without fear of incompatibility. As a result, the SDVoE Alliance’s open ecosystem creates a stable, predictable supply chain.

At its core, interoperability is about protecting investments. A closed ecosystem increases the risk that a product or platform will be discontinued, leaving entire systems stranded. SDVoE’s open standard gives integrators, consultants and end users the confidence that the products they specify today will continue to work seamlessly with future devices and software updates.

The confidence reduces the need for costly rip-and-replace upgrades. Organizations can instead update systems incrementally, extending the lifecycle of their investments while reducing waste and supporting sustainability initiatives.

SDVoE’s interoperability extends beyond hardware. Its software-defined architecture enables entire systems to be configured and reconfigured via software, allowing them to meet evolving business needs. Twice-yearly updates to the SDVoE API introduce new capabilities without replacing hardware, making it easy for organizations to grow, adapt and innovate over time.

Audiovisual manufacturers, developers and integrators can use the SDVoE API to create new applications or integrate cloud-based monitoring and management. The SDVoE Alliance’s modern approach mirrors IT best practices and positionsAV systems as adaptable, networked infrastructure rather than static hardware installations.

Interoperability also simplifies the design process. Rather than juggling multiple platforms to accommodate different requirements, integrators can deliver unified systems based on SDVoE’s open standard. The SDVoE’s open standard reduces training needs, accelerates deployment and minimizes operational complexity for end users.

Since SDVoE’s systems are built on off-the-shelf Ethernet switches, integrators can use a familiar network backbone rather than proprietary infrastructure, which makes it easier to expand installations across campuses, enterprises, or global locations — all while maintaining consistency and compatibility.

True interoperability also aligns with sustainability goals. By extending the usable life of AV hardware and allowing incremental upgrades, SDVoE helps organizations reduce electronic waste and meet environmental targets. Rather than discarding perfectly good devices when needs change, organizations can reconfigure systems or add new components without disruption. The interoperability contributes to a lower lifecycle cost, conserves resources and ensures AV infrastructure stays relevant even as technology advances and business needs shift.

By aligning AV more closely with IT practices, SDVoE enables an era of openness, reliability and innovation, where organizations can treat their audiovisual investments as part of a larger, evolving technology ecosystem rather than a standalone silo. tt group’s TT-SDVoE-HTRA exemplifies this promise, delivering a professional-grade SDVoE transceiver that functions as both encoder and decoder with zero-latency 4K/60Hz 4:4:4 performance over standard 10GbE networks. Its ASIC-based architecture consumes up to 80% less power than FPGA solutions while seamlessly integrating with third-party SDVoE endpoints and platforms like the Novastar H Series video wall processor.

For integrators, interoperability means freedom from proprietary lock-in and the ability to design creative, future-ready solutions. For end users, it means confidence that their systems will scale and adapt to tomorrow’s requirements without costly overhauls. By aligning AV more closely with IT practices, SDVoE enables an era of openness, reliability and innovation, where organizations can treat their audiovisual investments as part of a larger, evolving technology ecosystem rather than a standalone silo.

For more information on the SDVoE Alliance, please visit www.sdvoe.org. Keep up with the latest news from the SDVoE Alliance on LinkedIn,Twitter and YouTube.