JANUARY 11, 2024– ATEN International, the parent company of ATEN Technology, Inc. and NETGEAR have announced an AV over IP partnership. The partnership originated in the Taiwan market, with a collaboration through NETGEAR’s Taiwan distributor, NETBRIDGE Technology. Together, they aim to lead in the realm of AV over IP infrastructure, with plans to soon expand from the Taiwanese market to a global outreach. This technical collaboration promises stable, high-performance solutions for a range of applications, including digital signage and audio-visual extensions in control rooms, all while keeping pace with rapidly evolving technological trends.
Both ATEN and NETGEAR, as leading global AV technology solution providers, will integrate their expertise and resources to deliver outstanding AV over IP solutions. This collaboration will provide system integrators with a more streamlined AV infrastructure, simplifying and reducing the costs of AV wiring projects, enhancing maintainability, and ensuring higher product performance and stability. This will also empower customers to swiftly and cost-effectively implement AV over IP projects.
Key advantages of the ATEN and NETGEAR technical collaboration include:
- Stable product performance and scalability: The technical teams of both companies will closely cooperate to ensure that the integrated product solutions are highly compatible and stable, performing excellently in various application environments. New products will also offer high scalability to cater to constantly changing customer needs.
- Localized services: Both ATEN and NETGEAR have a global service network. Clients will benefit from local support and services, ensuring the smooth execution and maintenance of their projects.
- User-friendly WEB GUI / APP management tools and simple IP settings: The integrated product solutions provided by both parties will offer intuitive Web GUI and APP management tools, enabling clients to easily set up and manage AV over IP systems without any cumbersome procedures.
AV over IP infrastructure plays a crucial role in modern buildings and is particularly essential in airports, shopping malls, stations, and control centers that require high-quality AV systems and signal extensions to offer real-time information, entertainment, and surveillance. Furthermore, applications like digital signage and audio-visual extension in control rooms will benefit from the technical collaboration between ATEN and NETGEAR, offering more innovative solutions for these venues.
Featured products include:
- ATEN HDMI AV over IP Extenders: transmits lossless 1080p/4K AV signals over standard GB network switches with no distance limitations, extending from point-to-point to multi-point to multi-point. It supports various functions such as signal extension, splitting, matrix switching, video walls, and daisy chaining, ideal for digital signage and other high-quality image display environments.
- ATEN KVM over IP Matrix System: combined with KVM over IP signal extenders and KE Matrix Manager software (CCKM), offers flexibility in extending, controlling, monitoring, and accessing computers with DisplayPort/HDMI/DVI interfaces over a standalone network. The system separates the operator from the server, allowing remote, secure access and centralized server management. Additionally, ATEN’s unique intuitive Boundless Switching enables easy control-switching between computers just by moving the mouse cursor to the screen edge. With a simple button press, content can be shared instantly from a single video-receiving device or an entire video wall. This solution is ideal for war rooms, traffic control centers, command centers, military control systems, and other areas requiring real-time AV signal management and control.
- NETGEAR AV Network Switches M4300/M4250/M4350 series: integrated with NETGEAR Engage™ switch control software. This free management software greatly simplifies network settings for Pro AV technicians. Simply select the AV over IP protocol and the relevant ports, and the NETGEAR switch in the network will be auto-configured to support Pro AV devices from various manufacturers, ensuring seamless mixed AV transmission within the same network environment with consistent transmission quality. Pro AV technicians can easily complete previously complex network setups through a graphical interface without needing to understand the principles of various network protocols.
For 1Gb AV-over-IP connectivity, ATEN is using the M4300 pro AV switch from NETGEAR. ATEN’s US Distribution Account Manager Bill McGowan comments, “Plug the M4300 in and it just works, without the need to go into complex settings.” This experience has been the catalyst for the two companies collaborating, with ATEN recommending the M4300 for many 1Gb installations and even using the SDVoEcompatible switch in its own state-of-the-art demo center in Southern California.
ATEN and NETGEAR are working together is a story of coincidence. NETGEAR’s Sam Broadbent was at a trade event held by Pro AV distributor D&H. He spotted ATEN’s booth, and had already heard of the company – one of the world’s leaders in AV/ IT connectivity and management – but was curious to find out more. He started talking to Bill McGowan and the two quickly found out that they had something in common: the NETGEAR M4300. McGowan stated, “We’d had a Pro AV installation project for a plastic surgery customer in Beverley Hills. The customer had just moved into new offices and had multiple meeting rooms, conference rooms and other areas where there was a need to connect high-quality AV equipment with a 1Gb switch.”
Nicholas Lin, Senior Vice President of ATEN, stated, “ATEN is extremely excited about our technical partnership with NETGEAR. This collaboration not only offers superior distributed AV solutions for our clients but also accelerates the application of IP-based technologies. Our integrated solutions offer unparalleled compatibility and stability, and with our joint global service networks, clients can enjoy local technical support from both ATEN and NETGEAR. We anticipate that this technical alliance will bring unexpected delights to our customers.”
Richard Jonker, Vice President of Commercial Business Development, said, “NETGEAR AV is excited to strengthen the partnership with ATEN. With the broad portfolio of audio and video over IP products, ATEN benefits from NETGEAR’s network design knowledge. Both companies want to make AV-over-IP easy to deploy for their worldwide integrators.”
The technical collaboration between ATEN and NETGEAR will redefine the standards in the distributed AV domain, offering clients superior product solutions and services. This partnership aims to play a pivotal role in the practical implementation of digital transformation. The collaboration will continue to expand from the Taiwanese market to the global stage, striving to bring more innovations to the entire industry to meet the constantly changing technological needs. The objective of this partnership is to push the limitless possibilities of AV technology, offering flexible, efficient, and more stable solutions, and ensuring that clients are well-prepared to meet the myriad digital challenges of the future.
FOCUSED ON AV PROS
NETGEAR’s Sam Broadbent adds his perspective. “We have the same goal: making it simple for Pro AV resellers to expand into AV-over-IP, without having to become IT experts.” “Many AV professionals do not – or want – to have network technology experience. So, giving them a switch solution that is plug-and-play, with preconfigured settings and without the need to go into a Web GUI and work it out for themselves, is a big advantage of the M4300. But the flexibility to configure the switch and multicast is still there. While the market potential for 10Gb is vast, there is a big opportunity for the AV channel to offer customers cost-effective AV-over-IP solutions based on 1Gb, which in many cases, will fit their needs.”
ATEN has also redeveloped its main demonstration room in Southern California. The room displays wide range of solutions that ATEN provides, as well as being a training center for Pro AV resellers and specialists, who can bring customers along to see technology in action. To support the devices connected to the local area network, ATEN has chosen the M4300, based on its overall positive experience with the switch. Bill’s colleague YT Liang also comments on the fact that after a power outage, the M4300 recovers with the previous configurations still intact. “That has been another benefit for our Beverley Hills customer: they do not need to call us out to re-set the switch every time the power goes down.” Bill McGowan concludes, “The AV over IP market is a big opportunity for AV Pros and together, ATEN and NETGEAR can provide a 1Gb connectivity solution that is simple, reliable, flexible – it just works, without any specialist knowledge. For our channel and their customers, that is essential.”
For more information about the partnership, please refer to the link below:
https://www.aten.com/us/en/partner-portal/solution-partner-hq/netgear/
