AV over IP routes audio and video signals across a standard IP network instead of dedicated AV cabling and proprietary matrix switchers. It has become the standard for modern AV deployments because it gives IT teams the same visibility, scalability, and management tools they already use for the rest of the network, without maintaining a completely separate AV infrastructure alongside it.
Blog 1 of 8 in the series: What AV Topics Should I Be Paying Attention to in 2026?
Before AV over IP, distributing audio and video meant proprietary matrix switchers: physical hardware that routed signals from sources to displays through dedicated cabling. A 16x16 matrix switcher could route any of 16 inputs to any of 16 outputs, but adding a 17th meant replacing the switcher or buying expansion hardware. Cabling ran point to point, and the whole system existed completely separate from the IP network.
It worked. But it created an island. AV lived in its own world with its own cabling, its own hardware, and its own support model. IT had no visibility into it. Expanding or changing anything meant swapping physical hardware, often on a timeline that did not match how fast the business needed to move. Three problems kept surfacing: scaling was expensive, IT could not manage the system, and every refresh required ripping out proprietary gear.
AV over IP replaces the matrix switcher with network switches. Encoders at each source convert the signal into IP packets. Decoders at each destination convert those packets back into audio and video. Routing is handled in software: changing what displays what is a configuration change, not a hardware change.
The network infrastructure is completely standard: 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps managed switches, VLANs for traffic segmentation, and quality-of-service policies for prioritizing AV traffic. These are tools IT teams already know how to manage.
A properly deployed AV-over-IP system needs specific things from the network. The most common cause of AV-over-IP failures in production is not hardware. It is misconfigured switches. Working with an integrator who genuinely understands IP networking is the most important thing you can do to avoid that outcome.
A few standards are in active use. Knowing the differences matters when specifying a system.
Traditional AV systems required on-site visits to diagnose issues, replace hardware, or push firmware. With AV over IP, most of that happens remotely.
Platforms like Crestron XiO Cloud give real-time status for every device on the network. When a display goes offline, an encoder loses signal, or firmware falls out of date, the monitoring platform sends an alert before a user even notices.
Firmware updates are pushed across the network on a schedule, not by someone physically touching each device. This remote management capability is the foundation of modern Day-2 support: the managed service model that keeps AV systems running reliably long after the installation crew has gone home.
For more on what that support model should look like, see What Is AV Day-2 Support, and What Should I Expect from My Integrator After Installation?.
For most enterprise environments with more than three or four rooms, yes. A single small room might not justify the network complexity. But any environment with multiple rooms, multiple buildings, or plans to grow will benefit from AV-over-IP architecture from day one. Retrofitting to AV over IP later is significantly more expensive than designing for it upfront.