Unified communications (UC) and professional audiovisual (AV) systems have historically been two distinct and separate disciplines with little overlap. Over the past decade, however, the barrier between these two has steadily been crumbling. UC and AV are rapidly converging, and AV systems are increasingly relying on IP networks.
This convergence has led to the introduction of new networking requirements and design approaches, such as AVLANs and AVIoT, which involve exciting new capabilities as well as design challenges.
In this article, we delve deeper into this convergence story, helping you to better understand the benefits and intricacies this evolution represents for both network engineers and AV integrators.
Meeting rooms are becoming hybrid collaboration spaces with integrated AV environments, requiring the convergence of UC and AV in an unprecedented way. AV is no longer isolated but now lives on the same IP infrastructure as UC. This means that deep and meaningful integration between the two is not only possible but is essential for proper operations.
This marks a major shift from the way these systems have traditionally been designed and supported. UC, videoconferencing, and collaboration systems have long depended on IP networks to connect users, devices, and platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Professional AV systems, on the other hand, were historically treated as a separate discipline, with specialized equipment, dedicated cabling, and isolated signal paths for microphones, speakers, cameras, displays, mixers, and control systems.
That separation is quickly disappearing. Room systems, all-in-one collaboration bars, DSPs (digital signal processors), IP-enabled microphones, cameras, encoders, decoders, and AV control systems are increasingly functioning as networked endpoints. As a result, the meeting room is no longer just a UC environment with some AV peripherals attached. Rather, it is a fully integrated communications space where UC and AV systems must work together over a carefully designed network.
For network engineers and AV integrators, this convergence changes the design conversation. It is no longer enough to ask whether a room has the right cameras, microphones, displays, and collaboration platform. The network must also be designed to support real-time audio, video, device control, multicast behavior, bandwidth demands, and quality-of-service requirements across both UC and AV systems.
For several years now, AV professionals have been using the concept of the audiovisual VLAN (AVLAN) for professional audiovisual deployments. An AVLAN is a dedicated virtual LAN designed specifically for AV traffic, including audio streams and video streams as well as the signaling that controls devices such as mixers, amplifiers, cameras, and even lighting.
AVIoT refers to the audiovisual Internet of Things (IoT), a subset of the more generalized IoT trend. Simply put, AVIoT involves using AV devices as IP endpoints. Digital signal processors (DSPs), cameras, encoders/decoders, microphones, and controllers are all IP-enabled network devices. AVIoT devices generate real-time-sensitive traffic, rely heavily on multicast communication, and often use vendor-specific protocols at higher layers of the OSI model, which can make them less aligned with traditional IT design models and more dependent on vendor-specific implementations.
In a nutshell, AVIoT refers to the deployment of AV devices as IP endpoints, while AVLAN defines the networking infrastructure that serves those endpoints.
The AVLAN serving AVIoT devices has traditionally been “air gapped” (physically isolated) from the rest of the data network primarily to ensure that congestion and other network phenomena do not interfere with AV traffic. This is similar in concept to the approach of isolating the voice VLAN in a VoIP deployment, but goes well beyond it by relying on full physical isolation.
However, modern designs increasingly favor converged infrastructures with logical rather than physical segmentation. By using VLANs for AV devices in conjunction with QoS and multicast control policies, performance and quality can be maintained while allowing AV systems to integrate more fully with unified communications platforms and broader network infrastructure.
This is where network design becomes especially important. AV traffic is not just another category of data traffic. It often behaves differently depending on the protocol, the vendor ecosystem, and the type of media being transported. Audio streams, video streams, device discovery, control signals, and synchronization requirements can all place different demands on the network.
To understand why AVLAN design requires this level of care, it helps to look at some of the AV-specific protocols commonly used in professional AV environments.
There are several AV-specific protocols that are used by various vendors and providers over AV networks:
These AV protocols are primarily used within the professional AV domain but come into play in network design. They are not leveraged directly by UC or videoconferencing platforms, as they rely solely on standard IP protocols like RTP and SIP. Integration between the two domains is achieved through gateways, DSPs, and room systems.
Designing a network to support AV and UC requires a different mindset than creating traditional data or even voice networks. AV traffic is often bandwidth-intensive, latency-sensitive, and multicast-heavy, all of which introduce unique challenges.
A key design principle is the establishment of one or more dedicated audiovisual VLANs to logically isolate AV traffic from all other IP traffic. This provides predictable performance, reduced broadcast and multicast impact, and easier troubleshooting and policy enforcement.
Additional design principles include:
Although AV and UC remain distinct in their functionality, they leverage the same underlying network infrastructure and interface where audio and video streams meet. These meeting points are typically marked by devices such as DSPs, encoders/decoders, and AV control systems, components that translate between AV protocols and UC-compatible formats.
The usage and flow of AV and UC protocols on a network look something like this:
Meeting point devices are provided by both AV and UC vendors, and the one you choose depends on several factors, including the existing infrastructure and the skill sets of those people supporting the deployments.
Yealink is an excellent example of a vendor in this space, with digital signal processors such as the AVBridge and the AP08. The former provides A/V interfacing and signal extension, while the latter delivers advanced audio DSP capabilities. In combination, they enable the convergence of professional AV infrastructure with UC platforms, often alongside third-party audio ecosystems that utilize protocols such as Dante.
Successful AV and UC integration is not achieved by simply merging protocols, but by designing networks and systems that allow these distinct technologies to interoperate seamlessly.
As AV and UC continue to converge, the network becomes the critical foundation that enables seamless collaboration. Concepts such as AVLANs and AVIoT are no longer niche concepts, but essential elements of modern network design. Network engineers who understand how to integrate these technologies effectively will be well positioned to build the next generation of intelligent, media-rich communication environments.
You may also like:
How to leverage multicast for your VoIP, UC, and video systems
The transformative influence of AI in videoconferencing and UCaaS systems
Old rules, new networks: rethinking QoS for modern UC