Members Credit Union, founded in 1953 by McLean Trucking Company employees, is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. As a member-owned financial cooperative, it serves over 50,000 members and partners with 400 sponsor companies. The credit union emphasizes affordable financial services and community-driven initiatives, embodying the essence of the credit union movement through its democratic structure and commitment to returning earnings to members.

Recently, the director of the union was planning to install an effective HDMI distribution system for the 100-square-meter large meeting center within the union’s building. This case study explores how AV Access 4KIP200 series HDMI over IP solution was implemented to achieve this goal.

The Challenge

The union’s director aimed to install a flexible audio/video distribution system in their 100-square-meter meeting center, ensuring clear visibility of presentation content for all attendees. The guest area featured 7 tables for group discussions, each with a corresponding TV on the wall. Pre-installed Cat cables ran to an equipment rack at the host’s table, centralizing all sources.

The director needed a sophisticated AV setup to distribute content from 4 HDMI sources (1x desktop computer, 1x personal laptop, and 2x set-top boxes) across the 7 TVs. The farthest TV was about 50 meters (165 feet) away, and the system required centralized control via a Gigabit Ethernet switch.

Technical Assessment

The IT staff initially considered the AV Access 1×4 HDMI splitter but found it insufficient for extending signals over long distances and future scalability. They then opted for an HDMI over IP solution due to its flexibility, scalability, and compatibility with Cat cables and Ethernet switches. The solution also needed to support centralized control and 4K video resolution.

After careful evaluation, the AV Access 4KIP200 series HDMI over IP solution was chosen for its plug-and-play functionality, ease of use, and no configuration requirement on the Ethernet switch. The IT staff could install it quickly and control all sources and displays via a tablet.

The Solution

The IT staff installed a 4KIP204E 4-in-1 HDMI encoder, 4 HDMI sources, a Gigabit PoE Ethernet switch, a wireless router, and a third-party audio mixer on the equipment rack. The HDMI sources (1 desktop computer, 1 personal laptop, 2 set-top boxes) were connected to the encoder, which, along with the wireless router, was connected to the switch. In the guest areas, 7 sets of 4KIP200D HDMI decoders were installed behind each TV.

All encoders and decoders were connected to the Gigabit switch using Cat cables for centralized management. The control software “VDirector” was installed on a tablet for intuitive visual management and control, communicating with all codecs via the Wi-Fi signal from the wireless router.

The connection diagram is as follows:

Results

The implementation of the AV Access 4KIP200 series 4K HDMI over IP solution successfully created a robust 4K HDMI video distribution system. It met all requirements for AV signal extension, distribution, switching, and centralized management. Key results include:

  • a. Leveraging the IP network allowed one of the 4K HDMI sources on the equipment rack to be distributed to TVs in the 80-square-meter guest area. This reduced the need for multiple streaming devices and lowered equipment costs. All attendees could easily view the presentation content on each TV.
  • b. The user-friendly VDirector App on the tablet enabled IT staff to preview all sources, distribute any of the 4 sources to any display, perform matrix switching, and control the power state of all connected displays via CEC.
  • c. The director plans to add more tables and TVs to the guest area using additional 4KIP200D decoders, allowing more members to join the meetings and view the presentations.

Conclusion

The AV Access 4KIP200 series 4K HDMI over IP solution is ideal for sports bar as well as large meeting room AV setups. It successfully meets requirements for AV signal extension, distribution, switching, centralized management, and visual control, even supporting video wall configurations up to 8×8.

The 4KIP200E HDMI encoders and 4KIP200D decoders work together to create a flexible and scalable IP matrix system. Additionally, the 4KIP204E 4-in-1 encoder can transmit 4x 4K HDMI signals to a 4KIP200D decoder, and the 4KIP204M quad view processor can display up to 4 different sources on a single screen.

Designed for user-friendliness, the 4KIP200 solution integrates seamlessly with any universal managed or unmanaged Ethernet switch. By installing the VDirector App on a smartphone, tablet, or computer and connecting it to a wireless router, users can effortlessly create an HDMI video distribution system with video wall configurations up to 8×8.