Audio Network Survey
Is the audio network technology really reliable? Are there signs of mass adoption of audio network solutions in the market? What protocol should manufacturers decide upon? Should the audio network industry standard be open?
As Audio Network Technology steadily expands across different segments in the Pro AV industry, these questions are still blind spots for many. We've gathered insights from professionals to shed light on these topics and explore the potential of this transformative technology.
High Strategic Value of Audio Network Technology
The survey targeted companies involved in audio equipment manufacturing, consulting, and related services.
Respondents were asked about the current demand for audio network technology, market signals, customer concerns, existing product features, planned portfolio additions, challenges, expertise, investment costs, and strategic value.
The results show that participants have varying perspectives depending on the vertical they mainly address, size of the company and the main product categories in their portfolio. But there is a general consensus on the increasing market demand and the strategic value of audio network technology for their companies.
Mass adoption
The perception of the market demand among the participants shows that the market is moving towards wide adoption of audio network technology.
And the trend of increasing demand is perceived as high or very high by all participants, showing clear signs that the industry is reaching the inflexion point for mass adoption.
Main concerns
Usability, Interoperability and reliability of the technology have been identified as the main concerns for end-users.
Audio network technology must aim for an intuitive user experience where little or no learning curves are needed and with the seamless convergence of protocols.
Challenges for manufacturers
The challenges that manufacturers are facing are related to budget, time-to-market, certification and standardization.
Time-to-market is a key aspect in the current adoption stage: network technology will rapidly shift from a nice-have feature into a must-have. Given the complexity of the topic, the implementation strategy will determine which manufacturers will successfully fulfil the demand in the first place.
Conclusions
The survey revealed a positive outlook for audio network technology, with high perceived demand and anticipation of market growth. Companies are planning to expand their product portfolios with various audio network products, and many anticipated early releases before the end of 2023. The challenges of implementation and the need for expertise were acknowledged, but the strategic value of audio network technology is perceived as high and very high, with companies showing varying degrees of familiarity with different network protocols, with Dante and AVB/Milan being the most well-known.