REV.180501

Introduction – The information to follow is to show why an Aurora 10G solution (IPX Series) is necessary especially when using 4K60 4:4:4. We are not stating 1G solutions do not have a place, but they are best served for 4K60 4:2:0 or 4K30 4:4:4 and below where the bandwidth requirements are not as demanding. Applications also determine which is the better solution. 10G will always deliver the optimal image quality and lowest latencies which is best served in broadcast, medical, military, commercial, high end residential, and higher education. 1G works very well for similar applications requiring lower resolutions, digital signage, and K-12 education. Aurora VLX Series is a 1G transceiver solution designed specific to these markets at more than half the cost compared to the premiums of a 1G 4K60 4:4:4 like the Crestron NVX Solution.

Image Quality & Latency – 10G at 4K60 4:4:4 is a 1.3:1 lossless compression (SDVoE) with a maximum latency of 0.1 milliseconds. 1G solutions are a very high 20:1 compression (JPEG2000) leading to image quality issues, frame stuttering, and higher latencies of 30ms and more. When the bandwidth is 4K60 4:2:0 or below, SDVoE over 10G Ethernet has no compression and only 0.022 milliseconds of latency. Medical, broadcast, and high-quality usage will have issues with the 1G results which will be unpredictable when it occurs. Even HDR can be affected if the original content is altered.

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Feature Quality – Videowall and Windowing modes become critical when resizing the image. Especially with videowalls when images are magnified, and imperfections become more apparent. 10G with the higher quality image will have the least artifacts displayed. Scaling for the 10G solution is not only high quality but the latency is less than 3ms.

Distribution – 10G can transmit 4K60 4:4:4 with USB 2.0 at 480Mbps or full 1Gbps Ethernet at the same time over a single CAT or Fiber cable. The NVX at the same resolution cannot do full bandwidth USB 2.0 or 1G Ethernet as 990Mbps is already utilized for the video stream.

Power & Heat – Aurora 10G IPX Solutions can work on PoE and PoE+ as the power is 18 watts and less depending on models. Crestron’s NVX uses 35 watts of power. Yes 35 watts!!! There is no 1G PoE++ Ethernet switch on the market that can power all ports on 8, 16, 24, 48, and larger Ethernet switches. That will require special injectors which adds more cost and wiring complexity to an installation. This will result in a much higher cost per port system. A 35-watt unit is also a lot of heat to put near a display or in a tight enclosure with limited ventilation. Let’s not forget the heat and utility costs. A 100-unit distribution solution will be 3,500 watts, 500 units at 17,500 watts, and 1000 units at 35,000 watts!!!

Eco System – 35 watts requires a large enclosure and limited locations to mount with the heat. This poses another issue as the excessive power and heat prevents wall plates from being made available. Aurora has in both the IPX Series 10G solution and VLX 1G solution, wall plates to complete the solution.

Cost – 10G price per port has been continually dropping and is now as low as $100 per port. 1G currently is a lower cost switch provided it is standard PoE or PoE+. At PoE++ the cost per port becomes more than a 10G solution for the 1G 4K60 4:4:4 solutions. There is also a premium for 1G 4K60 4:4:4 solutions like the NVX making the cost per unit almost the same as a 10G solution.

Security – The IPX solution has full end to end encryption for the video, audio, and control. Don’t be fooled by claims of 1G having better security from some solutions. The reality is the network switch is the best place to set security. If properly configured, no unauthorized user should even be able to access a device with or without security. Let’s take it one step further. 10G is too big of a payload to end up on the internet through a breach. Even with a security breach the bandwidth cannot electrically make it out of the building onto an internet connection assuring an electrical limitation security which the 1G solutions cannot do. The Aurora IPBaseT control server for the IPX can be run from Windows, Linux or embedded server and configured to any type of security required. Crestron’s NVX solution requires an expensive 1RU server manufactured by them further increasing costs to the solution.

Future Proofing – Infrastructure for 10G has future proof of 8K as the bandwidth allows for reasonable compression to achieve effective low latency results. Currently at a 1.3:1 compression, 10G can reach 8K with 6:1 vs the 50:1 a 1G solution will require.

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Don’t be fooled! – Crestron has made videos and side by side tests trying to make it seem the 1G is better or equal to the 10G solution. Some have been a bag of coins banging against enclosures and even better, CAT cable coiled around a coffee grinder to show motor interference into 10G. Unless you plan on improperly running your cabling infrastructure in some extreme way and banging things against your product on a regular basis we are not sure why these tests even apply. Crestron will choose content that will obviously look the same on both systems. It is the unknown that will cause the most issues. What they have not or will not show is the IPX can take on any test pattern or content put forth as the NVX will fail to deliver under different circumstances. We have even seen latency tests where they purposely turn on the IPX seamless switching to create additional delays to make their solution look the same. Speaking of seamless switching the NVX does fast switching which the IPX can do real seamless switching. The reality is, the IPX can do zero frame latency, unlike the NVX which cannot even turn off its scaler. They talk about how “black their blacks” are and how their colors are rich. That does not mean the content is accurate. It simply means it has been altered which is not necessarily a good thing. Always compare content to the original content on the same displays and settings. The result should look identical. If the content changes in any way, even if it appears to be more to the liking, it is a bad thing. For medical, it could be a misdiagnosis, for security, it can be in inaccurate description of a suspect, and for broadcast, it can change the intended impression of the content.

Proof is in the side by side – Companies will always put on their best for their product at trade shows and documentation. The real proof is in a side by side to see which technology truly makes sense for now and the future. We always test fairly to the best of our abilities with the latest firmware and hardware available. We recommend you do your own testing with the latest hardware and firmware from both companies to derive the most accurate results. Aurora has made available simple test patterns and test generator models that can be used to truly prove which technology delivers the quality claimed. The information along with our side by side test video can be found on www.auroramm.com/truth

Conclusion – 1G solutions are very cost effective and can provide a high-quality image provided it is not 4K60 4:4:4. Aurora’s VLX Series is a 1G solution with thousands of units installed in restaurants, casinos, churches, conference rooms, classrooms and more. It delivers 4K60 4:2:0 and 4K30 4:4:4 at more than half the cost of a 1G 4K60 4:4:4 solution and uses only 5.8 watts of power almost cool to the touch and no fans. The need of high quality video distribution or 4K60 4:4:4 is all about 10G with the Aurora IPX Series beating the 1G 4K60 4:4:4 solutions in all areas of image quality, latency, features, cost, ecosystem, and future proofing. Aurora currently has the world’s largest 10G solution for command and control at 710 units and the facility has over 1200 10G IPX units. 1G unfortunately makes no sense at 4K60 4:4:4 with 20:1 compression, frame-dropping, power, and no future upgrade path.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to reach out. sales@auroramm.com

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Aurora 10G Solutions

Aurora 1G Solutions

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Comparison Chart:

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Continued:

Note: Aurora could not compare the IPX or VLX Series Wall plate to the Crestron NVX Series as they have none available.

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Aurora Multimedia Corp. | 205 Commercial Court, Morganville NJ 07751 | +1 732-591-5800 | Fax: 732-591-5801 | auroramm.com