The Crestron DM-NVX-350 is a versatile AV over IP solution. It can be configured as encoder or decoder, has an analog audio connection (in or output), two Ethernet ports, RS232, IR and USB. For video connections there are two HDMI inputs and one output.
Using the web interface, you can set a lot op parameters. I personally like the auto update, advanced network settings and (analog) audio settings with (de)embedding and break away audio.
The NVX supports up to 4K60 4:4:4 on a 1Gbit/s network. Compression is used to make this work. Compressing results in latency, but Crestron has managed to keep the latency to a minimum. I measured about 9ms of latency with a 1080p60 video, just over half a frame. However, after setting a cross point it takes a couple of minutes* to reach this lowest latency value of 9ms.
I haven’t tested the video quality extensively, but I was not disappointed by the quality of Pixel Perfect codec used by Crestron. Another thing I have not tested is the “Ultra-Fast No Glitch Switching” feature, because I only had two units.
There are AV over IP systems that require a Management Controller to handle the communication to the TXs and RXs. And there are systems that do not require such a controller. Crestron NVX can do both, no controller for small installations and the Director Controller for large installations.
The DM-NVX-350 is power hungry and requires the 60W version of PoE called PoE++ Type 3. Ethernet switches that support this are not so common today. However, since Power over Ethernet is used for more and more applications (including lighting) I expect to see more affordable PoE++ switches in the near future. And you can choose to have a separate power supply for each TX and RX or use the DM-NVX-E30 and DM-NVX-D30 that run on PoE+ (30W version).
I won’t pick a side when it comes to 1Gb/s vs 10Gb/s AV over IP solutions. They both have their place in the market. If you want to go for a 1Gb/s solution, the Crestron NVX is an excellent choice.
* New firmware I have tested (3.0 beta) reduces this time to about 45s.
Content:
1. Introduction
2. Landscape and bandwidth
3. NVX Facts
4. Connecting
5. Webinterface settings
6. Latency
7. Wireshark Network Analysis
8. Verdict