LAS VEGAS — As the professional audiovisual industry gathers at the Las Vegas Convention Center for InfoComm 2026, Audinate Group Limited has solidified its position at the vanguard of the digital transformation. Occupying booth C7321, the company is not merely showcasing products; it is presenting a comprehensive vision for the future of interoperable, scalable, and secure AV networking.
In an era where the lines between traditional AV and enterprise IT are blurring, Audinate’s presence at this year’s exhibition serves as a definitive statement on how Dante—the industry-standard protocol—is evolving from a simple transport mechanism into a holistic, ecosystem-wide management platform.
The Core Objective: Simplifying the Complex
For modern enterprises, educational institutions, and high-stakes live event production teams, the complexity of AV deployment has reached an inflection point. The demand for "always-on" hybrid environments has forced IT and AV departments to demand greater visibility and control.
Audinate’s display at InfoComm 2026 focuses on a singular, overarching mission: simplifying the design, deployment, and management of AV systems. By utilizing Dante, integrators and end-users can transcend the limitations of siloed hardware, creating a unified network architecture that is as manageable as it is robust.
New Hardware: The Dante AVIO Install Series
A primary highlight of the Audinate booth is the debut of the Dante AVIO Install adapter series. Purpose-built for the rigorous demands of the fixed-installation market, these four-channel adapters are designed to bridge the gap between legacy analog equipment and modern digital networks.
The new line consists of three distinct models:
- Dante AVIO Install 4-Ch Analog Input
- Dante AVIO Install 4-Ch Analog Output
- Dante AVIO Install 2-Ch In/2-Ch Out Analog Adapter
Engineering for Efficiency
What sets the Install series apart is its physical design, which accounts for the common constraints of rack-space and network infrastructure. Each unit features dual switched Ethernet ports. This architectural choice is significant; it allows for the daisy-chaining of up to four units from a single network drop. For system designers working on retrofits or new builds, this drastically reduces the cost and complexity of cabling, making Dante integration a viable option for even the most budget-constrained installations.
Software-Driven Control: Dante Domain Manager, Director, and Iris
While the hardware represents the physical edge of the network, Audinate’s software suite serves as the intelligence layer. At InfoComm 2026, the company is demonstrating the critical roles of Dante Domain Manager and Dante Director.
The Cloud-Native Future
Dante Director represents a major leap forward for global system management. By providing a centralized, cloud-based interface, it allows administrators to manage Dante networks across geographical distances. Attendees at the booth can experience real-time monitoring and secure authentication protocols, which are becoming non-negotiable requirements for corporate and government IT departments.
The Rise of Iris
Beyond audio, Audinate is making significant strides in visual control. The company’s latest platform, Iris, is a software-based camera control solution that has already integrated support for over 400 PTZ camera models.
The reach of Iris is further extended through strategic partnerships with 10 leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). By embedding Iris-enabled integration directly into camera firmware, Audinate is removing the friction often associated with controlling multi-vendor camera arrays. This creates a unified experience for the user, allowing them to manage complex visual feeds through a single browser or application interface.
Educational Roadmap: Bridging the Knowledge Gap
Audinate’s commitment to the industry extends beyond hardware and software, manifesting in a robust series of educational sessions at InfoComm 2026. These sessions are designed to arm AV professionals with the technical literacy required to navigate the challenges of modern network convergence.
A Schedule of Industry Insights
- Tuesday, June 16 (1:00–2:00 PM): Beyond the Protocol: What Actually Determines AV Networking Success. This session provides a deep dive into the practical application of Dante Controller and Dante Director, focusing on device behavior and clocking.
- Wednesday, June 17 (9:30 AM): Security Considerations for Wireless Presentation and Collaboration. A panel discussion addressing the critical intersection of encryption, VLAN segmentation, and institutional policy.
- Wednesday, June 17 (2:30–3:30 PM): Inside Dante Deployments at the World’s Largest Events. Featuring Kirk Powell of ATK Audiotek (a Clair Global brand), this session offers a "behind-the-curtain" look at real-time problem solving in high-pressure, large-scale live productions.
- Thursday, June 18 (1:00–2:00 PM): Designing Converged Dante Networks That Scale. An essential look at segmentation strategies and redundancy models for complex network topologies.
Official Perspectives: The Strategic Vision
The shift toward an ecosystem-based approach is not accidental. According to Joshua Rush, Chief Marketing Officer at Audinate, the industry has reached a point where AV must be treated with the same level of rigor as enterprise IT.
"AV systems today need to operate with the same flexibility, manageability, and security that organizations expect from enterprise IT infrastructure," says Rush. "At InfoComm 2026, we’re demonstrating how Dante continues to evolve beyond connectivity into a complete AV networking ecosystem that helps customers deploy interoperable systems with confidence, whether on-premise, across campuses, or in the cloud."
This perspective highlights the company’s pivot toward "AV-as-a-Service" models, where the software layer becomes the primary interface for the end-user, and the hardware simply facilitates the desired outcome.
Implications: The Industry at a Crossroads
The advancements presented by Audinate at InfoComm 2026 suggest three major implications for the AV industry:
- The Death of Proprietary Silos: Through Dante’s wide adoption and new initiatives like the Iris firmware embedding, the "walled garden" approach to AV equipment is becoming obsolete. Interoperability is now the baseline expectation for any professional installation.
- IT-AV Convergence is Complete: The focus on API-driven control, VLAN segmentation, and cloud-based management signals that the AV technician of the future must be as fluent in network topology as they are in signal flow.
- Scalability as a Competitive Advantage: For integrators, the ability to deploy systems that can scale from a single huddle room to a multi-campus enterprise using a unified management platform is now the primary driver for winning large-scale bids.
Looking Ahead
As InfoComm 2026 continues, the industry will be watching closely to see how these Audinate solutions are adopted by the broader ecosystem of manufacturers and system integrators. The focus on security, cloud-based monitoring, and standardized camera control points to a future where AV systems are invisible, reliable, and—most importantly—intelligent.
For those unable to attend the show in person, Audinate has provided a wealth of resources, including training modules and technical whitepapers, available via their official InfoComm 2026 portal.
In conclusion, Audinate’s presence at this year’s InfoComm is more than a product launch; it is a declaration of maturity for the professional AV industry. By providing the tools necessary for secure, remote, and scalable operations, Audinate is ensuring that as AV systems grow in complexity, they do not grow in confusion. The future of AV is not just about the connection; it is about the network that manages those connections with precision and security.
