New amplified decoder gives businesses a true IP speaker solution to reach every customer in the building
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, January 25, 2010 — Barix is targeting the Digital Signage Expo (February 23-25, Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth #1239) as the U.S. debut of its Exstreamer P5 amplified IP decoder, a new IP Audio innovation that allows businesses to integrate standard loudspeakers into IP-based, in-store/on-location audio systems. Its ability to operate in high-temperature environments and support Power over Ethernet (PoE) distribution provides many options for system deployments.
The Exstreamer P5 features a built-in amplifier and I/O connections to turn nearly any 8-ohm speaker into an “IP Speaker” solution. This enables a true end-to-end Audio over IP solution for businesses and organizations pushing background music, advertising, paging and other audio content to one or more speakers, zones or locations — from the entrance to the aisles, all the way to the restrooms.
Retailers, restaurants, clubs, hotels, offices, schools and universities are among those that can benefit from installing the Exstreamer P5 as part of a new IP Audio system or as retrofits into existing IP or legacy systems. The P5 can also integrate with SIP phone systems to bridge telecom and security, merging audio streams and real-time paging into an efficient, centralized messaging system. Integration with digital signage systems to synchronize audio and video is another possibility.
“There is a growing desire to improve audio distribution, in combination and synchronization with video in digital signage systems,” said Rietschel. “The all-in-one design of the Exstreamer P5 addresses the common concerns: affordability, robustness, an open-standards approach and the support of high-quality, low-latency applications such as audio-for-video. This includes universal support of IP standards including TCP/IP, RTP, SIP, Multicast and Ethersound. The P5’s flexibility also ensures that businesses are not limited in their architectural or environmental options.”
Like all major Barix products for digital signage/in-store audio applications, the Exstreamer P5 features IP addressability to enable targeted delivery of music and messaging to multiple zones within a single location; or to multiple locations in a chain of businesses. The P5’s rugged design can withstand high temperatures, making the device an ideal choice for ceiling speaker systems. Power over Ethernet (POE) support reduces infrastructure costs and simplifies deployments.
Some standalone examples of Exstreamer P5 audio deployments include:
Hospitality, including general and in-room systems for hotels, venues and cruise ships
In-store audio systems for retail stores, restaurants and other businesses
Background music and paging systems for office buildings and corporate facilities
Security applications, including PA playback points and SIP-based notification
Soothing audio in public locations, underpasses and corridors
Barix will also demonstrate its Store and Play software solution, a centralized, automated FTP/HTTP download and playback application introduced last year; and the Adiosys ad-insertion service for targeted, localized delivery of music, advertisements, promos and other audio programming.
“The Adiosys service has proven reliable for real-time ad insertion to chain stores and businesses with multiple locations, as well as in live, low-latency event streaming,” said Rietschel. “The service allows individualization of advertising and other inserts down to the device level, based on a streaming architecture which can be monitored in real time from a central location.”
All Barix products are inexpensive, low-power devices that are scalable to the growth of the operation offer high reliability through a PC-FREE design with no moving parts; and serve as a flexible platform for integration into virtually any operation requiring audio transport and delivery over IP networks. Barix also offers its programmable BCL standard open to all customers to easily customize applications for specific needs. Local control, audio relay and low-latency streaming are a few examples of custom programs using Barix’ BCL software environment.