Audio Video Bridging

AVB
AVnu certification mark
Manufacturer Info
Manufacturer	IEEE, AVnu
Development date	2013
Network Compatibility
Switchable	Yes
Routable	No
Ethernet data rates	Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet
Audio Specifications
Minimum latency	0.25 ms
Maximum sampling rate	192 kHz
Maximum bit depth	32-bit floating point

Audio Video Bridging (AVB) is a common name for the set of technical standards developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Audio Video Bridging Task Group of the IEEE 802.1 standards committee. This task group was renamed to Time-Sensitive Networking Task Group in November 2012 to reflect the expanded scope of work.

The charter of this organization is to "provide the specifications that will allow time-synchronized low latency streaming services through IEEE 802 networks". These consist of:

IEEE 802.1Qat and 802.1Qav are amendments to the base IEEE 802.1Q document, which specifies the operation of "Media Access Control (MAC) Bridges and Virtual Bridged Local Area Networks", which are implemented by network devices typically called Ethernet switches.

To help ensure interoperability between devices that implement the AVB standards, the AVnu Alliance develops device certification for the automotive, consumer, and professional audio and video markets.

Audio and video (AV) equipment connections historically were analog one-way, single-purpose and point-to-point. Even digital AV standards often were point-to-point and one-way such as S/PDIF for audio and the serial digital interface (SDI) for video. This connection model resulted in large confusing masses of cables, especially in professional and high-end consumer applications.

Attempts to get around these problems included new technologies such as IEEE 1394 (known as FireWire), and adaptations of standard computer network technologies such as Audio over Ethernet or Audio over IP. Specialized professional, home, and automotive protocols did not interoperate. Adapting standard networks could use commodity technology, but tight quality of service control was difficult.