VR/AR

How TSN is enhancing ProAV, AR/VR, and industrial applications

3rd February 2025
Harry Fowle
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No matter the artist, venue, or set-up, audiences expect rich, immersive experiences at every event they attend. Delivering these successfully requires state of the art technology driven by a professional Audio/Visual (ProAV) application, and for every device on the network to be connected effectively, no matter the manufacturer.

This article originally appeared in the December'24 magazine issue of Electronic Specifier Design – see ES's Magazine Archives for more featured publications.

It’s for this reason converged networking has not only become a key asset to those in the ProAV world, but in any industry where the delivery of time-critical data is essential.

Underpinning the concept of converged networks are Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) standards, which provide the capabilities essential to the seamless, undisrupted delivery of data. Initially devised by the IEEE SA 802.1 Task Group, TSN standards facilitate the convergency of multiple communication protocols and applications on shared, standards-based networks.

Music to our ears

Within the ProAV industry, TSN capabilities are being used to enhance the communications required for applications such as live sound, as well as audio and video streaming. All these examples require precise and accurate time synchronisation and low latency, which can be delivered by converged networking, underpinned by TSN standards.

These open standards have since been expanded through innovations like Milan, the first open solution for deterministic, reliable and future-proof delivery of media. Built on the technical benefits of TSN, Milan fosters a cohesive environment where devices from multiple manufacturers communicate seamlessly, providing flexibility when it comes to the components of a network, and reducing the risk of vendor lock-in. 

Virtually instantaneous

The same TSN capabilities deployed in ProAV applications are also being used to enhance Extended Reality (XR) applications, especially for augmented and virtual experiences.

XR systems are extremely reliant on time-sensitive components, from sensing and tracking a user’s position to entire scene reconstructions. These need to happen in real-time for an optimal experience. This makes bounded latency crucial, as it can keep the delay between the initiation of a process and its occurrence within predictable, acceptable time limits.

Enabling the TSN capabilities of time synchronisation (802.1AS) and traffic shaping (802.1Qbv) can ensure the delivery of data with low latency. Such enhancements on a wireless link can enable the offloading of compute-intensive tasks to more powerful devices. This paves the way for lightweight XR devices to deliver a high quality of experience for the user.

Industrial-strength connectivity

Within the industrial sector, Industrial IoT (IIoT) technologies, such as sensors and actuators, have helped achieve greater efficiency within factories and warehouses. In these applications, there are always safety concerns. What if a component does not respond to a command within an appropriate time – especially something vital like a STOP command?

Not only can 802.1AS and 802.1Qbv assure operators that these commands can be delivered in near real-time, but they also bring benefits in the realm of automation. For tasks that require precision, the TSN capabilities means these can be actioned with minimal interruption, ensuring high-quality products for end users.

Certified successes

Further certification of TSN components will undoubtedly pave the way for converged networks to grow into other markets such as aerospace, healthcare and others. This is why not-for-profit organisations like Avnu Alliance are proactively driving efforts to make TSN more commonplace.

This year saw the launch of the Component Certification Programme, the first-of-its-kind to certify the 802.1 TSN standards used in ProAV, XR, and industrial applications. Initially focusing on 802.1AS and 801.Qbv, further developments surrounding interspersed express traffic (IET) and the forwarding and queuing of time-sensitive streams (FQTSS) are expected to be launched shortly.

TSN certification has also been streamlined for network devices such as Ethernet switches in 2024. This includes network elements defined by IEEE in its 802.1BA Audio Video Bridging (AVB)/TSN profile, as well as the IEC/IEEE 6082 profile for industrial automation. The 802.1BA switch certification programme has been designed to revolutionise the way switches are tested and certified to meet time-critical requirements. The precise timing within devices and across the network delivered by the certified products will support the accurate synchronisation of multiple modes and allow for different traffic types to coexist on the same network without interference.

The ProAV, XR, and industrial sectors all have two things in common. Both continue to expand in the age of connected devices and, as a result, are all becoming increasingly reliant on deterministic networks to work effectively. TSN capabilities are the lifeblood of these networks, and as more certified devices come to market in the coming years, will continue to be the cornerstone of further network innovation and time-critical applications.

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