NETGEAR Introduces M4250 Series Ethernet Switches for Growing AV-Over-IP Market

NETGEAR, the leading provider of Wi-Fi solutions introduces “M4250 Series Switches” designed and built from the ground up for the growing audio video over IP (AV over IP) market. These products combine years of networking from leading experts in the professional AV market with an unmatched ease of use, reliability, and cost savings that benefit all networked AV solutions.

The M4250 line of switches also supports more advanced configuration and a robust set of features for many different types of installations. The industry-leading NETGEAR web-based IT GUI along with the console, telnet, and SSH connections and a standard, out-of-band Ethernet port are all available for deeper settings adjustments. Additional features include static, RIP and PIM routing, DHCP server and PTPv2.

One of the many features designed into the new M4250 product line is full support for Audio Video Bridging (AVB), an industry standard for transporting content over a network. AVB is used most often when very low latency is required such as in live performances when lip sync is critical. All of the AV Line M4250 switches can be optionally licensed for AVB support.

Codecs for transporting AV signals over a network are generally identified based on bandwidth requirements: 1Gbps or 10Gbps per stream. The new AV Line of M4250 switches targets the widespread 1Gbps codecs giving installers a much wider range of AV-over-IP applications than ever before. Coupled with an attractive new user interface designed specifically for AV applications, the AV Line of switches offers the most power and value in the professional audio and video industry.

The M4250 switches are designed for a clean integration with traditional rack-mounted AV equipment. A sleek, black display panel provides port and activity status in the front, with all power and network cabling neatly organized in the back. However, when ports are desired on the front of the rack, reverse rack mounting is possible with an included pair of recessed rackmount ears that allow room for the cabling. Additional options for mounting outside the rack are available with universal, threaded holes located on the bottom and the front of each switch.

The switches as part of the AV Line series range from 8 to 16 ports with a variety of PoE+ (30W per port) and Ultra90 PoE++ (90W per port) options. In addition, uplink choices include 1G for audio installations or standalone video installations as well as 10G uplinks for larger scale video deployments. The AV Line M4250 series also includes 12-port multi-gigabit Ethernet and 16-port 1G/10G fiber models for plug-and-play aggregation in a totally automated star topology.

Software-controlled fan adjustments enable the fans to be turned off when ambient temperature and Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) loads are appropriate for the fanless operation of the M4250 switches. For use in sound-sensitive environments such as conference rooms, recording studios, and residential installations, this powerful feature provides new opportunities for the AV Line switches to be deployed.

The new AV Line of M4250 switches maintains the same thorough out-of-the-box functionality found on the M4300 and M4500 switches for almost all AV-over-IP encoders and decoders. Pre-configured with NETGEAR IGMP Plus™, the M4250 switches can simply be plugged in and turned on, making multicast setups a breeze. Setup and installation time are greatly reduced, allowing the installer to focus on other parts of the project – NETGEAR has taken care of the multicast presets.

Pricing and Availability:

NETGEAR M4250 Pro AV Series Switches are available through authorized NETGEAR partners and other reseller channels at a price on request.