What Audinate Brought to InfoComm 2025: One Network to Rule Them All?

What Audinate Brought to InfoComm 2025: One Network to Rule Them All?

If you’ve worked in higher ed AV for more than a semester, chances are you’ve crossed paths with Dante. Maybe it’s running in the lecture halls, maybe it’s quietly patching mics to mixers in event spaces, or maybe you inherited a setup you’re still trying to map out. Whatever the case, Audinate’s networking platform is already doing a lot of heavy lifting on campuses across the country.

At InfoComm 2025, though, Audinate showed they’re not content being the go-to for audio alone. They’re expanding their sights — and their platform — to make video just as simple. And for those of us juggling aging infrastructure, tight timelines, and even tighter budgets, that’s very good news.

We stopped by the Audinate booth to chat with Jim Kidwell, who was holding court while the chaos of the show floor buzzed in every direction. With lighting rigs flashing in the distance and attendees lined up for hands-on demos, Jim shared that the team had been having great conversations, especially around Dante’s expansion into video workflows.

So what exactly did they show? And why should you — a college AV or IT pro who didn’t make it to Orlando this year — care?

Let’s break it down.

Dante AV: Same Platform, Now with Video

The big headline: Dante AV.

If you’re already using Dante for audio, this should perk your ears up. Dante AV lets you route audio and video over the same IP network, using the same intuitive tools: Dante Controller, Dante Domain Manager, all of it. No new matrix switchers. No complicated training curve. No ripping and replacing what already works.

It’s not about adding another piece of tech — it’s about consolidating. You can now treat video the same way you’ve been treating audio for years: patch it virtually, monitor it centrally, and deploy it using the gear and switches you already have in place.

Jim emphasized that teams already familiar with Dante for audio would find the learning curve for Dante AV incredibly minimal — the core tools and workflows remain consistent, just with expanded functionality.

This hits home for a lot of us in higher ed. We’re rarely starting from scratch. We’re dealing with mixed fleets of equipment across buildings that were built decades apart. Having a single, familiar platform that can handle both audio and video — with built-in discoverability and routing — means less training, less confusion, and faster issue resolution.

Why Higher Ed Should Be Paying Attention

Audinate’s Product Marketing Manager, Kathryn Taub, shared that the company sees Dante as a full AV platform — not just audio. She emphasized its value in streamlining installations, reducing costs, and improving system reliability. This is especially critical in education environments where IT and AV teams are often responsible for many buildings and a wide range of use cases.

That “multiple buildings” point really hits. Because here’s the thing: the real challenge in higher ed AV isn’t just what happens in one room — it’s what happens when you have to scale it across 30, 50, or 200 spaces, each with slightly different quirks.

If you can standardize on a single backbone for both audio and video, that’s a big win — not just for your infrastructure, but for your support workflows, your documentation, and even your ticketing system.

Also worth noting: Dante AV plays nice with your existing network topology. You don’t have to build out a siloed AV VLAN or commit to some black-box system that only works with one manufacturer’s products. Interoperability and openness have always been part of the Dante pitch, and that continues here.

AVIO Install Adapters: Permanent Solutions for Real Rooms

Beyond the big AV headline, one of the sneakily important updates this year was the debut of AVIO Install Adapters.

If you’ve used Dante before, you probably know the AVIO adapters — little plug-and-play devices that let you get analog signals onto the Dante network. They’ve been super useful for last-minute integrations or makeshift upgrades. But they’ve always been portable, not permanent.

This year, Audinate showed off install-grade versions of those adapters — ruggedized, mountable, and ready to be tucked into a rack or behind a wall plate. Same functionality, now built for longevity.

Jim described the shift as bringing the same core AVIO concept — quick analog-to-IP conversion — into a form factor that’s better suited for permanent installs. It’s a natural evolution of a product line that’s already beloved for its simplicity and effectiveness.

This is one of those upgrades that doesn’t generate flashy headlines but makes your life so much easier. If you’ve got legacy gear that still works, but doesn’t talk IP, these new AVIO installs let you bring it into your Dante workflow without needing to replace everything else.

It’s a clear signal that Audinate understands the kinds of spaces and systems higher ed AV folks are actually working with every day.

Designed for the Messy Middle

If there’s a theme to Audinate’s InfoComm showing, it’s practicality. They’re not pitching moonshot ideas. They’re delivering tools that work in the messy middle — the space between “what we’ve got now” and “where we want to be.”

That kind of thinking really matters in higher ed.

Even in 2025, most campuses are still a patchwork of legacy systems, new builds, standardized templates, and a few wild cards thrown in from past leadership. Trying to rip and replace everything to chase a new standard is both unrealistic and unaffordable.

Dante doesn’t demand that. You can phase it in as budget allows, integrate it with gear you already own, and expand capabilities without overhauling infrastructure.

And with Dante Domain Manager, you get the tools IT departments actually want to see: authentication, access control, subnet support, and audit trails. These aren’t just nice-to-haves — they’re the key to getting buy-in from your central IT team when you need to scale AV across the enterprise.

Strong HETMA Connection

Audinate’s not just showing up at InfoComm — they’re showing up for us. As a HETMA partner, they’ve made it clear they care about the higher ed perspective, and not just as a market segment.

Jim noted that HETMA conversations have proven consistently valuable for their team — giving them honest, practical insights into the kinds of challenges higher ed tech managers are facing. Those insights, he said, are helping them shape better tools and more useful features.

And from what we saw at the booth, they meant it. There was no hard sell. Just steady dialogue — higher ed tech managers talking through use cases, infrastructure limitations, and pain points.

The team at Audinate clearly sees value in building with the higher ed community, not just for it.

Final Takeaways: Build on What Works

InfoComm 2025 didn’t feel like a pivot for Audinate — it felt like a natural progression. They’re taking what already works and extending it in smart, deliberate ways.

Dante AV isn’t some moonshot protocol trying to replace everything. It’s just Dante, plus video. If you’re already using the platform, this is the next logical step. If you’re not, this might finally be the version of Dante that gets both your AV team and your IT team on board.

And the new AVIO install adapters? Those are just common sense. You’ll find yourself wondering how you managed without them.

For higher ed AV folks looking to reduce complexity, make better use of existing investments, and build for long-term sustainability, Audinate is offering tools that meet you where you are — and help you take that next step forward.

Want to Learn More?

Check out their InfoComm 2025 highlights:

👉 https://www.getdante.com/meet-dante/audinate-at-infocomm-2025

Or browse the full Dante platform at: