Power isn’t just a number on a spec sheet; it determines product fit over a five-year lifecycle. This article shows how Kramer’s ZyPer4K stacks up by comparing per-endpoint energy use for common AVoIP encoders/decoders and rolling it into a 5-year electricity cost. We focus on the device at the edge – the thing you actually multiply across rooms, because that’s where operating expense, heat, and sustainability targets add up.

Where competitors need extra hardware to match those features, we call it out to keep the comparison fair. All numbers use vendor-published watts, a 24×7 baseline, and a transparent formula you can rerun with your local electricity rate.

Basic Power Data

Published Power Usage*

Why ZyPer4K Draws Less: ASIC vs. FPGA

ZyPer4K’s lower watts aren’t a happy accident; they start at the chip. ZyPer4K uses an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) purpose-built silicon that’s smaller and more efficient, so endpoints draw less power and run cooler. Some competitors (e.g., Crestron NVX-384) use FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays). FPGAs can be reconfigured to add features over time, but that flexibility typically comes with higher power, more heat, and a larger, more expensive device.

If you prioritize efficiency, density, and predictable OpEx, the ASIC path wins. If you need field-reconfigurable features, FPGA offers flexibility. Budget for the power and thermal overhead.

What Lower Watts Mean in the Real World

With the silicon story in mind, here’s how lower watts show up in daily operation.

Electrical Power Use Over 5-Year Lifespan

This chart converts vendor-published typical watts into five-year energy use at 24×7. Using the same formula for each device (kWh = Watts × 43,800 ÷ 1000), ZyPer4K-XSE comes in at 569.4 kWh, versus 1,533.0 kWh for Crestron NVX-384 and 1,752.0 kWh for Q-SYS NV-32-H.

Why it matters: Lower energy in means less heat out, smaller power/UPS budgets, and easier sustainability reporting, especially when you multiply endpoints across rooms. And because ZyPer4K composes multiview and odd-resolution LED canvases at the endpoint, it doesn’t need external windowing processors that would add additional energy not reflected in this endpoint-only chart.

Lifespan Electrical Cost Per Unit

Why this favors ZyPer4K

Note: Percent differences are currency-agnostic. If you change the rate, the dollars/euros change, but ZyPer4K’s lead holds.
For quick localization: Cost = kWh × your rate.

Why ZyPer4k Is the Lower-Impact Choice

Fewer Boxes, Less Waste.

ZyPer4K composes multiview and LED canvases at the endpoint – no external windowing processors so there’s less gear to ship, power, cool, and eventually recycle.

What’s the difference between multiview and a video wall? Multiview puts multiple sources composited on one display or LED canvas. A video wall is multiple displays acting as one big canvas. You can run multiview on a video wall, but each solves different problems. From sports bars to stadiums to control rooms, campuses, retail walls, esports, stages and more – the win isn’t more screens, it’s better layouts. This quick list is your gut-check for when one canvas has to do many jobs.

1. Custom Sized Multiview For Custom Walls

LED canvases aren’t always 16:9. Design from the actual pixel map. Multiview platforms that drive custom resolutions natively keep type crisp and layouts true on 21:9, 32:9, and odd-pitch DV-LED.

2. Max Sources For Max Options

How many windows do you need at once – today and on your busiest day? Some platforms support up to 19 sources on a single canvas. If that matters, make capacity and readability part of the spec and test at full load on the actual screen. Other technologies top out at 4-6 sources and may require additional hardware.

3. 10 Gb When Motion Matters

Compressed 1 Gb networks can lower switch costs; 10 Gb, uncompressed, paths tend to preserve motion detail and reduce delay. Decide with math: screen size, viewing distance, frame rate, motion detail, and how many tiles you’ll composite.

4. Latency That’s Not Laggy

Side-by-side motion exposes delay in a way spec sheets don’t. Put two live feeds next to each other and you’ll feel any delay instantly.

5. Ready. Set. Go. Preset Layouts

Stop building from scratch. Start with built-in presets – grids, L-wraps, 2 over 1, and more – then drop in sources. Positions stay consistent and changes feel instant. Some products include a preset library of layouts of up to 10 so you’re productive on day one.

6. Design With Layers For Customized Looks

Use background and overlay layers to tailor the look – picture-in-picture, frames, and clean spacing – without extra hardware. When you need more than a grid, choose platforms with a design layer and floating windows so L-wraps, tickers, ultrawide side-by-side, and similar looks are standard.

7. Drag & Drop Convenience

Look for platforms that allow you to build layouts by simply dragging video sources onto tiles.

9. Network Switch Agnostic

Choose a platform with a proven track record across complex, mixed-switch environments. Look for clear design guides, configure multicast with ease, and tools that make setup and troubleshooting straightforward.

10. A Partner That Does The Heavy Lifting

Pick a product from a manufacturer that gets involved early with both AV and the network. From design to implementation, the right manufacturer (and integrator) maps signal flow, switches, plans VLAN/multicast plans and shapes the canvas, builds presets, tests with your actual feeds, trains the team, and validates stability.

The use of AV over IP (AVoIP) on 1Gb networks and 10Gb Software Defined Video over Ethernet (SDVoE) networks are gaining substantial traction as means of signal distribution across a broad range of industries and applications. This is due to their high performance, near zero latency, scalability and flexibility – chief among many other attributes.

However, once integrators and their customers decide on specifying these technologies, there are a number of considerations to ensure that proposed systems will live up to all parties’ expectations and real-life use.

In this article, Travis Cawthorne, Director of Products & Training, Kramer, provides some of the key questions integrators should be asking their clients as they prepare to design and deploy AV systems.

1. What are the operational and business impacts of potential system disruptions?

Understanding the criticality of the AVoIP application is the foundational step in the specification process. The implications of system failure vary dramatically depending on the context, directly influencing the necessary levels of performance, reliability and redundancy.

Mission critical applications, such as command center surveillance and medical imaging rely on AVoIP to deliver flawless operation. These environments demand near zero latency to facilitate real-time decision-making and accurate color representation for precise visual interpretation. Any disruption can have severe consequences, potentially jeopardizing lives, safety protocols, security or operational effectiveness. In these scenarios, the cost of failure far outweighs the investment in robust, redundant systems. Integrators must understand the specific operational workflows to design resilient architectures to make sure there are no performance disruptions that may put lives and property at risk.

Conversely, in non-mission-critical applications, such as digital signage networks, corporate lobbies or entertainment venues, the impacts of system disruptions, while still undesirable, are typically less severe.

2. What are the bandwidth and performance needs of your video and audio?

Like so many of the options integrators and their customers will need to address, bandwidth and performance demands fully depend on the intended application. Simple distribution of TV signals or signage to screens in a restaurant or college campus may be well handled by a 1Gb network.

However, for applications requiring high bandwidth and minimal latency, such as uncompressed 4K video in live event productions or interactive training simulations, a 10Gb infrastructure is typically essential to ensure smooth, high-quality performance.

Understanding the specific content and performance requirements of each application will determine the necessary network infrastructure.

3. Is it necessary, or preferred, to create a dedicated AV network?

It is not always necessary to create a dedicated AV network for an AVoIP system. However, it is recommended in scenarios where network security is critical and where the customer does not want their AV and IT operations bumping into each other.

4. What are the anticipated future growth and scalability requirements?

Regardless of uncertainty about this during the design phase, the reality is that successful system installations may very well need (or want) to expand in the future. AVoIP and SDVoE solutions help future-proof a client’s investment.

Both can easily scale to the number of inputs and outputs needed without requiring extensive and costly replacements of hardware such as in legacy type matrix switches.

5. Will the AVoIP system need to manage video walls or multiview displays?

Not all AVoIP and SDVoE solutions are created equal. It is important to explore the capabilities of the encoders and decoders, as well as their management and control systems, to make sure they not only have these capabilities, but that the customer is comfortable with how they work.

6. Does your client have a preference for how they will operate and manage their AVoIP system?

Understanding the user experience is paramount. Consider the different user profiles (e.g., end-users vs. AV professional) and their comfort levels with technology. Will they rely on touch panels, mobile devices, dedicated control systems or a centralized management platform? Ease of use, accessibility and the frequency of adjustments will dictate the most suitable control solution.

7. What is the preferred approach for sourcing AVoIP components: a single vendor for streamlined integration or best-of-breed products from various manufacturers?

This decision involves weighing the convenience and potentially simplified support of a single-vendor solution against the flexibility and potentially superior features or pricing offered by selecting components from different manufacturers.

8. Is Trade Agreements Act (TAA) compliance a requirement for this project?

If the customer is a government agency, the answer is decidedly yes. However, there may be other customers who are intent on having products made in the U.S. or a designated country for security concerns or simply by preference. This is obviously very important to find out in the early stages of specifying a system.

9. What are the maximum distances required for signal transmission in this AVoIP system?

Transmission distance is a key factor in determining the appropriate cabling infrastructure. For runs up to 100-meters, quality Category (Cat6/Cat6a) cables may be deployed as they are relatively inexpensive, durable and widely available. For longer distances, you will want to go with fiber cables that are more expensive but can carry higher bandwidth content further and faster with no signal-disrupting electromagnetic interference (EMI).

10. What is the full slate of technologies and features that will need to be integrated with the AVoIP system?

You need to consider all third-party technologies, such as Dante or AES67 audio, as well as peripheral components, including USB cameras, when specifying an AVoIP system to ensure each is compatible and will work well together. You’ll also want to verify that any custom inputs/displays/ resolutions, such as 21:9 ratio or 32:9 ratio ultrawide, are factored into the system design.

By asking these seemingly simple questions upfront, you and your client will be in a better position to explore their vision and unspoken needs for their proposed system – early enough when the specs are fluid so that changes can be made to avert costly omissions, installation headaches, cost overruns and system limitations. Happy designing!