May 25.2023 - AVPro Academy training, presented throughout the United States, provides us with valuable opportunities to discuss the performance of our products with those installation technicians nationwide that have the most experience deploying and commissioning into operational status the broad range of AVPro Edge signal extension and management solutions, in real-world conditions on a routine basis. To our thinking, installers are uncommon virtuosos, possessing keen insight into product strengths and weaknesses, which is why we feel they should be graciously given the podium when we are seeking critical input for a product’s reception in the marketplace. And unlike many manufacturers, uncannily, most instances of our product revisions are based on feedback received from those we enjoy calling our “partners”.
With MXNet 1G, 1G EVII, and the recent rollout of MXNet 10G, our in-house developed MXNet Mentor software has garnered substantial accolades from those with hands-on daily use. While Mentor was conceived with a multitude of individual setup and problem-solving attributes addressing all facets of system deployment, what we have learned from talking with hundreds of installation technicians from every industry level is something surprisingly unanticipated.
MXNet, via Mentor, compared to offerings by other manufacturers, not only condenses system deployments into hours, but (and some of you have expressed it as in minutes with smaller systems by technicians proficient with MXNet) provides for a thorough, end-of-installation checkup capability that verifies all system endpoints are working, are receiving the intended designated audio/video information along with control signals, and where applicable, appropriate KVM functions.
At an ever-rising pace, we are told by integration firms that utilize third-party control system programmers (or internal programmers, as well) that they can have technicians depart a job site knowing that from the egress point of an over-control system processor onward downstream, an MXNet system is working as designed. If a programmer contacts the project manager detailing how a television isn’t receiving a signal and something is amiss, the reply is that all signal path functionality was operational when technicians exited the site, and the programming should be re-verified. Certainly, issues may arise between system commissioning and when the programmer arrives on-site, however, integrators confirm the number of truck roll callbacks has been dramatically reduced since they have been capable of verifying signal continuity using Mentor.
Unlike other AV-o-IP systems software, Mentor is uniquely and characteristically AVPro Edge. It was holistically designed in-house, alongside MXNet’s CBOX, encoding, decoding, and TCVR components. Perhaps most importantly, however, Mentor’s flexibility was incrementally crafted during AVPro Edge network switch development, enabling synergistic, straightforward setup with our pre-configured switches for signal routing, network troubleshooting, and visual diagnostics analysis during MXNet deployment and at any point while the system is in operation. Thoroughly AVPro Edge, Mentor is not a layered-on-top, third-party solicited, contracted software, patterned to control similarly acquired hardware components packaged altogether as a me-too AV-o-IP system, rapidly ushered into the marketplace. When closely examining other systems, there is a haunting, resemblant familiarity in form factors and device layouts, drawing sharp contrasts when compared to the sleek, unmistakable identity embodied by the MXNet ecosystem.
Integration companies, in general, and installers specifically, have universally praised MXNet and Mentor for providing the ability to confidently exit a project site with a functioning system, and not merely leaving, and leaving behind, “blank essentially dumb boxes” hoping that the wiring infrastructure is void of issues and the devices put into place will work when activated.
A growing body of integrators is actively expressing that projects previously requiring multiple days of on-site time, by numerous high-level technicians, when installing other AV-o-IP systems have instead become successful half-day or even less time deployments (depending on the scope), with a lead technician and one or two entry-level technicians. They have discovered the freedom to schedule a significant number of additional jobs per month without compromising customer service or burdening their installation departments, attributed simply to the power of Mentor’s synergy with MXNet.
During MXNet development, while nurturing Mentor to be integral to efficient precision system setup and commissioning, the AVPro Edge research, development, and engineering teams expected Mentor would be well received as a feature-rich tool that would be intuitively embraced for use by nearly anyone in a technical capacity, whether in the residential or commercial space. Additionally, Mentor’s underlying architecture resides on a platform that handily allows for easy adaptation of new features and timely upgrades.
As the only AV-o-IP system supplied by a vertically integrated, singular manufacturer, and featuring pre-configured network switches that include an industry-first model providing PoE plus data through common ports, AVPro Edge MXNet powered by Mentor gives your company the tremendous advantage of one-stop procurement, single truck roll deployment, and the capability to effectively sell and comfortably deploy fully functioning, comprehensive projects in the rapidly expanding AV-o-IP arena of custom installation.