Lumens OIP-N60D-ND decoder bridges NDI HX3 and Dante AV-H formats

This launch addresses the growing complexity of hybrid AV environments by consolidating disparate IP protocols into a single hardware bridge. By integrating NDI, Dante, and RTSP, Lumens reduces the need for multiple format converters in the signal chain, lowering both latency and hardware costs for system architects. Within the broader streaming ecosystem, this move signals a shift toward hardware that treats audio and video networking as a unified infrastructure rather than separate silos. Watch for how competitors respond with similar multi-protocol decoders as corporate and educational sectors demand more flexible BYOD connectivity for high-resolution 4K production.

The convergence of NDI and Dante AV-H into a single hardware device reflects a broader industry push toward unified IP-based AV infrastructure. NewTek's NDI protocol, now under the Vizrt Group umbrella, has become a de facto standard for video-over-IP in live production, while Audinate's Dante platform dominates networked audio. In early 2025, Audinate announced Dante AV-H as an extension of its Dante ecosystem to carry compressed video alongside audio over standard IP networks, marking the company's formal entry into the video transport space. Lumens' decision to support both protocols in the OIP-N60D-ND positions the device at the intersection of these two ecosystems, giving integrators a single endpoint that can receive signals from either domain without protocol conversion hardware upstream. On the business side, Audinate has been aggressively expanding Dante AV-H adoption through licensing partnerships and hardware certifications. At ISE 2025 in Barcelona, Audinate showcased more than 40 Dante AV-H enabled products from partners including Biamp, Crestron, and Q-SYS, signaling rapid ecosystem growth in the compressed-video-over-IP category. Meanwhile, Vizrt Group has continued to push NDI HX3 as a bandwidth-efficient alternative to full NDI, targeting environments where network capacity is constrained. The licensing model for both protocols requires hardware manufacturers to pay per-device royalties, which means multi-protocol devices like the Lumens OIP-N60D-ND carry higher per-unit licensing costs but offer integrators a compelling value proposition by eliminating the need for separate NDI-to-HDMI and Dante-to-HDMI converters. From a technical standpoint, the OIP-N60D-ND's support for HDMI 2.0 output at 4K60 places it in direct competition with dedicated NDI decoders from Magewell and Blackmagic Design. Magewell's Ultra Encode HDMI and Pro Capture HDMI 4K Plus cards have been widely adopted in hybrid production workflows for their NDI HX3 encoding and decoding capabilities, though they do not natively support Dante AV-H. Blackmagic Design's DeckLink series similarly handles NDI conversion but lacks integrated Dante audio transport. The Lumens device differentiates by combining both protocols with RTSP in a single chassis, reducing rack space and cable runs in installations where audio and video originate from different IP domains. For conferencing and corporate AV deployments, this multi-protocol approach aligns with the growing demand for hybrid AV-over-IP production that can accept signals from heterogeneous network sources without requiring software clients on every connected device.