How Netgear and Origin Acoustics bring streaming audio

Recently partnered Netgear, Inc., and Origin Acoustics are two AV giants on rather opposite sides of the tech world that both work heavily with the audiovisual (AV) industry. In the 367th podcast episode of ResiWeek, titled “The Origin Story,” host Matt Scott speaks with Origin Acoustics’ Joe Whitaker and Netgear’s John Henkel about what this strategic partnership means for their companies’ futures.

What Is Netgear AV?

Netgear is a networking hardware company best known for its networking services, security solutions, and online storage. For years, Netgear has stood out for being more affordable and less complicated than other network hardware options — which is part of its goal of making networking easier for everyone.

Recently, the tech giant rolled out Netgear AV, which integrates systems within residential and commercial buildings to improve the network’s strength and security. Netgear AV connects to laptops, phones, speaker systems, digital photo frames, surveillance cameras, and more.

With the fully integrated network, Netgear AV ensures that the internet connection is stable throughout the entire property, both indoors and outdoors, and that every piece of data within the network is protected. All of this is done through Netgear’s advanced switchboards, such as the M4500 Managed Switches.

Additionally, Netgear AV provides unlimited resources, such as product images, education, assets, white papers, and online AV courses, for businesses to use. These vast capabilities and resources are a result of Netgear’s ever-expanding list of partners, with Origin Acoustics being among the most recent.

The Birth of an AV Partnership

As part of their new partnership, Netgear AV’s switches and Pro WiFi Access Points are now available from Origin Acoustics. The partnership was announced at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2023. The team-up allows Netgear to be further integrated within networks’ audio systems and also allows easier access to Origin Acoustics speakers.

“Netgear’s been fostering relationships for years with all kinds of partners,” says Henkel, Director of SMB Product Marketing for Netgear AV. “[We are] making it easier for integrators, for the end users, for everybody to start getting into networking because it’s not easy.”

Based in Nevada, Origin Acoustics manufactures speakers “for every space.” Its products include cinema speakers, amplifiers, subwoofers, outdoor speakers, in-wall loudspeakers, and other audio options that can be integrated into almost any building, exterior, or vehicle.

Whitaker, Vice President of Business Development for Origins Acoustics, recognizes that most music today is streamed or cast wirelessly, stressing the need to expand the company’s network capabilities further. As part of its partnership with Netgear, Origin Acoustics aims to provide residential and commercial customers with end-to-end solutions that improve their entire ecosystems rather than just their audio systems.

Benefits of AV Partnerships

AV partnerships make the advancement of AV technology a collaborative effort. In the cases of Netgear and Origin Acoustics, communication, integration, and customer service have noticeably improved for both companies.

Reducing Complications

The Netgear AV and Origin Acoustics partnership makes their products more accessible for customers and clients. According to Henkel, AV networking is new and, therefore, complicated, especially for residential AV. Because of this, Netgear has tech support teams worldwide who respond to emails within only a couple of hours. Additionally, Origin Acoustics now provides a direct phone line for professional engineering support.

Having two tech companies like these work together generally makes solving technical problems much easier. Since Origin Acoustics’ and Netgear’s products are integrated, troubleshooting can usually be resolved via one email thread. When systems aren’t integrated at the corporate level, customers may be left contacting multiple tech companies to try to identify which company’s product might be causing the problem.

Faster Turnaround

According to Whitaker, Origin Acoustics’ partnership with Netgear AV has already improved its efficiency. In the past, Origin Acoustics’ most complicated speaker setups could’ve taken up to a week to install. Now, thanks to Netgear’s help, Origin Acoustics is significantly better at identifying and communicating access points, heat maps, channels, bills of materials, and everything else necessary for a high-quality AV setup. According to Whitaker, its longest setup since the partnership has only taken three hours.

ResiWeek 367

This strategic alliance between Origin Acoustics and Netgear is still in its early days. In “The Origin Story,” ResiWeek host Matt Scott asks the companies’ leaders what we can expect from the future of their partnership. They also speak about the impacts electric vehicle chargers and Sony’s new receiver models may have on the greater AV industry. Watch the podcast on YouTube or listen on our website to learn what these tech experts have to say.