Ubiquiti introduced a UniFi EAV line of audio-video switches, engineered to minimize network latency for AV distribution in large installations such as stadiums, with two of four planned models detailed at launch.
The models
The EAV-XG-24-PoE provides 24 PoE ports with a power budget up to 2,150W, fed by two 1,200W modules running in shared mode, or half that budget with the modules in redundancy mode. It is priced at $3,999. The EAV-Fiber offers 24 SFP+ slots at up to 10Gbps with QSFP28 uplinks supporting 40 and 100GbE, at $2,999. Both were slated to ship in May.
Where this fits in security work
Ubiquiti has long been the value option for camera networks on budget-constrained sites, small municipalities, arenas, campuses, and property portfolios that cannot fund enterprise switching everywhere. The EAV line pushes that value story into bigger rooms. A 2,150W budget across 24 ports funds heated PTZ and multi-sensor cameras without the careful rationing smaller UniFi switches require, and the redundancy mode gives a power-supply failure story that value-tier switching usually lacks. The fiber model is a plausible aggregation layer for campus camera backhaul at a fraction of enterprise pricing.
The caution
The usual UniFi trade-offs still apply: no formal support contracts of the kind enterprise procurement expects, and a management model that assumes the UniFi ecosystem. For sites that can live with that, the price-per-watt and price-per-port here are hard to argue with. Specify with eyes open, especially for anything mission-critical.