System Powered over Ethernet

The Goal

Reduce cost and clutter in our A/V systems while allowing for remote device management without incurring monthly costs.

POE Overview

POE is a fantastic technology that allows devices to get power over their network line. There are two current primary POE standards. Standard POE provides up to 15.4 Watts while POE+ provides up to 25.5 Watts. Upcoming POE versions 3 and 4 offer 55 Watts and 100 Watts respectively.

POE Benefits

Using POE provides the following benefits:
  • Reduces power cord clutter in the rack.
  • Removes number of surge protectors needed.
  • Allows remote power management through the network management software.
  • Allows for better surge protection by having the switch act as both the power and the ground for the device. Surge protecting the POE switch will surge protect each device behind it.

POE Frustrations

POE itself is great, the problem is that most devices in the A/V industry do not support it. This makes our life more difficult by cluttering up the rack with power cords and removing the ability to power cycle components through the network without buying expensive IP controllable surge protectors.

Make It POE

The majority of devices are powered by 5V or 12v power supplies. The 5V devices either take USB or the standard round plug. The 12v devices should just take the round plug. We can use adapters that attach to the end of the network cable and breakout into 5V/12V and a network cable. This allows us to use POE on around 60%-70% of equipment in the system. I will list out some of these adapters and the devices they go to at the bottom of this page.

Control the Device

Now that your devices are powered over ethernet, you will have the ability to monitor their status and power cycle them when they have issues. The platform that I use for this is UniFi from Ubiquiti which allows me to manage all of my clients systems remotely. We label all of the devices and ports inside of the UniFi software and when we are alerted to an issue, we log into the system, find the port that that device is plugged into, and force that port to cycle the power for 5 seconds.

Adapter List

For USB micro devices, use this POE adapter. All USB micro devices use 5V power and this adapter should have enough amperage to power the device. Check amperage just to be sure.
Device Examples:
Amazon Fire Stick
Roku Stick
5V devices have different sized power plugs. For this reason I recommend getting one with multiple tips for the best chance of a good fit. Again as with the USB adapter above, make sure that the amperage of your device is supported by this adapter.
Device Examples:
Global Cache IP2IR and IP2SL
If your device is using 12V, use the adapter to the right. Check the amperage on your device to make sure this splitter can power it. This is one of the only POE+ adapters out on the market and provides more than enough power for most devices.
Device Examples:
TiVo Mini and TiVo Mini VOX
All Roku devices except for the sticks
Many Arris and Motorola Cable Boxes
DirecTV Genie Clients
Dish Network Joey Client
Many HDMI Baluns
Many Cameras

In Closing

Little details like this may seem unimportant, but imagine a scenario in which TiVos are used throughout a house. When trying to put TiVo behind TVs, you realize that the included power adapter is too big and blocks the TV from mounting properly to the wall. The TiVo is going to need network regardless, so why not power it with one of these adapters and save space behind the TV while making the install easier. Then if your client calls and says that one of the TiVo Minis has locked up, reboot it from your phone without having to roll a truck. This $10 part has allowed you to mount a TV easily, made the TV install look cleaner, given you the opportunity to service your clients remotely, and saved your client the fee from rolling a truck.