Hardware and software for managing, including the monitoring and control of, digital IP-based video networks; software for managing the transmission of video with associated audio and data signals over IP networks, software for interfacing with proprietary and/or manufacturer specific control signals to provide cross platform compatibility across the network; hardware and software for managing the acquisition, encoding, decoding, configuration, control, processing, viewing, switching and/or routing, transmission and storing of video, audio and other data across networks and/or in a networked environment, such as an IP network, the internet, intranets, Ethernets and/or to a global computer information network; wherein the particular field of use spans across many markets but is particularly well-suited in the security and transportation related fields