Traffic behaves until topology changes.
IGMP snooping, querier election, mrouter state, flooding, pruning, TTL, and the uplink that changes the failure pattern.
When the AV vendor blames IT—and IT blames AV—I find the actual problem.
Remote root-cause engineering for AV-over-IP, networked audio, broadcast video, multicast, timing, routing, and the infrastructure underneath them.
Vendors & platforms we engineer across
Fault domains
The symptom may be audio, video, control, or timing. The cause may be three switches away, hidden in an election, policy, boundary, route, or assumption nobody verified.
AI-assisted engineering
AI is used as an analysis multiplier—not a substitute for engineering judgment. It helps structure the timeline, compare configurations, extract signals from logs, correlate evidence, and surface contradictions before I make the final call.
Operating method
Every case starts with intake. If it is outside my expertise, requires physical installation, or is not a good remote-support candidate, I will tell you before payment.
Describe the symptom, path, environment, changes, stakes, and what has already been ruled out. Sanitized logs, diagrams, screenshots, and configurations can be included.
I determine whether the case is a fit, identify missing evidence, and recommend the appropriate engagement before anything is scheduled or charged.
Live remote testing, configuration review, packet analysis, event correlation, and targeted experiments against the actual environment.
You receive the probable root cause, evidence, remediation steps, validation criteria, and the changes that reduce the chance of recurrence.
Engagements
Fixed-fee options for defined problems, with emergency engineering reserved for production-impacting situations. Intake comes first so the scope stays controlled.
$195
For a clearly bounded issue that needs an experienced second set of eyes.
$495
When a defined fault needs more than a second opinion—hands on the problem with your team on the line.
$995
For failures crossing switches, endpoints, applications, timing domains, or multiple technical teams.
$350 / hour
For live outages, imminent events, after-hours escalations, and critical commissioning deadlines.
Not sure which level applies? Submit the diagnosis first. I will review the case and recommend the appropriate engagement before scheduling or payment.
Engineer
JW Stark is built around the investigation layer—not installation labor. I work remotely with integrators, IT teams, venues, broadcasters, education, houses of worship, corporate environments, and organizations with systems that have already survived normal troubleshooting.
My background spans support, systems administration, network engineering, infrastructure, solutions design, AV-over-IP, multicast, timing, audio, video, routing, switching, and commissioning.
I take a small number of cases at a time. That is deliberate: it protects quality, keeps turnaround realistic, and makes it easier to say no quickly when the case is not a strong fit.