Audio/Video, Information and Communication Technology Equipment Testing as per IS/IEC 62368-1:2023

What Changed With This Standard

For years, two separate standards covered this ground. IEC 60065 handled audio and video equipment. IEC 60950-1 handled IT and telecom gear.

Then products started merging. A smart TV that streams. A speaker with Wi-Fi built in. A monitor with a USB hub. The old split stopped making sense, because a single product suddenly belonged in both buckets at once.

IS/IEC 62368-1 replaced both standards. And it took a different approach entirely — instead of listing rules product by product, it works backward from the hazard itself.

The Hazard-Based Approach, Explained Simply

This is what makes 62368-1 testing different, and it's worth understanding before testing starts.

Every product holds energy somewhere. Electrical energy in the power supply. Thermal energy in a component that heats up under load. Mechanical energy in a moving part or a sharp edge. Chemical energy in a battery.

The standard sorts each energy source into three classes:

• Energy Class 01 Class 1

  not painful, not likely to cause injury

• Energy Class 02 Class 2

  painful, but unlikely to cause injury

• Energy Class 03 Class 3

  capable of causing injury

Testing then checks what stands between that energy and a person. That barrier is called a safeguard, and it might be insulation, an enclosure, a warning label, or an automatic cutoff. The real question is whether the safeguard holds up under normal use, under a fault condition, and when someone handles the product carelessly.

Products That Fall Under This Standard

The category is wider than most people expect:

• Laptops, desktops, tablets, and monitors
• Speakers, amplifiers, headphones, and other audio equipment
• Televisions, projectors, and set-top boxes
• Routers, modems, switches, and networking equipment
• Printers, scanners, and general office equipment
• Power adapters, chargers, and docking stations
• Telecom equipment and VoIP devices

If a product processes, transmits, or displays information — or produces sound or video — it almost certainly falls under ICT equipment testing here.

What Gets Tested

• Electrical safety

  Insulation, creepage and clearance distances, earthing, and protection against electric shock under both normal and fault conditions.

• Thermal safety

  Surface temperatures during continuous use, checking that nothing gets hot enough to burn a person or ignite nearby material.

• Fire enclosure and flammability

  Whether the casing contains a fire if something inside fails, and whether the materials themselves resist ignition.

• Mechanical safety

  Stability, sharp edges, moving parts, and enclosure strength against normal handling.

• Radiation and acoustic energy

  Relevant for products with lasers, displays, or headphone outputs capable of damaging hearing.

Why This Matters in India

IS/IEC 62368-1 ties directly into BIS compliance. Many electronic and IT products under the Compulsory Registration Scheme need testing against this standard as part of their BIS registration, so clearing 62368-1 isn't a separate exercise — it's usually the technical foundation the certification application rests on.

Testing against the older 60950-1 or 60065 standards no longer holds for new submissions. A product tested years ago under the previous standard generally needs fresh testing to the current version before it can be certified now.

How Aldo Compliance Handles This Testing

1. Reviewing the product and identifying every energy source inside it, before any testing begins
2. Coordinating sample submission directly with accredited labs, so testing starts without chasing slots
3. Running the full evaluation under IS/IEC 62368-1:2023, covering electrical, thermal, mechanical, and fire safety
4. Explaining exactly where a product falls short, if it does, along with what design change would fix it
5. Preparing the test report in the format BIS and other authorities actually accept