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IBC Show prepares for interoperability

Two interoperability workshops took place last month

In preparation for the IP Showcase at IBC2017, two highly successful interoperability workshops were held in August to demonstrate interoperability between SMPTE ST 2110 devices. That the vast majority of participating companies were able to successfully demonstrate interoperability is testament to the strength of the SMPTE ST 2110 documents, AMWA’s IS-04 specification and the preliminary IS-05 specification.

As a result of the success of these events, visitors to the IP Showcase in room E106 at the forthcoming IBC Show will be able witness the enormous progress that has been made towards ‘plug and play’ IP connectivity – thanks to the ongoing collaboration between so many industry bodies and equipment vendors, and their single-minded dedication to bringing the full benefits of IP real time signal flows to the broadcast and media industry.

The first workshop, which took place at Sony Professional’s facility in Basingstoke, UK, in the week of 7th August, was AMWA’s (Advanced Media Workflow Association) NMOS IS-05 Device Connection Management workshop. Some 23 companies participated – the highest ever number at any AMWA NMOS event, with the vast majority of participants able to demonstrate interoperability to the draft specification of NMOS (Networked Media Open Specifications) IS-05.

IS-05 Connection Management builds on the work of AMWA’s IS-04 Discovery & Registration by providing a common, open API for any vendor to establish connections between SMPTE ST 2110 devices in a professional media environment.

The second interop event – the industry-wide SMPTE ST 2110 and AMWA IS-04 workshop – was held during the week of August 14th at the Fox Network Engineering and Operations facility in Woodlands, Texas, USA. Sponsored by VSF (Video Services Forum, Inc.) and fellow IP Showcase sponsors AES, AIMS, AMWA, EBU, IABM, MNA and SMPTE, the workshop was attended by 49 companies – the largest interop event of its kind in the industry’s history. All participants demonstrated interoperability and qualified for inclusion in the IP Showcase at IBC2017.

Beyond merely demonstrating interoperability, the Woodlands workshop broke new ground; because of the wide range of products there supporting SMPTE ST 2110, the organisers were able to put together complete workflows for live production, playout and contribution. This sends a clear signal to broadcasters and media organisations that not only are SMPTE ST 2110 and AMWA IS-04 products widely interoperable, but also that there are sufficient products available to enable best-of-breed systems using IP technology.

“The technical community has been conducting interops for years, and yet the level of participation is breaking records. I’ve never seen such participation, collaboration and pace of innovation in our industry. We are proud to be able to demonstrate what we’ve accomplished at IBC at the IP Showcase,” said Brad Gilmer executive director of AMWA and VSF.

The IP Showcase is set to be a major destination for visitors to IBC 2017 – demonstrating to the broadcast and media world that real-time IP production is a practical, flexible, efficient reality that is rapidly taking hold in mainstream operations. IP is no longer a “future” — it is here and now.

About the IP Showcase – IBC Room E106

To accommodate its increased scale this year, the IP Showcase is in a new location – in a room all of its own: E106 – and will be well signposted all around the show floor. The partners behind the IP Showcase – AES, AIMS, AMWA, EBU, IABM, MNA, SMPTE, and VSF – have come together with IBC to deliver a one-stop destination where everyone from broadcast/IT engineers and CEOs to TV producers can learn everything they need to know to unlock the full potential of using IP for real-time media.

Following the successful AMWA and VSF pre-show interop workshops, more than 50 vendors will demonstrate real-world IP interoperability based on SMPTE ST 2110 final draft standards and AMWA NMOS specifications — a single set of common IP interop standards and specifications that are unleashing the flexibility and efficiency of IP in real-time media. To prove ease of use as well as interoperability, the demonstrations are divided into logical application pods — live production signal flows, contribution and playout signal flows, etc. — all shown under the control of familiar user interfaces.

Visitors to the IP Showcase will learn:

– The business, technical, and creative benefits of IP workflows

– The practical steps to take to unlock the benefits of using IP networks for real-time media

– The knowledge, skills, and resources required

– How others are already leveraging IP in real-world broadcaster applications

– An understanding of the SMPTE ST 2110 suite of professional media over IP networks standards

– What the future holds – including NMOS IS-05 Connection Management for IP-based media systems

The integrated IP Showcase theatre, curated by IABM, will be running a non-stop series of presentations covering the full gamut of knowledge for real-time IP production and intra-facility distribution. Visitors will hear about the rapidly increasing number of real-world IP deployments from broadcasters who have already embraced IP signal flows. They will also learn about the business and creative benefits of IP, and how these benefits can be applied to their own operations.

With no direct sales agenda, the IP Showcase is dedicated to educating and energising IBC visitors to embrace the change, plan effectively, and ultimately build a more flexible, more efficient and more creative broadcasting industry.