New standards for audio over IP will be one of the key items under discussion at this year’s EBU Network Technology seminar, ‘To IP and Beyond’, to be held in Geneva next week. These draft standards address specific issues in audio over IP, both in achieving better interoperability between equipment from different manufacturers, and in audio contribution over IP, writes Nick Radlo.
“We’re working towards a new audio over IP interoperability standard being in place this autumn, which 15 manufacturers have already endorsed, and eight or nine are on the way with early implementations, creating interoperability between previously incompatible systems” said Lars Jonsson of Swedish Radio, who will chair the EBU session on quality of service.
Wireless technology will come under scrutiny at the seminar, including the use of WIMAX in the studio environment. The BBC conducted newsgathering trials with some of the new wireless technologies. “From the broadcasters’ perspective, the tests we’ve done focused on the really practical issues of what’s out there and what works, so we’re now getting to the stage where we can advise broadcasters what’s worth investing in” said Adrian Poole, lead technologist for BBC Future Media & Technology, who will speak in the session on wireless solutions.
The latest research into optical technology for networking will be explored at the seminar. Optical promises high speed, high capacity networks, that could operate without the need for many of the protocols in use today.
“Looking beyond IP, there’s also the idea of putting our applications directly onto fibre, without the need for electronic switching,” said IRT’s Markus Berg, who will chair the session on interoperability.
