The IBC IP Interoperability Zone is presented for the first time this year with the cooperation of The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) and the IABM trade association. The zone brings to life the work of the JT-NM (the Joint Task Force on Networked Media: a combined initiative of AMWA, EBU, SMPTE and VSF) and the AES on a common roadmap for IP interoperability. Central to the IBC Feature Area will be a live production studio, based on the technologies of the JT-NM roadmap that Belgian broadcaster VRT has been using daily on-air all this summer as part of the LiveIP Project: a collaboration between VRT, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and LiveIP’s twelve technology partners.
“Visitors will be able to see verified technical interoperability over IP from more than 30 companies and the same technology being used in a real production environment,” said Michael Cronk, VP of Core Technology at Grass Valley and Chairman of the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS). “It will be a showcase for the reality of the technology and a demonstration that the industry is converging on a common roadmap.”
Peter White, CEO of IABM, the body that represents vendors in the industry, added “For a number of years now the industry has needed a way forward to collaborate on IP interoperability. It was critical that the industry’s vendors came together to achieve this and at IBC we will see the fruits of the labors of the organizations behind the JT-NM and the Live IP project. We are pleased to be standing alongside AIMS to evidence the real practical progress the industry has achieved through collaboration.”
The new initiative sees a 150 square meter area in Hall 8 given over to the zone. With dedicated demonstrations showcasing interoperability and the IP studio at its heart, the zone also provides space for visitors to discuss the benefits and challenges of IP workflows with a large number of diverse vendors, each aligning their efforts to achieve standardization and seamless inter-working.
“Even just a few months ago, the whole field of IP and interoperability was an alphabet soup of seemingly unrelated organizations,” says Michael Crimp, CEO of IBC. “The industry has worked hard to bring a critical mass into alignment and IBC was keen to facilitate engagement and focus around this important contribution to the future of our industry. By creating a dedicated zone at this year’s IBC, we are delighted to make a space to show what has been achieved and the standards around which everyone can group. I look forward to seeing what has been achieved at the IBC IP Interoperability Zone.”
Telos Alliance Participation
The Telos Alliance — parent company to Telos Omnia, Axia, 25-Seven, Linear Acoustic, and Minnetonka — announced it will participate in the IBC Interoperability Zone. The Axia xNode and Linear Acoustic AERO.soft will be part of this groundbreaking demo, alongside gear from 30+ other vendors. Telos Alliance CTO and interoperability expert Greg Shay will also be on hand to answer questions September 11-13 at 1:30 PM.
“This is an opportunity for IBC visitors to experience interoperability on a larger scale than ever before. The technology is a reality, and the broadcast industry—both TV and Radio—is converging on this common roadmap,” says Shay. “It’s an exciting time for broadcast, and we are thrilled to be a part of it with our Telos Alliance AoIP products and Livewire+ technology.”
The IP Interoperability Zone can be found in Hall 8 (Stand 8.D10). It is open throughout the IBC Exhibition, from Friday 9 September to Tuesday 13 September, and is free to all IBC visitors.
IBC.org/IPzone
AES - The Audio Engineering Society is the only professional society devoted exclusively to audio technology. The AES is an international organization that unites audio engineers, creative artists, scientists and students worldwide by promoting advances in audio and disseminating new knowledge and research.
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) - AIMS is a not-for-profit trade alliance recently formed "to foster the adoption of common, ubiquitous protocols for interoperability over IP". AIMS focuses its activities on the implementation and promotion of standards, recommendations and open specifications thus complementing the work of the JT-NM organizations and the AES.
AMWA - The AMWA has traditionally focused on software applications in the professional video space and, as such, its work complements that of the VSF.
EBU - The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is the world’s leading alliance of public service media (PSM). Their members operate over 1,800 television and radio channels together with numerous online platforms. The EBU offers technical expertise, advocacy, guidance, tools and recommendations to its members.
IABM - IABM is the international trade association for suppliers of broadcast and media technology.
The Joint Task Force on Networked Media (JT-NM) - The JT-NM and the Reference Architecture V1.0 (RA V1.0) is a joint effort of the VSF, the EBU, SMPTE and most recently, AMWA. Its goal is to develop a common, open approach to developing user requirements for video over IP in the professional domain.
The LiveIP Project - LiveIP is a collaboration between Belgian broadcaster, VRT, and the EBU as well as a group of innovative Broadcast Technology partners. The objective is to build and operate a Live TV production studio with state of the art IP-based and IT-centric hardware and software.
SMPTE - The Oscar and Emmy Award-winning Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), a professional membership association, promotes the advancement of the art, science, and craft of the image, sound and metadata ecosystem worldwide.
The Video Services Forum (VSF) - The Video Services Forum (VSF) is an international association comprised of service providers, users and manufacturers dedicated to interoperability, quality metrics and education for video networking technologies. For many years, the VSF has been active in developing video over IP technical recommendations and conducting interoperability testing for its member companies. A number of these recommendations are being demonstrated in the IBC Interoperability Zone.
IBC2016 Dates:
Conference: 8 - 12 September 2016
Exhibition: 9 - 13 September 2016
IBC.org/discovermore
