The momentum for the control and monitoring of networked audio and video signals is very strong. With increasing adoption of different protocols, transport mechanisms and technologies to distribute audio and video signals over standard networks (in some cases, just using the lower levels, or even just the physical layer), the realization that real, user-friendly, practical solutions are needed to manage and monitor those signals and the connected devices and systems is increasing. There is also growing pressure over the industry to avoid the introduction of more proprietary pieces that effectively defeat the purpose of having networking technology in the first place.
As Jeff Berryman (Technical Committee Chair of the OCA Alliance and senior scientist at Bosch Communications) explained to audioXpress, there is growing awareness of the role of AES70 protocol to improve system functionality in a growing number of applications. And it's not only about interoperability but actually making things work.
A prime focus of the presentations at ISE was the upcoming AES70-2023 revision to the standard. The new revision brings a wealth of new additions and enhancements to the AES70 standard aimed at making the standard more comprehensive, easier to adopt and implement, and expanding its functionality - while maintaining backward compatibility with existing implementations.
As part of that effort, new standard adaptations will be released to support connection management for other media networking transports, such as AES67 and MILAN (AES70-21 and AES70-22, respectively) to create complete media networking solutions.
Seeing the opportunity and demand these technologies and solutions present to the market, new OCA Alliance member Joyned participated in the technology demonstration by showcasing their audio network evaluation board (pictured above). Their solution allows pro audio manufacturers to quickly integrate open public standards for OCA device control functionalities and MILAN transport in a developer-ready package. "“Open-standard protocols are the vehicle for a sustainable and reliable audio network ecosystem," commented Joyned CMO/Co-Founder Richi Rozas.
Emphasizing the concept of an ecosystem and AES70’s flexibility, the demonstration also included products from Resolute Audio and tm stagetech systems utilizing AES67 audio and Dante audio respectively, all controlled by DeusO’s AES70 Explorer development tool. In addition, custom UIs were developed and shown controlling all the equipment at the stand while DeusO’s Matt Hardy gave real-time demonstrations to attendees on how these custom user interfaces were developed using open-source software (pictured below).
Elsewhere on the show floor, OCA Alliance members demonstrated the expanding OCA Ecosystem. OCA Alliance member FBT showcased their newest AES70-enabled products in their HORIZON and MUSE families. These new families of self-powered loudspeakers combine on-board DSP and Dante for live and installation applications. Also featured was the FBT MIURA 1208I 8-channel amplifier with integrated DSP and Dante. Controlled by FBT’s Infinito System Management Suite running on a Microsoft Surface PC, all FBT AES70 offerings can be controlled by a centralized software for an integrated solution.
"ISE 2023 was a remarkable event, and we were really blown away by the interest in open control standards," noted Ethan Wetzell, Marketing Committee Chairman of the OCA Alliance and platform strategist at Bosch Communications. "We’re very excited for the new possibilities that our members’ products and tools bring to the broader ecosystem and the new revision of the standard is going to bring a number of great additions that will make both developers’ and users’ lives easier."
OCA Alliance is a non-profit corporation formed to promote the AES70 standard and Open Control Architecture (OCA) ecosystem, as a control solution for professional media networking applications. The OCA Alliance’s purpose is to actively promote the development and adoption of the OCA ecosystem of hardware, software, and developer tools that support the AES70 standard.
www.ocaalliance.com
