At NAB 2017, there will be far more demonstrations and activity around the ever-present and constantly evolving theme of interoperability than any other show. The work is just starting to guarantee fully practical audio streaming workflows with the new standards, such as the SMPTE2022-7 and SMPTE ST2110 Standards for Professional Media over IP Networks, and the ongoing work on synchronization and timing issues with ST 2059. One of the places to see those demonstrations in practice will be the NAB IP Showcase (located in the North Hall of the LVCC, booth N4824), designed to provide a unified, industry-wide view of the ever more important role of IP in the broadcast industry by using equipment from more than 60 manufacturers. The demonstration intends to show that real-time media production using IP networks is now a practical, flexible, and efficient reality.
The IP Showcase will demonstrate interoperability of four parts of the new SMPTE ST 2110 standard, pertaining to video, audio, control and metadata. The inclusion of AES67, in defining the audio element of the new SMPTE ST 2110 standard, acknowledges the rapid and widespread adoption of AES67 in providing signal interoperability across all of the current leading IP based audio networking protocols. SMPTE ST 2110 is currently at an advanced draft stage and is widely projected as a fundamental development in a transition to full IP workflows in broadcast, based on common open standards.
The IP Showcase represents an unprecedented joint effort by the most important industry consortiums, associations, and standards organizations, such as the Audio Engineering Society (AES), the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), the Media Networking Alliance (MNA), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), IABM (the international trade association for suppliers of broadcast and media technology), the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and the Video Services Forum (VSF), all major industry alliances.
A total of 21 member companies are exhibiting at NAB 2017, many of them hosting live interoperability demonstrations on their booths and / or participating in the Education Sessions: ALC, ARG, Audio-Technica, Bosch/RTS, Calrec, Digigram, DirectOut, Focusrite, Genelec, Harman, Lawo, Merging, NetworX, NTP Technology, Shure, Solid State Logic, The Telos Alliance, The Telos Alliance TV Solutions Group, Riedel Communications, Ward Beck Systems, Wheatstone and Yamaha.
Speaking for the MNA alliance, Angi Roberson, Co-Chairman of the MNA Marketing Working Group, says: “The MNA is tremendously excited to see the breath of education, demonstration and speaking events being undertaken by member companies during NAB, in support of AES67 for broadcast and pro audio applications. In addition to which, the alliance has been directly involved in cooperating with eight other key industry associations in organizing the IP Showcase event, with MNA Vice-Chairman, Terry Holton, a member of the IP Showcase Board. With the current speed of adoption, it is clear that 2017 is going to be a significant year of transition, as AES67 continues to achieve mainstream adoption.”
The full program of MNA members’ sessions will cover all the most relevant topics for the industry, explaining everything there is to know about AES67 and SMPTE ST 2110. Those sessions will explain how industry alliances like AIMS, AMWA, MNA and VSF are bringing together individual technology achievements to form condensed, best-of-breed concepts based on existing broadcast workflows and proven IT standards, and how standards organizations like AES and SMPTE are working hard on defining future-proof interoperability standards based on these concepts. The session will also explain the underlying technology acronyms like IP, UDP, RTP, PTP, SDP, SIP, SAP, SDN, and the TR03/04, AES67, and NMOS concepts.
Discussing the rapid adoption of AES67 and AoIP, Greg Shay, Chief Technical Officer, The Telos Alliance, explains, "When it comes to the intersection of Media, Entertainment, and Technology, nowhere is the concept more apparent than in Broadcast Radio with its adoption of AoIP and the AES67 interoperability standard streamlining media and entertainment workflows. IP Audio has now crossed into the Broadcast TV industry, whose acceptance and rapid adoption of AoIP has popularized and helped to fast-track the concept of IP infrastructures even more. Many broadcasters are now sprinting toward IP Audio as it becomes faster, cheaper, and better. There is more AoIP and AES67-compliant gear on the market than ever, presenting cheaper options for switches and other gear. Manufacturers are becoming more adept at AoIP, bringing to market increasingly better and more technologically advanced IP Audio choices. The use of the network for IP workflows allows adopters from any industry to create faster, more efficient workflows and do more with less."www.medianetworkingalliance.com
