As 2018 drew to a close it was possible to sit back and confidently say that previous concerns related to transporting media over IP using COTS networking were solved.
The development of SMPTE ST 2022-6 for SDI over IP, and SMPTE ST 2110, with its more flexible method for delivering independent video, audio and data flows over IP, neatly time-stamped and synchronized with SMPTE ST 2059, resolved any uncertainty.
With a rapidly expanding range of products on the market, deployed in real-world environments, momentum for all-IP has increased in the media and entertainment industry.
Given all this great news, the move to IP is over, right? Yes and no.
Yes, you can build systems from multiple vendors. Interoperability has been proven between dozens of vendors thanks to the work of organizations such as the VSF and JT-NM, which helped stage and organize large-scale testing as demonstrated at the 2018 NAB Show and IBC2018. However, it could be easier.
This two-part blog series will cover what Harmonic believes will be the top hot topics and trends in media over IP delivery for 2019. To begin with, let’s talk about JT-NM’s new TR 1001-1 technical recommendation, and then move on to AMWA IS-04 and IS-05, both of which can make plug and play a reality.
Get Ready to Simplify With TR1001-1
You can expect JT-NM’s TR 1001-1 technical recommendation to be an important topic for 2019. This recommendation neatly packages transport, timing and sync, and discovery and connection for devices together, with the goal of defining how products will be easy to integrate into a system.
TR 1001-1 may become the default way to talk about and identify vendor products that can easily be integrated into a system with minimal if any human interaction. Overall, 2019 will see a strong focus on making media over IP easier to work with.
As it stands today you cannot simply plug two devices into a network switch, select a source and destination on a router control panel and know that the two will connect and real-time media will flow.
Right now there is no ubiquitous plug-and-play capability with media over IP as exists with SDI. Instead, the routing control system has to know the methods each device uses to join and leave media flows on the network. It also requires details about whether devices are present or not at any given time.
There are no widely adopted protocols for this, meaning the routing control system needs to use control methods in much the same way an automation system uses device drivers to control routers, video servers, graphics, switchers and the like from different vendors to get different devices to connect to one another.
This makes connection management complicated and cumbersome, not to mention time-consuming and costly.
Want Plug and Play? AMWA IS-04 and IS-05 Hold the Answer
Making plug and play become a reality is what AMWA’s IS-04 and IS-05 were created for. These specifications support the much needed common APIs that enable a similar plug-and-play style connectivity that is available with SDI.
IS-04 (Discovery and Registration) lets the routing control system know which devices and their associated flows are currently available, and critically when devices disconnect from the network.
IS-05 (Connection Management) enables the control system to connect and disconnect the video, audio and data flows between two devices.
With AIMS helping drive adoption of these two specifications, it will become much easier to buy plug-and-play devices and for future routing control systems to manage multi-vendor signal flows.
Make the Transition a Reality
Harmonic is playing a critical role in the migration to all-IP production, bridging the gap between SDI and IP worlds with solutions that support both. If you want to learn more about what trends will impact media over IP delivery in 2019, stay tuned for part 2 of this blog series.