NAB 2017 Focus: Coming Together To Advance IP

2017 is shaping up to be a real turning point for media-over-IP standards and practices, with the SMPTE ST 2100 standard inching closer to completion and a growing number of media facilities building realtime IP production into their infrastructures.

To that end, in a rare large-scale display of unity, nine industry organizations and dozens of manufacturers will join together next week at the NAB show for a big push to promote IP: The Audio Engineering Society, Alliance for IP Media Solutions, IABM, Joint Taskforce on Networked Media, Advanced Media Workflow Association, European Broadcasting Union, Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers, Video Services Forum, and the Media Networking Alliance will join more than 30 manufacturers to host a four-day IP Showcase featuring panels and workshops on ways IP technology can help media creators work more flexibly and efficiently. In addition, a number of companies will be demonstrating how their own IP technologies operate together seamlessly in real-world scenarios.

The event offers a full program with presentations by media companies, associations and end users. Seminar topics include audio and video over IP technology solutions, audio integration case studies, best practices for linking live venues over IP, audio over IP for TV production, and lessons on understanding the commonalities and constraints of AES67 and SMPTE ST 2110.

“This event will feature working implementations of IP networking from an unprecedented number of leading broadcast industry manufacturers,” says Terry Holton, vice chairman of the Media Networking Alliance, founded to promote adoption of the AES67 open standard, which is an integral component of SMPTE ST 2110. “It will also provide the unique opportunity for NAB visitors to get the latest information from these many different manufacturers all together on one tradeshow booth.”

“The media industry's technical trade associations have done groundbreaking work over the last few years, creating specifications and standards,” adds VSF president Richard Friedel. “It’s great to see these efforts coming together to such great effect in the IP Showcase.”

The IP Showcase takes place at booth N4824 in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 24-27; view the entire program here.

Sarah Jones is a writer, editor, and content producer with more than 20 years' experience in pro audio, including as editor-in-chief of three leading audio magazines: Mix, EQ, and Electronic Musician. She is a lifelong musician and committed to arts advocacy and learning, including acting as education chair of the San Francisco chapter of the Recording Academy, where she helps develop event programming that cultivates the careers of Bay Area music makers.