NMOS

Video: Using AMWA IS-06 for Flow Control on Professional Media Networks

Posted on by Adam K

In IP networks multicast flow subscription is usually based on a combination of IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) and PIM (Protocol Independent Multicast) protocols. While PIM allows for very efficient delivery of IP multicast data, it doesn’t provide bandwidth control or device authorisation.

To solve these issues on SMPTE ST 2110 professional media networks the NMOS IS-06 specification has been developed. It relies on a Software-Defined Networking, where traffic management application embedded in each single switch or router is replaced by a centralised Network Controller. This controller manages and monitors the whole network environment, making it bandwidth aware.

NMOS IS-06 specification provides a vendor agnostic Northbound interface from Network Controller to Broadcast Controller. IS-06 in conjunction with IS-04 (Discovery and Registration) and IS-05 (NMOS Device Connection Management) allows Broadcast Controller to automatically set up media flows between endpoints on the network, reserve bandwidth for flows and enforce network security. Broadcast Controller is also able to request network topology information from Network Controller, which can be used to create a user friendly graphic representation of the flows in the network.

In this presentation Rob Porter from Sony Europe explains the basics of NMOS IS-06, showing in details how setting up media flows with this specification fits into the IS-04 / IS-05 workflow. Rob emphasise that all AMWA NMOS specifications are completely open and available to anyone, allowing for interoperability between broadcast and network devices from different manufacturers.

The next speaker, Sachin Vishwarupe from Cisco Systems, focuses on the future works on IS-06, including provisioning feedback (such as insufficient bandwidth, no route available from sender to receiver or no management connectivity), flow statistics, security and grouping (similar to ”salvo” in SDI world).

There is also a discussion on extension of IS-06 specification for Network Address Translation (NAT), which would help to resolve problems caused by address conflicts e.g. when sharing resources between facilities.

You can find the slides here.

Watch now!

Speakers

Rob Porter Rob Porter
Project Manager – Advanced Technology Team
Sony Europe
Sachin Vishwarupe
Principal Engineer
Cisco Systems

Video: NMOS IS-07, GPI Replacement and Much, Much More…

Posted on by Russell Trafford-Jones

GPI was not without its complexities, but the simplicity of its function in terms of putting a short or a voltage on a wire, is unmatched by any other system we use in broadcasting. So the question here is, how do we do ‘GPI’ with IP given all the complexity, and perceived delay, in networked communication. CTO of Pebble Beach, Miroslav Jeras, is here to explain.

The key to understanding the power of the new specification for GPI from NMOS called IS-07 is to realise that it’s not trying to emulate DC electronics. Rather, by adding the timing information available from the PTP clock, the GPI trigger can now become extremely accurate – down to the audio sample – meaning you can now use GPI to indicate much more detailed situations. On top of that, the GPI messages can contain a number of different data types, which expands the ability of these GPI messages and also helps interoperability between systems.

Miroslav explains the ways in which these messages are passed over the network and how IS-07 interacts with the other specifications such as IS-05 and BCP-002-01. He explains how IS-07 was used in the Techno Project – tpc, Zurich and then takes us through a range of different examples of how IS-07 can be used including synchronisation of the GUI and monitoring as well as routing based on GPI.

Watch now! | Download the slides

Speakers

Miroslav Jeras Miroslav Jeras
CTO,
Pebble Beach Systems

Video: Wide Area Facilities Interconnect with SMPTE ST 2110

Posted on by Russell Trafford-Jones

Adoption of SMPTE’s 2110 suite of standards for transport of professional media is increasing with broadcasters increasingly choosing it for use within their broadcast facility. Andy Rayner takes the stage at SMPTE 2019 to discuss the work being undertaken to manage using ST 2110 between facilities. In order to do this, he looks at how to manage the data out of the facility, the potential use of JPEG-XS, timing and control.

Long established practices of using path protection and FEC are already catered for with ST 2022-7 for seamless path protection and ST 2022-5. New to 2110 is the ability to send the separate essences bundled together in a virtual trunk. This has the benefit of avoiding streams being split up during transport and hence potentially suffering different delays. It also helps with FEC efficiency and allows transport of other types of traffic.

Timing is key for ST 2110 which is why it natively uses Precision Timing Protocol, PTP which has been formalised for use in broadcast under ST 2059. Andy highlights the problem of reconciling timing at the far end but also the ‘missed opportunity’ that the timing will usually get regenerated therefore the time of media ingest is lost. This may change over the next year.

The creation of ST 2110-22 includes, for the first time, compressed media into ST 2110. Andy mentions that JPEG XS can be used – and is already being deployed. Control is the next topic with Andy focussing on the secure sharing of NMOS IS-04 & 05 between facilities covering registration, control and the security needed.

The talk ends with questions on FEC Latency, RIST and potential downsides of GRE trunking.

Watch now!
Speaker

Andy Rayner Andy Rayner
Chief Technologist,
Nevion

Video: SMPTE Technical Primers

Posted on by Russell Trafford-Jones

The Broadcast Knowledge exists to help individuals up-skill whatever your starting point. Videos like this are far too rare giving an introduction to a large number of topics. For those starting out or who need to revise a topic, this really hits the mark particularly as there are many new topics.

John Mailhot takes the lead on SMPTE 2110 explaining that it’s built on separate media (essence) flows. He covers how synchronisation is maintained and also gives an overview of the many parts of the SMPTE ST 2110 suite. He talks in more detail about the audio and metadata parts of the standard suite.

Eric Gsell discusses digital archiving and the considerations which come with deciding what formats to use. He explains colour space, the CIE model and the colour spaces we use such as 709, 2100 and P3 before turning to file formats. With the advent of HDR video and displays which can show bright video, Eric takes some time to explain why this could represent a problem for visual health as we don’t fully understand how the displays and the eye interact with this type of material. He finishes off by explaining the different ways of measuring the light output of displays and their standardisation.

Yvonne Thomas talks about the cloud starting by explaining the different between platform as a service (PaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and similar cloud terms. As cloud migrations are forecast to grow significantly, Yvonne looks at the drivers behind this and the benefits that it can bring when used in the right way. Using the cloud, Yvonne shows, can be an opportunity for improving workflows and adding more feedback and iterative refinement into your products and infrastructure.

Looking at video deployments in the cloud, Yvonne introduces video codecs AV1 and VVC both, in their own way, successors to HEVC/h.265 as well as the two transport protocols SRT and RIST which exist to reliably send video with low latency over lossy networks such as the internet. To learn more about these protocols, check out this popular talk on RIST by Merrick Ackermans and this SRT Overview.

Rounding off the primer is Linda Gedemer from Source Sound VR who introduces immersive audio, measuring sound output (SPL) from speakers and looking at the interesting problem of forward speakers in cinemas. The have long been behind the screen which has meant the screens have to be perforated to let the sound through which interferes with the sound itself. Now that cinema screens are changing to be solid screens, not completely dissimilar to large outdoor video displays, the speakers are having to move but now with them out of the line of sight, how can we keep the sound in the right place for the audience?

This video is a great summary of many of the key challenges in the industry and works well for beginners and those who just need to keep up.

Watch now!
Speakers

John Mailhot John Mailhot
Systems Architect for IP Convergence,
Imagine Communications
Eric Gsell Eric Gsell
Staff Engineer,
Dolby Laboratories
Linda Gedemer, PhD Linda Gedemer, PhD
Technical Director, VR Audio Evangelist
Source Sound VR
Yvonne Thomas Yvonne Thomas
Strategic Technologist
Digital TV Group