❝ Following the lead of the networking industry , the broadcast industry is beginning to take advantage of IT by virtualising operations and shifting to software-defined networking
( SDN ) and media processing .❞
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6 NEWS & VIEWS
January-February 2018
Making our way into the all-IP era
by matthew goldman
We are on the verge of a revolution in how professional media facilities handle audio , video and ancillary data . While this shift — from serial digital interface ( SDI ) to Internet protocol ( IP ) — is just as monumental and as significant as the industry ’ s transition from tape to file-based operations , it can be seamless if engineers plan out the transition carefully .
The end of the SDI era
For the past several decades , the professional media industry has used different variants of SDI to move around highquality real-time video . SDI ( defined by nearly two dozen SMPTE standards ) has served us very well — meeting the industry ’ s “ 24 / 7 / 365 ” requirements for high image quality , high aural quality , “ always on ” real time and high availability — and continues to do so as an immensely useful solution . However , industry-specific interfaces , protocols and infrastructure limit effectiveness in addressing the challenges of modern media production and distribution , including scalability and complexity concerns .
Since the development of SDI those many years ago , we have entered the information technology ( IT ) age . Because computers are ubiquitous and hundreds of billions of devices are in use worldwide , it has become possible to realise significant economies of scale in working with IT technology . By moving away from the industry-specific interfaces , protocols , and infrastructure of SDI and towards IP , and leveraging off the more scalable and cost-effective interfaces , protocols and infrastructure of IT , professional media facilities have the freedom and agility to rapidly deploy new solutions and quickly realise new capabilities that can simplify operations , reduce costs and improve their competitive potential .
When engineers understand the new standards that support the migration to all-IP operations , producers and on-air talent will not even know something has changed . They will , however , experience its impact in countless ways .
The impact of going all-IP
Following the lead of the networking industry , the broadcast industry is beginning to take advantage of IT : By virtualising operations and shifting to software-defined networking ( SDN ) and media processing , with the data and control plane functions separate from one another ; by leveraging more economical commercial off-the-shelf ( COTS ) hardware , including servers and switches ; and by abstracting video processing capabilities as software from the underlying hardware .
In addition to accelerating development and updating of software solutions to address evolving market needs more quickly and more cost-effectively , the industry ’ s embrace of IT also enables the transport of professional media over managed IP networks .
Top six reasons for moving to all-IP
1 . To enhance the flexibility and agility of the video plant , with “ video ” meaning professional media , including video , audio and ancillary data . 2 . To enable compatibility with network interfaces on COTS Ethernet switches and COTS servers . 3 . To achieve the flexible association of streams into desired groups of media . 4 . To establish network-based registration and discovery of devices , streams and media capabilities . 5 . To realise much greater density than was possible with SDI , over an inherently bidirectional connection . 6 . To create a standard suite that is agnostic to the specific video and audio formats that are being carried on it , and which uses the same carriage mechanism regardless of resolution , bit depth , frame rate , number of channels , and so on .
In short , all-IP allows media professionals to do more , and to do it with greater flexibility and speed — and at a lower cost — than ever before . With an understanding of the latest SMPTE standards , facilities can execute their transition and realise these benefits with surprising ease .
The path towards all-IP
Building on advances made earlier by the networking industry , the professional media industry is now writing its own specific software-defined media processing software to ride on COTS servers and switches . In taking this step , we will be enabling the software-oriented virtualised video production plants of the future .
The first phase of achieving this goal is to facilitate the carriage of video , audio and ancillary data essence in a manner consistent with the six aforementioned reasons for embracing IP . We have taken this vital step by creating the SMPTE ST 2110 suite of standards , titled Professional Media Over Managed IP Networks .
The new standards suite describes the carriage of video , audio and ancillary data — all co-timed and related to each other so that everything can stay in sync — while maintaining the flexibility to run on generic IT infrastructure .
Underlying these capabilities is a common time-based system that is precise enough to handle real-time video , and capable of working seamlessly with generic switches . IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol ( PTP ) serves as a common , very precise time base that can be carried point-to-point on IP over Ethernet networks through switches and servers .
By creating a profile for the use of PTP in professional media environments and establishing time-aligned signal generation , another SMPTE standards suite — SMPTE ST 2059 — defines the interoperable use of IP-based media equipment and also permits inter operation with conventional genlocked SDI equipment .
❝ Following the lead of the networking industry , the broadcast industry is beginning to take advantage of IT by virtualising operations and shifting to software-defined networking
( SDN ) and media processing .❞
While the combination of SMPTE ST 2059 and ST 2110 lays the foundation for the broadcast migration to all-IP , we already have SDI over IP now , thanks to SMPTE ST 2022-6 . Together , all of these standards provide broadcasters with the flexibility to migrate incrementally to IP , using legacy SDI gear along with newer IP-capable systems and equipment , or to make a wholesale shift to all-IP .
We are now beginning to see implementation solutions for doing just that — going all-IP all at once . The viability of this approach has become evident through a series of interoperability demon strations for professional media over IP . SMPTE is one of eight sponsors of what is known as the IP Showcase , a multi-vendor interoperability demonstration that first took place at IBC 2016 and has continued at key trade shows , including the SMPTE 2017 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition , with standingroom-only crowds for presentations related to the IP migration .
Louis Boswell CEO CASBAA
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Graham Stephens CTO Media City Development , Malaysia
These standards provide the professional media industry with a toolset for embracing IP . Media technology suppliers can deliver the solutions that facilitate IP operations , and broadcasters and other content creators can deploy IPbased solutions that give them greater agility in providing the timely , engaging and unique content that today ’ s consumers demand .
Like any major industry-wide advance , the migration to all-IP has called for extensive work in standards development and testing , with input from a wide array of stakeholders . Now , however , a great deal of that work has culminated in standards — and the SMPTE ST 2110 suite , in particular — that pave the way for professional media companies to make a painless , even seamless , shift to the fantastic new world of all-IP .
Matthew Goldman is president of SMPTE , and senior vice-president of technology , TV and Media , Ericsson .
Goh Kim Soon Senior Vice-President Broadcast Engineering Mediacorp
Shad Hashmi
Vice-President , Digital Development , Global Markets & Operations , BBC Worldwide Asia