Asia-Pacific Broadcasting (APB) September 2017 Volume 34, Issue 7 | Page 6

❝ IP-based production has become a widely adopted industry goal in the past 12 months and European broadcasters have added several new projects to the growing list of IP-based facilities to be built .❞
APB PANELLISTS
6 NEWS & VIEWS
September 2017

Moving to IP production : The JT-NM roadmap

by willem vermost
The use of IP-based networks has long ago infiltrated the broadcast environment . As more bandwith became available , more broadcast services were moved to this common technology .
What once was a technology to move files around , or to control the state of equipment , has moved step-by-step into the very core of the production process . The last piece of the workflow puzzle ( live production ) still uses a specialised niche technology known as SDI . What slowly started as a rebellious slogan during IBC2013 , “ SDI must die !”, is becoming reality . IP-based production has become a widely adopted industry goal in the past 12 months and European broadcasters have added several new projects to the growing list of IP-based facilities to be built . There is even a completely up-and-running facility as we speak , using a full IP backbone .
The momentum to deliver with IP is huge . How can we be reassured that all the flexibility that is made possible with IP networks will converge into real , working , interoperable systems using open standards ?
The JT-NM roadmap update
The JT-NM Roadmap of Networked Media Open Interoperability shows which standards and specifications enable the JT-NM Reference Architecture , how the range of underlying technologies is expected to evolve , and when it is expected that an interoperable multi-vendor system can be built around standards and specifications . The roadmap is updated bi-annually to reflect the currently known present state and to adapt the forwardlooking assumptions with the latest industry insights .
The update prior to IBC2017 will bring some clarification to layer IV ( dematerialised facilities ). The Oxford
Following up on IBC2016 ’ s IP Interoperability Zone , IBC2017 is featuring the IP Showcase , where more than 50 vendors will work together to demonstrate real-world IP interoperability based on the SMPTE ST 2110 standard suite and AMWA NMOS specifications .

❝ IP-based production has become a widely adopted industry goal in the past 12 months and European broadcasters have added several new projects to the growing list of IP-based facilities to be built .❞

Dictionary defines this intriguing verb , ‘ dematerialize ’, as : “ become free of physical substance ”. If we think about it , this is nothing new . A recent article I saw put it this way : “ It is not about what is coming , it is about what is fading away ”.
To give a tangible example , sending a letter from A to B is demonstrably dematerialised . When was the last time you had to ink paper in the form of a letter , fold it into an envelope and go to a post box or office ? Nowadays , email has replaced most paper-based communication .
Another example of dematerialisation is the way we deal with money ; now , it is merely about some numbers on an account and a small piece of plastic called a credit card .
What has happened to other industries will happen to our industry as well . Increasingly , physical and dedicated boxes with knobs and tons of interconnecting cables will disappear and run as a piece of software on a server or even somewhere on a public cloud .
Public media services want to benefit from rapid deployment , the economies of scale and the instant scalability to accommodate peak moments as and when they arrive , for example , in the case of big events . Cloud technology is all about optimally sharing resources and being able to accommodate peak moments .
I think we can all agree on the fact that there is a big gap between what can be controlled on a physical server in your own data centre , a local cloud , Infrastructure as a Service ( IaaS ), Platform as a Service ( PaaS ) or even Software as a Service ( SaaS ).
The further the solutions are pushed towards service providers , the less industry-specific the solution can be . The challenge is to use common or non-mediaspecific technologies in combination with the capabilities provided by most of the current cloud providers .
The JT-NM will have a hard task to define what exactly dematerialisation implies in our industry . It probably will not be a simple black or white answer ; it is much more likely to be a greyscale !
We are looking forward to the update , as this roadmap has proven to be effective in guiding and driving our industry towards the current reality of IPbased production and beyond . The new version will be shown during IBC2017 at the IP showcase .
The IP Showcase
IBC is building on last year ’ s highly appreciated IP Interoperability Zone with a new ‘ IP Showcase ’ for the 2017 show , set to take place from September 14-19 at the RAI Amsterdam .
More than 50 vendors will work together to demonstrate real-world IP interoperability based on the “ to be ” SMPTE ST 2110 standard suite and AMWA NMOS specifications — a single set of common IP inter-op standards and specifications that are enabling the flexibility and efficiency of IP in real-time media . With more companies demonstrating their IP-based products , and great progress having been made in formalising and universally adopting the SMPTE ST 2110 suite , the IP Showcase is set to be a major destination for visitors to IBC2017 .
The integrated IP Showcase theatre , curated by IABM , will be running a nonstop series of presentations covering the full range of knowledge for real-time live IP production . This demonstration is brought to you by : AES , AIMS , AMWA ,
EBU , IABM , MNA , SMPTE and VSF . Visitors will be able to learn a great deal about the current state of implementations , real existing deployments of live IP production facilities and talk to the experts . What is really exciting to know is the fact that a demonstration like this is well prepared up front . All manufacturers are working together to get their latest products and demonstrations up and running . If you are about to make an investment in your broadcast facility , the IP showcase is a must see at IBC2017 .
The JN-NM Roadmap of Networked Media Open Interoperability has proven to be effective in guiding and driving our industry towards the current reality of IP-based production and beyond , says the European Broadcasting Union .
Willem Vermost is Network IP Media Technology Architect at European Broadcasting Union ( EBU ).
Christopher Slaughter
CEO CASBAA

APB PANELLISTS

Graham Stephens CTO Media City Development , Malaysia
Goh Kim Soon Senior Vice-President Broadcast Engineering Mediacorp
Shad Hashmi
Vice-President , Digital Development , Global Markets & Operations , BBC Worldwide Asia