Flemish Belgian public broadcaster VRT has carried out the first open-standards all IP-based live broadcast, according to The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS). The broadcast, a performance at the Bozar concert hall in Brussels, Belgium, took place in January of 2016.
While this is the second reported live IP-based production, this is the first produced using a workflow based entirely on open standards, specifically [SMPTE] 2022-6, AES67, PTP, and OpenFlow, which is critical to the mission of AIMS.
AIMS is a non-profit trade alliance that promotes the open standards that broadcast and media companies use to move from legacy SDI systems to a virtualized, IP-based future—quickly and profitably. By moving to IP, as opposed to SDI, in television production, the product is supported by a wider range of off-the-shelf hardware. It also means production form a virtual site as opposed to the cost of sending personnel and equipment to onsite locations.
This specific live broadcast was produced remotely without the use of an outside broadcasting (OB) vehicle. Instead, VRT used signals from “four IP cameras, 10 microphones via an IP stagebox, intercom, cam control, tally, Internet and more, were transmitted via the 10 kilometer cable at 25 Gbps.”
The concert was also done under guidance of the LiveIP Project, a multi-vendor system integration to showcase IP-based live TV broadcast production, and a collaborative project between the European Broadcast Union and VRT.
AIMS said that it “endorses the work of LiveIP as a primary example of the growing momentum in the broadcast and media content industries towards the adoption, standardization, development and refinement of open protocols in the transition to a fully IP-based workflow, as described in the AIMS Roadmap, with support for SMPTE 2022-6, AES67 and VSF recommendations TR-03 and TR-04.”
By moving in the direction of IP-based solutions, broadcasters will have the opportunity to explore new business models, maintain best-of-breed networks and add new capabilities, allowing a vendor-neutral, open standards approach. This will also allow for a cut in time and money to adopt new technology, moving content with minimal risk of exposure and align business models to consumer behavior.
All of which align with the OpenStand Principles and we are pleased to see progress on this front.
We hope you’ll consider becoming an advocate for the OpenStand Principles in technology and standards development!