The Road To Interoperability

The interoperability of Riedel's products and their ease of integration with other essential broadcast and production systems always have been top priorities for the company.

Riedel's own signal distribution and communications solutions employ a networked approach to signal management, and the tight integration between of all the company's products ensures smooth installation, operation, and management. As a result, broadcasters and AV professionals around the world can deploy systems from Riedel's MediorNet real-time media network family of products knowing that the full complement of networked equipment will work seamlessly as a unit.

To facilitate the integration and interoperation of Riedel gear with other best-of-breed systems, the company has equipped its products with robust connectivity options. Riedel also has maintained a strong and consistent focus on the industry standards that enable interoperability. In fact, the company is a member of all major standards organizations and an active participation in the standards work ongoing within each organization.

Riedel is a member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), which promotes interoperability through standards development; the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), which is responsible for Networked Media Open Specifications (NMOS); the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE); the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Network Media Alliance (NMA), the AVnu Alliance (AVnu) and the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS).

The company is committed to supporting ratified standards and to establishing compatibility, typically through interops testing and plugfests, with many of those standards. At the same time, Riedel works within technical associations and standards bodies to help educate industry professionals about the role that specific standards — those still under development and those already published — can play in supporting their desired workflow, operations, and business.

While Riedel invests in standards development and promotion, the company's goal is not to dictate the standards used by its clients, but rather to empower its clients to adopt the signal distribution and communications infrastructures that best fit their requirements. The company was quick to embrace Audio Video Bridging (AVB) for its Artist digital matrix intercom system when those technical standards were introduced by the IEEE, and the company subsequently introduced an AES67 client card that allows Artist users to take advantage of AES67 audio networks. Consequently, Riedel clients today can work with whichever connectivity they prefer: AES67, RAVENNA, AVB or Dante. Installed into the Artist mainframe and then configured through Riedel's Director software, the interface also facilitates AES67 connectivity between the Artist and Riedel's SmartPanel multifunction user interface, as well as third-party devices.

Looking ahead to future standards and product development, Riedel is continuing its focus on the use of IP infrastructure to transport media data within local facilities, via routers and between larger networks. Moreover the stream exchange with devices of other vendors and proven interoperability is still an important topic, since many new network enabled devices become available. Since interoperability on the transport layer is only half of the picture, Riedel also has been exploring NMOS and its potential with respect to supporting device discovery and registration. NMOS could enable users of future systems to keep and enhance existing workflows.

One goal of all this work toward interoperability is to simplify the job of integrators as the industry and its technologies shift ever further into the realm of IP-based networks. As the amount and complexity of IP employed in broadcast and production workflows continue to increase, the integrators that have long served broadcasters and professional A/V companies are being driven to expand their knowledge and extend their competencies. As a leading supplier of forward-looking signal distribution and communications solutions, Riedel is in a position to help simplify the use of IP-based networks and to support integrators in enabling their customers to work successfully with a networking layer they may not have control over.

By contributing to ongoing standards work through key industry bodies and by building support for critical audio and video standards into its own product lines, Riedel Communications is helping both integrators and end users to find a smart, sustainable path toward future success.

MediorNet offers valuable functionality for many facilities today, as well as a smooth path into working with IP interfaces. The IP research team is committed to ensuring maximum interoperability with products from industry partners.

www.riedel.net

This article is also available to read at BFV online as part of this issue's Audio feature here, page 35.

(JP/LM)