IP Showcase To Return To NAB

The IP Showcase is returning to the 2019 NAB Show for the third year.

It will provide:
• Educational opportunities for learning about implementation of standards-based IP infrastructures for real-time professional media applications.
• Demonstrations of the latest technical achievements and a clear view of advances on the horizon.
• Highlights of market deployments from facilities around the world.

The IP Showcase has become a must-see exhibit for anyone deploying IP technology for real-time broadcast. Once again it is sponsored by major technical and standards organizations within the broadcast industry — Audio Engineering Society (AES), Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers® (SMPTE®), and Video Services Forum (VSF).

"Faced with the inevitability of a transition to IP-based operations in broadcast, the industry almost unanimously chose a standards-based approach, uniting behind SMPTE ST 2110/ST 2059, AES67, and AMWA IS-04/05," said Brad Gilmer, executive director of the IP Showcase. "Now, three years later, we are seeing expansion beyond the early adopters, and as the industry as a whole begins to make the IP transition, the organizations involved in the IP Showcase are laying the groundwork to make installation, maintenance, and security straightforward and much simpler. We're raising the bar for what people should expect when implementing IP-based operations."

New for the 2019 NAB Show is the IP Showcase Future Zone, where visitors will be able to see demonstrations of Part 1 of the new Joint Task Force on Networked Media (JT-NM) Tech Stack (JT-NM TR-1001-1). SMPTE ST 2110 has successfully defined the transport layer of IP systems, and now JT-NM Tech Stack simplifies and streamlines installations of IP systems. Also in the Future Zone, visitors will see demonstrations of a set of technologies that are being considered for inclusion in the JT-NM Tech Stack Part 2 to address event and tally (AMWA IS-07), audio channel mapping (AMWA IS-08), as well as grouping (AMWA BCP-002) and API security: communications (AMWA BCP-003). Together with Tech Stack Part 1, the Tech Stack Part 2 candidates comprise a suite of open specifications that simplify the construction, maintenance, and operational functionality of true multivendor SMPTE ST 2110 systems.

Also new to the IP Showcase this year is the JT-NM Tested program. Sponsored by the JT-NM and administered by the EBU and IRT — two top European technical bodies — the JT-NM Tested program offers prospective purchasers of IP-based equipment more and better documented insight into how vendor equipment aligns to the SMPTE ST 2110 and SMPTE ST 2059 standards. Vendors who submit equipment for evaluation will have the opportunity to list that equipment in a JT-NM Tested catalog, which will be publicly available at the IP Showcase booth at NAB and online. This catalog will provide transparency, describing the test criteria and testing methodology as well as the hardware and software versions of the products that were tested. While JT-NM Tested is not a certification program, it will provide a snapshot in time of how vendor equipment aligns to key parts of SMPTE standards, providing prospective purchasers and users with a reference as they begin their equipment evaluation and qualification process.

The IP Showcase Theater returns as the destination for education, a vital element as the industry progresses through the phases of IP adoption. Vendors, broadcasters, service providers, and integrators alike will highlight their solutions to the challenges related to the transition from SDI to IP. With a full slate of presentations on IP technology and installations to choose from, professionals ranging from broadcast/IT engineers and CEOs to TV producers can learn how to unlock the full potential of using IP for real-time professional media.

The IP Showcase will also highlight representative installations, providing a one-stop exhibit for those interested in learning why so many broadcasters are turning to IP technology and how they are using it. The IP installations to date have demonstrated clear benefits, such as the ability to scale easily, format flexibility, and resource sharing, and with that success, the number of installations continues to grow at a significant rate.

www.ipshowcase.org