Despite the many challenges of the past year, AIMS has found ways to continue on its it mission to promote an open-standards approach that moves broadcast and media companies quickly and profitably from legacy systems to a virtualized, IP-based environment.

We’ve shifted our informational, educational, and networking events to the online realm, and professionals across the broadcast and Pro AV industries have been joining us there to discuss the latest topics in media and IP.

Our first live, interactive event of 2021 took place in March, and we drew a solid crowd. The first in a series of events slated for this year, AIMS TechFest 2021 provided eight hours of programming over two days. On day one, Pro AV experts offered their perspectives and experience working with AV over IP. On day two, renowned audio experts shared their insights on underlying technologies and current standardization activities, as well as their experiences on real projects and advice on how to avoid common pitfalls when transporting AES67 over wide area networks.

If you weren’t able to make this TechFest event or you’d like to rewatch the presentations, you can find video of TechFest case studies and technical presentations at https://aimsalliance.org/techfest-2021-presents-ipmx-and-remote-audio-production-videos/.

You’ll also find coverage of TechFest 2021 in some of your favorite trade magazines. In an SVG Europe article, David Davies offers a wonderful overview of the second day’s sessions on audio. Sound & Communications interviewed David Chiappini, chair of the AIMS Pro AV Working Group and co-chair of AIMS TechFest 2021, about IP and Pro AV.

Building on the success of the first TechFest, we are scheduling other events for later in the year. The next two live, interactive events are slated for May and June, with specific topics to be announced in coming weeks.

In the meantime, you can stay up to date on AIMS progress and perspectives by reading the latest from AIMS members, who have written or contributed to various articles on IP in both broadcast and Pro AV. Adrian Pennington included AIMS mentions in two such articles for AV Magazine and IBC365. A new Sound & Video Contractor e-bookfeatures an article by AIMS Board Member Andrew Starks addressing Pro AV product managers. The April issue of Broadcast Pro Middle East includes a ProGuest contribution by Andreas Hildebrand, who discusses AoIP standards in broadcast.

Stay tuned for more news from AIMS! We’ll be sharing details of the next live, interactive event in coming days and weeks.