When it comes to cables in consumer electronics, there is a high premium placed on making sure technology “just works.” We’re familiar with this concept from USB but consider your lowly power cable.
One reason broadcasters love AES67 is because it’s an open standard that enables low-latency, synchronized, uncompressed audio delivery over Ethernet/IP. A key challenge with AES67, however, is that it was written for local area networks (LANs), while broadcasters today increasingly need to deliver and receive audio over wide area networks (WANs).
Building on a remarkably successful 2021, despite the many challenges associated with the pandemic, AIMS moved into 2022 with a great deal of momentum.
In a sign of member satisfaction with AIMS leadership, the full AIMS Board of Directors was re-elected for another term. Their good work continues, but without the leadership of Michael Cronk, who took on a new professional role that disqualifies him from serving. Steve Reynolds (Imagine Communications) has adroitly stepped into the role as board chair, working alongside AIMS Vice Chair Terry Holton (Yamaha), Chief Financial Officer Andreas Hilmer (Lawo), and board members Andrew Starks (Macnica) and Chuck Meyer (Grass Valley).
“I know I speak on behalf of the whole AIMS community when I say we will miss Mike enormously,” says Reynolds. “He has been instrumental in the formation and success of AIMS, and his commitment of time and energy over the past six years has made the AIMS mission of IP adoption a reality. Under his leadership, AIMS created programs such as the IP Showcase — and these programs continue today as a leading source of industry education and advancement. While I am certain that Mike will miss his work and colleagues within AIMS, I’m also confident that we’ll continue the good work in his stead.”
Following its launch late in 2021, the new AIMS Education Working Group is moving full steam ahead in working to expand the pool of industry professionals prepared to design, build, and operate standards-based IP media technology and solutions.
Although SMPTE ST 2110 is mature, stable, and working as a media-over-IP standard for broadcast, the industry needs more engineers who can do the design work, professionals who can do the implementation work, and operators who have the right skillset and expertise to work with these new IP-based systems. The new Education Working Group will work with other industry organizations to connect media professionals with better training, broad-based educational programs, and possibly even testing and certification they can use to validate their proficiency for prospective employers.
AIMS joined other organizations in another vital effort: the shift to more inclusive language in standards and engineering documents. The alliance formally announced its support for this shift and its embrace of efforts by standards bodies and other organizations to ensure that the language used to craft such documents is free from stereotypes, subtle discrimination, and demeaning or exclusionary expressions.
“We stand behind the work that SMPTE, the IEEE, and other leaders are doing to ensure that the standards and recommendations guiding our industry are built on inclusive language,” says AIMS Chief Financial Officer Andreas Hilmer. “Words have power, and it makes a difference when we employ more conscious, respectful use of language across not just standards documents, but communications of any kind. It’s a small but nevertheless significant step in the right direction.”
Adoption of AIMS’ proposed AV-over-IP standards and specifications, collectively known as IPMX (IP Media Experience), is also moving in a promising direction. IPMX was featured on the Macnica booth at InfoComm, and Phil Hippensteel penned this article in Sound & Video Contractor magazine about IPMX and his experience at the show.
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced that Alun Fryer of Ross Video will serve as chair of the new AIMS Education Working Group (EWG) and AIMS board member Andrew Starks of Macnica will serve as the chair of the AIMS Marketing Working Group (MWG). Reena Mathews-Rutherford of Imagine Communications will continue in her role as MWG deputy chair.
“Alun has been one of the key contributors in the formation of the EWG, which is already building considerable momentum, and we’re pleased to welcome him as the group’s inaugural chair,” said AIMS Chairman of the Board Steve Reynolds. “AIMS board member Andrew Starks has also taken on new responsibilities in the MWG leadership position, offering an energetic agenda that will certainly help drive a lot of interest at the 2022 NAB Show and beyond. This should be an exciting year for AIMS, and I’m confident that Alun and Andrew will help the alliance continue its remarkable progress in fostering adoption of media over IP.”
Fryer is technical marketing lead for HyperConverged Solutions at Ross Video, where he provides leadership across product roadmaps, customer insights, industry, and technology trends. In addition to providing internal guidance at Ross, Fryer also contributes his time and expertise to broadcast media industry organizations and initiatives. As the new EWG chair, he will oversee work to define what is needed to improve training and expand educational opportunities. The AIMS group also will collaborate with other industry organizations to develop programs and certifications to rapidly expand the base of qualified engineers and operators to meet the growing demand for IP expertise.
“As the IP technology stack has come of age, education and training of industry professionals is crucial to drive successful deployment,” said Fryer. “I’m excited to be part of the AIMS initiative to remove barriers and enable professional development of IP media networking expertise.”
Starks serves as the director of product management for Macnica, where he leads the company’s standards efforts. In addition to being an AIMS board member, he has been a significant contributor to the IPMX initiative, including the development of the IPMX roadmap and its marketing plan. As chair of the Marketing Working Group, Starks will continue AIMS’ efforts to make the broadcast and Pro AV communities aware of the resources and events being made available by the alliance and its membership.
“I’m honored and excited to take on this new role,” said Starks. “My goal is to continue the great work of past MWG chairs and to explore new ways to bring standards-based IP technology to more industries.”
As IP systems are now moving into a widespread market adoption phase – we’re deploying SMPTE ST 2110 and soon IPMX into more and more facilities where the engineering teams are spread thin and covering a lot of ground – the next step for the technology is accessibility and systemisation.
If you’re in AV, IPMX is an acronym you need to know. Short for Internet Protocol Media Experience, IPMX is a fast-emerging set of open standards and specifications for AV-over-IP. Although it shares many of the advantages offered by NewTek’s NDI (Network Device Interface), IPMX is different because it is an open standard.
The Alliance will work with industry partners to address a skills and expertise gap.
As Pro AV productions get more complex, the industry has longed for a set of common, ubiquitous, standards-based protocols for interoperability on a managed video-over-IP network. In 2017, as the first set of SMPTE ST 2110 standards were published, AV professionals saw the framework of their dream become reality.
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced that all members of the AIMS Board of Directors were re-elected earlier this month to serve once again in 2022.
Shortly after the election, Michael Cronk announced that he will step down from the AIMS Board and as chairman of the board due to a change in his employment that disqualifies him from serving. Steve Reynolds of Imagine Communications, who previously served as vice chair, takes over as chair, and Terry Holton of Yamaha will serve as AIMS’ new vice chair. Chuck Meyer of Grass Valley will join as a new board member replacing Cronk’s open position.
AIMS Board of Directors members for 2022 thus include AIMS Chairman of the Board Steve Reynolds, Vice Chair Terry Holton (Yamaha), Chief Financial Officer Andreas Hilmer (Lawo), Andrew Starks (Macnica), and Chuck Meyer (Grass Valley). Their terms start immediately, as does their ongoing work toward fostering a standards-based approach to IP in professional media.
“Michael Cronk has been instrumental in the formation and success of AIMS,” said Reynolds. “His commitment of time and energy during the past six years has made the AIMS mission of IP adoption a reality. Under his leadership, programs such as the IP Showcase were created and are still seen today as the source of industry education and advancement. And his efforts on behalf of AIMS have been recognized around the world. He will be missed!”
“Working alongside our partners including SMPTE, AMWA, VSF, and EBU, and with organizations such as the IABM, AIMS has served as a catalyst to galvanize the industry toward both standards like SMPTE ST 2110 and also open specifications such as AMWA IS-04, AMWA IS-05, and JT-NM TR 1001-1,” said Cronk. “We’ve made a difference, and it’s been a privilege to serve with so many talented individuals across the industry in pursuit of the AIMS mission. While I will miss being part of this important work, I’m confident that AIMS will continue to make important progress in the months and years ahead. Chuck will be immensely valuable in guiding this ongoing work, and AIMS is fortunate to be welcoming him as a new board member.”
Chuck Meyer, the newest member to the AIMS board of directors, is a Technology Fellow at Grass Valley. A rich career developing advanced products offering visionary performance for the worldwide consumer, semiconductor, and media markets. The most recent efforts have been focused on developing a cloud technology platform offering real-time performance yet incorporating, and accommodating, the statistical nature of cloud computing and transport.
Samuel Recine recently stepped into the role of Pro AV Working Group chair at AIMS, a position previously held by David Chiappini, who was a colleague of Recine’s at Matrox. Recine joined Matrox in 1997 amid the rise of PC-based standards and surging PC sales. Recine has held commercial and product management roles at Matrox and is currently focused on contributing to the growth of performance media over IP markets.
In the past month, AIMS has found a variety of ways to continue spreading information and sharing resources related to the industry’s migration to IP. Perhaps the most notable of these efforts was the second AIMS IP Oktoberfest 2021, a virtual event held from Sept. 28-30.
IP Oktoberfest 2021 accomplished many things at once, effectively using a dynamic virtual platform to provide convenient access to expert perspectives on adoption of IP-based media workflows. Offering in-depth presentations and discussions on topics including IPMX, Audio/NMOS, PTP, and media networking, IP Oktoberfest 2021 drew impressive participation by broadcast and Pro AV professionals. In addition to providing an update on progress towards an all-IP ecosystem for media production, presenters delivered valuable practical information designed to support participants’ planning and implementation of an IP transition within their own organizations.
“We are thrilled with this year’s event and proud of the exceptional program and presentations delivered by a truly impressive array of industry experts,” said Mike Cronk, AIMS chairman of the board. “This virtual gathering has quickly evolved into a vital part of AIMS’ educational work and our mission of supporting the broadcast and Pro AV industries in their migration to IP.”
To make these resources even more broadly available, AIMS has posted video from IP Oktoberfest 2021 sessions on the AIMS website. Video presentations from the virtual event are now available for on-demand viewing here.
Read more about the recent IP Oktoberfest event in Broadcast Bridge, Connected, and Sports Video Group:
- thebroadcastbridge.com/content/entry/17612/ip-oktoberfest-2021-reports-on-the-latest-in-ip-networking
- com.au/aims-issues-new-ipmx-standards-resource-guide-ahead-of-ip-oktoberfest-2021/
- sportsvideo.org/2021/10/07/annual-aims-ip-oktoberfest-focuses-on-avoip/
AIMS was also at InfoComm to share information about IPMX with the broader Pro AV community. Visitors to the Macnica booth at InfoComm found an IPMX resource area with all the latest details about the emerging AV-over-IP open standard for Pro AV. The Macnica team shared AIMS information on IPMX and how it is adapted specifically for Pro AV needs, building on an established broadcast standard with the addition of HDCP copy protection, network discovery and registration, and I/O management.