WHEAT:NEWS TV
JULY 2016 - Vol 3, No.7
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IP Terminology Explained
We recently saw an article on IP terminology by Gary Olson. Having all those terms in one place, and in alphabetical order, definitely comes in handy. But just as helpful to us are the comments at the end of the article by those who, for various reasons, added onto or had their own definition of the terms and acronyms used to describe IP in the broadcast environment. It is another reminder of just how universal, yet individual, the migration to IP is for broadcasters. Here, in alphabetical order, are those terms, organizations and standards as amended by Gary since his article appeared in TheBroadcastBridge. I’m sure you’ll let us know if we left anything out!
Let’s start with some popular standards.
- AES67 has been widely adopted by IP audio network manufacturers (including Wheatstone) for transporting audio over IP between networks. It uses IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) for synchronization.
- AES70 was ratified earlier this year as an open control standard for interoperability between IP audio networks. AES70 gives manufacturers a common set of commands to facilitate control between third-party devices and their networks. It specifies a library of specific control functions, such as on/off, level control, and so on.
- RFC4175 is the RTP payload format for uncompressed video.
- SMPTE 2022- 5,6,7 are three parts of the seven-part SMPTE 2022 standard that describe how to send digital video over IP networks. SMPTE 2022 is the accepted standard for video transport and it is used with different encapsulating schemas.
- SMPTE 2059 Parts 1 and 2 are the timing and synchronizing standards based on the IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP).
- SMPTE ST 302 is an audio standard that defines how to transport AES3 audio in an MPEG-2 TS stream.
Other popular terms, specifications and groups.
- VSF, or Video Services Forum, is a group that originated in the telco industry to look at video transport over telephone networks between RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Companies, the Baby Bells created from the breakup of Ma Bell).
- TR03 is the VSF’s recommendation for video over IP sans SDI encapsulation. It includes specifications for keeping audio, video and ancillary data as separate streams multiplexed with PTP. By sending separate streams, broadcasters are able to reduce the processing end points needed to perform before and after core functions.
- TR04 is the VSF’s recommendation for carrying SDI over IP and to be able to bundle it logically with additional synchronized AES67 uncompressed audio channels.
- AIMS, or the Alliance for IP Media Solutions, is a trade group that grew out of the VSF to promote their ideas and concept for a video over IP standard. This group is promoting TR03 and TR04.
- ASPEN, or Adaptive Sample Picture Encapsulation, is a term that originated with Evertz and its IP initiative and others who wanted compatibility with the Evertz product line. ASPEN is based on MPEG TS using SMPTE ST 302 (audio over TS), SMPTE ST 2038 (ancillary data over TS) and some of SMPTE 2022.
- NDI, Network Device Interface. NewTek suggested NDI for interoperability consideration, which has potential for adoption based on its large user base of products.
- NMI, Network Management Interface, is a Sony technology that includes both a protocol and hardware (chip) device. This is actually a compression technology to squeeze high bitrate video, like UHD, 4K and higher resolutions, into an IP pipe.
- FIMS, Framework for Interoperable Media Solutions, is an EBU initiative with much of the broadcast industry as members. Its core focus was on file based media transport over networks and creating an interoperable embedded protocol so end devices knew what to do with the file when it arrived. Currently, it is standing on the sidelines in the live IP format wars.
- AVB, Audio Video Bridging, is a set of IEEE standards for transporting realtime audio and video over Ethernet. It adds QoS features like time-synchronized low latency streaming services and bandwidth reservation to make it possible to carry audio and video signals on a standard Ethernet line. TSN, Time Sensitive Networking, is the evolution of AVB.
- TICO Alliance is focused on UHD and higher resolution imagery that need compression to fit in the pipe.
- JT-NM, or Joint Task Force on Networked Media, was created by the EBU, SMPTE and VSF to support the transition to IP.
- RTSP, the Real Time Streaming Protocol, is as its name implies and plays a large role in optimizing network performance to support live IP across the network.
- IETF, Internet Engineering Task Force, develops and promotes voluntary internet standards. Now that “professional” video and audio are transported over the same networks as internet traffic, Ethernet or IP, this task force is contributing recommendations, standards and protocols. Their mechanism for technical suggestions comes under RFC – Request For Comments. Sometimes the IETF adopts some of the RFC’s as internet standards.
Gary Olson is an IP technology consultant with GHO Group, LLC, in New York. He’s the author of the book,“Planning and Designing the IP Broadcast Facility.” His article “Understanding the Terminology Behind IP Standards” appeared in TheBroadcastBridge in May.
Where Do Broadcast Engineers Come From?
Broadcasters aren’t born. They’re made, and according to SBE President Jerry Massey, no one makes them better than the U.S. military. “We see every day the military is releasing very qualified individuals who have good training in both IT and RF,” he says.
The military has long been a resource for recruiting broadcast engineers because of the military’s specialized training in RF. Now, with renewed concerns about where the industry will get its next generation of broadcast engineers, SBE is once again pointing to the military as a source for qualified engineers knowledgeable in not only RF, but IP as well.
“RF isn’t going to go away anytime soon, but we all know that anything dealing with RF now has an Ethernet port on it, so the two combined presents {a challenge} to fill opportunities in broadcasting,” explains Massey. He says the SBE is planning to eventually introduce a military recruitment program to entice qualified military personnel to become members of the broadcast industry.
The SBE is known for its leadership in broadcast engineering education and certification.
SBE PRESIDENT JERRY MASSEY INTERVIEWED BY SCOTT FYBUSH
Your IP Question Answered
Q: How reliable is IP audio networking?
A: The question of reliability used to come up often 15 years ago when IP audio networking was relatively new. These days, not so much. Not only has IP technology become more reliable overall, but manufacturers have gotten good at designing their systems for the rigors of the broadcast environment. For example, our WheatNet-IP audio network distributes intelligence and resources throughout the network. This automatically builds in redundancy, so if one part of the network fails for any reason, the rest can keep on functioning. In addition, because each IP connection point – or I/O BLADE – stores the entire configuration of the network onboard, failover is immediate. Most broadcast studios today run some aspect of their critical operations using IP technology with very little incident.
Wheatstone
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iHeartMedia (San Antonio, TX) purchased two LX-24 and two SideBoard control surfaces, four IP-16 and two IP-12 digital audio consoles, eighteen TS-4 talent stations and a complete WheatNet-IP audio network with 30-plus I/O BLADEs, plus Screen Builder application and accessory items.
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WPLN-FM (Nashville, TN) added an I/O BLADE to expand an existing WheatNet-IP audio network.
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WSB Radio (Atlanta, GA) purchased seven LX-24 control surfaces.
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Reach Media (Dallas, TX) purchased seven LX-24 control surfaces for the Tom Joyner show.
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Electronica Infinita (Laredo, TX) purchased an L-12 control surface and WheatNet-IP audio network.
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Innovative Technologies (Washington, DC) purchased three E-6 control surfaces to update the Senate Republican recording facilities.
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CBC Radio (Regina, SK) purchased two more I/O BLADEs for an existing WheatNet-IP audio network.
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Corus (Vancouver, BC) purchased a desk housing unit for an existing WheatNet-IP audio network.
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OMT (Winnipeg, MB) purchased a WDM PC driver.
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KBHW-FM/KXBR-FM (International Falls, MN) purchased two IP-12 digital audio consoles plus BLADEs and NAVIGATOR software.
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Rogers Broadcast (Kitchener, ON) purchased a SideBoard control surface and GP-8 for an existing WheatNet-IP audio network through Ron Paley Broadcast.
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Blackburn Radio (Wingham, ON) purchased an I/O BLADE for an existing WheatNet-IP audio network through Ron Paley Broadcast.
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University of Wisconsin’s WRST-FM (Oshkosh, WI) purchased four IP-12 control surfaces and a WheatNet-IP audio network with BLADEs.
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Cox Radio (Tulsa, OK) purchased 14 LX-24 control surfaces and BLADES.
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Grant Broadcasting (Cairns, Australia) purchased three L-12 control surfaces and BLADES.
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KSE Radio (Denver, CO) purchased an LX-24 control surfaces and BLADES.
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Saga (Spencer,IA) purchased two IP-12 control surfaces.
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Townsquare (Yakima, WA) purchased an IP-12 control surface.
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Cox (Tampa, FL) purchased two IP-12 control surfaces.
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Townsquare (Tuscaloosa, AL) purchased an IP-16 control surface.
Audioarts Engineering
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KALX-FM (Berkeley, CA) purchased a D-76 audio console.
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WGOH Radio (Grayson, KY) purchased an Air-4 console.
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WDOG (Allendale, SC) purchased an Air-4 console.
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KNDN Basin Broadcasting (Farmington, NM) purchased an Air-4 console.
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WCCX 104.5 - CARROLL UNIVERSITY RADIO (Waukesha, WI) purchased an Air-5 console.
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KTTR Radio (Rolla, MO) purchased an R-55e console.
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Saga (Champain, IL) purchased a D-76 console.
Wheatstone Audio Processing
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KBHW-FM/KXBR-FM (International Falls, MN) purchased an FM-55 audio processor.
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University of Wisconsin’s WRST-FM (Oshkosh, WI) purchased an M4IP-USB four channel mic processor, three M-2 dual channel mic processors, and an Aura8-IP audio processor.
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KHOC FM (Casper, WY) purchased an FM-55 audio processor.
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Fox News HQ (New York, NY) purchased 14 M-1 mic processors.
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TownSquare (Abilene, TX) purchased an FM-55 audio processor.
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Entercom (Portland, OR) purchased an AM-55 audio processor.
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Westwood One (New York, NY) purchased 16 M-2 dual channel mic processors.
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Beasley (Fort Myers, FL) purchased two AirAura audio processors and a VP-8 audio processor.
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CBS (Las Vegas, NV) purchased an M-2 dual channel mic processor.
VoxPro
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RVA (Toronto, ON) purchased two VoxPro digital audio recorder/editors.
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Alpha Media (Shreveport, LA) purchased five VoxPro digital audio recorders/editors through BSW.
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KLTA/KQWB- GO Radio, L.L.C. (Fargo, ND) purchased a VoxPro6 digital audio recorder/editor.
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KALC (Denver, CO) purchased a VoxPro6 digital audio recorder/editor.
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Crawford Broadcast (Chicago, IL) purchased 4 VoxPro6 digital audio recorder/editors.
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Momentum Broadcasting KCRZ KJUG (Caruthersville, MO) purchased a VoxPro6 digital audio recorder/editor.
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TownSquare (Buffalo, NY) purchased three VoxPro6 digital audio recorder/editors.
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Stephens Media Group (Tulsa, OK) purchased a VoxPro6 digital audio recorder/editor.
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Medcom (Panama) purchased four VoxPro6 digital audio recorder/editors.
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Ft Myers Broadcasting (Fort Myers, FL) purchased a VoxPro6 digital audio recorder/editor.
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TownSquare (Poughkeepsie, NY) purchased a VoxPro6 digital audio recorder/editor.