Press Release

No let-up in pace for JT-NM as it Releases a Significant Report on Live Production

19 March, 2015 — The Video Services Forum (VSF), the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), today approved the publication of the Minimum Viable System Requirements report. This report details the minimum requirements for a live multi-camera studio production system, using packetized network technology.

The report may be downloaded at http://www.videoservicesforum.org/jt-nm/index.shtml

Report details operational scenario –
The operational scenario addressed in the Minimum Viable System (MVS) report is the transport of live media within the broadcast plant to support a multi-camera, live studio production; specifically a live, multi-camera sports halftime show. Thomas Edwards of Fox Network Operations and Engineering said, “We chose the live sports scenario because we believe it will be one of the most challenging areas for professional Video over IP”. "If we get this right, we believe other scenarios will also be achievable."

The report, which is freely available to the public, represents a concentrated effort on the part of manufacturers, users and service providers to move the industry closer to the day when IT technology is at the core of professional media facilities. Participants from all over the world met several times both in the United States and in Europe to discuss the requirements for the Minimum Viable System.

Among key requirements listed in the MVS is the requirement to carry video payload of any resolution up to the size of UHDTV2 (7680 x 4320), and a requirement to carry elementary essence types (e.g. video, audio, ancillary data) as separate flows. However, the MVS also recognizes the requirement to support SDI, stating that the solution should be capable of providing “transparent transport” of SDI payload bit streams over the network.

Chuck Meyer, CTO of Grass Valley said, "The MVS report points the way to what will become a very important infrastructure shift for media facilities in the future".

Al Kovalick, Founder of Media Systems Consulting said, "Looking ahead, IP-based file and streaming transport will be the dominant game in town. The MVS work is essential to the IP transition in the media facility".

The three founding sponsors of the Joint Taskforce on Networked Media (JT-NM), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and the Video Services Forum (VSF), are seeking to make it easier to build professional media infrastructures by promoting interoperability between IT-based media components. The effort extends beyond this, however. It includes helping the industry to develop a shared understanding about how to describe these systems, developing a common vocabulary, and promoting best practices for system designs.

In the months ahead the Task Force will continue to facilitate discussions between manufacturers, broadcasters and industry organizations involved with the creation, storage, transfer and streaming of professional media content. It is developing a Reference Architecture that will provide generic system models and frameworks of subsystem components. Other operational scenarios will also be investigated to make this architecture ready for new business opportunities that will be enabled by this next generation of media infrastructure. Information on the JT-NM including its scope and previously published works may be found on the sponsors' websites.



About The Video Services Forum

Founded in 1997, the Video Services Forum (VSF) is an international association composed of service providers, users and manufacturers dedicated to interoperability, quality metrics and education for video networking technologies. The organization's activities include providing forums to identify issues involving the development, engineering, installation, testing and maintenance of video networking technologies; exchanging non-proprietary information to promote the development of video networking technology and to foster the resolution of issues common to the video services industry; promoting interoperability by contributing to and supporting development of standards by national and international standards bodies. Visit VSF online at www.videoservicesforum.org.

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