Traditionally, the Pro-AV and Broadcast markets have been seen as distinct entities, with some minor overlap. Vendors focused on Pro-AV or Broadcast. The primary differences between these two markets are in cost, required reliability, and ease of operation. The Pro-AV market is very cost-sensitive and does not require the level of reliability and performance necessary for the broadcast market. Moreover, the Pro-AV equipment is expected to be simpler to deploy and operate, typically at the expense of advanced features.
Recently, this picture has been changing, as more traditional broadcast vendors move into the Pro-AV market. One of the factors driving this trend is the IP Media eXperience (IPMX) set of Technical Recommendations from the Video Services Forum (VSF). In a nutshell, these Technical Recommendations are adapting SMPTE ST 2110 broadcast technology to the Pro-AV market and creating an open playing field where before there were a number closed proprietary solutions. IPMX is achieving this by simplifying the technology and making it more accessible. The technology simplification comes from the following IPMX features:
- IPMX removes the need for PTP synchronization, greatly simplifying the network setup and making it possible to use significantly less expensive networking equipment.
- The NMOS control plane (which is required in IPMX) has been enhanced to automate some of the manual configuration steps, including propagating display capabilities back to the stream sources.
- Support for low-complexity video compression (JPEG-XS), which allows low latency operation over lower speed copper networks (1 Gb/s). This also includes optimizations to provide good quality for content coming from computer screens, with content such as spreadsheets and text.
IPMX also includes support for non-broadcast resolutions and modes (such as RGB 4:4:4), HDCP support, and even USB transport.
The features described so far address the ease of use and the additional functionality required by the Pro-AV market. But what about cost?
To begin with, an IPMX network does not require high-end PTP-enabled switches, so it is intrinsically lower cost. If compression is used, then 1 Gb/s (or 2.5 Gb/s) switches can be used, for an additional cost reduction. However, the biggest wins come from the open nature of IPMX – since it is not a walled garden, there is (healthy) competition, and that also leads to lower costs.
Another interesting side effect of this convergence between broadcast and Pro-AV is that the traditional broadcast suppliers are not going to compromise on reliability in their Pro-AV product lines. This makes them suitable for the broadcast market, essentially making ST 2110 technology accessible to the small stations or simpler OB-vans. Time will tell, but we expect to see a fair amount of cross-over between these two markets (in both directions) in the coming years.
