Harmonious Coexistence of Audio-Visual and Information Technology Systems: A Dream Come True?
In the realm of modern Audio-Visual (AV) over Internet Protocol (IP) solutions, two standards stand out - IPMX (Internet Protocol Media Experience) and SMPTE ST 2110. Both are crucial, particularly in broadcast and professional AV environments, with IPMX building upon and expanding the SMPTE ST 2110 framework for wider adoption.
## SMPTE ST 2110: Uncompressed AV Streaming for Broadcast
At its core, SMPTE ST 2110 specifies the transport of separate uncompressed video, audio, and ancillary data streams over IP networks. This design allows for independent timing and synchronization of each stream, ensuring precise delivery of audio, video, and metadata. SMPTE ST 2110 relies on the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) for synchronization, guaranteeing accurate alignment in time. High-bandwidth, low-latency networks, typically using 10Gbps or higher Ethernet, are required for optimal performance.
SMPTE ST 2110 also defines payload formats and packetization for video (2110-20), audio (2110-30), and ancillary data (2110-40), ensuring devices from different manufacturers can interoperate. The standard also encourages the use of the Advanced Media Workflow Association’s (AMWA) NMOS (Networked Media Open Specifications) for device discovery, registration, and connection management.
## IPMX: Broadening the Scope for Pro AV Applications
IPMX is an open framework for AV-over-IP, designed for both broadcast and Pro AV applications, and is based on SMPTE ST 2110 and AMWA NMOS. It supports a range of stream types, including compressed video (via JPEG XS codec), compressed and uncompressed audio, and ancillary data, allowing for flexibility in deployment. IPMX also supports both multicast and unicast streaming, increasing flexibility in network design.
Like SMPTE ST 2110, IPMX inherits PTP-based timing, ensuring synchronization across devices. It also requires support for AMWA NMOS for device discovery and connection management.
## Interoperability: The Key to Success
Both SMPTE ST 2110 and IPMX place a strong emphasis on interoperability. In the case of SMPTE ST 2110, devices must conform to the relevant parts and pass interoperability tests. For IPMX, devices must pass multi-vendor tested events to ensure seamless operation. Both standards encourage the use of open tools and protocols to foster innovation and ensure a vendor-neutral ecosystem.
## Comparison Table
| Feature | SMPTE ST 2110 | IPMX | |------------------------|------------------------------|----------------------------------| | Stream Types | Uncompressed video, audio, ancillary | Compressed (e.g., JPEG XS), uncompressed, audio, ancillary | | Network Timing | PTP | PTP | | Standards | SMPTE (video, audio, etc.) | SMPTE ST 2110, AMWA NMOS, JPEG XS| | Interoperability Tests | Vendor conformance | Multi-vendor tested events[4] | | Primary Use | Broadcast | Broadcast & Pro AV | | Discovery/Connection | NMOS (recommended) | NMOS (required)[4] | | Open Standard | No (SMPTE proprietary) | Yes |
## Conclusion
SMPTE ST 2110 focuses on uncompressed, high-bandwidth AV streaming for broadcast, with strict requirements for independent video, audio, and metadata transport over IP, PTP synchronization, and network design. IPMX extends this framework for broader Pro AV use, supporting compressed video (notably JPEG XS), open standards, and multi-vendor interoperability, and requires NMOS for device management.
Interoperability in both is driven by conformance to standards (SMPTE, AMWA NMOS), successful multi-vendor testing events, and the use of open tools and protocols. These requirements are designed to ensure reliable, high-performance AV-over-IP solutions that work seamlessly across different manufacturers and environments.
The SMPTE ST 2110 standard, primarily used in broadcast and professional AV environments, focuses on transporting separate uncompressed video, audio, and ancillary data streams over data-and-cloud-computing networks using precision time protocol for synchronization, while IPMX, an open framework for AV-over-IP, based on SMPTE ST 2110 and AMWA NMOS, supports both compressed and uncompressed video, audio, and ancillary data, and requires devices to pass multi-vendor tested events for seamless operation.
