Cloud workflows for live video are no longer experiments; they are workhorses, constantly refined for technical and financial efficiency. File-based supply chains were first to embrace this shift, but cost, connectivity and business drivers have converged to make live cloud production and 24×7 linear workflows ready for adoption.

Yet this progress has come despite a capability gap which breaks an underlying principle, key to television’s success for the past century: the ability to choose best-of-breed solutions without compromise.

Why MXL Matters
SDI solved that problem for hardware. Standardized in the late 80s, it carried uncompressed video over a simple cable, but its real power came from ubiquity, which enabled decades of growth and innovation. Without SDI, even connecting a camera to a vision mixer could have required bespoke engineering, adding cost and delay.

In the cloud, that same effortless interoperability is missing. Every integration between vendors’ software adds friction and latency.

MXL, the Media eXchange Layer, is designed to restore that SDI-like simplicity for software. Its approach is called "shared memory" where applications write and read live media from a common buffer in a standard way. That turns complex interconnection into something instant and vendor-agnostic, just as SDI did in hardware.

Built in the Open
MXL is not being built behind closed doors. The EBU and North American Broadcasters Association (NABA), working with the Linux Foundation, have made it an open-source project with vendors and broadcasters collaborating on the SDK.

That openness means challenges such as connection setup, memory management, and signaling are solved once, in the open, rather than by each vendor alone. Broadcasters can trust it as a durable foundation, not proprietary lock-in.

At IBC, momentum was clear. Demonstrations from the EBU, BBC, Techex and others showed different vendors’ software exchanging live media seamlessly. More than proofs-of-concept, they showed a new model of interoperability taking shape.

Looking Ahead: RDMA
The first milestone for MXL is shared memory within a single server. But broadcasters do not build infrastructures on one box, and scaling MXL across servers is the next challenge. That is where RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) comes in.

RDMA, and specifically RoCEv2 (RDMA over Converged Ethernet), allows one machine to directly access another’s memory across an IP network. By bypassing the kernel and avoiding CPU overhead, it moves data at high throughput with minimal latency. RoCEv1 has long been used in hyperscale data centers; RoCEv2 adds IP and UDP layers that make it usable across routed networks. For media, that means extending MXL’s shared-memory principles across distributed compute infrastructures.

The contrast with today’s methods is sharp. Traditional data movement relies on forwarding through the kernel, with CPUs shouldering the packetization load. That is costly in compute cycles and becomes a bottleneck as throughput demands rise.

More Than Raw Transport
Raw access to memory is only half the story. MXL addresses the other half: how to represent, signal and manage media in memory so applications can use it in real time. How do systems announce intent to read or write? How long should data be held? How should it be indexed and retrieved? These questions are being answered collectively through the open-source SDK, ensuring vendors adopt the same methods rather than reinventing them.

MXL sits within the EBU’s Dynamic Media Facility (DMF) initiative which takes a multi-layer approach to enabling media organizations to move to a completely software-based infrastructure both on the ground and in the cloud. From application semantics down to networking, the ability to share and orchestrate live data efficiently between compute nodes is central to enabling software-defined broadcasting that is interoperable, scalable and flexible, without locking organizations into monolithic systems.

The past few years have seen multiple merges and splits in large, multinational organizations, while publicly funded broadcasters are under more pressure than ever to excel despite funding squeezes. To deal with organizational change at the same time as continued movement in consumer behaviour, the financial and technical flexibility that software-defined infrastructure offers is a key enabler – not to mention a differentiator for those that can embrace it first.

The Promise Ahead
At Techex, we see that MXL has the potential to become the standard for live media exchange inside data center environments, giving broadcasters and studios the same freedom of choice in software workflows that SDI guarantees in hardware. It is efficient, it is open, and it is being built collaboratively by the industry.

The first demonstrations have shown the concept works very well. The next phase, with RDMA, will extend its reach across distributed environments. Beyond that, the shared foundation being built today points to an era where media organizations can once again build infrastructures from best-of-breed components without compromise. That possibility, moving from vision to prototype, is why momentum around MXL continues to accelerate.

This article was originally published on TV Tech's sister brand, TVBEurope.

TORONTO—The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) has announced the appointment of Eduardo Ruiz Sanchez, deputy director, broadcast operations at Televisa, to its Board of Directors.

“We are delighted to welcome Eduardo Ruiz to the NABA Board,” said Rebecca Hanson, director general of NABA. “Televisa has been a consistent voice within NABA, providing an important voice for Mexico in the context of the North American broadcasting landscape. Eduardo will contribute to our shared efforts to promote innovation in television technology, including the areas of protecting C-band spectrum and advancing television standards.”

Eduardo Ruiz brings nearly 30 years of experience at Televisa, where he currently oversees terrestrial broadcast, channel distribution to cable and satellite platforms, and global news and sports contributions. He has led the design and operation of Televisa’s satellite and fiber infrastructure, managed broadcast operations for the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cups, and delivered major efficiency gains—including a 266% increase in transmission capacity and a 92% reduction in power consumption—through teleport redesign.

Televisa is a longstanding member of NABA and plays a critical role in shaping the evolving media ecosystem for Spanish-speaking audiences across the continent.

NABA is an alliance of broadcasters from Canada, the United States and Mexico. Its mission is to provide a platform for dialogue, advocacy, and cooperative action on a wide range of technical, regulatory, and policy matters affecting the broadcast and media sector.

TORONTO—The North American Broadcasters Association said board member Louis Libin, VP of spectrum engineering and strategies at One Media Technologies/Sinclair, has been named by the Federal Communications Commission to its 2027 World Radio Communications Conference Advisory Council (WRC-27 WAC).

The WRC-27 WAC provides the FCC with advice, technical support and recommended proposals for the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference, as well as helping to identify public/private sector priorities and objectives and gathering the data necessary to formulate meaningful recommendations for these objectives, NABA said.

Libin was tapped for this role based on considerable expertise and experience in International Telecommunications Union matters, NABA said. He will step down from his seat on NABA’s board of directors and will be succeeded by Sinclair President of Technology Del Parks, a 50-year veteran of the broadcast business.

“This is a significant role for Louis and the interests of broadcasting, and while we will miss his work with the NABA Board, we look forward to his continued involvement at the Committee level,” NABA Director-General Rebecca Hanson said. “Del will make an excellent addition to the NABA board. He is actively engaged in a variety of projects at the cutting edge of broadcast technology.”

NABA is a nonprofit association of broadcasting organizations in the United States, Mexico and Canada committed to advancing the interests of broadcasters at home and abroad. It is a member of the World Broadcasting Unions (WBU).

TORONTO—As regulators continue to repurpose spectrum that has long been used in sports and other live productions, The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) has launched the North American Spectrum Alliance.

The Spectrum Alliance is an independent project managed by NABA, which unites broadcasters, content creators, rightsholders, venues and others in media and production to protect spectrum critical for broadcasting, wireless microphones, wireless cameras and other RF production elements.

In addition to broadcasters, the group is backed by the NFL, MLB, the United Football League and the United States Tennis Association.

Other members of the Alliance are the ATSC, CP Communications, Gotham Sound, NEP, RF Wireless, Sound Devices, and current NABA members.

Brad Cheney, vice president of field operations and engineering at Fox Sports, will chair the Alliance.

Spectrum usage has dramatically increased in North America over the past years, yet the region has suffered significant losses in spectrum over the same period, the group reported.

“Sports is not the only industry impacted by the wireless spectrum shortage,” Cheney said. “News operations, theaters and concert venues, as well as theme parks and other entertainment hubs, are struggling with spectrum scarcity. The Alliance will take a stand against further erosion of this resource on behalf of all of us.”

The Alliance will host two webinars in January that lay out the threats to wireless mics and cameras. These will be open to Alliance members and non-members. Interested parties can get more information and register for the events at these links for Jan. 14 and Jan. 16.

“As more concerned users of spectrum join the Alliance, our voice will grow stronger in advocating for our collective interest before the FCC, and internationally at the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),” said Rebecca Hanson, director-general of NABA. “It is critical that we take our seat at the table to protect our industries and the public interests they serve.”

The North American Spectrum Alliance will build its calendar of events in January, 2025, which will be available later this month at www.nabanet.com/naspa/. Membership in NABA is not required to participate in the Spectrum Alliance. For more information on joining the Alliance, please contact Rayne Morgan at rayne@nabanet.com.

TORONTO—Rebecca Hanson has been appointed Director General of the North American Broadcasters Association, succeeding Michael McEwen who is retiring this summer. 

Ms. Hanson begins as Director-General designate on April 15th, where she will work alongside McEwen before taking full responsibility July 1. 

“As over-the-air broadcasters move to the multi-platform streaming IP world, they remain committed to serving their listeners and viewers in the communities where they live, work and play,” said Borika Vucinic, president of the NABA Board of Directors. “Rebecca understands this unique role in a multimedia world and will work with our members as broadcasting adapts to a rapidly changing environment on the national, regional, and international fronts.”

An experienced broadcast and media executive, Ms. Hanson has managed numerous policy issues before the FCC and Congress relating to broadcast regulation. While SVP of Policy and Strategy at Sinclair Broadcast Group, she advocated for new video technology, fair compensation for cable carriage, and spectrum protection. She also served as General Counsel for HC2 Broadcasting group overseeing the regulation of 250 full- and low-power television stations.

At the FCC, Ms. Hanson served in a variety of roles, beginning with the first U.S. National Broadband Plan in 2009, the related broadcast spectrum auction planning in 2011, and other broadcast policy issues including the transition to ATSC 3.0. She currently serves on the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission and is on the board of the U.S. NAB Leadership Foundation.

Ms. Hanson will continue to address these issues in her new leadership role at NABA with a solidly forward-looking strategy that includes resisting all forms of encroachment on broadcast spectrum, a continued commitment to broadcasting core values as a public good, and demonstrating other values that broadcasting offers in evolving communications, NABA said.

“Broadcasters throughout North America are rightfully proud of their service to local communities, and NABA will continue to support that mission among the challenges and opportunities presented by new streaming technologies,” Ms. Hanson says. “But when it comes to regional matters (like spectrum and technology coordination, or equipment markets) and international issues (like spectrum usage at the ITU or copyright protection at WIPO) NABA is best situated to represent broadcasters’ common interests in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. I am honored to be chosen to lead these efforts and look forward to working with all stakeholders in the months and years ahead.”

TORONTO—Richard Friedel, retired Fox Television Stations executive vice president for corporate engineering and immediate past president of the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA), was honored with the NABA International Achievement Award during the organization’s virtual annual general meeting.

The award recognizes a person who has served the broadcasting industry beyond the scope of their professional roles. It recognizes those who have given their time, leadership and talent to create industry consensus on current critical issues and fostered a collegial approach to problem solving, knowledge sharing and common understanding in their own country, region and in global forums, NABA said.

“Richard’s collaborative approach and his innate belief that broadcasters share many common challenges led to common solutions and practices in one of the most intensely competitive industries in the world,” says Michael McEwen, NABA director-general. “This is why he is always greeted warmly and his participation well received by colleagues in Europe, Asia and indeed around the world—a reflection on his success as a NABA leader. The core of NABA’s mission is to provide our community with opportunities to share and solve challenges to the benefit of all in our industry and that core mission is apparent in the way Richard conducts business and defines the person he is.”

In addition to having a distinguished career beginning with NBC, then moving to ABC/Capital Cities and finally to Fox for 25 years, Friedel has been involved with NABA for more than quarter century, been a long-time member of the Advanced Television Systems Committee—including multiple stints as ATSC Board Chairman, served as a member of the IBC Council, was a DPP leadership contributor in the U.K. and has been a consistent presence at the NAB Show, NABA said.

“I am really honored with this recognition. NABA is an important part of my life, but so many people involved in NABA are friends or long-term colleagues of mine and to have you bestow this is all the more meaningful,” said Friedel when accepting the award.

“I’ve always believed in collaboration because we can get more done and do it better as a diverse group," he continued. "I want to encourage everyone to continue doing that. Think about how great a career we have. We entertain, educate and inform literally hundreds of millions of people. What could be a better purpose? Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

More information is available on the NABA website.

TORONTO—At a time when broadcasters are facing increased security risks, the World Broadcasting Unions (WBU) has issued updated cybersecurity recommendations for media vendors’ systems, software and services.

Based on the original work by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and North American Broadcasters Association (NABA), these recommendations are intended to create a dialogue with media vendors with the goal of achieving more consistent and effective compliance with cybersecurity best practices, the WBU said. 

These recommendations can be used as an attachment to any equipment or service RFP, RFI, or RFQ to help potential buyers ascertain the cyber maturity of the product and supplier.

In releasing the new recommendations, the WBU thanked NABA members Grass Valley, Imagine Communications and Ross Video for leading part of NABA’s negotiating team and in working with Lucille Verbaere and her Cybersecurity team at the EBU on the changes.

The full Cybersecurity Recommendations are available here.  

TORONTO, Ontario—The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) has announced that its vice president Borika Vucinic (Bell Media Network) has been jointly named Woman of the Year by Rise, the advocacy group for gender diversity in the media technology sector. Vucinic shares the award with Inga Ruehl of Sky Sports.

“We celebrate and congratulate Borika receiving this award in recognition of her leadership, accomplishments, and professionalism as a trailblazer in our industry,” said Michael McEwen, NABA director-general. “Diversity is part of NABA’s remit, so this award not only reflects Borika’s role at Bell Media but also the many contributions she has made to the NABA Board of Directors as a Director and Vice-President. Rise has gender diversity as its core mandate, and I thank them for their work and the recognition of a very deserving industry leader.”

The Woman of the Year award, sponsored by Zixi, is presented to an extraordinary and inspirational woman who has made a significant contribution within her field. This year, the judges were unable to choose just one winner from a shortlist full of extremely talented women from around the world, so they decided to honor both Vucinic and Ruehl.

Borika Vucinic is vice-president of Bell Media Network, Canada’s largest media conglomerate. Her role is to oversee engineering support and operations for the Bell Media Network broadcast sites in Montréal and Toronto, and project engineering and network support for television and radio stations across Canada. With 25 years of experience with the Bell team, Vucinic has earned a reputation as an innovator and team builder, driving people and process transformation to enable new features, services, and cost efficiencies. She also lends her passion for broadcasting to industry organizations, currently serving on the NABA Board of Directors as a Vice-President and is recognized as a pioneer and a voice for women in communications and technology.

Inga Ruehl is executive director, production services and operations for Sky Sports. Her teams look after the planning and delivery of all home-produced content across 11 live sports channels, with responsibility for studios, post-production staff and facilities, as well as outside broadcast and crewing. Ruehl and her teams led the way for Sky Sports’ introduction of remote production operations, experience which came to the fore during the pandemic. She is a rare example of a female leader in a male-dominated environment and is passionate about creating a more diverse workforce within Sky Sports.

The two women will be presented with the award during the Rise Awards ceremony on Thursday, November 18th at 17:00 GMT as part of the DPP Leaders’ Briefing event in London. The Rise Awards 2021 will also be streamed globally by Red Bee Media.

Rise has been working with universities and key industry partners to investigate and address the lack of new talent entering the broadcast technology sector, specifically engineering and technical operational roles.

TORONTO, ON–PBS is adopting a technical specification that will help the network standardize on an HD delivery format for contributed content from North American programmers.

The specification, AMWA AS-11 X9: MXF Program Contribution - NABA DPP HD (AVC) was developed by the U.K.-based group DPP in collaboration with the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) and the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA). The specification belongs to the AS-11 X family of air-ready master formats that define constrained media file formats for the delivery of finished media assets to a broadcaster or publisher.

“The adoption of AMWA AS-11 X9 by PBS is a significant moment for the industry, showing that a collaborative approach is essential to meeting the industry’s developing needs”, says Rowan de Pomerai, DPP Head of Delivery and Growth. “We, at the DPP, along with our colleagues at NABA and AMWA, are working closely with all of our members to ensure that each new specification addresses their business needs effectively.”

[Read: DPP is Ready to Roll]

AMWA AS-11 X9 uses a constrained version of the H.264 codec to offer significant benefits in picture bandwidth and fidelity for program distribution. The specification also supports audio carriage in both PCM and AAC format.

AMWA AS-11 X9 is one of the chosen delivery formats for PBS’s New Media Supply Chain and will be the subject of exhibits and sessions at PBS TechCon, taking place in Las Vegas April 3-5, ahead of the 2019 NAB Show.

“We see AS-11 X9 as a step toward ongoing PBS modernization efforts. The adoption of this specification is a key component to moving PBS away from legacy formats, processes and systems,” says Renard Jenkins, PBS Vice President of Operations, Engineering & Distribution. “The collaborative work of AMWA, DPP and NABA resulted in a format that should gain wide adoption throughout North America. We encourage vendors and broadcasters to consider its usefulness.”

Adoption of AMWA AS-11 X9 by other North American broadcasters is a key goal of this collaboration, alongside implementation by product vendors. In order to support this aim, the DPP Test Lab will launch its AMWA AS-11 X9 compliance testing program this month.

Products that pass the test program will be eligible to apply for a compliance certificate from AMWA, providing buyers and sellers with the confidence that DPP tested tools are technically compliant and interoperable. The DPP, NABA and AMWA will also work with their respective members to facilitate implementation.

“We are delighted that the AMWA AS-11 family continues to grow and show relevance across the globe”, says Brad Gilmer, AMWA Executive Director. “Its support in North America represents a significant step forward and promises to bring important business efficiencies to the media companies that adopt it.”

The DPP and its partners, including AMWA and NABA, continue to extend the AS-11 family. The next addition to the family will provide UHD delivery formats for both the European and North American markets.

TORONTO—Clyde Smith, former senior vice president, New Technology, Fox Network Engineering and Operations, will receive the NABA International Achievement Award Feb. 5 during the NABA Annual General Meeting at NBCUniversal in New York.

“Clyde’s engineering innovation and technology leadership was always focused on who was doing it best and what we can do to make it work for all of us,” said NABA President Richard Friedel, executive vice president, Technology Strategy, 21st Century Fox. “Clyde is a global thinker and followed the Marshall McLuhan principle of ‘think globally and act locally.’”

Smith, who recently retired from Fox, continues to offer valuable insight and advice to the television industry, NABA said. Prior to joining Fox, Smith held positions with Turner (TBS) and Lockheed Space Operations, where he worked on transport and communications systems for the Space Shuttle after the Challenger accident.

A Life Fellow of the SMPTE and an Honorary Member of the IABM, Smith’s extensive list of honors include an Emmy, Broadcasting and Cable’s Technology Leadership award, the SMPTE Progress Medal and the David Sarnoff Medal.

The award recognizes the technical leadership Smith provided at Fox, Turner and Lockheed as well as the work he has done with NABA colleagues developing common metadata and specifications for file formats. Smith developed relationships with the U.K.’s Digital Production Partnership and the European Broadcasting Union to develop these specs to facilitate global program exchange.

In North America the specs have been included in SMPTE’s IMF Specifications and BXF Standards with UHDTV expected this year, NABA said.

NABA presents its International Achievement Award to an individual for an “outstanding contribution” to the international art and/or science of radio or television that has made a “significant impact on, or improvement in” the state of one or both of these arts.

“It has been my privilege to work closely with the talented and dedicated staff and members of NABA as well as the DPP, EBU, SMPTE and BBC to develop fundamental improvements in Interoperability,” said Smith upon learning that he was selected for the award. “I am deeply thankful for their participation, contributions and for this prestigious recognition of our achievements together.”

TORONTO—The North American Broadcasters Association is heading to sunny California for its Annual General meeting, specifically the Los Angeles area. Here is a look at the schedule for the three-day meeting, with events spread out across Los Angeles.

On Wednesday, March 7, the first of the in-person committee meetings will take place with the Resilience & Risk Committee Roundtable at Fox Networks Group on Pick Blvd; the meeting will take place from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. PT. On Thursday, March 8, meetings will take place between the Technical Committee, the Legal Committee and the Board of Directors.

The General Meeting will open on Friday, March 9, at Disney | ABC in Burbank, Calif. Check-in and breakfast will begin at 8 a.m. before a brief welcome and an opening keynote by Mike Napodano, CTO Disney | ABC. The day will feature multiple presentations and panels, including “Broadcasters Current and Future Cloud Use Cases,” “Best Practice Considerations for Cloud Services,” Cyber Security Requirements for Media Vendor’s Systems, Software and Services,” “Common Metadata Specifications in BXF/IMF: The Operational and Business Case for Adoption,” “State of Broadcast Journalism in the Fake News Age,” “State of the Industry Roundtable: Three Things to Watch Out for This Year” and “Business of the AGM.”

RSVPs are required to attend all the events. For more information, click here.

The NABA 40th AGM will take place from March 7-9. 

BOTHELL, WASH.—Sharpening the focus of the Alliance for IP Media Solutions on the actual needs of broadcasters appears to be the driving force behind this week’s announcement that AIMS and the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) have inked a formal liaison agreement.

"It's important to have discussions so that AIMS members know what NABA constituents need, and now that we've formalized a partnership, those discussions will be easier to have,” said Michael McEwen, NABA general director in a press release announcing the agreement.

NABA has been addressing media over IP for a couple of years to define the needs of broadcasters and to understand what a transition from baseband to IP means to them, he said. More than a year ago, the association shared an NABA IP taskforce report with AIMS and has been talking with the alliance ever since, he said.

“NABA will also encourage broadcasters to participate in the IP interoperability demos put on by AIMS, SMPTE and others to learn about and understand the technology,” said McEwen.

The association represents many broadcasters in North America who make decisions about what to purchase, said Michael Cronk, AIMS board chair. “AIMS' mission is to foster the adoption of a common set of protocols for interoperability over IP in the media and entertainment industry,” he said.

While collaboration among the members of AIMS is important, the alliance cannot foster adoption of IP by broadcasters “on its own,” he said. “There's far more leverage when we collaborate with other organizations who share a common goal," said Cronk.

The agreement to collaborate on IP interoperability follows an October workshop on media over IP in New York hosted by AIMS, NABA, SMPTE and the Video Services Forum.

ITU Radiocommunication Study Group 6, considering

a) that Report ITU-R BT.2299 provides a compilation of supporting evidence that terrestrial broadcasting plays a critically important role in disseminating information to the public in times of emergencies;

b) that the overall robustness of broadcast services is enhanced by the geographical diversity of multiple radio and television services within a given region,whereby total loss of service during service disruptions rarely occurs;

c) that radio receivers are generally highly reliable, regardless of almost any disorder or disruption taking place in the affected disaster area;

d) that the majority of smart phones contain hardware that consists of a multitude of connectivity capabilities including, among other things, Bluetooth and similar technologies. Regardless of the chipset manufacturer selected by the smart phone maker, FM receivers have a nearly 100 percent inclusion in this set of connectivity chips;

e) that Report ITU-R BT.2387 indicates that some countries are implementing digital sound broadcasting and while the demand for analogue FM radio remains strong, some countries have extended the FM band,

is of the opinion
that citizens of the world would benefit if manufacturers of mobile telephones, tablets, and similar devices as well as associated service providers would include and activate a broadcast radio tuner functionality in their products along with the appropriate applications to facilitate radio broadcasting reception. TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA— The North American Broadcasters Association announced that it has gained international support for the activation of FM radio receivers in smartphones. NABA submitted an “Opinion” on activating radio receivers in smartphones that was adopted by the International Telecommunication Union in March of 2017. Enabling the FM chip present present in most smartphones would allow users convenient access to FM radio in times of emergency and natural disasters.

“ITU’s support is a result of focused, coordinated and steadfast effort by NABA’s Radio Committee and the FM Chip Working Group comprised of members across Canada, Mexico and the United States,” said Michael McEwen, director-general of NABA. “As broadcast industry leaders, we thank the ITU for the global support of FM enabled smartphones.”

The Official Opinion from the ITU, (reproduced in the sidebar), states “that Report ITU-R BT.2299 provides a compilation of supporting evidence that terrestrial broadcasting plays a critically important role in disseminating information to the public in times of emergencies.” In addition, “...citizens of the world would benefit if manufacturers of mobile telephones, tablets, and similar devices as well as associated service providers would include and activate a broadcast radio tuner functionality in their products along with the appropriate applications to facilitate radio broadcasting reception.”

The opinion was initially submitted to the Radiocommunication sector of the ITU in Geneva in October of 2016, and was discussed, edited, and approved at the March 2017 meetings of the ITU’s Study Group 6,which specializes in broadcasting services. NABA’s submission was supported by the European Broadcasting Union, International Association of Broadcasting, the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and the World Broadcasting Unions as well as a number of administrations, NABA said.

WASHINGTON—Robert Plummer has receive the NABA International Achievement Award from the North American Broadcasters Association. He was presented with the award during NABA’s annual general meeting, held Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Plummer, former senior director of advanced technology at DirecTV, director of the Advanced Television Research Lab at Sarnoff Labs, chair and vice chair of the World Broadcasting Unions technical committee, alumni of Princeton and Bainbridge High School, also retired from NABA after serving the association since 1994, including as chair and vice chair of its technical committee.

Michael McEwen, director-general of NABA, gave Plummer the following send-off during the meeting:
“Bob Plummer has retired, nobody really believes that but he has and says he likes it. His retirement makes me melancholy both professionally and personally, but he more than deserves it given a broadcasting career that spans more than half a century. And Karen finally gets her husband full time and the grandchildren get Bob as a surrogate nanny. Not bad!

“Today we celebrate Bob’s career and his enormous contributions to our industry by presenting him with the NABA International Achievement Award, which recognizes excellence and leadership in broadcasting both domestically and internationally.

“In a career that began by building a ham radio as a kid in Seattle that the U.S. Navy thought was being operated by a spy, Bob set out to be an innovator and a contributor not only to the people and organizations he worked for, but also to the benefit of the wider industry he was a part of.

“His early career included working in radio and public television, and like all of us who started as kids in the business, he learned it from the ground up. But as his career matured, Bob got serious about developing technologies that would have a profound impact on how people use television.

“In 1990, he joined the David Sarnoff Research Center as the director of the Advanced Television Research Laboratory, where he headed major High Definition Television developments such as Advanced Compatible Television, participated in Advanced Digital-High Definition Television, and directed DirecTV compression. Prior to joining Sarnoff, Bob was vice president of engineering for Fisher Broadcasting.

“In November 1994, Bob joined DirectTV as director of Broadcast Systems Compression, and retired in 2008. Then he went on to have another eight years as an industry consultant to Fox, retiring at the end of last year.

“Bob has more awards, including two Technical Emmys, has sat on more industry boards and participated in even more industry associations, than probably any five of us combined in this room. He also chaired FOBTV, a thankless job, but hey Bob, someone had to do it. He holds 27 U.S. patents and during his career became an ITU-R specialist, obviously an atonement for his many sins.

“Bob got involved with NABA in the mid ’90s and has been both a chair and vice chair of our technical committee for much of that time. He also participated with the World Broadcasting Unions technical committee, became its vice chair and, for the last two years, its chair. He has set the bar high for participating in an association that doesn’t just depend on membership fees, but needs and wants the active and on-going participation by its members. That’s how we get the job done.

“He has travelled the world representing NABA and the WBU and has had a tremendous impact on building consensus about technologies, spectrum and broadcast operations. Bob not only worked for his employers, he worked and gave back to the industry as much and more than the industry gave him. At the end of the day we are a pretty small community that is fiercely competitive with one another at one level, but we need to cooperate and collaborate at another level. Bob is the epitome of that statement and acted accordingly to the benefit of us all.

“A remarkable career, a remarkable man who will be missed by colleagues he loves and who love him in return. Congratulations Bob on your achievements.”

AMSTERDAM—The Digital Production Partnership and the North American Broadcasters Association have published a joint document, “Broadcaster Cyber Security Requirements for Suppliers,” to assist manufacturers and suppliers in developing products aligning to modern cyber security standards, that are fit for integration into broadcaster facilities. The recommendations will be adopted by major U.K. broadcasters, the pair said.

The announcement of the recommendations was hosted by Ericsson, a member of the DPP.

The organizations said that broadcasters are now facing daily cyber assaults on their websites, IT infrastructure and systems. With this growing threat, they said, U.K. and U.S. broadcasters have united to introduce a set of best practice requirements covering documentation and testing, authentication and security controls.

The Broadcaster Cyber Security Requirements for Suppliers is the latest in a new series of DPP publications focusing on Cyber Security. This includes the 10 Things You Need to Know About Cyber Securityguide, and the DPP’s recently released Supplier Security Checklist and supporting User Guide. All publications are available to download from the DPP website.

“Protecting the viewer’s experience, and the veracity of our output is the number one concern today,” said DPP chair and director of Broadcast Operations at ITV, Helen Stevens. “The growth in connected services and IP-driven production, as well as cloud platforms and applications, means that, as a modern broadcaster, our focus has to be on protecting our content from increasingly frequent cyber attacks.”

The requirements were developed by the NABA Cyber Security group and supplemented by the DPP’s Cyber Security work stream (which includes representatives from BBC, BT Sport, Channel 4, Ericsson, Five, Sky and UKTV).

“Cyber security is now one of the top strategic priorities for North American broadcasters,” said Michael McEwen, director general at NABA. “We will never protect ourselves fully from attacks, but we need to mitigate their impact. As we define our information security requirements for the future, we expect suppliers to be our partners. In fact, we need their ideas and expertise in finding solutions that work.”

Steve Plunkett, head of Technology, Broadcast and Media Services at Ericsson said: “Media companies need confidence in the whole broadcast chain. That confidence is built upon trust in robust and resilient service design and testing—in all stages from program development to the point of transmission. The NABA/DPP requirements will help vendors explore whether their products really are secure by design, and can hold up against modern cyber criminals.”

LAS VEGAS—A consortium of media companies have agreed on air-ready file delivery specs. ABC/Disney, Bell Media, CBC/Radio-Canada, Fox, HBO, NBCUniversal, PBS, Time Warner and Turner have all agreed on a common file format, structure and wrapper based on the AS-11 UK DPP specification adopted in the United Kingdom two years ago. The result is two new new technical specifications for the delivery of finished air-ready programs for North America, both developed by the North American Broadcasters Association and the Digital Production Partnership and unveiled during the NAB Show in Las Vegas.

“The key principle for this work was that the agreed specifications must be commonly defined, testable, unambiguous—and produce business value,” said Clyde Smith, senior vice president of new technology for Fox and the NABA technical lead. “The agreed common specifications will minimize confusion and expense for program-makers, and avoid the proliferation of different file types and specifications.”

The specifications are based on the Advanced Media Workflow Association AS-11 specification, with the following features:

• File format: MXF OP-1A
• Video Encoding: MPEG-2 XDCam or AVC/H.264
• Video Signal Standard: 1080i or 720p
• Colour Sub Sample: 4:2:2 or 4:2:0
• Audio: Supports a common fixed channel assignment and Dynamic assignment of Audio Tracks
• A minimal editorial metadata set

Work with the AMWA to define the rules for these file formats, which will be a part of the AS-11 family of specifications, is nearly complete. The team also will be working with the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers to support these specifications in the Broadcast Exchange Format, or BXF. The DPP will continue to work with NABA to support implementation activities, including the development of supporting materials and educational seminars planned for New York, Toronto, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

The specifications are the first output from the strategic partnership formed between NABA and the DPP in April 2015. Work will continue between the two organizations looking at Ultra High Definition for North America and at the development of a Mastering Format. This will help to reach the ultimate goal of the NABA/DPP partnership—to promote the international exchange of content through the definition and implementation of common specifications.

The agreement of these new technical specifications won’t bring an immediate move to a common delivery format. However, the transition will begin over the next 12 months with some networks that are in position to take delivery of programs to these specifications on a selective basis.

Production companies that want to deliver to these new specifications should discuss this at the point of commission, and seek formal agreement with their broadcaster at the outset of production.

The current versions of the generic specifications are:
NABA DPP HD (MPEG-2)
NABA DPP HD (AVC)

(Editor’s Note: Mr. Smith has generously provided TV Technology with a update on the effort to create a common program delivery format for North America based on a successful specification process in the United Kingdom. Some of the questions were crowd-sourced; others submitted by the editor, including “what else should we be asking?” Thus, Mr. Smith also has contributed to the query list here, which the editor greatly appreciates. Also, Mr. Smith will be giving a presentation, “DPP for North America - A Common File Format Specification that will Enable Evolution,” at NAB on Monday, April 18 in Room S227. )

LAS VEGAS: Last year, the North American Broadcasters Association and the Digital Production Partnership Ltd., announced a strategic partnership to promote the international exchange of content through common specifications. The work to date has built on AS-11 DPP, a common specification for file-based program delivery implemented across all the major U.K. broadcasters Oct. 1, 2014.

The introduction of this universal and standardized file delivery specification required business and technology change from all parts of the supply chain–production, post production, vendors, service providers and broadcasters.

Following their first meeting at the NAB Show in 2015, a weekly NABA/DPP Technical Group—including key DPP contacts and members from nine of the major NABA broadcasters: ABC/Disney, Bell Media, CBC/Radio Canada, Fox, HBO, NBC Universal, PBS, Time Warner and Turner—has worked to the basis of a common delivery specification for North America.

With contributions from across the NABA broadcasters, industry associations, manufacturers and the DPP on a variety of topics, the group has been working to the agreed principles that the completed work must be commonly defined, testable and unambiguous. And crucially that any differences must produce business value. The outcome being that the team has now agreed on two common specifications for the delivery of finished “Air Ready” programs, which will be launched at a special event on Tuesday, April 19 during the NAB Show.

Q:It’s a fine standard, but so are many others. Currently, each network has its own standard…
SMITH: Let’s make it clear, this is not a standard and the network delivery documents are not standards. This is an effort to create a common specification for program delivery.
Today, many major end users produce their own specifications that stipulate their requirements for program delivery. These specifications are produced by the end users themselves and not by a cross-industry team with a broader perspective and, in some areas, a greater depth of knowledge of the implementation of the specifications that may referenced in the end-user’s specification.

End-user specifications consist of business processes, production requirements and technical specifications that reference standards to specify the technical parameters of the file format, codec, wrapper, audio, video, caption, timecode, metadata and other structural requirements for the deliverable program to fulfill the interoperability needs of the end user as dictated by their infrastructure and processes.

The three elements—business process requirements, production requirements and technical requirement—are intermingled to a greater of lesser degree throughout these documents.

The technical specifications may contain issues of errors such as ambiguity, deviation or disparity. Each of these has a cost, and each effects all of the other portions of the industry from manufacturing, production, post production, fulfillment, delivery and playout at the end-user facility as well as repurposing of OTT platforms or other delivery models.

The following are examples of each and their implications:
Ambiguity in these specifications can be represented in several ways. One way is the citation of a standard without the specificity of also citing valid modes and options contained in the standard. For example, the 700-plus pages of MXF contain multiple, and perhaps incompatible, methods of including timecode as well as captioning. Few specifications delineate parameters in such a way as to absolutely and specifically define the requirements, insuring that proper human interpretation will achieve interoperability.

Deviation in these specification is another issue. The citation of standards and then adding additional technical requirements that are not specifically documented in, or supported by, these standards is also a significant problem.

Disparity is represented by differences that do not produce value in technical interoperability, creative intent and/or business requirements. This disparity may be caused by the “not invented here” or “we have always done it this way” syndromes.
These are just three areas that commonly cause problems for manufacturers, the production and fulfillment companies as well as the end-users.

Q:How does the North American Broadcasters Association DPP specification address the ambiguity, deviation and disparity?
SMITH:Ambiguity is addressed by several methods. First, because we had a year’s worth of discussions, contributions and review from very many specialists from the major north American broadcasters, manufacturers, standards subject matter experts and industry association, we brought to bear more resources than any one organization could afford to. We also greatly benefited from knowledge from the DPP U.K. experience and expertise from other broadcast organizations such as the BBC and the European Broadcasting Union.

Second, we leveraged work being done in other areas such as the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the Advanced Media Workflow Association and the EBU.

The AMWA has broken down the technical requirement of the AS-11 specification into a series of building block. Each block represents a citation of a requirement as being fulfilled by a standard and the required and compatible modes or options in that standard and only those modes and options. A collection of these building blocks produces a specific and precise foundation and structure.

The NABA DPP Technical Specification for North America utilizes this block structure to eliminate these errors. These structures, while relatively new, already define the original DPP U.K. specification and new ones as well, including those for Nordic Regions, Australia and New Zealand. The AMWA is in the process of documenting the block structures required for our MPEG-2 Air Ready Masters and AVC Air Ready Masters as X-8 and X-9 and these will soon be published through the AMWA’s defined process.

Third, one issue has always been interpretation of the document. Depending on the authors detailed knowledge of standards and writing ability and well as the reader’s knowledge and capabilities, the intent may or may not be properly conveyed. We have addressed this by working with Chris Lennon of MediAnswers and the SMPTE to extend the BXF metadata model to including an XML representation of the specification. This will enable direct machine to machine communications, and in the future, will greatly help to resolve the human factor issues.

Q:What else does it address?
SMITH: Business processes, production requirements and technical specifications. The NABA DPP Technical Specification clearly separates these into the three distinct areas. The main body of the specification are the commonly agreed to technical requirements. This area is followed by appendices that permit to broadcaster to specify their business process and optionally any desired production or post-production requirement to fulfill their creative intent and business needs. The simply process for breaking down the interleaving of these requirements makes the document much more understandable and clear.

Another major achievement and a huge industry problem we addressed was building a common a common metadata set. There are so many disparities in the metadata requirements for the end users and how metadata is represented, and this is one of the biggest problem areas. These documents produced a constrained and common defined and agreed to set of metadata requirements of many, but not all, of the frequently used metadata fields.

Q:What has been demonstrated by the DPP in the United Kingdom?
SMITH: The implementation of the DPP Technical Specifications in the U.K. has been a brilliant success. It has been a phenomenal achievement that has resulted in rejection numbers that are infinitesimal, in one major end users experience, they have had zero rejected files.

The DPP organization has been very open in sharing their knowledge and experience, and we have seen the expansion of this approach into Australia, New Zealand and the Nordic Regions, and now North America with the release of the Air Ready Master Technical Specifications.

Next, we have two current activities, the Library Master and the UHD Master.
The completion of a Library Master specification is for broadcasters with a unified workflow, where they take in one file of native format and utilize it for repurposing into all other distribution methods.

The UHD Master is highly desired by broadcaster making plans for their UHD workflows and do not want the replicate the compatibility and interoperability issues we have all experienced in the past with new format specifications.
Both of these formats are based on SMPTE IMF.

Q:How will DPP affect production and distribution in the United States?
SMITH: We will need to start and educational process, but once the mass customization process has ended and there is a precisely defined specification, it will greatly improve the efficiency, reduce errors, reduce time-to-air and permit them to serve multiple customers’ needs with a single technical requirement.

Q:Can you get all the U.S. broadcasters (or all the North American ones) to agree on a single standard?
SMITH: I am not sure that we will ever get all of them and their adoption rate will vary as they look at capabilities of their existing infrastructure and their replacement cycles. However, if you take five or six complex specifications out of the market, it will greatly aid all segments of the industry from manufacturers to end users. I also think that as other regions adopt this similar structure around the world the reasons not to adopt it will become more expensive and less compelling for end users.

Q:The program and ad suppliers will, I’m sure, be delighted to go along. But we are still in an era of 720p at ABC and Fox and 1080i at CBS and NBC. CBS also insists on shoot-and-protect for 16:9, while Fox thinks it’s dumb. How do they reach universal agreement?
SMITH: These are examples of areas that produce business or creative value and should be open for the end users to support in a way that benefits them. What we have achieved it to review all the requirements, separate them into Business, Creative and Technical, and then review each for technical integrity and accuracy, after first asking the question, “does this difference produce value to the business?” I was very pleased to hear people stating that they saw no value in many of the differences and that they would make changes to a common specification, not all but many.

Q:And, if they don’t, what does DPP bring to the table?
SMITH: Those that do adopt the NABA DPP Technical Specification will benefit from the efforts of major broadcasters in North America and around the world to produce a commonly defined, and therefore widely supported format, that will reduce costs, errors and time to market. It is defined by a set of testable building blocks and will be documented in BXF to further reduce errors and enhance accurate automated processing with interoperability.

As organizations face challenges maintaining technical and operations staff with in-depth technical knowledge to develop and facilitate the administration of these complex technical specifications, they now have an alternative that was developed by knowledge resources and their contributions from across the industry and around the world. Most organizations simply cannot afford to commit the resources to meet the current demands or the new and emerging technologies, this is an alternative for them as well as for the major broadcasters of North America.

Also see…
April 12, 2016
“NABA Meeting Highlights Changing Landscape”
The North American Broadcasters Association held its Annual General Meeting in Mexico City, March 1–3. Our Mexican members Televisa and TV Azteca hosted the three-day event at the facilities of Cámara Nacional de la Industria de Radio y Televisión (CIRT).

January 29, 2016
“DPP Launches UHD Standard”
The Digital Production Partnership has revealed a new technical standard for the delivery of Ultra High Definition programs.

October 27. 2014

"DPP is Ready to Roll"

Never heard of DPP? You’re not alone; many U.S. production and post executives haven’t either.

July 17, 2014 

"U.K. DPP Compliance Program Could Benefit U.S. Broadcasters" 

Frustrated by the array of file and tape formats from outside content providers, a number of broadcasters in the United Kingdom have formed the Digital Production Partnership with the goal of solving interoperability issues and to meet specific content delivery. requirements.

The author is director-general of the North American Broadcasters Association. Commentaries from NABA are a recurring feature on radioworld.com.

MEXICO CITY—The North American Broadcasters Association held its Annual General Meeting in Mexico City, March 1–3. Our Mexican members Televisa and TV Azteca hosted the three-day event at the facilities of Cámara Nacional de la Industria de Radio y Televisión (CIRT).

It was an important occasion since NABA had not held an AGM in Mexico in more than a decade. It provided a most productive exchange of ideas, information, new technologies and business plans between broadcasters in Mexico, the United States and Canada all in the context of a rapidly changing broadcast landscape in Mexico.

Televisa and TV Azteca hosted the three-day event at the facilities of Cámara Nacional de la Industria de Radio y Televisión (CIRT). Photos courtesy David Layer.

On March 1, NABA had a full day of committee and board meetings dealing with work on the next generation of television, protection from piracy of broadcast signals and our agenda for the year ahead. This includes ATSC 3.0 implementation, media over IP, a common metadata chip in file formats, High Dynamic Range (HDR), cybersecurity, a renewed effort on achieving a broadcaster treaty at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to protect broadcast signals, and continued work on understanding how the broadcast business model is changing in an IP and OTT (Over-the-Top) world.

It was a most productive day, which ended with a dinner hosted by TV Azteca for all the AGM delegates where Benjamin Salinas, the newly appointed CEO of Azteca, welcomed everyone to Mexico City and talked about the need for easing some of the regulatory framework such as imposing hourly public service advertising on Mexican broadcast networks.

The next day was full with panels and keynote remarks where our Mexican colleagues picked up on the theme introduced by Benjamin Salinas the night before. Sergio Sarmiento, a NABA board member and newly elected NABA VP who is editor-in-chief for TV Azteca, talked about the deterioration of the business environment for broadcast networks and the onerous impact of hourly public service messages (three minutes an hour) that amount to nothing less than government/political propaganda that drives both audiences and advertisers away. This obligation for broadcast networks does not apply to cable or satellite services and thus unfairly impacts them in a very competitive environment.

Edgar Pereda, the president of CIRT, also called for regulatory officials to better understand the challenges of the broadcast environment, and reinforced the theme introduced by Sarmiento. He suggested officials should consult more widely and work with the broadcast community to have a regulatory framework that is fair for everyone and reflects the realities of the industry.

Both of the Mexican keynotes gave the rest of the AGM delegates from North America real insight into the current challenges for broadcast television in Mexico.

There were two very good panels on the next generation of television. The first was moderated by Glenn Reitmeier, Senior VP, technology standards, NBCU and former ATSC chairman, who gave a very good overview of ATSC 3.0. Panelists from the three NABA territories joined him as they discussed the features the new technology could give them to make their broadcast operations more efficient and flexible.

The next panel stayed with the “next generation” theme and focused on deployment strategies for the new broadcast technologies. John Lee, executive director, technology solutions, CBC/Radio Canada (and chair of the NABA Technical Committee) lead the panel. Colleagues with special knowledge of the legal, spectrum, operational and business issues from the U.S. joined him to explore how best the industry can migrate to the next generation. Everyone in the room knew that a successful migration in the US would lead to successful ones in Canada and Mexico, and indeed in other countries in the Americas and Asia.

Other AGM speakers included Jeff Smulyan, CEO of Emmis Communications, who talked about the next generation of radio; the importance of FM chips in mobile phones; apps that give listeners more interaction with broadcast services; and the rollout of digital radio. An important contribution in a day dominated by television content. And we also heard from Fred Mattocks, head, technical strategy for CBC/Radio-Canada about how important getting the strategy and tactics right is for our business since the challenges realizing the next generation are formidable for us all.

While I don’t have the space to give you all the content, it was a very good day that ended with our formal AGM where Bob Ross, senior VP, east coast operations CBS, stepped down as NABA president (he will remain as a board member) and the newly elected executive was introduced. They are NABA President Richard Friedel (executive VP, engineering & operations, Fox Networks and ATSC chairman), NABA Vice-President Sergio Sarmiento (editor-in-chief, TV Azteca), and NABA Vice-President (reelected) John Lee (executive director, technology solutions CBC/Radio-Canada). I thank Bob Ross for his service and leadership to NABA over the past years and look forward to the leadership of the new Executive over their two-year term.

On March 3 we held the “Future of Radio & Audio Symposium.” Paul Brenner, senior VP, Emmis Communications and vice-chair of NABA’s Radio Committee, chaired the day. It was the second Radio Symposium that NABA has done; the first was held in Toronto last year, a third will be held in Washington next year.

It was another day packed with great information, with speakers and panelists interacting with the attendees. The director-general of CIRT gave the opening keynote and, like his counterparts from television the day before, he focused on the new communications law, reform of the electoral law and technological delay. This was an informative context for all the symposium delegates on the challenges facing Mexican radio broadcasters as they embrace change, and it provided a background for the discussions and presentation that followed

Participants in the panel “North American Update on the FM Chip in Mobile Devices.” From left: Daniel Chappell, director, Comite de Radio, PI-AR; Mariana Ferreira, senior director, business development, BLU Products Inc.; Kirk Nesbitt, technical advisor, Canadian Association of Broadcasters; and Sam Matheny, CTO and executive vice-president, National Association of Broadcasters (U.S.)

We also had a panel and then a presentation on the rollout of HD Radio in Mexico. The panel was chaired by Claudio Martinez (VP, consumer electronics business development, DTS Inc.) and included a number of Mexican broadcasters who discussed both business and operational issues. Glynn Walden, whom many consider to be the “father” of HD Radio, participated and added great value to the discussion. At the end of the panel we had a presentation from Miguel Fernandez Arias, director, engineering, IMER (Instituto Mexicano de la Radio) on the technical issues surrounding the rollout of HD Radio in Mexico City.

John Ellis (founder & managing director, Ellis & Associates) gave a terrific presentation on the connected car, covering both the challenges and opportunities open to broadcasters. It is clear that the car is key to a radio broadcaster’s business plan; to not be a part of that connected world is to not have a business. It was great no-nonsense advice from John.

The symposium ended with a great panel chaired by David Layer (senior director, advanced engineering, NAB and Chair, NABA-RC FM Chip WG) focusing on getting the FM chip turned on in mobile phones. Colleagues from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. joined him, and while great strides have been made in the U.S. to get the carriers to activate the chip, there has been little success in Canada and Mexico. Like the connected car, getting the Chip turned on, with the appropriate app to maximize the benefit, is critical to the medium’s future.

Paul Brenner wrapped up the symposium and noted how pleased NABA was about being in Mexico and understanding the Mexican perspective on the challenges we all face.

Paul’s right, it was a great three days. Our thanks to our Mexican hosts: Televisa, TV Azteca and CIRT.

INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.—Mark Harrison said in 2010 it was clear there was problem.

End-to-end digital workflows were not coming together. The BBC ITV and Channel 4 created and funded the Digital Production Partnership, of which Harrison is now managing director. He said the DPP defined a common delivery format, AS-11 UK DPP, that was implemented in March of 2011 at BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Channel 5 and BT Sport and S4C.

At BBC, they have so far put 8,000 AS-11 DPP programs to air “with no problems,” he said.

“At the very least, we’ve taken tape out of the equation,” Harrison said.

The when production companies began to move into a file-based world, and they needed help, he said.

Thus, DPP relaunched as a commercial endeavor to provide the technology beyond the British broadcasters. DPP most recently released an UHD delivery spec, and published a UHD production workflow guide.

In sum, DPP isn’t a standards body, but an organization “that helps get standards implemented,” he said.

DPP’s vetting process never goes beyond 12 months, he said, even though the organization consists of half a dozen people.

THE NA FDF SITCH
Clyde Smith, of Fox stood in for the North American Broadcasters Association. He laid out the laid out the “North American situation.”

Each major network had its own unique technical spec for program delivery, ranging from five pages to 28, he said. Many were incomplete or at least fraught with ambiguity. Some were simple citations of a standard such as SMPTE- 377m-2004—the MXF spec.

“Citing this alone is insufficient as there are many options to specify, as well; so it is incomplete and ambiguous to do so without citing the options,” Smith said later.

The result is costly to manufacturers, creates delays and adds inaccuracies in business processes, he said. Every year, there are new specs and everything starts again.

DPP and NABA formed a strategic partnership last April to help fix that. They’ve had more than 100 document contributions and presentations from across the U.S. and Canada.

The results will consider two workflows: A library master suitable for re-creation of many deliverables, using the original finished program frame rate and a high-quality codec such as J2K or XAVC; and a second air-ready master.

The library master will be released in a few weeks, initially as a common tech spec document, and eventually in XML.

Meanwhile, Smith said the Advanced Media Workflow Association is taking AS-11, the file delivery format developed by the DPP, and breaking it down into a series of rules that he likened to a set of interoperable Lego blocks. The same is happening in Australia, New Zealand and Nordic territories.

There will be two major sections covering network- and broadcaster-specific instructions, and common technical specs. For contractual reasons, broadcasters can specify their production limitations and requirements—which cameras and perhaps graphics and text to be used. These can be part of broadcaster-specific instructions.

The common technical specs will cover video, audio, captions, time code, codecs, file formats and metadata. SMPTE has taken this on with Bruce Devlin leading the group (377-M), while Chris Lennon is working on the XML metadata model.

Finally, Smith mentioned a growing preference from people who want to do high definition with high-dynamic range and wider color gamut, but not necessarily 4K.

The DPP/NABA technical group will bring its work to the Joint Task Force on File Formats and Media Interoperability, which Smith chairs. The JTFFFMI is jointly sponsored by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, AMWA, the Association of National Advertisers, The European Broadcasting Union, the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers, NABA; and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers—pretty much everyone who touches media files for television.