Advanced Television

AIMS, NABA collaborate on IP interoperability

December 6, 2017

The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has entered into a formal liaison agreement with the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA). The agreement, they say, is a statement that these two industry organisations have common objectives and perspectives about the technology roadmap for IP.

The agreement comes on the heels of the successful Media Over IP (MoIP) workshop held in New York in October, which was a collaborative effort hosted by AIMS, NABA, SMPTE, and VSF. The agreement allows AIMS and NABA to work together and share insight about how best to proceed with IP technology in a practical way that will work for both the manufacturers that create the products and the broadcasters that purchase and use them.

“NABA has been working on MoIP for a couple of years, defining our needs and trying to understand what the transition means to us. We shared our task-force report with AIMS over a year ago and have been talking ever since. This partnership was just the logical next step,” said Michael McEwen, general director of NABA. “It’s important to have discussions so that AIMS members know what NABA constituents need, and now that we’ve formalised a partnership, those discussions will be easier to have. 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. We look forward to an exciting, symbiotic relationship.”

“AIMS’ mission is to foster the adoption of a common set of protocols for interoperability over IP in the media and entertainment industry. Collaboration is key to this mission, and although AIMS is 75 members strong, it can’t foster adoption on its own. There’s far more leverage when we collaborate with other organizations who share a common goal,” said Michael Cronk, AIMS board chair. “NABA represents so many broadcasters in North America, and adoption of anything in our industry involves economic decisions by these broadcasters. Moreover, NABA has gone on the record with its MoIP report that recommends the same open standards and specifications as AIMS. We welcome this partnership as a way to accelerate a viable solution for IP interoperability.”

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