54 l April 2013
www.psneurope.com
livefeature AVB: where are we now?
With pro-audio endpoint certification getting underway this month and the final related IEEE standard on course to be ratified in June, it would seem to be all systems go for AVB networking. But when is it really going to start making a dent on our everyday lives, asks David Davies?
IF WE date the moment that Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) first began to impinge on the collective consciousness to August 2009 and the formation of the AVnu Alliance, then it becomes apparent that AVB is a very recent phenomenon indeed. But such have been the
formidable expectations placed on the technology – not to mention the acres of media coverage in publications such as PSNEurope – that it often feels like we have been living in an AVB world for a good deal longer than that. Unless you’ve been following
the Mayan doctrine and biding your time in an underground shelter these past few years, you’ll almost certainly be aware that AVB revolves around a group of technical standards
The AvNu Alliance announced its 50th member at ISE 2013
developed by the IEEE Audio Video Bridging Task Group of the IEEE 802.1 standards committee. Over the past half- decade, this group has been working to establish standards that will allow low latency, time- synchronised streaming through IEEE 802-based networks – the overriding objective being comprehensive interoperability of networked AV devices. In parallel with the ongoing
standards programme, the AVnu Alliance has gradually pulled together more than 50 pro-AV and IT companies – among them founder members Harman, Broadcom, Cisco, Intel and Xilinx – to develop interoperability certification
programmes and promote general awareness of AVB. Pro audio has not always been a benchmark for information- sharing in the past, so the Alliance has arguably occasioned an unprecedented level of co-operation between some of the industry’s heaviest hitters. With extensive demos taking
place at tradeshows including InfoComm and ISE, the past 12 months have witnessed AVB’s maturation as an industry trend. February 2013 was particularly significant, with AVnu Alliance membership passing the 50 companies mark and the announcement of interoperability certification
“It takes a bit of time to spin up an ecosystem – but [for AVB] that process is clearly well
underway now” Lee Minich, AVnu Alliance/
Lab X Technologies
testing for AVB bridges to take place at the University of New Hampshire. Ahead of proposed 10GB
The AVnu Alliance booth at ISE 2013
AVB video demos, PSNEurope decided it was time for a general progress report on AVB and an answer to the question: how long will it be before AVB becomes a daily default for live, install and broadcast applications?
SETTING STANDARDS As of April 2013, all but one of the standards associated with the AVB project had been ratified and published, namely: IEEE 802.1BA-2011, Audio Video Bridging Systems; IEEE 802.1Qav, Forwarding and Queuing Enhancements for Time-Sensitive Streams, and IEEE 802.1Qat, Stream Reservation Protocol (both incorporated into IEEE 802.1Q- 2011); IEEE 802.1AS, Timing and Synchronisation for Time- Sensitive Applications in Bridged Local Area Networks; IEEE 1722, Layer 2 Transport Protocol for Time-Sensitive Applications in a Bridged Local Area Network; and IEEE 1733, Layer 3 Transport Protocol for Time Sensitive Applications in Local Area Networks. (Phew!) The sole remaining standard – IEEE 1722.1 for Discovery, Enumeration, Connection Management and Control – was submitted as draft last year. Lee Minich – chair, AVnu Alliance Marketing Work Group, and president, Lab X Technologies – confirms that IEEE 1722.1 is currently in sponsor ballet, which is “the final stage in the IEEE process for final review before being ratified. It is anticipated that this will be ratified by June of this year.”
Photograph by Jerry Placken
Photograph by Jerry Placken
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