A pioneering joint international task force on networked media production has today published its eagerly awaited Gap Analysis Report. It provides an analysis of the extent to which responses to the task force's Request for Technology (RFT), issued in September, cover the user requirements that had previously been captured.
Cross-industry cooperation
The Joint Task Force on Networked Media was formed in April 2013 by the EBU, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), and the Video Services Forum (VSF). Its work has been carried out according to an aggressive timetable, recognizing the narrow window of opportunity that exists to ensure interoperability as the use of IT infrastructure and packet networks (Ethernet, IP, etc.) in media production increases rapidly.
A total of 27 organizations responded to the RFT. Together they submitted a total of 66 technologies deemed to be applicable to the user requirements specified in the RFT. In addition to analysing how the reponses covered the requirements, the Gap Analysis Report includes a summary of each submission and a number of observations. A link to the full response is provided for each submission.
The exercise brought together like minds and it references excellent technologies that will find application in the near future. The responses shed light on many relevant areas and it is clear that there is already significant momentum behind several of the technologies. Despite the need for more clarity regarding overall solutions, the submissions should be leveraged in future efforts towards common goals.
Next Steps
To achieve the goal of interoperability, the technologies need to be studied from a system perspective. There also remains a need to validate whether some of the proposed technologies are actually suitable in the media production industry.
The JT-NM partners are now set to discuss possible future activities. While some activities may take place within the framework of the task force, it's important to note that others could carried out by individual organizations or other industry groups. An announcement is expected sometime in the first quarter of 2014; in the meantime readers of the report are welcome to provide feedback to jt-nm-adm@videoservicesforum.org.
Click here for more on JT-NM and to download the Gap Analysis Report.