nmi project AMWA

What is the NMI?

The Networked Media Incubator project is a project sponsored by the AMWA to enable open, multi-vendor interoperability in professional media networks. The activity is focused on getting early tangible results by concentrating on specific technical areas through a series of collaborative development activities and facilitating virtual and physical interchanges between system developers. The technical goals of the group will be guided by the Reference Architecture (RA) published by the Joint Task Force on Networked Media.

Why is this activity important now?

A number of users are currently seeking to purchase IP-based professional media solutions and are faced with an increasing range of non-convergent solutions, particularly for functionality beyond the 'wire-for-wire' replacement for SDI that is specified in SMPTE ST 2022. If this trend continues, the industry will inevitably face a painful 'rationalization' as systems which have been relatively recently purchased will have to either be retrofitted or be replaced entirely by a future generation of more interoperable software and hardware.

Didn't the Joint Task Force on Networked Media publish a Reference Architecture to address this problem?

The JT-NM RA describes a conceptual model for interoperability for use cases that go beyond the 'ST 2022 based approaches, designed for contribution that will allow end users and manufacturers to truly benefit from the cost saving, flexibility and scalability of an Internet-based approach. The AMWA Networked Media Incubator effort seeks to make this model a reality by enabling practical implementations of the frameworks presented by the JT-NM RA. It is the hope that these early implementations will all start with a few fundamental frameworks and that these frameworks will make future interoperability much easier and less costly for both end users and manufacturers.

How will the NMI project help?

The project seeks to maximize early interoperability in this space by adopting an open, iterative approach. For each phase, the group will pick a technical area of focus, agree to a design approach, independently implement, and test interoperation at a physical meeting. The first phase will focus on the foundational frameworks identified in the JT-NM RA: timing, identity and registration & discovery.

I do not have a JT-NM RA-based product. Can I participate?

Absolutely yes. If you have an interest in the activity - and you are open to working with your colleagues in the industry to improve interoperability - and you are in a position to write software and develop products, or enable people in your organization to participate who do these things - then you are definitely welcome. This activity is about getting a core group of developers together to quickly and efficiently "get on with it". It is not an activity focused on writing words on pages.

Which organisations are supporting open specifications?

Several industry organisations currently have initiatives which complement our work. Read how these all relate to each other here.

How can I get involved?

You may contact Neil Dunstan ([email protected]) for more information and to get involved in this work.

Downloads:

  • AMWA NMI Rules (Version 2)
    To ensure that the NMI project is fair to everyone who participates, regardless of the level of interoperability they are able to achieve, the AMWA has adopted the following rules. These rules are intended to encourage open participation where vendors can learn from each other as they work to improve the interoperability of their products.

  • Initial Web Meeting Slides | Gate flowchart in PDF
    These slides were presented at the NMI kickoff meeting held September 24, 2015.

  • IBC NMI Slides
    These slides were presented by Phil Tudor at IBC2015.

  • Press Release