Survey Shows the Industry Wants an Open Media Control Plane to Achieve Interoperability

If you're involved in media production technology — whether you’re a broadcaster planning your next equipment purchase, a manufacturer developing new products, or a systems integrator architecting systems for the future — knowing the industry’s preferences for control plane standards will help you make decisions that align with where the market is clearly moving.

The results from a comprehensive survey conducted by AMWA and EBU reveal critical insights that could shape your technology decisions and strategic planning for years to come. The survey explored how professionals across our industry view control, which is defined as the ways users interact with and manage media devices, including hardware equipment and software applications. 

With 97 responses representing 75 different organizations — including everything from small media companies to the largest, most prominent manufacturers, systems integrators, and broadcasters — these findings offer a representative snapshot of where your peers and competitors see the industry heading. One methodology note before diving into the data is that when there were multiple responses from the same company, those responses were aggregated to count as a single response per organization.

For the purposes of this survey, Control is defined by the ways users interact with and manage Media Devices - including hardware equipment as well as software applications. Those interactions include:

• Dynamic Operations: Adjusting live operational parameters through user interfaces like knobs, faders, buttons, and selectors.

• Device Observation: Monitoring Device status and alarms via monitoring systems.

• Initial Configuration: Configuring static parameters to establish a Device's initial or default state.

An Open Control Specification is the Priority

When asked to rank what’s most important to respondents, the top choice was an open control specification. The overall ranking was the same for all categories of respondents. 

Respondents were less interested in conforming to the same spec, or a limited number of control specs. Because the least popular response was that only some devices should have a control specification, that could be interpreted as the industry wanting all devices to be controllable.

NMOS-Control is the Top Choice for Interoperability

When asked how we can best achieve control interoperability, the most popular answer is NMOS-Control APIs (IS-12, BCP-008, MS-05, and IS-14). This was the top choice among all categories of respondents. The second most popular response in all categories was any open specification or API. Combined, the vast majority of survey respondents (74%) are clear in wanting an open solution. 

Catena was only selected by 7% of manufacturer respondents as their choice for interoperability, but it wasn't a preferred option for end users or systems integrators.

Open specifications for the purposes of this survey means:

• Publicly Available: It is freely accessible to anyone, typically without a charge for the document itself. This means it can be read, downloaded, and distributed by all interested parties.

• Well-Documented: The specification is comprehensive, clear, and unambiguous, providing all necessary details for multiple independent implementations to achieve interoperability. It avoids intentional secrets or ambiguities that would hinder implementation.

• Royalty-Free/Compensation-Free: There are no royalties or fees required to implement or use the technology described by the specification. This means that anyone can develop products or services based on the specification without paying licensing fees for intellectual property (like patents or copyrights) essential to its implementation. While certification for compliance might incur a fee, the core use of the specification for development remains free.

• Vendor-Neutral & Non-Discriminatory: It is not controlled by a single company or individual. Its development and maintenance typically involves a collaborative, consensus-driven process overseen by an association, standardization body or open-source framework, ensuring fair competition and preventing vendor lock-in.

When asked about using NMOS Minimum Status Monitoring (NMOS BCP-008),  which defines an easy-to-follow traffic light system to monitor the health of IP media facilities, 75% of all respondents were very or somewhat interested. As you might expect, twice the number of end users are very interested in NMOS Minimum Status Monitoring compared to manufacturers, clearly showing that it is the end users who feel the pain trying to monitor faults in real-world multi-vendor installations. 

For more about Minimum Status Reporting and how it could simplify your workflow, check out this 2.5-minute video. 

Three out of Four Are Moving Toward Software

Finally, when asked how prepared respondents are for a transition to software-based (or cloud-based) production, 76% say they are fully or partially prepared. Manufacturers are the most likely to indicate that they’re ready, with nearly half saying they are fully prepared. Among end users and systems integrators, 25% say they are in the early stages of preparation. 

These surprisingly strong data points may indicate a self-selection bias among respondents to a survey about a Media Control Plane. However, we can safely conclude that our industry is well aware of this next major transition. 

Conclusions

As the industry transitions to software-based production, it’s clear there is a real need and desire for control plane interoperability. And an open control plane is the most-wanted approach, with NMOS- Control as the top choice, followed by any open specification. There’s also a lot of interest in using NMOS Minimum Status Reporting. 

Want to find out more about NMOS-Control? Read this blog post: NMOS: What’s In It For You? Device Monitoring, Minimum Status Reporting, and More.  The AMWA and EBU survey shows that the industry wants an open media control plane to achieve interoperability.

Your Input!

Take 30 seconds and let us know if you’d like to attend a workshop, participate in a tested event, or something more: https://forms.gle/wFXi11DWnrNN1PAK7