Time to Wrap Up 2022

Dr. Ciro Noronha, President, the RIST Forum

Here we are fast approaching the end of another year, and it has certainly been a busy 12 months for the Reliable Internet Transport Stream (RIST) Forum. Developed jointly by a group of experts using a standards-based approach, RIST provides an open-specification, open-source, interoperable and technically robust solution for low-latency live video over unmanaged networks.  

More availability  

We’ve seen the number of RIST supported commercial video products grow throughout the year. The availability of RIST enabled products across the media distribution lifecycle, makes it possible for live video to be encoded/decoded, processed, and distributed over IP, all without compromising on quality, latency, or security.   

RIST has been designed to enable multi-vendor interoperability, while ensuring vendors remain free to innovate within their own implementations. The open framework makes it easy for vendors to incorporate RIST into their products, which in turn benefits media companies as more and more RIST enabled products are added to the market.  

Making the most of industry events 

This year has seen the return of industry events, which has been great for the RIST Forum because we’ve been able to get back out there and really showcase what RIST can do. The NAB show was a great example of RIST in action. Not only did RIST members get the opportunity to showcase their RIST enabled products, the IP Showcase also featured three RIST focused presentations. The presentations were a great opportunity for people to find out more about how RIST operates and how its features can benefit users. Topics covered included libRIST (a popular FOSS implementation of RIST), information about a new ancillary feature, and lastly, the RIST Advanced Profile which includes features such as a tunneling mode for legacy protocols, as well as new additional security features. 

We held a highly successful Interop demo at Vidtrans 2022 that involved streams being transported over the internet to the show floor, using a variety of links and ISPs (including a satellite segment).  For each transmission, there was a different vendor on the sending and receiving sides. We’ve also made the most of panel sessions and speaking opportunities throughout the year including a RIST Roundup panel discussion at Vidtrans 2022, focusing on technical developments and innovative market applications.  

It would be remiss not to mention the IBC show, which returned this year with much fanfare. It presented many opportunities to really raise awareness of and promote RIST so did not disappoint. KitPlus TV also featured a great video interview on the RIST Forum so that gave us some extra opportunity to promote RIST.

 More recently, we held a webinar to update interested parties on new features and current development work. 

Ongoing improvements 

The Reliable Internet Stream Transport Activity Group (RIST-AG) has been operating for 5 years and in that time, it has worked tirelessly to improve the RIST protocol. There are now three major Specifications, each designed to meet different user needs: RIST Simple Profile (TR-06-1), RIST Main Profile (TR-06-2), and RIST Advanced Profile (TR-06-3).  

This year, we’ve made a number of improvement updates to the main Specifications. The updates to the Main Profile, TR-06-2, and Advanced Profile, TR-06-3, include support for the EAP-SHA256-SRP6a Authentication Protocol. The update means that RIST can be used to securely create a multicast content distribution system, which is completely open source and a free alternative to proprietary DRM systems. 

The RIST AG also recently published TR-06-4 Part 1, Source Adaptation.  This defines a common way for receivers to provide real-time feedback on network conditions, so that the source can either adjust its bit rate or its routing to react to network changes. We look forward to continuing to develop the RIST protocol throughout the next 12 months so that it can better serve users, making it even easier to transport broadcast grade video over IP.  

To find out more about becoming a RIST member, get in touch.