What has RIST got to offer? Come and see us at IBC 2024 to find out!

Stand designs are ready, meetings are booked, schedules are filled, and bags are (almost) packed. The Reliable Internet Stream Transport (RIST) Forum is all set, once again, to head to Amsterdam for another fantastic IBC show.

For those of you new to RIST, the RIST Forum exists to drive adoption of the RIST protocol, which provides an interoperable and technically robust way to send high quality video across unmanaged networks. Critically, while detailed enough to ensure interoperability, the RIST protocol also enables vendors to innovate. It does this by specifying a minimum set of functionality and behavior required across all implementations, while leaving it open for individual vendors to layer advanced functionality on top.

With so many vendors all in one place, IBC presents the perfect opportunity for RIST Forum members to shout about the latest developments to the RIST protocol and showcase their own innovative RIST implemented products. The number of RIST enabled products is continuously growing and we’re excited to see so many RIST members exhibiting at IBC this year.

Here’s a glimpse of what some RIST Forum members will be showcasing at the RAI:

Cobalt - stand 10.B41

Lead member Cobalt Digital will be showcasing several solution areas at IBC, including RIST. It will have a live camera at its Champaign, Illinois headquarters being transmitted by a Cobalt PACIFIC 9992-ENC using a RIST Main Profile tunnel to the show floor, using the public Internet and a cellular connection. This transmission will be using TR‑06‑4 Part 1 Source Adaptation to match the encoder bit rate with the instantaneous network capacity, as well as NULL Packet Deletion, to provide a compliant CBR stream.

On the show floor, this signal will be received by a PACIFIC 9992-DEC, which will convert it to SDI and provide a clean UDP output. The SDI signal will be converted to ST 2110 using Cobalt’s INDIGO series. Both the clean UDP signal and the ST 2110 stream will be displayed by Cobalt’s UltraBlue IP Multiviewer, which also features native RIST support. 

Hibrid – stand 5.A40

Affiliate member Hibrid will be demonstrating its IP distribution services which it provides to a multitude of stakeholders with various hardware, software and specialized requirements using multiple distribution protocols. Hibrid’s services support open-source initiatives including RIST, HLS, MPEG-DASH and SRT, to ensure streams are delivered to recipients matching their technical requirements, down to the smallest detail. In this service provision, RIST is filling in some of the essential gaps that other protocols do not provide, namely through its Source Adaptation feature.

The RIST Source Adaption feature allows the sender and receiver software to communicate in real-time regarding stream quality. If packets are lost or if the network bandwidth drops for any reason, the sender can communicate with the encoder to lower the bitrate and adjust accordingly. This is a definite game changer for the industry, guaranteeing a stream’s continuous availability 24/7.

Net Insight – stand 1.C48

Associate member Net Insight will be showcasing its award winning RIST enabled products Nimbra Edge and Connect iT, a hyper-scale media cloud platform built to reduce network complexity. The products enable users to connect, manage and consume content easily anywhere. Both products are powered by the RIST protocol, leveraging many features provided such as protection schemes, encryption and point-to-multipoint. Nimbra Edge and Connect iT provide the customer with a simple but powerful user interface, making it easy to operate advanced workflows. Providing real-time insights with Grafana dashboards, users can keep track of all their services, without having to lose focus on the content being sent.

The products are scalable, making them perfect for occasional use events where users need more power for a certain amount of time, reaching new destinations that aren’t part of daily operations. Users can easily scale down when done so only pay for what is needed. Both platforms are based on openness, delivering an open API, working with multiple vendors and technologies, providing a value added service that can be used in day-to-day operations. RIST enabled products Nimbra Edge and Connect iT provide simplicity, a single pane of glass, and leverage the latest in technology.  

SipRadius - stand 5.F43

Leading Member SipRadius has developed innovative applications to bring new functionality to meet the practical needs of broadcast and media companies, and these will be showcased at IBC. SipRadius built a system for viewing very large numbers of content streams at any location worldwide, using rist2rist nodes in the cloud for an automatically self-scaling system which still retains excellent packet loss protection. In this system, the RIST stream encapsulates metadata as well as audio and video so users can see all the related information. Applications like this require a RIST on-ramp, and SipRadius has recently added the MRTC media gateway to its range. This gateway accepts the media in whatever IP format it is provided from encoders, including UDP, RTMP, SRT, and consumer streams like VLC and OBS. Additionally, it can be paired with SipRadius’ own Max. EXP encoder which adds NDI, SDI and SMPTE 2110 uncompressed video ingest capabilities to the mix. The MRTC packages multiplexed content into a RIST on-demand stream for delivery.

To meet another real need for broadcasters working on remote productions across multiple sites, SipRadius has also developed SipVault using the RIST protocol. First, it provides ultra-low latency, addressable intercom across the public internet. Recognizing that production teams need to exchange text messages, scripts and other documents, plus objects like reference stills and clips, SipVault is a complete messaging app, completely self-hosted and with 256-bit AES encryption for absolute security. It enables instant set-up, and users can access it through the device that is most appropriate to their needs.

Join us at IBC

As mentioned, there will be many more RIST members exhibiting at IBC and demonstrating their RIST enabled products, in addition to those highlighted above. For a full list of RIST certified products, visit the RIST website.

As has become a RIST tradition at IBC, RIST will be hosting a drinks reception on Saturday 14th September at 5pm. This year’s event will be held on the SipRadius/MistServer stand (hall 5, stand 5.F43). We can’t wait to see you there.

If you want to find out more about how RIST can help you do more, why not talk to one of our Directors or representatives. To arrange a meeting, please get in touch (suzana@rist.tv).