Artel Releases First of Two Precision Timing Protocol White Papers

Artel Video Systems announced the release of a new white paper, titled “It’s About (Precision) Time,” that addresses the use of IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) for ensuring accurate timing all along the signal-processing path for AES67 audio and SMPTE ST 2110 video. The white paper is available for download from www.artel.com/precision.

“As IP video and audio technology moves rapidly into the domain of IP networking, IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol will become essential to all facets of media production,” says Rafael Fonseca, Vice President Product Management, Artel. “That’s because it permits hundreds and even thousands of devices to work together in absolute synchronization to support all the timing relationships that are so critical to properly formatted media signals. Through this white paper, readers will gain a better understanding of PTP and the many ways it can work for a media facility, especially when the right equipment is in place.”

Timing drives every aspect of signal delivery, particularly when synchronizing video to audio to achieve lip sync. With the transition to IP networks for all aspects of the signal-processing path, accurate timing has become more difficult due to the fundamentally asynchronous, nondeterministic nature of packet-based networks. PTP solves that problem and is now required by today’s media standards, including SMPTE ST 2110 for IP video production and AES67 for IP audio. When used properly, PTP can synchronize device clocks to within nanoseconds across a large network with hundreds of nodes. When those clocks are derived from GPS signals, PTP can provide a very accurate and stable time base for all types of signals within multimedia operations.

“It’s About (Precision) Time” explains the components and benefits of PTP and the ways it can be applied in media production.