With new features that are supportive of decentralised and remote production, the AES70 network control standard seems poised for a new level of recognition in broadcast with its latest update, writes David Davies
By Contributor
Published: June 16, 2022
With new features that are supportive of decentralised and remote production, the AES70 network control standard seems poised for a new level of recognition in broadcast with its latest update, writes David Davies
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
It would be fair to say that, in the modern era of networking, it has tended to be transportation technologies that have dominated the industry discussion. For instance, during the 2010s, there was considerable coverage of the multiple audio-over-IP technologies that promised to give customers a more flexible future in terms of transportation and connectivity. Indeed, the options were ultimately so extensive that the the Audio Engineering Society (AES) introduced a standard, AES67, that provided a significant level of interoperability between existing IP audio technologies.
There is no doubt that AES67 has been a sizeable hit. Its incorporation into the SMPTE ST 2110 IP media standards suite and adoption by manufacturers across the board are proof of that. But even when AES67 was first published in 2013, there was a general recognition that another important piece of the puzzle - network control and monitoring - would also have to be addressed with a widely-accepted standard.
The AES' response to this was the AES70 standard, which was based on the Open Control Architecture (OCA) developed by the OCA Alliance from 2011 onwards. Eventually published as AES70 in January 2016, the standard provides a specification for device control, monitoring and connection management. Like AES67, AES70 is intended to work with a wide variety of IP-based technologies, but does not have a transportation element.
Possibly because of the attention given to the transition from legacy transportation technologies to IP, it's not always been easy to ascertain the evolution of network control in recent years. But as Ethan Wetzell, marketing committee chair at the OCA Alliance and platform strategist at Bosch Communications, indicates, AES70 has been gradually gaining momentum through its original version and two subsequent updates, AES70-2018 and now AES70-2022.
Commercially, AES70 has established a respectable market presence and adoption uptake with dozens of products available from multiple manufacturers, says Wetzell. However, it is still early days and adoption of control standards is a process that can realistically take time. It is off to a great start, but it is just the beginning.
Enhancing and extending Describing the previous version, AES70-2018, as a mature standard that has provided the basis of commercial products, Wetzell says that the 2022 update is focused on extending and adding functionality, improving ease of use for adopters, and evolving the standard in ways that build upon the existing design's established and stable state.
Accordingly, the improvements are in large part geared towards improving ease of deployment across different system types. Jeff Berryman, technical committee chair of the OCA Alliance and senior scientist at Bosch Communications, explains they include new and improved media stream connection management features and standards, [such as] methods for managing media connections in MILAN and ST 2110 systems. The second change I would highlight is a set of features for controllers to manage, upload and download large data blocks, eg. media files (including recording and playback features), log files, device-specific files, and so on. Finally, we have added powerful support for saved parameter settings (aka presets') and pre-defined command sequences (aka scripts'). This provides substantial system functionality for complex systems and devices.
To date, the flexibility of AES70 has perhaps been best illustrated by its use as both a primary control technology and a parallel complement to existing control solutions. Looking ahead, it seems the OCA Alliance regards the technology as an enabler of more versatile broadcast infrastructures in which the cloud and remote production play an ever-greater role.
For both commercial and technical reasons, the future of broadcast audio production is in IP-based facilities with integrated workflows that may include cloud-based processing, says Berryman. These facilities will often be decentralised and include contribution from remote locations that are not professionally managed, such as home offices. The successful operation of such facilities will depend critically on the ability of broadcast directors and engineers to control and monitor the production equipment - including both physical and cloud-based virtual devices - remotely. AES70 is currently the only available professional protocol that is sufficiently feature-rich, reliable, and multivendor-friendly to support this.
Easier to adopt AES70 is already supported by a broad spectrum of leading manufacturers, including Focusrite, RTS, Bosch, DYNACORD and d&b audiotechnik (a full list of products can be found at the OCA Alliance website). Noting the technology's recent inclusion in the prestigious RH Consulting Networked Audio Products report, Wetzell says that awareness of AES70 is gradually spreading through the industry . Nonetheless, the OCA Alliance is now advancing plans designed to make AES70 more appealing to a wider cross-section of companies.
Invited to consider the roadmap for AES70 in the wake of its 2022 update, Berryman responds: In the near-term, the priority will be to make AES70 easier for manufacturers to adopt. This initiative will have three components: firstly, more and better documentatio
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13 with guest ...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
04/12/2025
Lightware, a global specialist in AV connectivity, is looking back on a year defined by new advancements, strong collaboration and continued growth. Across the ...
04/12/2025
Riedel Communications today announced a new partnership with Haivision, a leading global provider of mission-critical, real-time video networking and visual col...
04/12/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) and Normann Engineering today announced a major milestone in their strategic collaboration, celebrating 20 successful broadband deployme...
With new features that are supportive of decentralised and remote production, the AES70 network control standard seems poised for a new level of recognition in broadcast with its latest update, writes David Davies
