At the same time, the alliance will be exhibiting on the exhibition floor (booth 1152), explaining and demonstrating the benefits of the OCA standards-based control and monitoring architecture, with a live demonstration of control and monitoring across networked audio devices from different manufacturers.
OCA defines communications protocols for reliable and secure control and monitoring of AV device networks of 2 to 10,000 nodes. AES project "AES-X210" is currently working to render OCA into a ratified AES standard.
At the convention alliance members will be participating in panel discussions to increase the understanding of the benefits and impact of the upcoming AES standard for manufacturers, designers, specifiers and end-users; on Saturday 11 October, from 14:00 to 15:00, OCA representative Ethan Wetzell will present Networked Audio: N11 - How Standardization has Benefited Our Industry and How a Command and Control Standard Can Generate Growth and Innovation.
The live product demonstration on the OCA Alliance booth will comprise three products, from alliance member manufacturers, interconnected by a common Ethernet and under common control and monitoring by the OCA protocol.
The Focusrite RedNet 4 with Ethernet networked studio interface, the Bosch Audio Processing Switch (APS) and the d&b audiotechnik D80 amplifier will be controlled by a proof-of-concept OCA software application, developed by alliance members. With common control and monitoring of parameters on all three devices, the demonstration will illustrate the real-world benefits of the standards-based Open Control Architecture.
Of these products, the d&b audiotechnik D80 amplifier is already commercially available with OCA built in. It was deployed, using OCA control and monitoring, by UK sound production company Skan on The Other Stage at this year's Glastonbury Festival, and by Eighth Day Sound on several recent major concert tours, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z On the Run tour, Lady Gaga, Eminem and Rihanna The Monster Tour, One Direction, Kings of Leon and The Black Keys. The reaction to the OCA functionality has been extremely enthusiastic and fully positive. In the coming months more products incorporating OCA will become commercially available from OCA Alliance member companies.
Jeff Berryman, the OCA Alliance's technical workgroup chair, states, "The equipment is interoperating as expected. I am pleased to report that, both in demonstration and also in the field, Open Control Architecture is proving to be a major success. The next step is for the AES to complete its process of ratification of OCA 1.3 as a public standard."
(Jim Evans)
