View a live demonstration of RIST Main Profile technology for a limited time only.
Eight companies and one open-source solution have teamed up to generate a real-time demonstration of RIST (Reliable Internet Stream Transport) technology using the just-release Main Profile, which adds two types of encryption, plus authentication, null packet deletion, and support for DTLS tunneling. This demo highlights some of the key features of RIST, including:
- Professional quality video transport, suitable for contribution applications
- Support for long-haul transport across the public Internet
- Interoperability between multiple vendors with independent implementations
- Availability of libRIST open source code
This demo follows the RIST Main Profile, which is an open specification that is freely available on the VSF website for anyone to download and implement. A number of leading video technology companies have teamed up to support this spec and have implemented compatible solutions, including Cobalt, Evertz, Net Insight, Nevion, QVidium, SipRadius, VideoFlow and Zixi. Open source libRIST code is available on the VideoLan code library, and is also being integrated into VLC.
About this Demo
Each of the sources of this live demonstration is originating from a different location across the globe, and delivered to a common receiving location in Florida. Sources are located in California (2) Canada (2), Florida, Israel, Poland, Sweden, and Virginia. There, the video signals have been assembled into a virtual multiviewer and converted into an HLS stream that can be viewed on a wide variety of devices, including Mac, Windows, iOS and Android devices. In a professional application, the direct video outputs of the receivers would be used to feed video directly into a live production switcher or other device, instead of converting the signal into an HLS stream.
The biggest advantage of RIST is that it allows professional quality, high bit-rate video signals to be transported over low-cost, consumer grade Internet services. including WiFi and 4G LTE links. RIST works using a low, fixed amount of delay that can be controlled for each application, which is crucial for preserving timing relationships in high-quality media networks. A stream can be sent over multiple links (path diversity) to support redundancy and for bandwidth aggregation. Demonstrations have shown that RIST can successfully compensate for packet loss rates of 50 percent or more, which exceeds that capabilities of many other Internet video delivery systems.
The Activity Group within the VSF (Video Services Forum) that produced the RIST specification has just begun work on defining the Extended Profile of RIST, which will add an array of new capabilities on top of the current Main Profile. Any member of the VSF is welcome to join the effort.
