ISE 2016: AES70 Ratification and Beckhoff OCA Implementation Major Themes for OCA Alliance

	Alliance technical Workgroup members Mike Sims and Jeff Berryman presentation, The OCA MicroDemo: An AES70 Implementation for Small Processors, in the ISE Audio Solutions Theatre.

Exhibiting for the first time since ratification of Open Control Architecture (OCA) by the Audio Engineering Society as the AES70 standard, the OCA Alliance experienced its busiest ever trade show at ISE, reflecting a heightened interest among AV industry professionals in a common remote control standard. The alliance's booth was effectively a walk-on rolling OCA seminar, hosting a live demonstration of OCA (AES70) control interoperability and continuous advanced technical discussions between OCA Alliance member company representatives and the AV industry at large.

In addition, OCA Alliance technical workgroup members Mike Sims, of Attero Tech, and chair Jeff Berryman, of Bosch Communications, presented an alliance white paper, The OCA MicroDemo: An AES70 Implementation for Small Processors, in the ISE Audio Solutions Theatre. This described in detail how the Open Control Architecture is not only designed to be scaled up to the very largest applications, but that the architecture can simultaneously be implemented in compact and resource-constrained hardware like wall panels.

Of major significance was the announcement at the show, that PC-based control technology specialist Beckhoff, a market leader in the automation and building sector, was launching its OCA (AES70) implementation at ISE, a move which attracted considerable interest during the show. Integrators and manufacturers alike are now looking towards exploiting the increased interoperability and ease of integration within the media and entertainment sector that Beckhoff's OCA (AES70) implementation offers; providing for interoperability with over 400 types of signals.

Commenting on the success of the OCA Alliance's exhibiting at ISE for the first time, chair of the marketing workgroup, Marc Weber said, "We cannot overstate the importance of the alliance's participation in an event like ISE. As a not-for-profit organization, dependent on industry professional's giving of their time and expertise, it is a challenge to mount effective education and awareness campaigns at such a massive event but, as our engagement with manufacturers, integrators, and users alike has proven, it is extremely worthwhile and produces tangible results in providing momentum for the uptake of OCA (AES70)."