SMPTE EBU Joint Task Force on Timing & Synchronization

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have formed a new Joint Task Force to examine future needs for timing and synchronization in moving picture and related industries, and to recommend appropriate standardization. The Task Force is chaired jointly by Dr Hans Hoffmann of the EBU Technical Department, and Peter Symes, SMPTE Director of Standards & Engineering.

Current methods of timing and synchronization for television, audio and other moving picture signals rely on standards that have been in place for over 30 years. These standards are becoming increasingly inappropriate for the digital age with, for example, networked content sharing or higher frame rate HDTV image formats, and they now impose unacceptable limitations for the future.

The Task Force will begin by focusing on user requirements from broadcasters, and the media and entertainment industries. Once these user requirements are known, the Task Force will publish one or more Requests for Technology (RFT). The industry's responses to these RFT will be evaluated against the user requirements. The outcome of this process will be a set of specifications that will be passed to the appropriate SMPTE Technology Committees for due process standardization.

The Task Force will initially be open to all interested parties, but it is possible that membership may be restricted for later meetings to ensure the necessary focus.

To participate in the Task Force it is necessary to complete THIS AGREEMENT, whereupon you will be given access to a Wiki that will be used to facilitate the work of the group and you will also be able to register for the next meeting.

The Task Force "Request for Technology" (RFT) has now been published (see below). At the June meeting RFT respondents presented their proposals to the Task Force at the start of the evaluation process. Following meetings will continue evaluation and attempt to derive a "best of the best" proposal.

Request for Technology

The Task Force has collected user requirements and prepared a Request for Technology (RFT) that mat be downloaded from the link below. Persons or organizations interested in proposing solutions should download the RFT and submit responses as indicated in the document. RESPONSES ARE DUE BY MAY 1, 2008.

Download the RFT

The RFT references an unpublished SMPTE document prepared as SMPTE 404M. A draft of this document is available for download below. This document is provided as reference for RFT respondents and TF members only--it should NOT be taken as a SMPTE Standard.

Download SMPTE 404M Draft

Task Force for Harmonized Standards for the Exchange of Program Material as Bit Streams

The Task Force met from 1996 to 1998, and delivered two reports:

First Report: User Requirements April 1997

Final Report: Analyses and Results July 1998