Unlocking SMPTE ST 2138 (Catena): A Unified Control Plane for Modern Media Systems

Thomas Bause Mason is the Director of Standards Development for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). At SMPTE he is responsible for maintaining the technical infrastructure for both the standards community and SMPTE HO. Bause Mason, formerly owner of Open Media Consulting, began his career in Cologne, Germany, as a computer programmer for automation software in the nuclear and automobile industries. Before his move to Los Angeles, Bause Mason worked at West German Television (WDR) and Cologne Broadcasting Center, where he led the quality control department. In Los Angeles, he became a postproduction consultant and then built and managed the encoding operations for Ascent Media. Joining NBCUniversal in 2005, he focused on emerging technology, spending two years in London to support the company's international business. Throughout his career, Bause Mason has assisted industry organizations in the development of standards, technical recommendations, and study group reports. He holds several patents and is a SMPTE Fellow.

Chris Lennonserves in Ross Video’s Office of the CTO as Director, Standards Strategy. He is responsible for Ross’ activities in global standards and trade organization has held a variety of leadership positions in the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), including Standards Director, Local Section Manager, Technology Committee Chair, and others.

John Naylor is the vice president of product security and Ross Research Labs. He oversees the advanced security practices across all development teams and collaborates with industry groups like the EBU and NABA to advance broadcast security standards. John began his impressive career with a degree in Electroacoustics. At AMS-Neve (formerly Calrec), he designed DSP components for the world’s first all-digital audio deck, the Academy award-winning Logic Series. He then developed 4k 3D DVEs on SGI servers for yet another Academy Award-winning project, Kodak Cinéon, which was used in creating the iconic ‘Bullet time’ sequence in The Matrix. Naylor then pivoted to project management, founding a design center for GVG. He managed the Emmy Award-winning Grass Valley Profile and led the team to deliver the Turbo product server in just 15 months. Later, at NewTek, he tripled TriCaster revenues within two years. During his decade at Ross Video, Naylor established Ross Research Labs, introducing innovations like the softGear line and Catena. He also launched the Product Security initiative. Fueled by his interest in cybersecurity, cloud technologies, and artificial intelligence, Naylor earned the respected CISSP certification, marking a pivot to a dedicated cybersecurity role.