Bosch Communications Systems, d&b audiotechnik, Duran Audio and LOUD Technologies are among the eight founders of the Open Control Architecture Alliance (OCA Alliance).
Media Technology Systems, PreSonus, Salzbrenner Stagetec Mediagroup and TC Group have also signed up to the OCA Alliance, whose mission is to secure the standardisation of the Open Control Architecture (OCA), a media networking system control standard for professional applications.
Developed recently by Bosch Communications Systems, OCA is descended from AES-24, a system control protocol developed by the Audio Engineering Society in the 1990s. OCA is not a media transport technology; rather, it is intended to complement standards such as AVB by providing a reliable and rich system control environment.
In combination, says the OCA Alliance, media transport and system control standards will enable the provision of complete multi-vendor media network solutions. Devices from multiple manufacturers will be able to share a ‘common management regime’, allowing system designers and owners the opportunity to specify the components they want without compromising overall integration and usability.
Alliance work will be done in two phase. During Phase 1, the eight founding members will refine the OCA specification and prepare it for passing to a public standards organisation. Active membership is restricted to the founding members, although other companies may become ‘Observers’ on request. During Phase 2, the OCA specification will be transferred to the public standards body, and the Alliance will continue with ancillary OCA promotion and support work. At this point, active Alliance membership will be open to all participants; companies will also have the option of taking part in the standards organisation in the usual way.
