Better Codec Compatibility for VoIP

Specialized forces in Germany and France, at the MAYAH and AETA Audio Systems respectively are at the beginning of a new and rather hard road, but at whose end lies a better world of communications. Since the Voice over IP-type of communications gain more and more ground in today's overall world audio information traffic, major companies involved in the business have begun working on better solutions for interlinking their communication channel-networks in a more efficient way both financially but in the first place, technically. The SIPs (Session Initiation Protocols) are the first issues which will withstand the set of changes beginning these very months.

The EBU (European Broadcasting union) has been making efforts starting a long time ago in the direction of setting standards on compatibility between codecs in the process of communication based on IPs. Their cumulated endeavors are set forth to comply with the emerging future standards of the EBU as well as actually helping in the development of guidelines for the oncoming set of "communication rules".

Even more is to be seen than at the theoretical level: the Audio-via-IP Experts Group has been formed and their fresh website can be checked out here. The goal of such force deployment is to bring other experts into this as well and thus to create a very strong team of highly experienced and well-trained personnel to make things finally "happen". Of course, thorough knowledge on IP protocols and audio formats is dearly required as these are the things that provide the new organism with the scientific strength it needs.

The initiators of this assembly agreed that the interoperability between the audio codecs used in Voice-over-IP communications is by far and from the very starting point the key to the whole thing. Detlef Wiese, the MAYAH Communications' general manager specifically reminded us that the problems created by the ISDN communications just years ago should never appear again and this kind of clash between different manufacturers' standards must be eliminated to both industry's and VoIP consumer's benefit.

Also, making a quick elementary calculation will clearly show anyone that it is more cost-efficient to standardize the European industry when it comes to the protocols used in VoIP than actually analyzing, searching and developing special "software adapters" for each codec. Things seem to have a bright future as the conference to be held in late January at the Media Academy in Nuremberg, event organized by the ARD.ZDF is looking more and more as the first firm and decisive step towards extended compatibility in this field. So far, 5 manufacturers seem to have confirmed their will to demonstrate their SIP audio these days. Until further notice, the bottom line is that soon better days will come for VoIP.