An ST 2110 Network-Attached Display Adapter for Virtualizing Production

Graphics processing unit (GPU) installations in post-production and broadcast facilities require video to be sent remotely conforming to the SMPTE ST 2110 standards for plug-and-play device connectivity. Furthermore, in such facilities, workstations are now being virtualized and hosted in the data center with what would have previously been a physically attached serial digital video (SDI) reference display replaced by an Internet Protocol (IP) network connection. We present a SMPTE ST 2110 virtual network-attached reference display adapter using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware that presents the GPU and network interface card (NIC) as a display on the computer workstation desktop. Color-accurate rendered video frames are transmitted directly from GPU device memory. Alignment of the GPU display of the rendered frame and the synchronization of the audio, video, and ancillary data streams are maintained by precision time protocol (PTP). Advanced Media Workflow Association Networked Media Open Specifications (AMWA NMOS) integration permits the discovery and registration of the virtual network-attached reference display adapter as a source node on the media network such that it can be remotely managed and controlled by software greatly simplifying the administration compared with a physically connected display and associated cables. Content creation applications send ST 2110-compliant video, audio, and ancillary data flows on the media network from a virtualized computer workstation desktop without the cost of directly integrating ST 2110 transmission capabilities.