The enhanced functionality gives users of Cobalt’s 9992 encoder/decoder and 9990 decoder an added level of security by ensuring the identity of the remote site when transmitting content over the Internet with RIST. Cobalt is an original contributor to the RIST protocol and is also a founding partner in the openGear initiative.

The enhancements are available for Cobalt’s broadcast-grade 9992 encoder/decoder of industry standard openGear card modules that already provide professional-grade support for compressed audio and video resolution up to 4K, as well as the 9990-DEC-MPEG decoder.

Cobalt has also made full support for SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) available for the 9992 encoder/decoder family and 9990 decoders (future availability).

“Security is an enormous concern today, especially with the dramatic increase in streaming due to the pandemic,” explained Dr. Ciro Noronha, EVP Engineering for Cobalt. “The RIST protocol enables greater choice and flexibility for broadcasters, allowing them to take advantage of the cost-effective internet for contribution feeds with top-of-the-line security, as well as the freedom to mix ‘best of breed’ products from different vendors. Cobalt is a strong supporter of open standards and is delighted to offer even greater security and reliability with full support of both RIST and SRT.”

RIST, developed jointly by a group of experts from a variety of stakeholder companies, provides for a technically robust streaming solution in any application, use case, or environment. Support for RIST’s certificate-based authentication enables Cobalt products to easily generate and manage security certificates, thereby assuring the validity of an incoming signal’s source and destination.