Detailed in TR-06-4 Part 4, the Decoder Synchronization, in a series of ancillary features for RIST specifications, provides a way to synchronize the decoder playback when multiple encoders are transmitting signals to multiple decoders over IP for applications such as live sport or worship.

When multiple cameras are in use at live events or for worship in remote locations, their feeds need to be played back in a synchronized fashion. TR-06-4 Part 4 provides a common specification to achieve this, supporting an arbitrary number of encoders and decoders.

The ancillary feature detailed in TR-06-4 Part 5, Multicast Discovery provides a simplified way to manage multicast traffic over RIST tunnels, to avoid unnecessarily sending streams to receivers not interested in them, thus saving bandwidth.

VSF has also announced the release of the 2023 version of the RIST Protocol Specification: Main Profile, TR-06-2. This is a minor update to correct some editorial issues.

The RIST protocol is designed to reliably transport video over unmanaged networks such as the Internet. It provides an open, interoperable, and technically robust solution for low latency video contribution. It can be used for any use case where video needs to be transported over the Internet, but is typically used for professional media workflows, such as news and sports contribution, remote production, affiliate distribution and primary distribution.