FOR-A Unveils Pioneering Hi-RDS Solution That Enables Different Islands To Access Shared Resources

FOR-A unveil the world’s first unique RDS (Registration and Discovery System) solution to enable multi-vendor RDS to access shared resources in a highly organized way at NAB Show 2024. The new RDS Conductor combines FOR-A’s SOM-200RDS software with the SOM-20RDS Plus API, to organize and register NMOS-compliant resources and share them with other islands/studios.

Adding new systems to an existing one has been difficult up to this point because the RDS on new systems must have the same specs as the initial design or it requires extensive redesign of the existing broadcast controllers and RDS.

To make it easier to add and share devices on a MoIP (Media over IP) system built using SMPTE ST 2110 standards, FOR-A designed a "hierarchical RDS (Hi-RDS)" environment for next-generation resource sharing of NMOS devices. FOR-A’s RDS Conductor uses this technology to configure a system’s primary RDS and manage NMOS-compliant common device resources.

All common device resources are registered within the FOR-A SOM-200RDS. And the SOM-20RDS Plus allocates just the common device resources needed on the MoIP system to the user’s local RDS. The local RDS of existing MoIP systems can be used without modification, and any modifications that may be needed on the broadcast controller are minimal.

The company has completed testing of RDS Conductor and confirmed its effectiveness using the RDS and broadcast controllers from multiple vendors. At Inter BEE 2023, the largest broadcast exhibition in Japan, FOR-A participated in a joint MoIP device connection verification at the IP PAVILION and provided a successful demonstration of RDS Conductor.

FOR-A will use the Lawo HOME IP management platform and Riedel Communications NMOS Explorer signal viewer to demonstrate the resource sharing environment of the SOM-200RDS and the SOM-20RDS Plus at the 2024 NAB Show.

With SOM-20RDS Plus, the primary RDS filters only the necessary resources from registered common device resources and assigns them to the local RDS. The local broadcast controller refers to the resource information registered in the local RDS and controls common device resources. Local RDS and broadcast controllers can perform regular operations within the system.

You might also like...

Immersive Audio 2025: The Rise Of Next Generation Audio

Immersive audio has gone spatial with the addition of height control and NGA formats to support it, and consumer demand is booming… but it is all still about the experience.

Live Sports Production: Exploring The Evolving OB

The first of our three articles is focused on comparing what technology is required in OBs and other venue systems to support the various approaches to live sports production.

Cloud Compute Infrastructure At IBC 2025

In celebration of the 2025 IBC Show, this article focuses on the key theme of cloud compute infrastructure and what exhibitors at the show are doing in this key area of technological enablement.

Monitoring & Compliance In Broadcast: Real-time Local Network Monitoring

With many production systems now a hybrid of SDI & IP networking, monitoring becomes a blend of the old and the new within a software controlled environment.

Cameras & Image Capture Technologies At IBC 2025

In celebration of the 2025 IBC Show, this article gathers all the news about cameras and the array of image capture technology vendors will be highlighting on the show floor.