This session examines the growing challenges of timing precision in high-performance media over IP production, especially as the industry progresses towards UHD resolutions, high frame rates, and wide color gamut standards. As synchronous low-latency media over IP standards like SMPTE ST 2110 are increasingly adopted, the need for precise packet pacing becomes critical. The limitations of traditional timing mechanisms with a +/- 500 ns tolerance are exposed, particularly in environments using pure or hardware-accelerated software implementations where precision requirements may reach single-digit nanoseconds. The paper explores the impact of every component in the media chain, from time servers and network elements to cabling, on maintaining tight time error budgets. It also draws parallels with the telecommunications industry's shift to 5G, which has driven new timing performance standards for ultra-reliable, low-latency communications. The session analyzes the relevance of ITU-T recommendations for telecom networks in the context of media over IP, questioning whether similar guidelines are needed for the media industry. Through practical, real-world measurements, the paper quantifies the timing performance requirements of next-generation video standards and evaluates the adequacy of current recommendations, proposing potential new standards for media timing precision.
Understanding of the critical elements in the timing performance of a system Understanding the challenges in High-Performance media production over IP Understanding how the telecom industry addressed synchronization requirements