Formation of Open Control Architecture Alliance

PreSonus Audio Electronics and seven other audio manufacturers have formed an organization whose mission is to secure the standardization of the Open Control Architecture (OCA), a media networking system-control standard for professional applications.

The Alliance has been formed to complete the technical definition of OCA, then to transfer its development to an accredited public standards organization. The standards organization will render the OCA specification into an open public standard for control of professional media network systems.

Developed recently by Bosch Communications, OCA is descended from AES-24, a system control protocol developed by the Audio Engineering Society in the 1990s. OCA is designed to define a “flexible and robust control standard that covers the entire range of pro media-networking applications, from the smallest to the largest.”

OCA is not a media-transport technology and does not replace evolving media-transport standards such as IEEE AVB. Instead, it is intended to complement such standards by providing a reliable and system-control environment. Together, media-transport and system-control standards are designed to enable complete multivendor media-network solutions in the future.

By adding system control to the media-network equation, OCA will allow devices from multiple manufacturers to share a common management regime.

Alliance work will be done in two phases. During Phase 1, the eight founding members say they will refine the OCA specification and prepare it for passing to a public standards organization. Phase 1 is said to be a fast-track exercise in which active membership will be restricted to the founding members. Other companies may become Observers on request.

During Phase 2, the OCA specification will be transferred to the public standards organization, and the Alliance will continue with ancillary OCA promotion and support work. Active Alliance membership will be open to all in this phase; as well, companies will have the option of participating in the standards organization in the usual way.

The founding members of the Alliance are: