AMWA Network Media Open Specifications – Interface Specification number 4 – for discovery and registration of video and audio over IP devices. Devices (known as nodes) broadcast their presence (what type of device and what sources and destinations they have). A program called a Registry receives these broadcasts and maintains a central list. Clients talk to the registry (usually via web services) to discover what is available. NMOS IS-04 makes use of mDNS (Multicast Domain Name System).
In small systems NMOS IS-04 can operate in peer to peer mode without a central registry.
A practical use might be to allow you to connect a vision mixer (switcher) or multiviewer to a network and on its menu, see a list of available cameras and other sources, without having to worry about IP addresses and the like.
