Vendor Portal Guide

Welcome

This portal is where your company manages how its products appear in the Registry. The Registry is the shared directory that helps people in the industry find products and see the standards, specifications, and other conformance documentation each product supports.

The Registry is presented under two names:

The Vendor Solutions Registry, at solutions.aimsalliance.org.
The IPMX Certified Products Registry, at ipmx.io/registry.

It is one product list behind both names. The difference is presentation. The IPMX Certified Products Registry opens already filtered to IPMX products, and a visitor can remove that filter to see everything. The Vendor Solutions Registry shows all products by default. Your products can be seen on both. From here on, this guide says “the Registry” to mean either view.

A few things to know up front:

You see only your own company’s products. Your sign in is tied to your organization.
You do not need to be technical to use the portal. This guide explains each term the first time it appears. There is a Glossary at the end.
Keeping your listing accurate is in everyone’s interest. Most of what you enter goes live as you save it, so please take care to keep it current.

The big picture

Here is the whole process at a glance. Most of your time is spent describing products and stating what they support.

You get a login. AIMS sets up your account and links it to your company.
You describe your products. Name, description, model, photos, logo, and category. The details that make a good listing.
You state what each product supports. You record the standards, specifications, and other conformance documentation your product implements.
If your product goes through IPMX Certification, you list that too. IPMX Certification comes from testing at an IPMX test event, and it appears on the listing after the test administrator reports the result.
New products get one quick check. When you add a new product, AIMS takes a brief look before it appears, which is also a chance to confirm the category.

Two kinds of information in your listing

A visitor looking at a product wants to know what it supports and where that information comes from. The Registry shows this two ways. They are independent. A product can carry one, the other, or both.

Declared conformance

Declared conformance is your company’s statement of the standards, specifications, and other conformance documentation a product supports. You select the relevant documents and add them to the product, and they appear on the listing.

You record and maintain it. You add the documents that apply, and you can change them whenever the product changes.
It is shown as self-stated information. A visitor sees the documents your company recorded for the product.
It is not reviewed item by item. These entries are yours to manage. Keeping them accurate is in the best interest of your company and the people relying on the Registry, so please take due care.

Two helpful things happen as you work:

The list shows the documents you can record yourself. These are the standards, specifications, and other conformance documentation your product supports. The IPMX profiles, profile modes, and capabilities are handled separately, when you submit a product to a test event (see IPMX Certification).
One entry can include others. Some documents fully cover others. When you add such a document, the Registry includes the ones it covers, so you do not have to add each by hand. These included entries are marked as such and stay attached to the document that brings them in.

IPMX Certification

IPMX Certification is a separate recognition that a product earns by being tested at an official IPMX test event.

You start it by submitting the product to a test event. You choose an open event for the product, which begins a test registration. In that registration you select the IPMX profiles, profile modes, and capabilities the product is being tested for.
It comes from testing, not from a form. You cannot enter the certification yourself. It is recorded after the product is tested and the test administrator reports the result.
The IPMX designation appears only after the product is certified and AIMS activates it. Until then it is not shown publicly, and if you prefer you can keep the product out of the public Registry until it is certified.
It produces a badge and an IPMX Certification ID (ICID). Certified products show the IPMX Certified recognition, a downloadable badge, and a certificate with an ICID that anyone can use to look the product up.

Which applies to your product

You will know which fits your product:

If your product supports standards, specifications, or other conformance documentation, record those through declared conformance.
Vendors who put a product through IPMX Certification will list that recognition on the product once it is reported.

The two are independent and can be combined on a single product. There is no ranking between them. The Registry presents AES67, SMPTE ST 2110, IPMX, and the rest as the conformance information it is, so visitors can find the products that fit their needs.

What “review” means

The Registry keeps things light:

New products get one quick check. When you submit a brand new product, AIMS takes a short human look to make sure everything is in order before it appears. This is also when AIMS may confirm the category. That is the only routine review.
Your ongoing edits go live as you save them. Once a product is listed, changes to its description, model, photos, category, and declared conformance appear without waiting on a review.
AIMS does not review the declared-conformance items you record. Those are yours to maintain.
IPMX Certification is the exception. It is shown only after the product is tested and the test administrator reports the result.

You will sometimes see a status on a product (for example, “Pending review” on a new product, or a note that changes were requested). The statuses section explains each one.

Your portal, section by section

When you sign in you land on your company’s portal home. From top to bottom you will find your company logo, your products, and your test registrations.

Company details and logins

Your company name, website, contact details, and organization memberships are set by AIMS. To change any of those, or to add another login for a colleague, contact AIMS at community@aimsalliance.org. In the portal itself, the company-level item you manage is your logo.

Company logo

Logo preview. Shows your logo exactly as it appears next to your products in the Registry.
Upload a logo. Accepts JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WebP up to 8 MB. PNG is recommended.
Logo background. Choose the frame shown behind the logo: None, Grey, White, or Black. Pick what suits your logo.
Remove logo. Clears the current logo.

Your products

This section lists the products under your company. Some may already be present from existing catalogs, and you can add more: a brand new product, or one that is covered under an existing IPMX registration (see “Adding a product covered under an existing registration” below). Selecting a product opens its editor. Each product has the following fields and sections.

Describing the product

Name. The product’s name as shown in the Registry. You set this when you add the product.
Description. The main product description shown on the listing.
Model / SKU. Your model name or stock number for the product.
Product page URL. A link to the product’s page on your own website.
Main category. The primary product type, chosen from the Registry’s category list.
Secondary categories. Additional categories you can claim when the product can stand in for a purpose-built product of that type. Grouped and searchable.
Save changes. One button saves every editable field on the page at once: the fields above plus, on certified products, the IPMX transport coverage answers below. Edit everything first, then save once; you stay on the product’s page after saving. If you click a button that leaves or reloads the page (such as Submit for review or an image upload) while you have unsaved edits, the portal asks before discarding them.

Images

Product images. Upload one or more images, set which one is the main image, and remove any you do not want. Image tips on the page describe the best format and dimensions.
Image background. The frame shown behind the product image on listings: None, Grey, White, or Black.
Directory preview. A live preview card showing how the product will look in the Registry, with a grid and list view toggle.

Your registry listing link

A ready-to-share link that opens the Registry filtered to your company’s products, with a copy button. Useful for your own website or sales material.

Declared conformance

The documents you have recorded for this product, each shown with its state. Included documents (brought in automatically by another document) are labeled as such.
Add a document. Choose from the documents that apply to the product. Self-attested documents publish to your listing right away and show a Remove control; an IPMX-certification document a certified product adds is recorded by AIMS and shows as such.

Requesting IPMX Certification

Request IPMX certification. Starts the certification process for a product that is not yet certified, by submitting it to a test event.
Test event. Choose an open IPMX test event to submit the product to. This starts a test registration for the product, which you complete in the Test registrations section below, where you select the profiles, profile modes, and capabilities the product is being tested for. Event preparation details come from the test administrator.
No event open yet? Ask to be notified. We add the product to a waiting list and email you when AIMS opens a test event you can register it for. You can leave the waiting list at any time, and registering the product for an event removes it from the list automatically.

IPMX transport coverage (shown on certified products)

For each certified feature, you can state how broadly it is available:

Available across all IPMX transport? Choose “Yes, all IPMX transport,” “Qualified,” or leave it not attested.
Qualification. If you choose “Qualified,” describe the qualification in the text box that appears.
Your answers are saved by the page’s single Save changes button, together with the product’s other fields.

Certification badge (shown once issued)

Download badge bundle (.zip) for your certified product, available to you as the product’s vendor.

Visibility

Current visibility. Shows whether the product is visible, hidden, or withdrawn.
Hide from the Registry, with an optional date to automatically reappear. Use this to take a product down temporarily.
Make visible / Restore to the Registry. Brings a hidden product back.
Withdraw, with a short status such as “End of Life” or “Discontinued.”

Submitting a new product for review

Submit for review. Sends a new or changed-requested product to AIMS for the one quick check described above. If AIMS asks for a change, you will see a note with what to adjust, and you can resubmit.

Adding a product covered under an existing registration

Some products are built on the same implementation as a product that already holds an IPMX Certification. If yours is, you can add it as covered under that product’s registration instead of testing it again. It carries the same test versions as the certified product, and you can claim all of what that product is certified for, or a part of it.

From your products, choose “Add a product covered under an existing registration.” Then:

Enter the IPMX Certification ID (ICID) of the certified product yours is covered under. The Registry confirms the product, showing its name and manufacturer, before you continue. That product can belong to another company; AIMS confirms the coverage as part of review.
Describe your product with the same fields as any other (name, description, model, category, and so on), plus its own firmware version.
Choose the coverage. The certified product’s profiles, profile modes, and capabilities are listed and selected by default. Leave them to match it, or deselect any your product does not include. The versions are fixed to the certified product’s.
Submit. Products added this way are always reviewed by AIMS before they appear. Once approved, the product is listed like any other certified product, with its own ICID.

Test registrations

This section lists your registrations for IPMX test events and the open events you can register for. Registering a product here is how you get it tested for IPMX Certification. Preparation instructions for an event come from the test administrator.

Statuses you will see

Short, plain meanings for the labels that appear in the portal.

Product review

Draft. Created but not yet submitted for the new-product check.
Pending review. Submitted and waiting on the brief AIMS check.
Approved. Listed in the Registry.
Changes requested. AIMS asked for an adjustment before listing. You can edit and resubmit.

Visibility

Visible. Shown in the Registry.
Hidden. Temporarily taken down by you, optionally set to reappear on a date.
Withdrawn. Removed by you with a status such as End of Life or Discontinued.

Recognition on a product

IPMX Certified. The product passed testing at an IPMX test event.
IPMX Test Infrastructure. The product is recognized as test infrastructure.
No recognition shown. The product simply lists the standards, specifications, and other conformance documentation you recorded. This is a complete, normal listing.

IPMX transport coverage

Yes, all IPMX transport. The feature is available across all IPMX transport.
Qualified. The feature is available with a qualification you describe.
Not attested. You have not stated coverage for this feature yet.

Glossary

Registry. The shared public directory of products, presented as AIMS Vendor Solutions at solutions.aimsalliance.org and as IPMX at ipmx.io/registry.
Vendor portal. Your private area (this site) for managing your company’s products.
Declared conformance. The standards, specifications, and other conformance documentation your company records for a product. Maintained by you.
Standard, specification, conformance documentation. Published technical documents that describe how a feature works. They come from bodies such as SMPTE (standards), AMWA (specifications and best practices, for example IS and BCP documents), VSF (technical recommendations), and AES. “Standard” has a specific meaning, so the Registry uses “standards, specifications, and other conformance documentation” when it means all of them.
Profile. A defined set of capabilities a product can support.
Capability. An optional feature a product can support.
Included (implied) document. A document added automatically because another document you recorded fully covers it.
IPMX Certification. Recognition that a product passed testing at an IPMX test event. Recorded after the test administrator reports the result.
IPMX Certification ID (ICID). The unique reference on a certified product that anyone can use to look it up.
Test event. A scheduled event where products are tested for IPMX Certification.
Test registration. Signing a product up for a test event.
Recognition tier. How a product is classified: IPMX Certified, IPMX Test Infrastructure, or no recognition shown (a listing of self-recorded conformance).
Visibility. Your control over whether a product is visible, hidden, or withdrawn.

Questions or stuck?

The Registry is run by AIMS. For help with your company details, additional logins, which documents apply to a product, or test event preparation, contact us at community@aimsalliance.org.