The M.100 Media Stream Processing Environment Specification defines a software environment to promote the portability of media-processing system resources in integrated-media open-telecommunications systems.

The computer telephony (CT) industry, through its "standards body", the Enterprise Computer Telephony Forum (ECTF), has defined an open-system architecture (S.100) for distributed client-server systems. The ECTF is also working on a lower-level interface (Service Provider Interface — SPI (S.300)) to support multi-vendor system-resource facilities for host-level server processes. However, there does not exist, nor is there currently an effort by the ECTF to define a multi-line media-processing resource environment to make media-processing software ports more cost-effective. This means significant investment is required to port speech-recognition technology, for example, from one closed-architecture DSP-resource board to another.

This document defines a media-processing software environment with the objective of significantly reducing the cost of adding media processing to a CT system, whether based on PCI, CompactPCI, VME, or proprietary system architectures. This objective is met by specifying a software environment that promotes the separation of the tasks of developing the media-processing software and the supporting hardware/software resources.

There are dozens of vendors of hardware system-resource products for the CT system developer, and, but for a few exceptions, each of their products are closed-architecture systems meant to provide hardware support for in-house-developed (or licensed and in-house implemented) media-processing technologies. In nearly every instance, the media-processing facility is marketed as an integral part of the "board"; the board and the media-processing technology are entwined by the lack of an interface standard. And, for the most part, the bundled-in media-processing function is voice.

Closed architectures for system resources work for the resource vendor as long as the OEMs that purchase these products create little demand for integrated-media system-resources, as long as users of programmable switches are willing to add media processing through adjunct systems, or as long as the vendor has the capital and time to partner with technology vendors to develop closed-architecture integrated-media systems. But today's market demands unprecedented media diversity plus fast product cycles. Fixed-function media-processing resources integrated via industry-standard PCM highways is a step in the right direction. But, considering the enormous improvement in DSP and even scalar processor price/performance, MVIP, the SCBus, and H.100 will be only a temporary bridges to true media-integration. However, media-integration will not happen across the industry until there are standard environments to support multi-company participation in developing integrated-media platforms.

The purpose of the Media Stream Processor M.100 specification is to finally provide the CT industry with a portable, open definition of a media-neutral, hardware-independent media-processing "environment". Any "board" vendor can develop and market M.100-compliant hardware products and any media-processing vendor can develop and market compliant software products. Specifically, the intent of the MSP specification is to separate the system-resource hardware from the media-processing software, fostering independent competition and development in these two computer-telephony value-adding layers.