For the better part of a decade, there's a word the broadcast industry has been using to describe the move from traditional to software-defined production.

That word is transition.

But transition implies a journey from one state to another. What broadcasters are really living through is more permanent than that. They're not crossing a bridge. They're building one while keeping traffic moving on both sides.

The hybrid reality that most production operations face today isn't a phase. It's the terrain they're operating in. And the industry is only beginning to work out what that really demands.

Two Worlds, One Team
As IP and cloud-based production matured, the assumption in most technology strategies was that organizations would eventually retire traditional hardware workflows. But that hasn’t happened. Client commitments, capital cycles, rights agreements and the genuine complexity of software-defined environments have all kept legacy infrastructure in service.

This means that production teams manage both at the same time, and engineers who once worked in a single signal chain are now expected to be fluent across various architectures. That pressure isn’t always obvious, until something goes wrong.

Client expectations are moving in different directions at the same time. Some rights holders won't compromise on premium quality. Others are under real pressure to deliver faster and cheaper, sometimes for the same content through a different window. In some cases both demands land in the same contract.

The Cost of Keeping Both Engines Running
Operating in a hybrid environment is costly in ways that aren’t always easy to quantify. Maintaining two categories of infrastructure, training staff on both and building workflows that flex between them: the obvious costs are significant. But the subtler ones are too.

Every infrastructure decision now has a strategic dimension to it. Whether to extend the life of traditional kit, push harder toward software workflows and take on the short-term risk that comes with it, or route projects through different models depending on the brief, none of it is straightforward and each path brings its own complexity.

None of these are easy calls. They involve trade-offs between cost, speed, quality and flexibility. The right answer shifts with each client and project. The teams that navigate this skillfully have stopped looking for one cohesive answer and instead relied on the judgment to make the call differently each time.

Remote and Cloud: Real Gains and Real Limits
Remote and cloud production have proven their worth. The ability to draw on the right talent wherever they are, scale infrastructure around event demand and cut crew travel has truly changed how operations plan and staff major events.

But the limits of working fully distributed are also getting clearer. Some productions benefit greatly when people are in the same room, where decisions need to be made quickly and creative judgment is built through proximity. The best hybrid operations aren’t choosing between remote and on-site. They’re developing the discipline to recognize which approach will work best for any given brief, and then investing in the infrastructure to support both.

Flexibility: The Baseline Requirement
The most important shift in thinking may be that flexibility isn’t something to sell anymore. Clients expect workflows that flex to last-minute changes, support teams who are spread across different technical environments and scale without everything falling apart.

That’s a structural challenge. Not a technology challenge. The tools exist, but what production operations are still building is the confidence to lean on them and the organizational design to deploy them well.

The broadcasters and service providers who define the next phase of this industry will not be those who complete the move to software-defined production fastest. They will be those who build the judgment and workflows to operate effectively in a world where both models coexist, indefinitely, at the same time.

Hybrid production isn’t a problem to be solved. It’s the operating environment. The sooner the industry plans accordingly, the better.

MONTREAL—Haivision will make the European debut of its Makito ONE video transport platform and Falkon X4 5G mobile video transmitter during IBC 2026, Sept. 11-14, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

Makito ONE and Falkon X4 represent the newest additions to Haivision's broadcast contribution ecosystem for live sports, news and event production. Together, the solutions enable broadcasters to contribute high-quality, ultra-low latency live video from fixed, remote and mobile production environments over any type of network.

Makito ONE is Haivision's fully configurable video transport platform that combines dual-channel video encoding and decoding, ultra-low latency 4K UHD, HD and HDR video, and multi-codec flexibility in a single compact blade.

Used for primary contribution and remote production, Makito ONE supports H.264, HEVC and JPEG XS along with SDI and SMPTE ST 2110 connectivity, enabling broadcasters to configure the platform for encoding, decoding or mixed workflows as needed while delivering broadcast-quality video contribution over public internet, wireless, satellite and fiber networks.

Scalable from a compact single-blade system to high-density modular chassis, Makito ONE ensures rock-solid AV synchronization and highly reliable video transport, supporting productions of any size.

Falkon X4 is Haivision's newest mobile video transmitter, purpose-built for remote production of live sports and 24/7 news. Featuring a four-modem, 2x2 MIMO architecture and Haivision's cellular bonding technology, Falkon X4 delivers robust, uninterrupted connectivity across public and private 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks. Supporting pristine 4K/UHD, HD, and HDR video with HEVC and H.264 encoding, Falkon X4 provides reliable video transmission with true mobility and flexible operational control, enabling production teams to capture live content from virtually any location.

Haivision will also demonstrate how its ultra-low latency bonded cellular technology is able to transmit video over private 5G networks at under 100 milliseconds. The company will highlight how it is transforming the way broadcasters are covering live events from crowded locations where public mobile networks can become congested and when cabling is not possible.

See Haivision at IBC 2026 stand 2.B32.

More information is available on the company’s website.

The cloud is playing an ever increasing role in media production, with broadcasters increasingly deploying hybrid platforms that combine the cloud with on-prem solutions that take advantage of advances in processing, connectivity and AI.

In our latest Guide to Cloud Solutions, we examine the current landscape of cloud-based production and how media companies are adopting the best of both worlds to make workflows simpler and more efficient.

Download your free guide here.

GENEVA—GlobalM will feature the latest evolution of its software-defined media platform that enables broadcasters, telecom operators and media organizations to deploy identical live IP workflows across public cloud, private cloud and on-prem infrastructure during IBC 2026, Sept. 11-14, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

“Protocols such as SRT and RIST have played a major role in accelerating IP adoption, but moving video from A to B is only one part of the equation,” said Paul Calleja, CEO of GlobalM.

“Broadcasters still need to provision services, manage thousands of live connections, monitor quality, schedule events, configure edge devices and build resilient networks that can scale," he added. "That’s where we believe the real value lies.”

GlobalM’s software-defined platform provides a unified operational layer across cloud, hybrid and on-prem environments, allowing customers to deploy and manage services through a single interface regardless of where the infrastructure is located. The platform combines orchestration, automation, monitoring, scheduling, device management and workflow automation to simplify live contribution and distribution operations.

The company will highlight its GMX1 on-prem deployment platform on its stand. The platform is designed for broadcasters and telecom operators that require the flexibility of software-defined workflows while retaining full control of their own infrastructure. GMX1 can be deployed on customer-owned hardware, virtual machines or dedicated appliances. It integrates seamlessly with the company’s cloud platform to support hybrid deployments.

GlobalM will also demonstrate GMDC (GlobalM Device Control), enabling supported third-party encoders and decoders to be configured, monitored and managed through a single operational environment, reducing complexity and improving operational efficiency across multi-vendor networks.

See GlobalM at IBC 2026 stand 1.A11.

More information is available on the company’s website.

OXFORD, U.K.—Solid State Logic (SSL) will feature the evolution of its comprehensive System T platform that embraces a range of software-defined workflows during IBC 2026, Sept. 11-14, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

The company will demonstrate how its System T ecosystem is delivering scale with a range of physical and virtualized user interfaces as part of its software-defined Virtual Tempest Engine (VTE) for deployment across both on-prem and cloud workflows.

Supporting up to 256 processing paths and all immersive audio formats, System T’s VTE can be located on-prem on a standard COTS server, on public cloud infrastructures or use a hybrid of both. Delivering scalability, it can be accessed from any System T surface, whether that is a virtualized controller on a PC, a compact desktop tile or a top-of-the-range S500 console.

​The ability to deploy broadcast audio processing wherever it is needed and provide remote control of the processing from anywhere positions the System T VTE for the industry’s transition to more agile, software-defined workflows, said SSL broadcast product manager Berny Carpenter.

“At IBC, SSL is previewing enhancements to VTE’s software-based processing engine as part of our commitment to align with the EBU’s Dynamic Media Facility (DMF) project,” he said. “The idea of accessing a shared server stack that can host all the production software a facility needs, with users spinning up whichever tools a given job requires, is a powerful driver for broadcasters focused on reducing costs and maximizing their investment to deliver a broader range of content.

“The DMF project and the associated Media eXchange Layer (MXL) development aims to solve many of the real-time challenges of moving to software-defined workflows. It vastly reduces compute by enabling containerized software functions from multiple vendors to utilize shared memory to transfer video, audio, and metadata on the same server.”

Highlighting new and improved automated deployment functionality to streamline software-defined production both in the cloud or on-prem, SSL is inviting visitors to discover how its Virtual Tempest Engine complements MXL.

​Part of the same DMF-aligned push, but designed for more versatile use cases, SSL’s compact µVTE also will make its IBC debut. Launched at NAB and delivering the same expansive broadcast features as the wider System T ecosystem, it delivers SSL’s lowest entry point to virtualized production. It provides 96 virtualized processing paths and has a range of licensing options to support temporary, variable or event-based productions.

​SSL’s Net I/O ST 2110 Bridge, a high-capacity standalone ST 2110 and Dante converter that provides up to 512 channels of conversion in a compact 1RU chassis, will also make its IBC debut. With NMOS support and the ability to integrate with any Dante or ST 2110 connected audio console or network, the Net I/O ST 2110 Bridge builds on System T’s native IP architecture to allow users to deploy whatever they need, wherever they need it.

​In addition, SSL will also showcase the wider System T range at IBC, including the lightweight S500m console with redundant TE2 Tempest Engines and native ST 2110 and Dante connectivity. Designed for outside broadcast and heavy-duty fly-pack systems, the S500m is a compact version of SSL’s flagship S500 console.

Visitors to the SSL stand will also be able to get hands-on with a 32-fader S400 control surface as well as the ultra-portable TCA Tour. Designed for use on the road, the TCA Tour is a self-contained 16 fader control frame with integrated onboard I/O and a built in network switch.

See SSL at IBC 2026 stand 8.B45.

More information is available on the company’s website.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—LiveU said it achieved historic performance records during six weeks of 2026 FIFA World Cup coverage, with deployment of 1,700 portable IP transmitter units, 31,000 live transmissions and 17,000 broadcast hours for its customers in 45 countries, representing 695 TB of data.

Broadcasters, production houses, football federations and digital content creators, including independent creators and IRL streamers covering the championship for their own channels, turned to LiveU to support their coverage.

Coverage spanned prematch briefings, official training sessions, press conferences, in-stadium editorial positions, fan zones, team hotels and IRL creator streams from city centers and public viewing areas. Broadcasters also deployed LiveU technology across additional camera positions to capture unilateral feeds for richer multi-angle coverage. The range reflects a fundamental shift in how broadcasters of all sizes and independent creators are now building distributed, IP-first workflows around a major tournament, the company said.

LiveU’s LU800 multicamera field unit and intelligent production unit, LU900Q—both of which are powered by the smart routing capabilities of LiveU IQ (LIQ) AI-driven connectivity technology—anchored multisite broadcasts. The combination enabled ultra-low-latency, 4K-ready content to be delivered directly to millions of viewers worldwide.

“The sheer scale of this cross-border deployment reflects a joint collaboration with our global customers and partners to push the boundaries of live sports productions,” said Gideon Gilboa, chief business officer and general manager of the Americas at LiveU.

“We didn’t just supply equipment; we worked in partnership with our customers in advance to design and refine workflows to meet their operational needs and budgets,” Gilboa said. “By shifting heavy infrastructure to the cloud, our customers could expand their tournament footprint, capture more angles and maximize ROI without compromising on broadcast quality. LIQ and the LU900Q both demonstrated LiveU’s focus on robust, high-performance field connectivity, helping broadcasters maintain reliable live transmissions in demanding sports production environments.”

Field coverage of the tournament relied predominantly on LiveU’s LU800 portable field units running LiveU IQ (LIQ), LiveU’s intelligent connectivity solution that analyzes real-time and historical network data to optimize every transmission. LIQ dynamically prioritized and load-balanced cellular connections through predictive network analysis, enabling critical resiliency in crowded stadium environments.

On average, broadcasters leveraging LIQ during the tournament achieved bit rates up to 35% higher than average and maintained near-zero packet loss, even within those highly congested environments.

LIQ's performance in the U.S. market made a measurable difference for broadcasters operating across multiple cities and time zones. LIQ was complemented by LiveU Mobile Data, LiveU’s cellular connectivity offering, connecting teams to multiple networks. All LiveU rental units came with Mobile Data as default, saving international teams from the hassle of sourcing local SIM cards in the U.S.

“When it was announced that Boston would be a host city, we knew this event would be massive," said Adam Liberatore, chief photographer at WFXT, Boston’s Fox affiliate. “As rightsholders, we immediately planned for a collaboration with LiveU to assist with giving us the bandwidth necessary to put on a flawless in-stadium newscast. The LU800 helped turn this platform into a mobile newsroom with one unit handling up to four video sources. The LU800 and LIQ connectivity helped our lean production crew make this global event memorable for our viewers.”

Field transmission was only half of the story. Broadcasters relied heavily on the LiveU EcoSystem, a unified suite of cloud-native tools spanning the entire live production workflow, to execute sophisticated REMI workflows without sending massive, expensive production trucks to every venue.

LiveU Central gave operations teams a single point of visibility across every unit in the field. LiveU Ingest automated file-based recording and metadata tagging for rapid highlights and LiveU Nexus handled ingest, conversion and distribution of live streams from traditional encoders to social media. LiveU Matrix routed live camera feeds to global newsrooms, production hubs and distribution partners.

With deployments built around remote production, there was less of a need to have massive crews on-site. LiveU estimated the number of traveling crew members was reduced by around 40%.

LiveU’s team was on the ground in all key tournament locations. When urgent deployments arose, they hand-delivered equipment directly to stadiums and production hubs to keep broadcasters on-air.

LiveU's partnership with One Media was central to managing that complexity in Mexico, where close to 200 systems were coordinated, staged and tested more than a month before the opening match.

“The 2026 World Football Championship was a true proving ground for modern sports broadcasting, demanding unmatched logistical agility and flawless network resilience,” Gilboa said. “By combining our purpose-built hardware, open architecture and global footprint with AI-driven cloud orchestration, we showed that broadcasters don’t need a heavy physical presence on-site to deliver world-class coverage. We're already deep in preparations for 2030. Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Uruguay present an even greater logistical challenge, and we intend to meet it the same way.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) has revealed some of its plans for the next Summer Olympics, taking place in Los Angeles in 2028.

At a meeting of rights holders last week, OBS said it intends to provide approximately 3,800 to 4,000 hours of competition and Ceremonies coverage.

The host broadcaster added it is expanding its use of first-person-view (FPV) drones, real-time 360° and stroboscopic replays, point-of-view (POV) cameras, microphones on officials and coaches, dynamic graphics, back-of-house access and enhanced digital content at LA28.

The broadcast ecosystem will be designed around virtualization, cloud-based workflows and AI-ready infrastructure, said OBS, to deliver increased flexibility, resilience and operational efficiency across broadcast operations.

Plans include expanded cloud services, AI-assisted production workflows, enhanced digital content delivery and new approaches to content distribution.

Work on the IBC fit-out will begin in early 2027, added OBS.

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand TVBEurope.

AMSTERDAM—Pebble will discuss its future-facing developments for the new generation of media operations at IBC 2026, Sept. 11-14, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

Development leaders will be on hand to discuss Pebble's roadmap for virtualization and cloud-based playout, alongside the technologies, standards and operational models, including Dynamic Media Facility (DMF), cloud infrastructure and AI-assisted operations.

“Broadcasters and media enterprises around the world are changing fast, and they're asking us for more adaptable infrastructures, more flexible deployment and more intelligent workflows,” said Pebble CEO Peter Mayhead. “At IBC, we'll show how we're answering that, with a virtualization and cloud roadmap that lets operators deploy on-premises, in the cloud or hybrid environments, on their own terms. The same principle applies to AI."

"Used judiciously, AI can be transformative, but in playout it earns its place working around our core engine, not inside it,” Mayhead continued. “Frame-accurate execution has to stay deterministic, so we’re adding intelligence around that engine. Since NAB we’ve continued to develop that approach, exploring how AI can support monitoring, operational workflows and decision-making."

“Our approach to cloud and hybrid architectures is no different,” he added. “They build on the security and reliability our customers already trust from their on-premises systems.”

Pebble continues its active engagement with industry bodies including the DPP and JT-DMF, the Joint EBU/AMWA Task Force on Dynamic Media Facilities. Through its involvement in these initiatives, Pebble is helping shape the standards and operational approaches that will underpin future media infrastructures, ensuring its product roadmap reflects the real-world expectations of broadcasters and media organizations.

Those expectations include the agility to support new business models, operational methods and content delivery workflows. In turn, they will drive the deployment of increasingly flexible software architectures and the tactical choice of on-premises, cloud or hybrid environments.

That flexibility is reflected in Pebble's roadmap, with ongoing work to evolve Pebble Automation towards a cloud-native architecture while continuing to enhance Pebble Integrated Channel and Pebble Remote.

See Pebble at IBC 2026 stand 8.C58.

More information is available on the company’s website.

At the IBC2026 Show, SDVI will give European media organizations their first hands-on look at the next-generation Rally media supply chain management platform.

The centerpiece of SDVI's presence will be a live demonstration of the platform's redesigned orchestration engine, new graphical supply chain builder, and agentic AI interface.

SDVI will also showcase new AI-powered integrations for ad break detection, speech translation, and subtitle correction, along with new support for connecting on-premises infrastructure into Rally-managed, cloud-orchestrated supply chains.

Together, SDVI reported that these developments help media organizations respond to the intensifying pressure to create more content, deliver it to more destinations, and adapt it for more markets, all while giving their operations teams more flexibility.

“IBC2026 is where we bring the next generation of Rally to our European customers and partners for the first time, and it is the top highlight of what we are showing this year," said Geoff Stedman, chief marketing officer, SDVI. "Beyond the platform itself, we continue to expand what Rally can do with our partners, showcasing new AI-powered integrations for ad break detection, speech translation, and subtitle correction. And for many of the media organizations we meet at IBC, how Rally works alongside existing on-premises infrastructure matters just as much as what is new in the cloud, which is why our hybrid infrastructure support is such an important part of the story this year.”

More specifically, SDVI said platform introduces a redesigned orchestration engine built on a declarative architecture that separates the control plane from the data plane, enabling a new graphical supply chain builder, a modular supply chain functions layer, a supply chain rewind capability for faster troubleshooting, and a new foundation for agentic AI integration.

IBC attendees can get hands-on time with the new graphical interface at the SDVI stand (5.F88) and see firsthand how it changes the way media supply chains are built, operated, and monitored.

It will also showcase new Rally integrations at IBC2026 that build on an already extensive ecosystem of technology and application partners. These integrations bring specialized capability into the Rally platform, delivering a more complete and efficient media supply chain without requiring operators to work across disconnected systems. SDVI described those integrations as follows:

• Ad Break Detection: SDVI will demonstrate AI-powered ad break detection using Vionlabs in combination with Accurate.Video Validate Ad Detection mode, accelerating the identification and creation of ad breaks with greater accuracy and speed.
• Speech Detection and Translation: Rally integration with ElevenLabs delivers AI-powered speech detection and translation, including high-quality voice synthesis for audio translation into new languages.
• Subtitle Modification: Edit subtitle text, timing, and positioning with Accurate Video Subtitle integrated with Rally Access, streamlining subtitle corrections and avoiding costly external fixes.
• Hybrid Infrastructure Support: SDVI will demonstrate how Rally connects on-premises storage systems into cloud-orchestrated media supply chains using Spectra BlackPearl as a software-defined storage gateway, giving media organizations a practical way to bring existing on-premises infrastructure into a Rally-managed workflow without a full migration to the cloud.

LOUISVILLE, Colo.—CableLabs said Mark Bridges, currently executive vice president and chief technology officer, has been named the R&D consortium’s president and chief technology officer as of Aug. 1, and will assume the role of president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2027.

Phil McKinney, who has served as president and CEO since June 2012, will retire at year-end. McKinney will remain CEO through the end of 2026 and will continue to advise the CableLabs board of directors and Bridges throughout 2027.

“Phil transformed CableLabs from a North American research and development organization into a global innovation leader,” said Charter Communications CEO Chris Winfrey, chairman of the CableLabs board. “Under his leadership, CableLabs expanded its membership, accelerated technology development and strengthened its impact across the connectivity industry. The board is grateful for Phil’s leadership and service, and we are confident Mark is the right person to build on that foundation and lead CableLabs into its next chapter.”

Bridges has served as CableLabs’ executive vice president and chief technology officer since June 2023, leading the organization’s technology and strategy teams. Since assuming the role, he has overseen CableLabs’ core research and development programs, technology investment decisions and the strategic direction of its innovation portfolio.

As a member of the executive team, he has worked directly with member company executives on technology strategy and the development of industry specifications. Prior to becoming chief technology officer, he served as vice president of the Future Infrastructure Group and vice president of software.

"Mark has been central to CableLabs' technology strategy for more than a decade, including helping lead our expansion into cloud-native architectures, network convergence and AI,” McKinney said. “He knows this organization, he knows our members and he knows what it takes to lead at this level. I am proud of what this team has accomplished and confident in where Mark will take it next."

Said Bridges: "CableLabs has always brought the industry together to solve hard technology problems and open new frontiers for advancement,"."That mission drives us forward. I'm committed to accelerating the strong foundation Phil and our team built, and to pushing into what comes next. I look forward to working with our members, partners, employees and the broader industry to pioneer the technologies that will define the future of connectivity."

CableLabs' executive leadership team will remain in place throughout the transition.

McKinney joined CableLabs in June 2012 from Hewlett-Packard, where he served as CTO. During his tenure, CableLabs expanded its membership from 19 North American operators to more than 50 companies worldwide. Under his leadership, the organization led the development of DOCSIS® 3.1 and 4.0 technologies and the 10G suite of technologies. CableLabs also brought SCTE under its umbrella in 2021.

The organization’s patent portfolio grew from fewer than 70 patents to more than 1,000 during McKinney’s 14 years at CableLabs. The annual rate of patent generation increased more than 20-fold, extending CableLabs’ innovation impact across a broader range of technologies and markets.

More information on the transition is available here.

T-Mobile was found to offer the fastest mobile network and fastest 5G network in Ookla’s latest Connectivity Report on the state of U.S. mobile and fixed networks in the first half of 2026.

Cellphone provider T-Mobile was deemed to have the Best Mobile Network, with a median download speed of 275.55 Megabits per second across all technologies combined, and the Best 5G Network, with a median download speed of 314.38 Mbps, Ookla reported.

The speeds have important implications for broadcast journalists and news organizations in the field who rely on 5G networks to deliver video feeds and stories to newsrooms.

To earn its top rankings, T-Mobile recorded a Speedtest Connectivity Score of 80.12, and a Speedtest 5G Connectivity Score of 73.52. Speedtest Connectivity Score combines key metrics to evaluate a mobile provider’s overall user experience offer. It includes Speed Score, indicators for web browsing performance and Video Streaming Score, Ookla said.

T-Mobile also offered the best gaming and video streaming experiences in the United States during 1H 2026, across all broadband technologies and 5G, according to Speedtest Intelligence data.

Ookla found that AT&T Fiber offered the Best Internet and was the Fastest Fixed Network in the U.S. during the first half, with a median download speed of 374.75 Mbps and a median upload speed of 320.65 Mbps.

Among the most populous cities in the United States, Lincoln, Neb., recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 395.83 Mbps, while Durham, N.C., outpaced other cities to record the fastest median fixed download speed at 380.47 Mbps.

Ookla is a research firm best known for Speedtest.net, which tests and tracks global internet and mobile network speeds.

More data and the full report can be found here.

LENEXA, Kan.—The National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) has announced a new agreement with Minerva, a provider of cloud-based IPTV and OTT platforms, that will expand the range of technology solutions available to independent operations and to work to improve their video offerings and strategies.

Minerva powers video services for Tier 2 and Tier 3 operators, delivering a comprehensive platform that integrates subscriber management, content aggregation, and user experience into a single, cohesive solution.

The deal will give NCTC members access to a cloud-native platform that serves as the control and experience layer between video infrastructure and end-user devices. It enables operators to deliver a unified, branded viewing experience across live TV, on-demand content, streaming services, and more.

“Our role is to ensure members have access to the right partners and solutions to stay competitive in a rapidly changing video landscape,” said Lou Borrelli, CEO of NCTC. “Minerva brings a strong track record of supporting broadband operators with modern IPTV and OTT solutions, and this partnership expands the options available to our members as they evolve their video strategies.”

Minerva’s platform is designed to allow operators to maintain ownership of the customer experience, with tools to customize the user interface, integrate multiple content types into a single experience, and deliver consistent viewing across devices— including smart TVs, streaming platforms, mobile, and web. It also includes built-in capabilities such as cloud DVR, catch-up TV, and AI-driven content discovery, designed to increase engagement, improve retention, and unlock new monetization opportunities.

“We are excited to partner with NCTC to support its members as they modernize their video offerings,” said Mauro Bonomi, CEO of Minerva Networks. “Our platform was built to help operators deliver a seamless, high-quality entertainment experience while maintaining full control of their brand and customer relationships. Together with NCTC, we look forward to helping members accelerate their transition to next-generation TV services.”

Minerva and the NCTC said that the partnership will be particularly valuable for operators transitioning from legacy video platforms to IP-based delivery, as well as those looking to launch new OTT offerings like NCTC Broadband TV. Minerva’s cloud-based approach supports faster deployment timelines and reduces operational complexity, while providing a scalable foundation for future growth.

The National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) is a Kansas-based, not-for-profit corporation comprised of more than 650 independent broadband and cable operators serving one-third of the connected households in all 50 United States and territories. The NCTC negotiates content, connectivity, and technology solutions for its member companies that create operational efficiencies, new products, and revenue streams for sustainable growth. For more information, visit: nctconline.org.

RICHARDSON, Texas—Aurora Networks has announced that Liberty Puerto Rico has expanded its hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network architecture using solutions from Aurora.

More specifically, Liberty has deployed Aurora Networks’ RD2322 operating as Remote MACPHY (RMD) in the NC4000 optical node. The distributed access architecture technology will improve network performance and lower latency while streamlining network operations

For Liberty Puerto Rico’s fixed services subscribers, this network enhancement is designed to improve connectivity experience with an infrastructure built for multi-gigabit speeds and a future-ready path toward 10G services to residential and SOHO consumers.

By bringing key network functions closer to homes and businesses, Liberty delivers lower latency, enhanced gaming performance, seamless high-quality streaming, and greater consistency during peak usage periods.

Aurora also reported that the upgrade enables Liberty Puerto Rico to operate its network more efficiently by minimizing infrastructure footprint and reducing energy consumption across operational sites. These gains support the development of a more sustainable and resilient network, reinforcing Liberty’s commitment to delivering reliable, high-quality broadband services to customers while helping meet the evolving connectivity needs of communities across Puerto Rico.

“This network enhancement underscores our commitment to delivering an enhanced broadband experience for customers across Puerto Rico, supported by capabilities that will enable speeds of up to 10 Gbps,” stated Chuck Page, vice president of technical operations, Liberty Puerto Rico. “By boosting capacity and responsiveness, we are delivering more reliable performance today while paving the way for next-generation, higher-speed services.”

“The deployment of our Remote MACPHY solution, building upon Aurora Networks’ existing technology within Liberty Puerto Rico’s network, exemplifies our commitment to helping service providers drive meaningful value for both operators and their subscribers,” added Guy Sucharczuk, senior vice president and president of Aurora Networks. “We are proud to support Liberty Puerto Rico as it enhances capacity, improves operational efficiency, and strengthens service reliability across its footprint. This expansion reinforces the importance of Remote MACPHY in enabling operators to modernize HFC networks, optimize costs, and deliver high-performance broadband services to meet increasing demand.”

WALTHAM, Mass. and PHILADELPHIA—Zixi and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver C-band replacement solutions for linear broadcasters and content distributors. The collaboration brings together the end-to-end video management capabilities provided by Comcast Media360 with the Zixi Software Platform to give operators a direct migration path from C-band satellite to IP-based content distribution, they said.

With the C-band satellite transition underway, programmers and distributors are exploring solutions to migrate linear workflows to IP while maintaining the kind of reliability, rights compliance, and affiliate distribution control that C-band has historically provided. At the core of the joint Zixi and CTS solution is a technical integration between the Zixi Software Platform and Comcast Media360, which provides customers with a 24/7 managed service backed by the proven reliability and scale of Comcast Technology Solutions.

“The C-band transition is not a distant deadline for our customers. It is a decision they are making now. Working with Comcast Technology Solutions means that we can offer broadcasters a solution that does not ask them to trade rights compliance and reliability for IP flexibility. The integration between the Zixi Software Platform and Comcast Media360 is the kind of joint engineering that makes a real operational difference," said Marc Aldrich, CEO, Zixi.

"Broadcasters are looking for ways to operate their linear channels more efficiently while continuing to scale distribution as part of their C-band transition efforts,” said Bart Spriester, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Streaming, Broadcast, and Advertising at Comcast Technology Solutions. “Comcast Media360 helps make that possible across broadcast and IP workflows and, together with Zixi, delivers a satellite replacement option that gives programmers and distributors a manageable path to IP and unlocks new monetization opportunities."

Notably, CTS’ linear rights management normalizes rights metadata using the SCTE 224 standard, enabling content providers to manage alternate content delivery, ad insertion windows, and audience-based content restrictions across broadcast and streaming destinations. Zixi ZEN Master orchestrates the live video workflow across cloud or hybrid network environments, with native support for SCTE-35/224 signaling, blackout enforcement, and schedule-driven source switching.

Together, the integrated platforms can provide broadcasters a single, intelligent, rights-aware distribution chain that combines signal orchestration, affiliate distribution, and rights enforcement enabling new monetization and distribution capability, while removing the dependency on satellite infrastructure and maintaining compliance and control.

As C-band satellite capacity is reclaimed and transition deadlines approach, the need for end-to-end IP workflows has become a near-term business imperative for broadcasters, the companies said, adding that the combined Zixi and CTS solution gives broadcasters a migration path that preserves existing investment in rights management infrastructure while moving to the flexibility and cost structure that IP distribution offers and simplifying the path from ingest to monetization.

BOTHELL, Wash.—The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), the Video Services Forum (VSF) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have announced the second IPMX Product Testing and Certification Event.

Scheduled for Aug. 24–28 at the EBU headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the week-long gathering is open to AIMS and VSF member companies and will expand the growing IPMX-certified product ecosystem while introducing formal certification of new capabilities developed as part of the IPMX roadmap.

The Geneva certification event follows a "dirty hands" interoperability session scheduled for July 20–24 at the Matrox Video facility in Montreal, Canada. That members-only session will give AIMS participants hands-on testing of new IPMX developments ahead of the formal certification event, continuing the model of pre-certification interoperability work that has proven effective throughout the IPMX program.

The August event will introduce certification for capabilities that have been in active development prior to the launch of the full realized standard in 2026. These include Host Key Exchange Protocol (HKEP) and HDCP handling for protected content, and the Privacy Encryption Protocol (PEP) security layer, which enables interoperable content encryption across multi-vendor deployments. HEVC and AVC compression profiles, which have seen strong industry interest in enabling efficient transport across existing infrastructure, are also progressing toward certification.

“The first certification event in January established that IPMX works across vendors at scale,” said Sam Recine, IPMX Pro AV Working Group Chair at AIMS. “The August event is where we take the next steps, expanding the certified product base and validating the capabilities that integrators and end users have been asking about since certification launched. Each event builds on the last, and the momentum we’re seeing from member companies reflects real confidence in where IPMX is headed.”

IPMX is a set of open standards and specifications designed to bring ST 2110-based media transport and NMOS-based control to a broader range of markets, including Pro AV, live events, corporate media, education, and beyond. Building on the certified product base of 48 products from 11 manufacturers introduced at ISE 2026, the certification program continues to evolve with new capabilities that address the practical requirements of deployed systems.

More information about AIMS and its work is available at www.aimsalliance.org.

As broadcasters continue transitioning to IP-based workflows, industry leaders are exploring new approaches that could improve interoperability, collaboration and operational flexibility.

At the heart of these discussions is the Dynamic Media Facility (DMF) and related Media eXchange Layer (MXL), emerging frameworks intended to help broadcasters determine how the next generation of software-defined workflows could work.

The topic was explored during a panel hosted by the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA), in conjunction with the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), featuring moderator Steve Reynolds, CEO, Imagine Communications, and guest speakers Naveed Aslam, senior vice president of Production Technology and Engineering, CBS/Paramount; John Mailhot, senior vice president of Product Management, Imagine Communications; Willem Vermost, senior IP media technology architect, EBU; and Andy Rayner, CTO, Appear.

“Much of media processing now runs in software, in a combination of on-premises and in the cloud,” Reynolds said. “And so, if everything is now moving to software, we have to ask the question: are we still designing our facilities in the right way?”

Panelists said DMF was created to address this question, driving the industry forward while solving key business challenges such as how to improve efficiency and allow broadcasters and their partners to share “very expensive resources” amongst more productions.

“I think, from our perspective, SMPTE ST 2110 and IP-based workflows have largely been understood and embraced as being the next industry evolutionary step,” Aslam said. “From our perspective, the DMF initiative is truly the key to start unlocking the practical and technological benefits that we can derive from an IP infrastructure, the opportunities that arise from that, and it just truly starts to give us an opportunity to explore what IP workflows can be.”

The panel explained that neither DMF nor MXL are meant to replace SMPTE ST 2110, the technical standards that gives broadcasters a means to transport broadcast-quality signals over IP networks, enabling them to scale workflows and providing a foundation for interoperability.

Rather, all three are designed to work together: DMF provides a framework for the next generation of more dynamic, software-defined facilities, while MXL provides a specific mode for connecting applications and services, effectively enabling interoperability inside of a computing cluster.

“It’s really the goal of the DMF to organize those upper layers so that you can actually have a dynamic facility,” Mailhot said. “I think that 2110 and MXL will work together to achieve that, but there’s a lot of work to do to fill in all those blanks.”

“If we work in an asynchronous way, suddenly more media functions can be run than ever before. Within the same time frame, of a frame, multiple operations can be run,” Vermost said.

“If you look at it from that point of view, it seems like a revolution. But, if you look at it from your broadcast plant and how you operate it, it’s an evolution. We’ll get there step by step.”

Panel discussion is available on demand on NABA's YouTube channel.

For most of broadcast history, captioning was treated as a metadata problem. QC systems checked whether caption data was present, whether files were correctly formatted, and whether character encoding was valid. If a CEA-608 or CEA-708 stream was embedded and a sidecar file — SCC, SRT, WebVTT — was properly formed, the asset passed. Whether the captions accurately reflected what was spoken was largely outside the scope of automated review.

FCC requirements in the United States and emerging mandates across Europe have moved from nominal compliance gates to substantive quality standards. Caption files that pass every technical check can still fail on accuracy, synchronization, or readability.

What broadcast and streaming organizations need is content-level validation: verifying that captions are accurate, properly timed, readable, and ready for multiplatform delivery. Captioning is becoming part of the broader media intelligence layer — one that evaluates a caption track against the content it accompanies, treating accuracy, timing, readability, and compliance as properties the system actively measures.

Caption Accuracy Starts With the Audio Track
The practical difference between metadata validation and content validation shows up in what each one misses. A traditional QC pass confirms that a caption file is present and well- formed. It does not detect dialogue that was misheard during transcription, lines that were omitted, or text that lags consistently behind speech — all failure modes that reach viewers and, increasingly, regulators.

Content-intelligent captioning systems work directly with audio. Modern automatic speech recognition (ASR) models transcribe spoken dialogue from the audio track, producing a reference against which existing captions can be checked, or generating a new track directly. Current-generation ASR achieves word error rates below 5% on standard broadcast dialogue — comparable to experienced human transcribers, and substantially lower than error rates produced under the time pressure of manual captioning at scale.

Accurate transcription addresses what is said; alignment addresses when it appears. AI alignment engines analyze audio waveforms to synchronize caption timing against actual speech, accounting for pace variation and pausing that fixed-offset methods miss. Captions that drift from dialogue constitute a real accessibility failure, and automated alignment catches those errors systematically across an entire content library. These systems can also surface compliance risk before delivery, flagging assets where timing drift, word error rate, or reading speed exceeds regulatory thresholds.

How Captions Render on Screen
A caption that is correctly transcribed and timed can still be difficult to follow if segmented poorly. Breaking mid-phrase or mid-clause forces viewers to piece together meaning across display windows. This presents a functional problem for all audiences and a more significant one for viewers with hearing impairments who rely on captions as their primary communication channel.

Rather than breaking text at fixed character counts, machine learning models identify natural language boundaries, such as clause endings, breath pauses, and semantic units, then segment accordingly. The result is captions that read more naturally. Emerging standards reflect this: quality evaluation is increasingly extending from file validity to content readability, including reading speed, display duration, and caption segmentation.

A complete evaluation also requires reference to the video frame. Text that covers a speaker's face, obscures on-screen graphics, or overlaps burnt-in text creates problems that fall outside the scope of transcription-level review. Managing visual placement has traditionally required frame-by-frame manual review or post-production adjustment — both slow and unsystematic at the scale modern workflows demand.

Video analysis integrated into current captioning platforms detects faces, on-screen graphics, and critical visual elements, then adjusts caption positioning automatically. These tools can also prevent captions from spanning scene-change boundaries, a source of visual discontinuity invisible to metadata validation. The caption track is evaluated against the full audio-visual context of the content it serves — a quality assurance step that operates where file-level checks end.

From One Validated Track to Many
Once a base caption track has been validated, the same content intelligence can carry through to multilingual delivery. Machine translation pipelines generate multilingual versions from that source track without a proportional increase in localization effort. Additionally, systems incorporating large language models can preserve timing, segmentation logic, and reading-speed compliance across the target language, so translated tracks inherit the quality properties of the source without a separate QC cycle.

Broadcast, OTT, and streaming platforms each impose distinct caption format requirements, and a caption track that passes QC for one delivery destination may fail for another. Generating and validating multiple output formats — SCC, WebVTT, TTML, and others — within the same pipeline means format-specific compliance is confirmed once, upstream, before distribution splits across platforms.

Accuracy That Compounds With Use
One persistent limitation of traditional captioning pipelines is that errors recur without systematic correction. When a captioning process mishandles a recurring term, such as a character name, an athlete, or a brand, that error propagates across multiple assets with no mechanism to resolve it at the source.

Content-intelligent platforms address this through a continuous learning loop. When operators review and correct AI-generated captions, those corrections are captured and used to fine-tune the underlying model. Over successive production cycles, the system becomes progressively more accurate for that organization's specific content mix, speakers, and terminology. This provides a meaningful advantage over static vendor relationships, where the same errors resurface without correction.

Moving Quality Decisions Upstream
These capabilities move captioning from a production checkpoint into a media quality system. Content-intelligent workflows generate structured, validated caption data that feeds directly into MAM systems, localization platforms, and distribution pipelines. The caption track arrives at each stage as a verified asset, ready for use without additional QC. That changes where quality decisions happen. Compliance risk is surfaced before delivery.

Multilingual tracks inherit the quality properties of the source. Format-specific requirements are confirmed once, before distribution splits across platforms. The underlying shift is from discovering caption failures at the point of delivery, where correction is costly and timelines are unforgiving, to catching them at the point of production.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — As media technology workflows become increasingly software-defined, IP-based, and interconnected, organizations need professionals with the skills to implement, manage and support them. To help meet that need, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) is expanding access to practical, industry-focused education through open standards, foundational learning, instructor-led education, and hands-on training.

Building on its open-access Standards Library, SMPTE's education offerings help professionals progress from learning the fundamentals to applying them in real-world IP media environments. The journey begins with the free, self-paced ”Essentials of Media over IP (EMIP)” course available on-demand, and continues with the instructor-led “Understanding SMPTE ST 2110” virtual course, beginning July 21.

Developed in collaboration with EVS, the free EMIP course introduces the fundamentals of IP networking for media. Participants can then continue with “Understanding SMPTE ST 2110,” where live instruction, demonstrations, and interactive discussions explore the standards, technologies, and workflows used in professional IP media facilities.

Graduates of Understanding SMPTE ST 2110 are eligible to participate in the SMPTE ST 2110 Practical Lab, an immersive hands-on experience developed in collaboration with Lawo. Understanding SMPTE ST 2110 is a prerequisite for the Practical Lab, where participants configure, synchronize, test, and troubleshoot IP media systems using technologies from leading industry partners including Lawo, Arista Networks, Meinberg, Bridge Technologies, Matrox Video, AJA Video Systems, Macnica, Leader Electronics, NVIDIA, Embrionix, and others.

The course is led by Willem Vermost (EBU), Wim Van Roy (Lawo), Gerard Phillips (Arista Networks), Chris Lapp (Cisco) and Leigh Whitcomb (Meinberg). Guest lecturers include Felix Poulin (Radio-Canada), Andreas Hildebrand (Lawo), Olivier Ettlin (Simplexity), Pedro Ferreira (Bisect), Stefan Ledergerber (Simplexity) and François Legrand (Radio-Canada).

“Making SMPTE standards freely accessible was the first step,” said Maja Davidovic, director of education at SMPTE. “We’re building on that foundation with a connected learning experience that takes professionals from foundational knowledge to practical application, helping them develop the skills needed for today's evolving media technology landscape.”

Beyond its online courses and hands-on training, SMPTE delivers immersive education through the SMPTE Roadshow at NAB Show New York, technical programming at IBC and the annual SMPTE Media Technology Summit, giving media professionals opportunities to continue developing their expertise throughout the year.

Registration is now open for the next session of “Understanding SMPTE ST 2110,” beginning July 21. Learn more and register here.

LONDON—Gravity Media, a global provider of production, content, media services and facilities, is powering an innovative reverse remote production setup for ITV’s FIFA Football World Cup coverage, connecting Gravity Media’s London Production Centre with ITV Sport’s live studio operations in New York through a fully integrated workflow.

In this three-hub production model, match feeds are received via the International Broadcast Center in Dallas and transmitted to Gravity Media’s London Production Centre, where production galleries are operated and enhanced with live editorial and presentation content.

Meanwhile, ITV Sport’s presenting team based in New York delivers the live studio segments, creating a seamless workflow across three international locations rather than a traditional single-site production. The result is a highly resilient, flexible production model that brings together transatlantic collaboration and state-of-the-art infrastructure.

The production also incorporates venue injects, with game-side presentation elements seamlessly integrated into Gravity Media’s London galleries, elevating storytelling and live coverage.

This project highlights Gravity Media’s continued investment in advanced remote production technologies and its ability to deliver complex, multi-location workflows at scale for major international sporting events, according to Kate Rendle, Global Sales Director at Gravity Media.

“This is a perfect example of how Gravity Media is redefining what’s possible in remote production. By integrating our London Production Centre with live presentation in New York, we’re able to deliver a seamless, resilient and highly creative workflow for one of the world’s biggest sporting events. Our investment in infrastructure ensures that we can support our clients with true operational flexibility and continuity, no matter what challenges arise. It’s about delivering innovation and reliability at scale, and we’re proud to be doing that for ITV.”

ITVX says it achieved its strongest monthly performance to date in June, crossing the 400 million monthly streams milestone for the first time in its history.

ITV Sport showed seven out of the top ten biggest matches in the group stages, including England's two winning games, with peak audiences of 16.4 million and 13.8 million respectively, as well as the opening match of the tournament, Mexico vs South Africa, Norway vs France, Netherlands vs Japan, Scotland vs Morocco, and Germany vs Cote D’Ivoire.

JERSEY CITY, N.J.—Fox Television Stations, XR (Extreme Reach) and LTN completed a successful four-week live syndication initiative in May for game show “25 Words or Less LIVE,” using IP-based distribution to deliver the program to stations and let viewers play along.

“Live programming creates unique opportunities for stations to engage viewers in real time,” said Stephen Brown, EVP Programming and Development, Fox Television Stations, Fox First Run. “This initiative demonstrated how innovative distribution strategies can support new programming models while maintaining the reliability broadcasters require.”

Produced for Fox First Run and hosted by Meredith Vieira, “25 Words or Less LIVE” aired weekdays from May 4–28, originating from Parlay Studios in Jersey City, N.J. More than 38 live episodes were delivered twice a day to 18 stations, many of which were Fox-owned-and- operated stations in key U.S. markets.

The workflow was powered by Extreme Reach’s syndication services and LTN’s managed IP video transport network.

The milestone project proved the viability of live syndicated television workflows that let broadcasters create more immediate and interactive viewing experiences, the companies said. Live delivery created new opportunities for stations to engage with viewers through social media, local promotions and real-time audience participation, allowing fans to play along with contestants.

XR and LTN delivered a live syndication workflow that allowed Fox to distribute the programming to participating stations nationwide. XR managed the show’s distribution through its syndication platform, while LTN provided fully managed IP transport and master control services connecting Fox’s production facility to local stations.

Together, the companies leveraged XR’s content-delivery expertise and LTN’s proven broadcast infrastructure to bring the excitement of live television to viewers nationwide, allowing fans to watch, interact and play along with the show as it happened.

“Delivering live syndicated programming requires coordination, precision and dependable technology partners,” Matt Pagen, general manager of XR Media, said. “Together with Fox and LTN, we created a workflow that helps broadcasters and syndicators engage audiences in new ways while maximizing their content investments. This combined offering delivered the performance we needed, while providing a more cost-efficient alternative to traditional satellite distribution.”

The initiative received positive feedback from participating stations. It showed how cloud-based and IP-enabled distribution models can support live television workflows that typically depend on legacy infrastructure. It also highlighted the potential for significant cost savings compared to traditional satellite distribution, without sacrificing the reliability, scale or viewer experience required for live television.

“This project represents the kind of innovation content creators and broadcasters are actively exploring as they modernize their distribution strategies,” LTN Senior Vice President of Global Products Rick Young said. “By combining Extreme Reach’s syndication expertise with LTN’s managed IP network and operational services, we enabled a reliable live television experience to stations across the country.”

More information is available on the XR Extreme Reach and LTN websites.

SAN FRANCISCO—LucidLink has expanded its workflow integration with Adobe Frame.io, giving globally distributed production teams unified access to their Frame.io projects and offering support for production media in separate cloud storage environments.

By extending the Frame.io ecosystem, LucidLink said it provides a complete production workflow where editors and producers can access Frame.io assets alongside all supporting production media, including B-roll, audio, graphics and archives—all within a unified LucidLink file space.

Using LucidLink Connect, files stored in such cloud environments as Microsoft SharePoint, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box and Amazon S3 appear instantly for the editor. No data migration, downloads or file duplication is required and existing cloud-storage systems remain unchanged.

This approach extends LucidLink’s file-streaming technology to assets outside Frame.io, bringing local, real-time performance to the rest of the production workflow. Creative teams can collaborate in Frame.io while keeping assets synchronized across the rest of the production toolchain, providing a true camera-to-timeline experience, LucidLink said.

“Creative teams don't work in a single application anymore,” LucidLink CEO Peter Thompson said. “They move across NLEs, MAMs, review and approval tools and VFX platforms. Our integration with Adobe Frame.io means customers can enjoy an exceptional review and collaboration experience, while LucidLink provides the persistent, tool-agnostic storage layer behind it. You get the best of both worlds: a seamless Frame.io workflow and a cloud filespace that serves every other tool in the production.”

As more vendors introduce their own integrated storage options, many media organizations are re-evaluating how to architect their workflows. While application-specific storage can simplify narrow use cases, it often creates silos when content needs to move beyond a single platform.

LucidLink Connect addresses this challenge by acting as an enterprise-grade access layer across the entire production workflow, the company said. Content reviewed and approved in Frame.io can simultaneously be used by other tools, such as NLEs, finishing systems, MAMs or AI services without additional exports, syncs or manual handoffs.

Key benefits of the LucidLink and Adobe Frame.io integration include immediate camera-to-timeline workflows, access to everything in one place, no need to move or duplicate files and enterprise-ready orchestration, the companies said.

“Over the years, Adobe and LucidLink have teamed up to help organizations like Brut, Casual and Minute Media, plus hundreds of other joint customers, do their best work. That success continuously informs our roadmap,” Thompson said. “This integration isn't about choosing one storage option over another. It gives customers the flexibility to design workflows that match the way they actually work. LucidLink Connect provides a neutral, high-performance storage layer that lets Adobe Frame.io shine at what it does best, while ensuring assets are always ready for the next stage in production.”

From high-end episodic and feature projects to live sports and fast-turnaround social content, organizations are increasingly relying on hybrid and fully cloud-based workflows, the company said. The LucidLink and Adobe Frame.io integration is designed for media and entertainment studios, broadcasters, sports and live event producers, agencies, brands, in-house creative teams and enterprise video teams.

More information is available on the LucidLink website.

HACKENSACK, NJ—LAt the 2026 IBC Show, Sept. 11-14, LiveU will showcase what it refers to as its "Q Era," which uses AI-driven connectivity intelligence in a modular, open IP-video EcoSystem to automate live production workflows across news, sports, entertainment and other live events.

Among the highlights at its booth are the LU900Q, LiveU's Intelligent Production Unit, the first unit built natively around LiveU IQ (LIQ). The unit applies AI-driven connectivity intelligence and smart operator selection to optimize performance in real time, helping crews stay reliably connected in challenging conditions, according to the company.

Built for multi-camera workflows, the LU900Q combines native LIQ connectivity, advanced eSIM technology, optimized 5G modems and a MIMO antenna array with support for SDI, HDMI, USB and IP camera input. It delivers HD/4K transmission with 10-bit HDR 4:2:2 encoding, up to 32 audio channels, dual video return, dual intercom with built-in Bluetooth audio and wireless file transfer for faster field-to-production turnaround.

LiveU will also showcase its expanded collaboration with Sony Corporation, first announced at the 2026 NAB Show. On display, and currently available, will be the LiveU TX1—a compact, camera-mounted unit purpose-built for Sony's professional camera range—delivering fast, reliable bonded file transfer directly from the camera. Also demonstrated will be the Sony RXS Connection License, enabling direct file transfer from compatible Sony cameras to the PWA-RXS solution via supported LiveU field units, starting with the compact LU300S.

LiveU has also announced that Cuez has signed up as its latest EcoSystem partner, extending workflow automation into cloud-based newsroom and rundown management.

As a member of the EBU's working group, LiveU is actively involved in advancing the MXL shared-memory architecture – enabling multiple applications to access the same video frame simultaneously, eliminating redundant processing and reducing latency.

Together, these developments reflect the broader LiveU EcoSystem approach, supporting the full arc of live production, across live and file-based workflows.

Also at the LiveU booth is LiveU Nexus, a universal gateway for digital and IP workflows that converts, normalizes, and routes feeds across LRT, SRT, and RTMP, bridging social, online, and remote sources with traditional broadcast operations. As well as offering seamless digital source integration for Zoom, Teams and YouTube, it can be used as a scan converter for any web content, the company said.

LiveU Studio is a cloud-native production service for video switching, audio mixing, graphics, and more. It enables multi-output cloud production, allowing teams to deliver multiple feeds in multiple formats from a single production. Together, Nexus and Studio give newsrooms and digital teams a faster, leaner path from live event to published content—across every platform simultaneously.

Also on tap, LiveU Ingest, which replaces fragmented, manual processes with a single story-centric workflow for live and file based—from planning and scheduling through ingest, and metadata enrichment.

Actus Digital, a LiveU company, will showcase the latest capabilities of Actus X – a modular, browser-based platform that unifies compliance logging, low-latency multiviewing, QA monitoring, clip creation, and AI-powered media intelligence.

LiveU will be in Stand 7.C24 at the RAI Amsterdam.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic—CS live is a Czech Republic–based outside broadcast company that covers domestic soccer and ice hockey leagues, international UEFA competitions and large-scale mixed martial arts events. As our production work has grown in scale and complexity, we reached a point where our existing setup no longer matched how we needed to operate day to day.

When we started planning our newest OB van, the real question wasn’t just what equipment to use but how it would all work together once it was in the truck.

OB trucks have always pulled from multiple vendors—audio consoles, switchers, replay, monitoring—and each comes with its own way of working.

In practice, that often means juggling several control systems simultaneously. Operators learn each one separately, and even small changes, such as swapping out a device or reworking a setup between shows, can take more effort than necessary.

Streamlined Control
That complexity was becoming harder to manage across productions, so we set out to simplify it.

After thorough planning with Czech integrator Smart Informatics, we went for a Riedel solution. including the company’s “hi human interface” control system, a browser-based, platform-independent control layer that enables operators to manage a wide range of devices. Part of that decision came from prior experience with Riedel technology, but just as important was their approach to tying systems together rather than treating them as isolated components.

At the core of the truck is a MediorNet-distributed network built on 12 MicroN UHD nodes. Seven nodes handle signal routing, while five are configured as multiviewers. Two additional MicroN Standard nodes act as stageboxes, linking the truck to stadiums and other sources over a single fiber connection. SDI, MADI and Ethernet all run together, which helps keep the physical side of the build manageable.

For us, another advantage is flexibility going forward. We’re still working in baseband today, but the system gives us a way to move toward IP at our own pace without having to rethink the entire build.

On top of that sits hi, Riedel’s control system, which we use as a single layer across the truck. It brings control of audio, switching, replay, monitoring, GPI triggers and signaling together into one interface. Instead of moving between systems, operators stay in the same environment.

The setup includes five hiPush18 panels, a hiPush32 Shading panel, a hiPush36 panel and three hiContact panels, along with tablet control where it makes sense. We also use Riedel 1200 Series panels, where the intercom can sit on one layer and routing or device control on another—a practical option when space is tight.

From Days to Just Hours
The biggest operational change for us has been how hi separates the operator experience from the underlying hardware. The interface behaves the same way regardless of what’s behind it. In most cases, when a device changes or is reassigned, that update carries through automatically across the system.

What used to take days to reconfigure can now usually be handled in hours. That shows up most clearly in how we manage tight production schedules. Moving between venues or back-to-back events often means adjusting sources or workflows quickly. With a unified control layer, those changes are easier to implement without forcing operators to adapt at the same time.

There’s also a practical benefit in staffing. Because the interface stays consistent, operators don’t need deep familiarity with each system in the truck. That gives us more flexibility in how we crew productions.

This is the first deployment of hi in the Czech Republic, and it’s already shaped how we think about future builds. Moving to a distributed signal backbone combined with a single control layer changes the day-to-day experience of working in the truck in a meaningful way.

The system we’ve put together—MediorNet, hi, Artist intercom and Bolero wireless—isn’t tied to a fixed way of working. Instead of locking ourselves into one approach, we’ve built something we can adjust over time as our needs evolve.

More information is available on Riedel’s website.

Editor's note: This article was written prior to the FCC's formal announcement on June 30 of the planned auction of 160 MHz of midband spectrum.

As broadcasters wait for the FCC to release the ground rules for the congressionally mandated upper C-band auction in July 2027, the gap is widening between what their lobbyists and suppliers say will happen if they lose all 180 MHz of the high-value block.

The contrasting perspectives, ranging from near panic to sanguinity that—with enough transition time—broadcasters will be fine—played out in interviews, recent Federal Communications Commission filings and a high-level executive C-band panel at NAB Show. It’s still unclear how much spectrum will end up on the auction block, how long stations will have to make whatever transitions to alternatives are necessary and what they can expect in the way of compensation for the costs.

The View From NAB and NABA
Messaging from the National Association of Broadcasters, the North American Broadcast Association (NABA) and other industry representatives expressed deep concerns on all points, starting with the possibility of losing more than 100 MHz of upper C-band spectrum. After 60% of the overall C-band total vanished in the 2021 lower C-band auction, losing all 180 MHz in the upper band could cause irreparable harm, NABA Director-General Rebecca Hanson said.

“We have members already suffering after the first auction,” Hanson said, citing evidence submitted in an FCC filing by the North American Spectrum Alliance, an independent project launched last year under NABA management. “I hesitate to say broadcasters will be just fine if we can keep 80 GHz. Current constraints are already having an impact.

“There are no viable alternatives that match what C-band delivers,” she said. “Ku-band has rain-fade problems; fiber has penetration problems; there can be multiday outages on internet connections. In research you find claims to the contrary, but what’s in the NAB filings challenges those claims.”

Indeed, earlier this year NAB advised the commission, “The record consistently demonstrates that claims of ‘viable alternatives’ are overstated, unsupported, and incomplete.” It went so far as to cite discussions with broadcasters that showed one vendor’s claims of offering a terrestrial alternative to C-band with “zero downtime” over several years “to be false, or at least misleading.

“Terrestrial circuits are vulnerable to physical cuts, congestion, vendor outages and first-mile failures, with restoration times measured in hours or days—conditions completely incompatible with broadcast operations,” NAB said. “No one offers a universal, one-for-one [C-band] replacement capable of delivering the same reliability, coverage, scalability and resilience nationwide.”

‘So Many Options’
But the no “one-for-one replacement” caveat is beside the point for many broadcasters hoping to orchestrate various combinations of these transport solutions to meet NAB’s requirements. Even if the whole C-band sky falls, they said there’s reason to believe technology will open ways forward that could even work to their advantage.

“If we lose all or substantially all of the spectrum, which I think we probably will, our plan will be to forklift the traffic to Ku-band and then supplement that with some number of terrestrial paths,” said Alastair Hamilton, senior vice president of distribution engineering and architecture at Fox, who spoke on the NAB Show C-band panel. “I’m glad we have so many options.”

On the satellite front, along with the Ku-band option, broadcasters could also use low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite capacity, Hamilton noted. Deepak Mathur, president of media at SES, said the satellite operator is aggressively working with suppliers to design and build a new set of Ku-band satellites enabling higher power outputs in heavy rain zones and “cross-strapping” tie-ins to uplinks that work in the C-band.

“We believe that we can come very close, not exactly all the way there, but very, very close to the network reliability that you’ve enjoyed with C-band,” Mathur told the NAB Show panel audience. Setting 2030 as the target date when broadcasters would be able to deploy retrofitted Ku-band antennas for the uplink strategy, he added, “We’re on a good track to get there.”

The ‘Last-Mile’ Challenge
For many broadcasters, a comprehensive C-band replacement solution will have to include support for off-shore connectivity, which in CBS’s case includes service in the Caribbean, parts of Latin America and Canada. Whatever the hybrid replacement solution turns out to be, “it’s going to put more onus on us to make sure the carriers and the service providers are indeed routing the paths and have the proper resiliency within their networks,” Fuller said, noting that the last-mile transition is the “hard part.”

Hamilton agreed. “That’s the bit that worries us the most,” he said. “Our broadcast markets for the most part have some reasonable connectivity, and we can go to the top five or six MVPDs on the cable side with fiber, internet, satellite. We’ve got whatever the number is, 90%, but it’s that extra 10% that’s going to be the real challenge. I think we’re going to have to get creative.”

Just how hard that will be remains to be seen.

There’s a well-proven solution readily at hand, said Rich Young, head of global products at LTN, who appeared on a second vendor panel at the NAB Show C-band session. Station groups and multichannel operators can “bring one feed in” on the IP network and “deliver it with synchronized latency to every location,” he said, noting the LTN Network coverage was on course to connect customers accounting for an aggregate 1,700-plus broadcast station affiliates plus multichannel video programming distributors reaching 98% of “the MVPD eyeballs.”

The range of possibilities was well illustrated by last month’s announcement that 330 PBS member stations are adopting LTN’s IP platform. Without mentioning the upper C-band issue, PBS said the move was aimed at “modernizing and future proofing” the PBS Interconnection system. The LTN Network will deliver up to nine linear broadcast feeds from PBS and affiliated networks to member stations while enabling always-on support for inter-station content sharing and contributions of locally produced content to regional and national broadcasts.

LTN is tackling the C-band replacement issue with multivendor integrations and network enhancements aimed at improving reliability, scalability and operational visibility. For example, a collaboration with Appear integrates that firm’s high-density X Platform to support encoding and decoding IP-native live video contribution and distribution payloads on the LTN network.

Harmonic is another supplier partnering with LTN, in this case through a tie-in with Harmonic’s XOS Advanced Media Processor software appliance used in MVPD headends to unify encoding, playout and delivery. As Andrew Hildenbrandt, Harmonic’s solutions director for broadcast and primary distribution solutions, makes clear, LTN is just one of the paths XOS customers can take in their adjustments to C-band replacement.

“At the affiliate edge, XOS acts as a ‘headend-in-a-box,’ offering a flexible and
future-proof solution for distribution via Ku-band satellite, managed IP through partners like LTN or Zixi, CDN or hybrid workflows,” Hildenbrandt told TV Tech. “With XOS media processor, we are embracing a very straightforward but powerful idea: broadcasters and programmers can deliver any content, over any platform, to any affiliate.”

Multiplatform Approach
Other suppliers said it’s possible to fashion a seamless flow of live-event feeds into production and out to affiliates without relying on C-band, but doing so requires a means of orchestrating support from more than one platform.

Synamedia, for example, has long enabled use of its workflows in multiple transport environments, including “delivering content over satellite securely for over 30 years,” noted Synamedia Director of Distribution Kenelm Deen, another NAB Show C-band session speaker.

“There’s no one technology that will solve this,” Deen said. “There will be multiple technologies for different use-case applications.” He said Synamedia, with an edge platform “that can receive across any network technology, be it Ku with BSF [bandstop filters], IP, Zixi, SRT—any protocol,” is working with broadcasters to shape post-C-band paths precisely to their needs.

Zixi is also working with broadcasters making the transition from C-band on the assumption that “there’s no one technology that can replace it,” as Alan Young, vice president of strategic business development, put it during the NAB Show session. “We act as a trust boundary for a lot of traffic as it passes through the workflow,” he said.

Zixi’s Zen Master manages all the complexity of orchestrating hitless switching across multiuse IP networks so latency is deterministically fixed “everywhere at every receive site” with transmissions in and out of multiple vendor workflows, Young said. “Doing that, you can create five 9s or maybe even better if you add more paths,” he added, noting that Zixi “is working with pretty much everyone on this panel and many others.”

Blended Connectivity
Coming from a different perspective on support for C-band replacement through hybrid transmission solutions, Dejero has been showing broadcasters how its TITAN Command platform can be used to orchestrate video flows at high performance across 5G and LEO networks utilizing the blended connectivity enabled by its field-based EnGo 3 transmitter.

At the NAB Show, Dejero teamed with other suppliers, including Clear-Com, GlobalM, Matrox Video and Ross Video, in a live “field-to-air” demo that leveraged use of the TITAN Command orchestration platform to combine cellular and Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO constellation into a resilient alternative to C-band in a multivendor environment.

“We have the right technology and are in the middle of trying to understand what the business model looks like and what the next steps should be,” said Kevin Fernandes, Dejero’s chief revenue officer, adding that working out the business model includes figuring out a way that LEO network capacity can be monetized for as-needed broadcast industry use.

“These discussions don’t happen overnight,” he added. “Right now, we’re putting TITAN out there and showing it works.”

Other suppliers are bucking the perception that C-band replacement requires hybrid multiplatform approaches by offering single-platform solutions they say can do the job with C-band-caliber performance on the internet. One such advocate is BCNEXXT. In an interview, Graham Sharp, its sales and marketing vice president, noted successes in the playout arena, including providing Sky Europe with cloud-based playout support on 220 channels, as a foundation to providing a C-band alternative.

“Our whole system is developed around reducing CPU power and distribution costs,” Sharp said, noting BCNEXXT is hoping to close on its first large U.S. station group deal by year’s end. “That’s why we think it’s a good alternative to satellite distribution.”

Another executive expressing confidence in a single IP-based platform solution to the C-band replacement issue is Michelle Munson, CEO and co-founder of Eluvio. At the NAB Show event, Munson said Eluvio’s global broadcast fabric supports any-to-any networks at global scales “built on top of TCP/IP with a novel decentralized content routing protocol that allows distribution meeting latency targets…with deterministic global switching” and “multipath SMPTE 2022-7 routing throughout.”

“One distribution serves all receivers, and along with that, each receiver is dynamically able to become a new output,” she added. “We have the flexibility, I think, this is really about. It’s not just about replacing satellite. It’s the transformation of the industry into what could be a truly over-the-top, flexible, simple, data-driven kind of workflow that we’ve really not been able to take advantage of before.”

Learn more about the challenges facing C-band users in the TV Tech Talk, “C-Band Spectrum Changes: The Next Infrastructure Shift for Broadcasters,” July 29 at 2 p.m. ET. To register, click here.

The technology toolkit available to broadcasters has evolved dramatically over the past quarter-century.

During television’s digital and HD transition era, “future-proofing” became a favorite phrase among systems integrators designing 3G-SDI facilities. Yet television has never actually exceeded 1080i/720p over ATSC 1.0, which is effectively half-bandwidth HD, or 1.5G.

So why did Arizona Public Media (AZPM) choose to build a 4K facility, deploy virtual production capabilities and install 4K cameras in radio studios? The answer lies in understanding where content creation and distribution is headed.

Analyzing the Need
Recent industry research shows audiences are consuming streaming media at a greater rate than traditional broadcast-delivered content. Our own metrics at AZPM reflect the same trend. OTT consumption continues to grow while over-the-air viewership remains relatively flat.

As AZPM began planning the $65 million Paul and Alice Baker Center for Public Media (with a tech budget of about $10 million), we examined our current and future needs across TV, radio, streaming and digital media production. Our goal was to eliminate traditional silos and create technology-agnostic production spaces that support current workflows and can adapt to future requirements.

Quality was also a major consideration. AZPM already captures field content in 4K HDR using Sony FX6 and FX9 cameras and edits in DaVinci Resolve to leverage its advanced color-grading capabilities. Historically, however, field-acquired footage never fully matched in-house studio productions due to limitations in our 1080i SDR infrastructure.

While a migration to 3G HDR would have been the simpler path and would have produced solid results, we chose to push further by designing our internal production environment around 4K HDR. That decision naturally led to discussions about adding a dedicated color-correction suite and a Dolby Atmos mixing room.

We wanted to eliminate the traditional silos that often separate TV, radio, cable television and conference-room AV systems. Too often, these systems coexist without integrating effectively. We believed there had to be a better way.

Searching for the Answer
Because the AZPM facility was funded entirely through donor and member support, one of our earliest goals was to create a facility that donors would be proud to invest in while supporting our long-term mission.

Research became a critical part—the AZPM team visited numerous recently completed media facilities, observing operations and asking candid questions about what had worked well and what they would do differently.

Some organizations had committed to HD and 3G-SDI as their long-term strategy. Others aspired to deploy 12G infrastructures but were constrained by budget realities.

My vision for broadcasting’s future has always included both over-the-air and streaming delivery. Each platform offers distinct advantages. With ATSC 3.0 now approaching a decade of deployment, I remain hopeful that NextGen TV, coupled with integrated streaming experiences, can elevate OTA broadcasting by bringing content quality and user experiences closer to what audiences expect from streaming services.

AZPM currently broadcasts in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 and chose to deploy a 1080p HDR NextGen TV signal. In doing so, we planted our flag firmly where we believe the industry must go to remain competitive and relevant.

Building the Team and the Plan
At AZPM, the transition began well before the move into the new facility. We migrated field-production equipment and editing systems to 4K HDR workflows while still operating from our existing location. Giving teams time to become comfortable with new tools and processes before introducing a completely new facility significantly reduced organizational friction.

My internal design team included leaders from engineering, information technology and production. Together, they transitioned to 4K acquisition, DaVinci Resolve workflows, LUT-based color management and enhanced audio production techniques.

The results were evident. This year, AZPM received eight regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence in journalism. While great storytelling remains the most important factor, there is little doubt that improved production quality helped strengthen audience engagement and presentation.

As a result, when our production teams moved into the new facility, they encountered familiar workflows enhanced by better spaces, newer tools and expanded capabilities. The transition proved remarkably smooth.

Of course, adopting new technologies also introduces new support challenges. High-bandwidth IP-based production environments require expertise in software, networking, cybersecurity and systems integration that extends well beyond traditional broadcast engineering disciplines.

AZPM invested heavily in staff development while simultaneously upgrading portions of our existing facility to serve as a testing environment. Moving from HD to 4K requires more powerful editing systems, increased network capacity, improved monitoring and measurement tools, and significantly more storage.

Concept testing also played an important role in validating new operational models. One example was transforming a radio program into content that could simultaneously serve radio broadcast, podcast, vodcast, streaming and traditional television audiences.

To test the concept, we equipped an old radio studio with PTZ cameras, upgraded lighting and branded visual elements. A small flypack in an adjacent control room enabled student operators to produce the program efficiently with a much lighter operational footprint.

The experiment proved successful. Today, our new Press Room studio provides expanded space, dedicated cameras, planned lighting and digital signage capable of supporting a wide range of productions while maintaining operational efficiency.

Finding Partners
Successfully delivering a project of this scale while maintaining normal operations is an enormous challenge. Choosing the right partners was therefore one of the most important decisions we made.

We issued an RFP seeking a fully integrated design-build team capable of addressing construction, power, HVAC, acoustics and media facility requirements as a unified effort.

After selecting our construction partner, we completed a Phase 0 broadcast design study. I cannot overstate the importance of providing architects and builders with detailed requirements regarding space allocation, cable pathways, cooling capacity, power distribution and equipment density.

Our builder had recently completed a Meta data center and a film school production facility. Even so, assumptions can be dangerous.

For example, their initial studio-floor specification mirrored what had been used in film production environments. Television production places very different demands on floor surfaces. Pedestal-mounted cameras require strict flatness and levelness tolerances as defined by ASTM E1155-20. Without those standards, camera movements can become unstable and unlocked cameras can literally roll across the studio floor.

Perhaps the most important long-term partner in any facility project is the systems integrator. During installation, we routinely had 10 systems integration specialists on-site for six months to complete cabling, infrastructure deployment and equipment commissioning.

We ultimately selected a midsized systems integrator that demonstrated a willingness to innovate, collaborate and help us achieve our goals.

Building one of the region’s first fully IP-based media facilities—from VITEC-powered cable and digital signage systems to TAG multiviewers and an EVS-managed SMPTE ST 2110 infrastructure—is no small undertaking.

I must commend KCM (Key Code Media) for their collaborative approach and commitment to project success. On multiple occasions, we activated studio resources for live productions before formal project acceptance. KCM staff worked alongside our teams to ensure everything operated successfully, including complex 11-camera productions that occurred before final commissioning was complete.

From Skepticism to Enthusiasm
Few organizations are fortunate enough to build a greenfield media facility of this scale.

No project of this magnitude proceeds without challenges, compromises and occasional disappointments. Throughout the process, my goals remained straightforward: keep the team engaged, provide clear direction to our partners, maintain rigorous oversight and ensure that our staff remained healthy and focused.

One of the more amusing aspects of the transition was watching some of the strongest skeptics become enthusiastic advocates. Several longtime employees initially doubted that the new facility would improve their work, enhance quality or make their jobs more enjoyable.

Today, many of those same individuals enthusiastically explain to colleagues how they use the new tools, appreciate the new spaces and cannot imagine returning to the workflows of our previous facility.

In the end, most obstacles proved manageable and ultimately minor in the context of the overall project.

What I will carry forward from this experience is not only the accomplishment itself, but also the belief that the investment made by our donors, members, staff and partners has provided AZPM with a platform for innovation that will serve the organization for decades to come.

If we have done our jobs well, this facility will enable Arizona Public Media to create, innovate, educate and thrive for the next 75 years.

To improve efficiency, reduce travel and make better use of specialized staff, TV broadcasters are moving away from traditional facility-bound control rooms toward remote, distributed and hybrid production models.

“Broadcasters are rethinking the traditional control room,” said Costa Kokorogiannis, product manager at Matrox Video, a global provider of AV-over-IP solutions for live, remote and distributed broadcast workflows. “Instead of tying operators to dedicated hardware in a single facility, they want IP-based KVM and control systems that allow teams to access production resources from anywhere without sacrificing responsiveness.”

“Broadcasters are looking for flexible environments,” added Greg Lenczycki, chief operating officer of IHSE USA, which offers secure, zero-latency KVM and matrix switching solutions for 24/7 mission-critical environments. “The future of the industry is relying heavily on hybrid workflows—keeping latency-sensitive or high-resolution processes on-premises while leveraging IP for scalability and remote access.”

Layered Systems and Distributed Workflows
Today’s remote production architectures involve multiple layers of technology, combining on-premises equipment, transmission infrastructure and localized monitoring with virtualized or cloud processing utilities.

“It’s now common for production teams to work across multiple studios, broadcast centers or remote venues, requiring secure, low-latency access to equipment and resources regardless of location,” said John Halksworth, senior product manager at Adder Technology, which develops high-performance IP KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) solutions for the secure control of local and remote live production systems. “As a result, they’re looking for technologies that not only provide reliable remote access, but also integrate seamlessly into the wider broadcast ecosystem.”

Given this new operational reality, “broadcasters are no longer looking for one single ‘remote production product,’” said Matt Keske, director of business development, North America, at G&D and VuWall, which provides integrated KVM hardware and video wall management software for secure control rooms. Instead, “they are building layered hybrid infrastructures that combine on-site systems, IP-based transport, centralized control, monitoring, and cloud or virtualized services.”

Why Low Latency Matters
In this remotely connected world, fast data speeds are essential. This is why, “as broadcasters continue to adopt hybrid workflows and remote operations, they are increasingly seeking equipment that enables secure, low-latency access to systems and resources regardless of location,” said Thomas Tang, founder and president of Apantac, which offers multiviewers, KVM-over-IP and video processing solutions for the broadcast and pro AV industries.

“KVM-over-IP solutions have become a critical component of this transition, allowing operators, engineers, and production staff to remotely access and control servers, workstations, replay systems, graphics engines, and other mission-critical equipment as if they were sitting directly in front of them,” Tang said.

Connecting these low-latency solutions over standard IP networks lets remote operators feel as if they are sitting right next to the machines even when they are hundreds of miles away. In some KVM-over-IP deployments, standard 1 Gigabit Ethernet networks with transparent USB support can deliver responsive control with little or no perceptible delay, provided the network is properly designed for the workflow.

“Remote production really only works if operators can forget that they’re remote,” Kokorogiannis said. “In live environments, there’s no tolerance for sluggish keyboard response, delayed video or inconsistent switching between systems.”

The Challenges of REMI
In an idealized remote operational environment, the transition from a localized setup to a Remote Integration Model (REMI) workflow goes without a hitch. In the real world, there can be issues.

A case in point: “One of the biggest challenges in REMI workflows is maintaining visibility and control as operators, systems, and signals become distributed across multiple locations,” Kokorogiannis said. “In a traditional control room, everything is physically nearby. In a remote production model, broadcasters need to manage routing, monitoring and operator access across facilities without introducing latency or operational complexity.”

This is where IP KVM technology plays an important role. “By providing secure, low-latency access to systems regardless of location, operators can interact with remote resources as if they were local,” Halksworth said. “Combined with centralized management and monitoring platforms, engineering teams gain a single view of users, devices and system status across the entire environment, helping them identify issues more quickly and manage operations more efficiently.”

Ultimately, successful REMI deployments depend on more than moving signals between sites. “They require a consistent operational layer that allows people to monitor, access and control distributed resources with the same confidence and simplicity they would expect in a traditional facility,” Halksworth said.

Mixing Old and New
The move to remote workflows comes as money is tight in the TV industry. “Most broadcasters can’t afford to rebuild their entire infrastructure overnight, nor do they really want to,” Kokorogiannis said. “The reality for many facilities is that SDI, IP, and cloud-based workflows will coexist for years.

“That’s why flexibility and interoperability are so important,” he added. “Matrox Avio 2 is designed to integrate into existing environments using standard IP networks, allowing broadcasters to centralize and extend systems gradually rather than forcing a complete operational overhaul. Support for ST 2110 and NMOS also helps broadcasters align KVM workflows with the broader evolution of their IP infrastructure.”

Other companies interviewed for this article cited similar product flexibility. “Broadcasters can easily turn their existing Draco control infrastructure into a hybrid or fully remote platform by simply adding a tera IP gateway,” Lenczycki told TV Tech. “This addition to current systems allows users to effortlessly gain remote access to their matrix without a total replacement of their system.”

Added Keske: “G&D systems can be introduced step by step because they sit at the access and control layer, not as a replacement for the entire broadcast infrastructure. A broadcaster can start by centralizing existing computers in a technical room and connecting current operator positions via KVM. Later, additional workstations, systems, or KVM-over-IP components can be added as the facility grows.”

For most broadcasters, modernization isn’t a single project, but an ongoing process—including the transition from localized production to full REMI.

One of the key requirements is ensuring that operators can continue to work efficiently throughout this transition. “Broadcasters can’t afford to disrupt production workflows every time new technology is introduced, particularly in live environments where reliability is paramount,” Halksworth said. “This is where IP KVM can provide significant value.

“Because it sits at the user access layer, it allows broadcasters to connect operators to a wide range of systems regardless of whether those resources are based on legacy infrastructure, modern IP networks or cloud-hosted platforms,” Halksworth continued. “From the operator’s perspective, the workflow remains familiar even as the underlying infrastructure evolves.”

As for the future? Improvements in automation, artificial intelligence, network speeds and transport latency levels are all going to make REMI faster and more invisible than ever. In fact, the day may come when there is no perceptible difference between local and remote production for operators or viewers.

“Broadcasters are already demonstrating that talent, systems and resources can be distributed across multiple sites while operating as a single production environment,” Halksworth said. “Perhaps the most significant long-term trend is that physical location will continue to become less relevant.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Jericho Receivers, a subsidiary of All 6G, this week launched its Software-Defined Atomic Clock (SDAC), which intelligently fuses multiple independent time references, including the ATSC 3.0 broadcast platform, to deliver atomic-clock-grade timing that remains accurate even when Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals are jammed, spoofed or unavailable.

“The Software-Defined Atomic Clock represents a major leap forward in timing technology,” said Dean Goodman, CEO of Jericho Receivers' parent company, All 6G. “When the primary timing source is lost, conventional systems enter holdover and begin to drift. There has long been a need for a true complement to satellite signals. Our software-defined approach fuses the best available sources—satellite, broadcast, terrestrial and network—into one resilient, atomic-clock-grade solution. This is precisely the kind of innovation All 6G was founded to deliver: bridging decades of broadcast expertise with the secure, resilient infrastructure required for 5G, 6G and beyond.”

“By leveraging the ATSC 3.0 Broadcast as a core terrestrial timing source, Jericho’s Software-Defined Atomic Clock directly supports the resilient national PNT infrastructure that Chairman [Brendan] Carr and the FCC have highlighted as essential,” Goodman added. “We are proud to deliver a made-in-America solution that strengthens timing security for critical networks while accelerating the broader adoption of ATSC 3.0 capabilities.”

Traditional systems that rely on a holdover mode during satellite outages in which the device keeps its own internal time, making time drift inevitable. Unlike those alternatives, the Jericho SDAC continuously cross-references GNSS, terrestrial ATSC 3.0/BPS signals and network-based precision time protocols. This multi-source architecture provides robust, real-time resilience for mission-critical applications.

“ATSC 3.0 was designed from the ground up to support advanced applications far beyond traditional video delivery, including precise time transfer and positioning through the Broadcast Positioning System,” said Madeleine Noland, president of ATSC. “We are thrilled to see Jericho Receivers’ software-defined atomic clock harness the power of the ATSC 3.0 standard as a critical terrestrial complement. This deployment underscores broadcasting’s vital role in building a more resilient national timing infrastructure.”

The Jericho SDAC combines:

• Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) for primary high-precision timing.
• ATSC 3.0 terrestrial broadcasts, including the Broadcast Positioning System (BPS), as a powerful GPS-independent complement.
• Network precision time references and protocols for seamless integration with modern IP infrastructure.

The architecture of the device ensures continuous, high-accuracy synchronization in challenging environments and eliminates the countdown to failure inherent in traditional holdover modes. Designed and manufactured entirely in the United States in accordance with All 6G’s strict no-Chinese-chip policy, the SDAC is well-suited for 5G/6G networks, data centers, power grids, financial systems, defense applications and other critical infrastructure that require assured positioning, navigation and timing (PNT).

The Jericho SDAC is now available for evaluation and deployment.

More information is available on the company’s website.

As audiences around the world stream the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the conversation will not only focus on the matches on the pitch, but on the production quality and scale of the delivery infrastructure behind them. According to a Harris Poll survey, more than half of Americans plan to stream at least one match. This massive, simultaneous global demand does more than reveal viewing habits. It actively tests the limits of delivery systems.

Even as encoding and streaming technologies improve, viewers encounter buffering delays and sudden drops in quality when demand spikes. While these issues are often blamed on the streaming platforms themselves, they actually point to a deeper structural constraint within the underlying network architecture.

Streaming this year’s tournament reveals a problem that has been quietly building for years as video has become the dominant workload on the internet. It’s a clear signal that the internet is approaching another major inflection point, one that will require completely rethinking how content is delivered at scale.

Every Network Evolution Starts With a New Application
Network evolution is not new. In the 1990s, telecom networks were built for voice traffic and predictable calling patterns. When consumers shifted in droves to the early internet, those assumptions broke down. Calls that typically lasted minutes turned into online sessions that lasted hours.

This resulted in regulatory filings to the FCC arguing that because dial-up users were holding switches open indefinitely, a non-internet user in the same neighborhood trying to dial 911 could receive a busy signal. The existing network was simply not optimized for how it was suddenly being used.

The industry’s answer back then was not to add more capacity, but build an entirely new architecture designed for data. The industry transitioned from a voice network that also carried data to a data network that also carried voice, enabling the modern internet economy we rely on today. Much of that lesson remains the same – as applications change, networks must change with them.

However, we’re seeing the cycle of reinvention being driven by a different kind of application categorized as real-time, high-bandwidth video at global scale. Unlike previous transitions, this shift is continuous and is starting to expose real strain on the network closest to the end user.

Pressure Is Building at the Edge
Historically, the default response to rising video demand has been to add more fiber. But the user experience still degrades during peak moments. Streams begin at a lower resolution to decrease startup time, and bitrates are automatically reduced when networks get congested.

During major streaming events, viewers regularly lose clarity or stability at the exact moments they care most about. These are not isolated glitches, they are symptoms of systemic, structural strain.

This constraint is most visible at the network edge—specifically in last-mile infrastructure connecting content to homes and devices. Every duplicated stream consumes capacity in a segment of the network that is already heavily loaded. At scale, continuing to rely on this level of delivery inefficiency becomes hard to justify.

The Internet Has Quietly Become a Video-Heavy Data Network
The internet today is now a data network carrying video—but more accurately, it has become a network dominated by massive, simultaneous "hot" data workloads. While streaming platforms and live sports have radically reshaped traffic patterns to the point where video now represents roughly 80% of internet traffic, this structural strain isn't exclusive to video.

We see the exact same architectural bottleneck when millions of devices simultaneously pull a critical mobile update, when gaming platforms drop a massive software patch, or when autonomous vehicle fleets sync hyper-localized HD maps.

However, nowhere is this delivery challenge more acute, or visible, than during a massive live sporting event. The core issue stems from an architectural reliance on a one-to-one delivery model (unicast) for content that is inherently one-to-many (multicast).

Under the traditional unicast model, every viewer receives an individual stream from the content delivery network, even when millions of people are watching the exact same frame at the exact same millisecond. Conversely, multicast is a one-to-many model, where a single transmission can be distributed efficiently to all recipients at once. Live sports are naturally shared experiences. Forcing networks to duplicate and deliver the same stream millions of times over severely strains the access networks closest to the consumer.

The Next Evolution of Internet Infrastructure
Stepping into the next phase of internet infrastructure requires recognizing that not all traffic should be treated equally. We must acknowledge that video is now the dominant workload on the network, and that live, high-demand content requires a specialized approach.

As video continues to dominate global traffic, pressure on today’s legacy delivery model will only intensify. The opportunity ahead lies in aligning network architecture with actual consumption habits to eliminate unnecessary duplication where demand is highest.

This means shifting away from repetitive one-to-one delivery toward more efficient distribution models where a single transmission can be broadcasted across the edge, rather than recreated millions of times over. Streaming the World Cup isn’t breaking the internet. It’s revealing that the internet has already evolved into a data network carrying video, and its physical architecture must now evolve to match.

WUPPERTAL, Germany—Riedel Communications says it's expanding its partnership with SKAARHOJ, a Danish provider of tactile controllers for media production, bringing official SKAARHOJ panel support to SimplyLive production workflows. Enabled through the latest SimplyLive 2.1 release, the integration expands SimplyLive’s control options with a tactile switcher panel experience, complementing both its touchscreen interface and existing RCU-based workflows.

The integration addresses customer demand for dedicated hardware control in live production environments where operators want the speed, confidence, and familiarity of a classic switcher panel, Riedel said. With SKAARHOJ panels, SimplyLive users can control key live production functions such as source switching, program output switching, transitions, auxiliary output control, keying, graphics, and macros.

“SKAARHOJ was the obvious partner for this integration because of their strong reputation for high-quality products designed with the user in mind,” said Paul Macklin, Senior Product Manager, SimplyLive at Riedel Communications. “Their collaborative approach allowed us to tailor the solution around the specific needs of SimplyLive operators, especially in single-operator environments where speed, confidence, and ergonomics are essential.”

This operator-focused approach extends beyond the panel integration itself. To support fast deployment, Riedel and SKAARHOJ said they provide a curated starting configuration that helps customers get up and running quickly while preserving the flexibility to adapt the setup to their preferred production workflows.

“We're excited to expand our collaboration with Riedel through the SimplyLive integration,” said Kasper Skårhøj, CEO, SKAARHOJ. “Having previously integrated with Riedel SmartPanels and MediorNet, this is another great example of how our technologies can come together to create new and flexible workflows. While the solution is tailored for the Master Key 48, users can choose any SKAARHOJ panel that best fits their production needs.”

SimplyLive 2.1 introduces official support for SKAARHOJ panels through a gRPC API, enabling responsive communication between the panel and the SimplyLive ViBox application. Alongside a range of other enhancements and new features, the release also adds a new Venue Gateway license for SimplyLive Production Suite Flex customers, allowing the same server hardware to support Venue Gateway applications in addition to All-in-One, Replay, Ingest, and Review workflows.

Additional SimplyLive resources, including the curated starting configuration, are available via the MyRiedel portal. Further guidance on SimplyLive 2.1 workflows, including instructions for implementing the SKAARHOJ configuration, is available in the SimplyLive 2.1 user guide.

CAMBRIDGE, England—Adder Technology, an IP, KVM and connectivity solutions provider, has tapped Neil Hillier as CEO, effective July 1.

Hillier’s appointment to succeed Adrian Dickens atop the company is part of a planned leadership transition that also includes changes to Adder’s executive structure intended to support its continued growth, innovation and global expansion, the company said.

Dickens steps down as CEO after 42 years leading the business and will transition to founder and executive chair. Chief technology officer Nigel Dickens will also shift to emeritus CTO. Adder said the appointments align with the long-term stewardship principles established through its recently announced Employee Ownership Trust.

“I am honored to take on the role of CEO, and I recognize my responsibility is to build on the foundations established by Adrian and Nigel,” Hillier said. “Adder’s commitment to being at the forefront of technology innovation remains unchanged, with continued investment in engineering excellence and product development central to the company’s long-term strategy. We have a relentless focus on customer success and remain the trusted technology partner our customers rely on around the world.”

Hillier joined Adder in 2016 and has played a key role in driving more than 70% revenue growth, building on its global market position and shaping its long-term strategy, the company said. His two decades of experience in the KVM industry span engineering, technology, operations and commercial management, Adder said.

“Neil has played a significant role in Adder’s growth and success, and I have complete confidence in his ability to lead the business into its next chapter,” Adrian Dickens said. “Adder enters this transition from a position of strength, supported by exceptional people, loyal customers and a culture of innovation developed over more than four decades. The future is bright, and I look forward to watching the company thrive with the next generation of leadership.”

Supporting Hillier is a revamped leadership team, including:

• Paul Allen as chief financial officer, who will take on a broader financial remit across the Adder group and support continued investment in operational and sustainable long-term growth.
• Jamie Adkin, an 18-year Adder veteran, as the newly promoted vice president of global sales.
• Duncan Miller as the newly promoted vice president, global marketing and customer experience, whose expanded responsibilities bring together marketing, customer experience and professional services and support.

“As we look ahead, our focus remains on helping customers operate more effectively in some of the world’s most demanding environments,” Hillier added. “We have an outstanding team, a strong culture and significant opportunities ahead. I believe the best chapters of Adder’s story are still to come.”

TVTech and its sister brand TVBEurope and Caretta Research have joined forces to launch an industry-wide survey looking at where the broadcast industry is on the road to IP.

The survey aims to discover how broadcasters and vendors are transitioning to real-world deployments, and understand more about the extent to which operations are transitioning towards IP-based and software-defined infrastructure and live production.

It is open to vendors and broadcasters, with the results due to be published in the run-up to IBC.

“After a long period where the industry’s primary focus was investing in streaming, our market data clearly shows that broadcasters are now doubling down on live production. We are seeing a significant wave of investment in live infrastructure, particularly in IP and software-defined solutions,” said Caretta Research CEO Robert Ambrose.

“As IP technologies like ST-2110 firmly enter the mainstream, we’ve partnered with TVBEurope and TV Tech on this survey to reveal exactly how this shift is translating into real-world deployments across broadcast, production and service companies of all shapes and sizes.”

You can take part in the survey here.

FOUNTAIN INN, S.C.—Kyocera AVX has released a new web-based RF engineering tool, the Antenna Integrator Studio. It is designed to streamline, accelerate, and optimize the antenna selection and placement processes for RF engineers and, in turn, improve product quality, performance, and go-to-market timelines for manufacturers.

“Our new Antenna Integrator Studio is a powerful online tool designed to help RF engineers make smarter, faster, data-driven decisions during the antenna selection and layout process and deliver higher-quality, higher-performance wireless products,” said Carmen Redondo, director of global marketing for Antennas at Kyocera AVX. “Competing solutions often require engineers to manually select and place antennas on their digital board layout to evaluate results. The Antenna Integrator Studio eliminates that guesswork — saving valuable time — and makes it quick and easy for engineers to optimize their designs for performance or cost effectiveness and evaluate simulated performance, which helps accelerate go-to-market timelines.”

In addition to simplifying the processes, the new Kyocera AVX Antenna Integrator Studio, is also designed for easy, intuitive use. Users simply enter the PCB size and the number of antennas needed, select target frequency bands, choose your optimization priority and click “Analyze” to instantly reveal the most suitable antennas in the most optimal positions for the PCB layout, along with interactive performance charts.

Users can then analyze the results in detail — evaluating efficiency, return loss, peak gain, and radiation patterns across frequency bands — and download DXF and 3D files for seamless integration into your PCB design.

The Antenna Integrator Studio also makes it easy to order samples and begin prototyping and includes a roughly four-minute video tutorial that walks users through a workflow to further enhance ease of use.

This first version of the new Kyocera AVX Antenna Integrator Studio includes thousands of simulations of board-mounted embedded antennas. Future versions will include additional features and antenna technologies.

For more information about Kyocera AVX’s intuitive new web-based RF engineering tool, the Antenna Integrator Studio, and its extensive selection of tested, proven, and globally trusted antenna products and services, please visit https://ais.kyocera-avx.com/.

TitanTV, Inc. has announced that Mark Hadley has joined the company as a Technology Specialist.

In his new role, Hadley will support TitanTV’s technology infrastructure and help ensure the company’s systems, tools, and services continue to meet the needs of broadcasters, partners, and customers across the country.

Hadley brings a strong foundation in network and systems administration, server infrastructure, virtualization, technical support, enterprise networking, routing, and security to the new post.

He is an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner and CompTIA Security+ certified professional. He also completed the full Cisco Networking Academy CCNA coursework, further strengthening his hands-on knowledge of networking and security.

In addition to his technical background, Hadley has served as president of a college Cyber Defense Club and is an Apple Certified Technician. His professional experience in finance adds analytical problem-solving and customer service skills to his technology expertise.

"Mark joined us as a promising new graduate and has already become an integral member of the TitanTV team,” said Michael Brown, IT director at TitanTV. "His enthusiasm for effective cybersecurity practices will help strengthen our ongoing commitment to providing safe and secure services for all of our clients."

TOMBOLO, Italy—Wisycom has announced further improvements to its ecosystem of professional wireless solutions with the MPR60 Wideband IEM/IFB Receiver with expanded multichannel IFB mode, MATF Wideband Antenna Matrix and PFL Portable RF over Fiber (RFoF) Box.

Together, these technologies deliver significant tech improvements for large‑scale, complex wireless infrastructures across broadcast, live events, corporate production and RF over Fiber applications.

The latest firmware update for the MPR60 Wideband IEM/IFB Receiver introduces a powerful three‑channel IFB mode, which enables up to three IFB audio channels to be transmitted over a single 200 kHz RF carrier. When paired with the Wisycom MTK982 transmitter, users can achieve up to 60 IFB audio channels within an 8 MHz TV channel or 45 channels within a 6 MHz TV channel, offering the most RF‑efficient IFB solutions available today.

Even in multichannel mode, the MPR60 maintains full wideband coverage from 470–1,260 MHz and preserves Wisycom’s renowned RF robustness. The receiver’s newly confirmed IP65 rating further strengthens its suitability for outdoor, mobile and high‑demand production environments. The new firmware, MPR60 v1.3.0, MTK982 v2.6.0 and Wisycom Manager 5.0.0, are now available. An optional multichannel IFB license enables users to replace three MTK982 transmitters with a single unit, which reduces rack space, cost and associated RF hardware.

Wisycom’s new MATF Wideband Antenna Matrix, designed for complex, multi‑zone wireless infrastructures and RF over Fiber deployments, supports both coaxial and fiber inputs. It also consolidates multiple rack‑based components into a single, highly flexible unit capable of combining up to eight RF zones in diversity. There are four coaxial outputs that act as either four equal buffered outputs in 8:1 or two equal buffered outputs in the 4:2 setup, which allows more receivers to be connected without the need for additional splitters.

With a wide operating range of 170–1,260 MHz, integrated ultra‑fast Frequency Spectrum Analyzer, remote‑controllable antenna modules and Ethernet‑based system management, the MATF provides unmatched configurability for CAR/CER‑based installations, OB units, TV stations and large‑venue productions. The MATF is available in four configurations, which allows integrators to select the version that best fits their architectural and operational needs.

Wisycom has also begun shipping its new PFL Portable RFoF Box, a rugged, quick‑deploy solution designed for high‑demand broadcast, OB, location sound and live production environments. The unit delivers true diversity over fiber with a dual converter architecture, Ethernet connectivity for remote control or Dante workflows and a Neutrik opticalCON DUO interface, all operable via both mains and a V‑lock battery power source, commonly found in effects camera equipment.

Each enclosure includes dual N‑connectors, integrated power management with temperature‑controlled cooling and protected I/O for field reliability. The portable box comes in three main versions — two for wireless microphone diversity pick-up and one for IEM/IFB applications. Beyond extending the placement of antennas in remote zones from 100m (330 feet) to several kilometers (or miles), the boxes also carry additional signals over the fibers. This includes effects Gigabit Ethernet that can be used to extend signals, such as FX Data, Dante, Shure ShowLink® and Sound Devices NexLink return channel information. The RF over Fiber solutions can also be used with most other wireless microphone systems.

“With the new MPR60 receiver, MATF antenna matrix and PFL Box, we’re giving our customers powerful new tools to manage increasingly complex RF environments,” says René Moerch, group product director, Wisycom. “These solutions were engineered for the world’s most demanding productions where efficiency, flexibility and RF robustness are absolutely critical.”

All three products are available for shipping through Wisycom’s global reseller network.

Clear-com has announced that the production teams for Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! have added Clear-Com FreeSpeak wireless and Arcadia Central Station to upgrade their production communications.

Audio Masterpiece’s Gary Vahling, who has worked in the professional audio industry since the early 1990s, served as the lead systems partner for the project. Known for his meticulous preparation and hands-on testing approach, Vahling made sure the communications system was fully validated before deployment, minimizing risk and guaranteeing reliability once it reached the studio floor.

Chris Savage, technical manager and project lead for both shows, oversaw the system design and installation.

“Both shows share a control room but have stages that are effectively miles apart due to walls, pathways, and even parking lots,” Savage explained. “We needed a system that could handle extensive travel between the control room and the stages without a single dropout, and that’s exactly what we achieved.”

The production team on Wheel of Fortune requested a more flexible and channel-rich system to accommodate a technically savvy crew with increased monitoring needs. Clear-Com integrated a combination of FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems, leveraging Bluetooth-enabled beltpacks for maximum ease-of-use, even for executives with minimal technical experience.

For Jeopardy!, reliability and streamlined communication were equally critical in supporting the show’s fast-paced production environment, where timing, contestant coordination, and precision cueing are essential, Clear-com said. The Clear-Com setup provides dedicated wireless coverage across the stage and production areas, giving crew members instant, uninterrupted communication throughout tapings.

The system now supports 30 FreeSpeak II beltpacks and 6 Icon beltpacks for Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, with easy intersystem connectivity.

The upgrade also included Arcadia Central Station, allowing full interoperability with existing Dante-enabled audio networks. This approach enabled lighting and PA crews to continue using legacy FreeSpeak II beltpacks while taking advantage of FreeSpeak Icon’s advanced capabilities.

“The goal was a system that would last for years and scale with evolving production needs,” said Savage. “The team at Clear-Com, working closely with our Partners, delivered a solution that was simple and useful. From control room to stage, operators experienced zero downtime, even during high-pressure live productions.”

ALAMEDA, Calif.—Clear-Com has announced the successful deployment and testing of FreeSpeak Cell by RTL Deutschland during a live event production at Germany’s Nürburgring race circuit. The test validated the system’s ability to deliver reliable, low-latency communications across both private and public 5G networks, demonstrating the potential of cellular-based intercom workflows for future broadcast operations, the company reported.

Conducted in collaboration with RTL Deutschland and supported by Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network expertise and connectivity, the proof of concept demonstrated how FreeSpeak Cell can extend communications coverage across large-scale production environments by leveraging existing 5G infrastructure. The test integrated with RTL's existing communications ecosystem and provided stable connectivity across areas that would traditionally require multiple DECT antennas or additional infrastructure.

“For us at RTL, the flexibility of our production workflows is one of our top priorities,” said Jens Schilder, Project-Engineer at RTL Deutschland. “The successful test at the Nürburgring proves that integrating intercom solutions into 5G infrastructures efficiently bridges the last mile of wireless communication. Thanks to FreeSpeak Cell technology, we were able to ensure stable communications coverage across almost the entire Grand Prix circuit, the paddock, and additional production areas without relying on complex infrastructure. This is a decisive step toward fully mobile remote productions that demand the highest standards of latency and reliability.”

By leveraging 5G connectivity, RTL achieved clear audio quality and reliable communications coverage across almost the entire Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit, as well as the paddock and additional production areas including Hatzenbach.

Key results from the text included:

• Successful operation across private campus and public 5G networks
• Extended communications coverage using existing 5G infrastructure
• Integration with RTL's established communications workflow
• Validation of cellular-based intercom technology for live production environments

“The partnership with RTL Deutschland shows our commitment to implementing innovative solutions directly in real-world applications,” added Alex Hemme, sales manager DACH at Clear-Com. “The market demands scalable systems that reduce operating costs while increasing freedom of movement for production teams. FreeSpeak Cell delivers exactly that kind of flexibility and investment security. Demonstrating these capabilities under the demanding conditions of the Nürburgring sends a strong signal to the entire broadcast industry.”

COLUMBIA, Md.—LTN, a major provider of IP-based video transport and network services, has been selected by PBS as its IP video partner to modernize and future-proof content distribution and contribution across more than 330 public television stations.

Under the multi-year agreement, LTN will implement a fully managed IP network, providing end-to-end connectivity, ISP services, and two-way video transport across all station locations and service sites.

“PBS is modernizing and strengthening its Interconnection system to future-proof the platform and support the future of public media. Our IP network delivers the scale, reliability, and flexibility required to support that transformation,” said Malik Khan, co-founder and executive chairman, LTN. “LTN is proud to provide the network, reliability, and operational foundation required to support one of the largest and most important media networks in the U.S.”

The LTN Network will support distribution of public television content, including PBS East and PBS West feeds, PBS KIDS, Create, NHK World, and FNX with the ability to deliver up to nine linear feeds to PBS member stations.

The platform will also enable always-on content sharing among stations and support station contribution workflows for regional and national distribution of locally produced content. In addition, LTN will power contribution workflows for OTT distribution platforms, PBS Platforms like pbs.org and PBS Digital.

“Moving to a scalable, IP-based infrastructure will increase reliability, reduce costs, and enable new opportunities for content sharing, collaboration, and audience reach across the entire PBS system,” said Dana Golub, Vice President of Strategic Infrastructure Initiatives at PBS.

The deployment will begin immediately and continue through the end of 2026.

DENVER—Imagine Communications has appointed Greg Garmon as senior vice president, Americas video sales, a new position at the broadcast technology, playout solutions and ad tech provider.

Garmon, who most recently was president, media and entertainment at Conference Technologies (CTI), will be responsible for sales and business development efforts for the company’s playout and infrastructure portfolio across the region, with a focus on driving account growth.

“We are very pleased to welcome Greg to the Imagine team and confident that he will make an immediate impact on our business,” Glodina Lostanlen, chief revenue officer at Imagine, said. “Greg brings a rare combination of hands-on channel and SI experience and a proven track record of leading high-performing teams and driving operational and commercial performance. That combination is exactly what we need to accelerate our Americas business and deliver meaningful value for our customers.”

Garmon brings to Imagine more than 20 years of experience in the M&E and technology sectors, the company said, in posts spanning sales leadership, enterprise operations, P&L ownership and investor management.

Prior to CTI, Garmon held several executive leadership roles at Diversified, including chief operating officer and president, media and entertainment. He also founded IT consulting and managed services firm Alltek Holdings, which developed and marketed on-prem and cloud-based offerings, Imagine said.

“What drew me to Imagine was a strong alignment between the company’s strategic direction and the markets I have spent my career serving,” Garmon said. “Having worked on the systems integration side of the business, I understand firsthand what both partners and broadcasters need to succeed. There is tremendous opportunity to strengthen our partner ecosystem and expand into the markets they serve. I look forward to working with the Imagine team to make that happen across the Americas.”

For more information on Imagine, visit its website.

Over the years we have all gone through numerous video content format introductions with new formats raising the bar as the world moved from black and white to color and then the subsequent format and technology increases in quality—sometimes major and at other times incremental—in resolution, frame rate, color sampling, dynamic range, overall color palette and so forth. Some have been easier than others depending on what is needed at each step in the path from content creation to viewing on the display at the end of the chain.

That said, they all involved a collection of components to hold up the advancement’s three-legged stool. One is the bucket of things needed to create content, including cameras, mixing/processing, post and editing. Another is the devices needed to display the content for audio and video; amps speakers and display screens and projectors.

The third leg is often overlooked, but without it the other two can’t hold things up. After all, even when the content is superbly created and devices are available to show it with pristine clarity, you have to have a means of distribution. Imagine farmers, bakers or ranchers with all the things needed for meals and a restaurant on other end ready to cook, prepare and a table to serve without the trucks and other transportation routes to get everything from one end to the other.

The Missing Link
That brings us to 8K. It’s not new. All the elements of the content side and display sides of the stool are there, but for the consumer market that middle segment has for the most part been missing: the delivery playback means to get the content to its end destination.

Now, that has changed with the introduction of the Kaleidescape Strato K Movie Player, the first consumer storage and playback product that can deliver 8K content as part of an ecosystem that will offer a wide range of content in resolution up to 4320/30p. Equally important, with Kaleidescape’s new 4K Cinematic format, this is the first consumer device capable of playing back content in 4K with full 4:4:4 chroma sampling and up to 2160p/60/12-bit delivery.

Fine, you might say, but you’re reading TV Tech from the perspective of a professional, and likely high-end, content creator, not as a home entertainment purveyor or installer so why should you care about this new device? Let’s go into the details before answering the question and hopefully the answer will reveal itself.

If you are not familiar with Kaleidescape they are a 25-year-old company that offers high-end content playback devices that deliver reference quality video and lossless audio with a huge library that includes movies, concerts, TV series and more that are downloaded to the device rather than played from an optical disc or streamed.

Using a “rental or purchase” model, once downloaded, the content is stored locally so there are no compression artifacts, no buffering, and course, no ads. Combined with a masterfully simple user interface, Kaleidescape products have become the de facto standard for content playback in high end home theaters.

The product in question is the new Strato K Movie Player from Kaleidescape.

The Strato K Movie Player’s ability to deliver two media playback formats to consumers that have not previously been available outside of your control and mastering suites is important as it helps justify the complaints about the added file size requirements for 8K and 4:4:4 versions of the content you are involved. It enables the Premium Large Format experience beyond specialized theatrical exhibition that we see with the likes of Dolby Cinema, PRIME and XL at AMC venues and PRX and PLF at Regal Cinemas. What is in large part is now driving the theatrical side of the distribution market is now available in the home.

The Details
As you will see going forward in my new “From The Other Side” articles in TV Tech starting next month, there is another important reason to bring this to your attention. As a content business professional you are someone that friends, relatives, co-workers and those C-Suite executives that depend on you will look at for expert knowledge on how they can get the best images and sound not only in the office and facilities you work in, but also in their homes. For that reason, some additional details on this breakthrough product are in order.

The Strato K is available now and 8K content will soon be available in SDR and HDR10. For the 4K Cinematic format there are already well over 150 movies already available, and it is worth noting that the 4:4:4 material is newly rendered out to 4:4:4 and is NOT interpolated.

The Player itself, can play out immersive audio formats as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X along with other lossless audio such as Dolby TrueHD and Dolby MAT, DTS-HD High Resolution and linear PCM at 96kHz/24 bit. On the video side there is HDR10 up to 8K (SMPTE ST 2084 and ST 2086) and Dolby Vision up to 4K (of course, all formats are dependent on the specific content). Color spaces up to BT.2020 are supported as are a variety of aspect ratios including 1.78:1 and 2.35:1 with automatic or user interface selectability.

For those already familiar with Kaleidescape, while the 4K Cinematic 4:4:4 titles will obviously have a larger file size, the rental or purchase price is the same as the standard 4:2:0 versions. Even better, if a current Kaleidescape owner upgrades to a Strato 4K there is no extra charge to download the newer version. 8K titles will, however, require a new download at a higher price.

On the storage side, the Strato K has enough onboard storage to hold seven 4K Cinematic files or 10 standard 4K files on its internal drive. Additional storage may be added via the Terra or Terra Prime servers or previously downloaded movies that were purchased, rather than rented, from Kaleidescape may be downloaded again.

There is no front panel display as most installations will use Kaleidescape’s own control system over ethernet through the likes of Crestron, Control4 or other systems or with a smartphone app or an optional remote. From an installation standpoint note that the Strato K requires a wired Gigabit network connection drop for the main unit and any additional Strato K or other Kaleidescape players in a multi-zone system.

By providing the needed third leg of the 8K ecosystem stool as well as giving home viewers higher quality image reproduction thanks to the 4K Cinematic mode, professionals may now have yet another rationale for 8K or high-color sampling content creation as a means of playing it back in the home—or in your viewing rooms—is now available.

The price? At $5,000 US, with availability in Canada at $CN7,05, the UK at £4500 GBP or in Australia at $AUS $7,999. For applications that don’t require 8K or 4:4:4 content delivery/display, the price of the existing Strato V has been reduced to $3,995.

Since its introduction, 8K has been derided by some as having great pictures that can be displayed on large projectors, dvLED walls or the growing segment of 88-to over 100-inch flat panel displays but no way to get native or new 8K scanned transfers, not upscaled, content.

The arrival of the Kaleidescape Strato K puts that objection to rest once and for all as those displays now have viable, certified, way to have a library of that long sought after 8K content delivered. For you, as a TV professional, the excuse no longer holds water. 8K as an end-to-end ecosystem is truly complete and those beautiful displays and projectors will no longer be starved for feature content.

AMSTERDAM—Axel Gallant has been named as the new CEO of Irdeto, a digital platform cybersecurity firm owned by French media company Canal+.

Gallant succeeds Doug Lowther, who had served as Irdeto’s CEO since 2015 and will step down from the company.

Gallant has worked at The Canal+ Group since 2013, managing various pay TV businesses across Africa, Europe and Asia.

“This track record gives him the experience and perspective to guide Irdeto through its next phase of growth and innovation,” Stéphane Baumier, chief technology officer at Canal+, said.

During Lowther’s tenure as CEO, Irdeto more than doubled its video security market share and developed new businesses in video games and smart mobility, the company said. Prior to being named CEO, Lowther had been executive vice president, digital TV, expanding Irdeto’s product line into new services such as video-on-demand and streaming TV.

“Doug has provided strong leadership during a pivotal period in Irdeto’s history,” Baumier said. “On behalf of the Canal+ Group, we thank him for his contributions and commitment to Irdeto.”

Lowther and Gallant will work together to ensure a seamless leadership transition for customers, partners and employees, the company said.

“The last decade has been marked by constant change in the world and in the industries we serve, and it’s been a great honor to lead the incredible people at Irdeto during that time,” Lowther said of his 11-year tenure. “I’d like to thank our customers, partners, and stakeholders for the trust they have placed in us and the privilege of working with them.”

For more on Irdeto, visit its website.

This week organizers for the annual IBC Show offered a preview of its plans for the upcoming annual event, Sept. 11-14 at the RAI Amsterdam.

IBC CEO Mike Crimp said the show will increase its emphasis on networking opportunities both at the show and online.

To that end, the show is launching the “Braindate Lounge” an initiative that will help attendees prepare in advance of the show.

Braindate Lounge will enable attendees to form their own peer groups online prior to the show and will be seeded with expert discussions from IBC consultants and from the show’s conference program around key topics, according to Crimp.

“People can go on there and form their own key topics and gather a group of people around them to do that,” he said. “I suppose the power of IBC is, in a way, is the power to convene, so all of those people will be able to take their meetings online to create an actual meeting between them on site in the Braindate Lounge, and they will be able to sit down, discuss their topics, discuss what they've seen, create their own knowledge networks.”

The show’s “Future Tech” zone, in Hall 14, will increase its focus on startups with the launch of “Future Tech Ignite,” dedicated to startups, emerging tech, future talent, and the creative community, according to Joe.

“We're also extending our partnership with EIT Culture and Creativity, and they are going to become the Future Tech Ignite innovation partner, which will really help strengthen IBC links with Europe's creative innovation communities,” said Jo Mayer, head of marketing for IBC.

Expanded from a single day to all four days of the show, “Ignite Stage”in the Future Tech area, will feature startup pitches, future-focused sessions, and talent/skills content across all four days of the show, Mayer added.

Key themes for this year’s show are: the transformation of sport, trust and authenticity, and new commercial models, which tie into the show’s three guiding pillars of shifting business models, transformative tech, and increasingly, people and purpose, according to Crimp.

“Those pillars are a consistent framework for the conversations that matter most to the industry,” he said.

Exhibition space itself should exceed 45,000 square meters this year with more than 1,200 exhibitors across 14 halls, according to Steve Connolly, IBC’s director of sales.

Last year, the show had 46,000 square meters of exhibition space and an estimated 1,300 exhibitors.

“Some key areas of the show are performing particularly strongly,” Connolly said. “Future Tech in Hall 14 and Content Everywhere in Hall 5 are both significantly ahead of last year in terms of bookings.”

Crimp said that they’re confident that attendance will be strong and that they'll be able to weather some of the issues that plagued the NAB Show in April, where attendance was softer than previous years.

“I think at the moment we are tracking really strongly against last year,” Crimp said. “We're an international show and a very welcoming show. Who knows what’s going to happen in the Middle East, if that's going to get worse, but I at the moment we're very confident that we will deliver numbers sort of in line with last year."

To register for the show, visit https://show.ibc.org.

DENVER—MediaKind has announced the successful completion of its merger with Harmonic’s video business, creating an independent video infrastructure company with more than $250 million in annual revenue.

The integrated portfolio went live at mediakind.com on June 17.

MediaKind reported that the combined company enters the market with more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), and over $150 million in annual appliance revenue. Bringing together complementary strengths across SaaS streaming, appliance platforms and cloud video technologies, MediaKind said that it serves a global blue-chip customer base and is uniquely positioned to help the media industry navigate the next era of streaming and video delivery.

“Bringing these two teams together under one roof is a powerful moment, creating a stronger, more capable partner for the media industry at a time of significant change.” said Allen Broome, CEO of MediaKind. “Outstanding technology, deep expertise, and a shared obsession with customer success — we’re ready to build something exceptional.”

To coincide with the merger, MediaKind has launched its new website. Visitors can now explore how the company is bringing together cloud-native software, SaaS services, and proven video infrastructure into a single, integrated offering at www.mediakind.com.

LAS VEGAS—Pliant Technologies is launching CrewCom Flex, which the company is calling the world’s first frameless matrix intercom system and the only complete matrix IP-based intercom solution that converges wired, wireless, and virtual voice communication on a standards-based AES67 / SMPTE ST 2110 backbone.

Making its official debut at the 2026 InfoComm Show (Booth N6151), Pliant Technologies reported that CrewCom Flex represents a major evolution in professional intercom technology, seamlessly uniting Pliant’s proven CrewCom wireless intercom system with powerful new wired panels, desktop panels, wired belt packs, and browser- or app-based virtual intercom panels that can be deployed in cloud-native or local infrastructures.

Designed for demanding productions and critical communication environments, CrewCom Flex delivers a complete communications ecosystem built for hybrid, remote, distributed, and highly scalable workflows.

“With our truly distributed architecture, there is finally an intercom system with no single point of failure,” says Gary Rosen, vice president of global sales for Pliant Technologies. “CrewCom Flex delivers lower total cost of ownership, reduced hardware inventory, simplified configuration, and effortless remote production workflows. It’s intercom with fewer limitations and far more possibilities.”

At the core of the CrewCom Flex platform is the new CrewCom Flex Main Panel [CKP-16] and Desktop Panel [CDP-16], designed to combine the familiarity of traditional hardware with the flexibility and advantages of frameless distributed IP communications.

Expansion panels can be added to create highly customizable user stations, while each panel and desktop panel functions as its own intelligent distributed matrix. Unlike traditional matrix-based intercom systems that rely on centralized hardware frames, CrewCom Flex utilizes a unique distributed processing architecture, eliminating single points of failure while enabling almost limitless scalability.

CrewCom Flex is standards-based with AES67 and SMPTE ST 2110 support for seamless AoIP and VoIP integration and includes ST 2022-7 redundancy compliance for maximum reliability in mission-critical applications.

During the show, Pliant is also introducing new CrewCom Flex BeltPacks, available in two-channel [CBP-22] and four-channel [CBP-24] versions. Designed for flexible production workflows, the beltpacks feature integrated microphones and speakers, allowing users an option to communicate without requiring a headset.

The platform also includes CrewCom Flex Virtual Intercom, a browser-based VoIP communications solution available in 4-, 8-, 16-, and 36-key virtual user configurations. Flex Virtual Intercom can operate as a standalone communications system or integrate seamlessly into larger CrewCom Flex deployments. Accessible from PCs, Macs, tablets, and mobile devices, it provides unprecedented deployment flexibility for remote and distributed production teams.

CrewCom Flex integrates directly with existing CrewCom wireless intercom systems through CrewCom’s 32x32 Dante/AES-67 Digital Audio Network Interface [CXD-32CF], which provides routing and expansion capabilities into and out of a CrewNet infrastructure using EtherCon copper and dual LC fiber connectivity.

System configuration and management are handled through the updated CrewWare 2.0 software platform, featuring intuitive drag-and-drop tools that simplify deployment, control, and management of all resources within a single unified ecosystem.

“There are virtually no limits on size, geography, or project type with CrewCom Flex,” adds Rosen. “Whether your workflow requires traditional panels, desktop panels, wireless users, virtual panels, site-to-site communications, or cloud-based deployments, every user experiences the same intuitive interface and streamlined communication workflow.”

More information about Pliant Technologies is available at www.plianttechnologies.com.

BOTHELL, Wash.—The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced the launch of the Official IPMX Training Series, a free online program designed to help the Pro AV community better understand, design, configure, and deploy IPMX-based AV-over-IP systems. The Official IPMX Training Series is structured across three progressive levels - Foundations, Systems, and Networks - providing a clear learning path that supports both newcomers to AV-over-IP and experienced professionals seeking deeper technical insight.

The courses will balance demonstrations with business and technical information, helping participants understand not only how IPMX works, but how it fits into real-world workflows. The curriculum will also explore how IPMX relates to and builds upon complementary standards such as AES67, SMPTE ST 2110, and AMWA NMOS, while providing insight into the ecosystem clusters emerging around open, interoperable AV-over-IP deployments.

“Our new online training series is designed to provide the Pro AV industry with a practical, shared understanding of how IPMX fits into modern AV-over-IP system design,” said Sam Recine, IPMX Pro AV Working Group Chair at AIMS. “By clarifying how IPMX aligns with related standards and real-world scenarios, the courses will help integrators, engineers, and other stakeholders design and deploy standards-based, interoperable AV-over-IP systems.”

The initial chapters of the Foundations Training module are now available to public with the Systems and Networks modules set to debut in the fall and winter of this year, respectively

To register for the series, please visit training.ipmx.io.

More information about AIMS and its work is available at www.aimsalliance.org.

ALAMEDA, Calif.—Clear-Com has unveiled the purpose-built Avalon 1RU IP intercom communication platform for modern networked production.

Designed to simplify and scale workflows across broadcast, live events and production environments, Avalon supports FreeSpeak wireless beltpacks, HelixNet digital partyline, V-Series and I.V. Direct within a compact 1RU form factor. The platform features scalable licensed port capacity and flexible IP interfacing, allowing users to configure systems based on current operational needs and expand over time without replacing hardware.

Built for fully IP-based intercom environments, Avalon provides a streamlined alternative for users who do not require analog audio connectivity. The platform combines scalable licensed port architecture with a compact rack-mounted design, helping users reduce system complexity while maintaining the performance and reliability. Optimized for modern network infrastructures, Avalon expands customer choice within the Clear-Com product family as a cost-efficient option for IP-only workflows.

“Avalon represents a major step forward in how intercom systems are designed and deployed,” said Dave MacKinnon, vice president of product management at Clear-Com. “We focused on simplifying deployment while maintaining the flexibility and performance our customers expect. The result is a modern IP platform that enables teams to scale efficiently and communicate reliably across a wide range of environments.”

Avalon complements the company’s Arcadia Central Station, which remains part of the Clear-Com product portfolio for applications requiring hybrid analog and IP connectivity, front-panel control and legacy system support.

The platform supports AES67, Dante and Clear-Com’s I.V. Direct technologies for local and remote connectivity. Avalon also offers expanded IP capacity and networking flexibility for productions and installations operating on converged infrastructures.

“With Avalon, we wanted to remove traditional barriers to system design and expansion,” said Frank Linton, product manager at Clear-Com. “The licensed port architecture allows users to scale capacity over time without replacing hardware, while support for open standards helps simplify integration into existing workflows.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

MONTREAL—Grass Valley is launching AMPP Edge Live, a purpose-built production system designed to bring professional production capabilities to enterprise teams. The company will unveil AMPP Edge Live at InfoComm 2026 in Las Vegas, June 17 to 19 (North Hall: N7369-MR).

Media production teams within enterprise organizations such as education, government, corporate communications, houses of worship and live events are often asked to do more with limited resources, yet existing production systems often lack the flexibility to support new workflows without significant additional investment, Grass Valley said.

AMPP Edge Live addresses this challenge by providing a flexible production foundation that grows with organizational needs, by combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration and AMPP OS in a single solution, according to the company.

“Production requirements are constantly evolving as audience expectations shift, creating challenges for enterprise organizations whose production infrastructures were not designed for today’s demands,” said Jonathan Lyth, Product Director for Enterprise Media, Grass Valley. “Businesses need production platforms that combine operational agility with the confidence of reliable performance. AMPP Edge Live delivers both, enabling organizations to adapt and scale production capabilities without adding operational complexity.”

The solution is available in two models that serve different production demands:

AMPP Edge Live 4000 is ideal for live event production and provides the performance to run solutions such as Event Producer X, which brings production switching, graphics, audio mixing, recording, streaming, monitoring and production control into a single browser-based interface.

AMPP Edge Live 6000 adds processing performance for more demanding production requirements and supports Sport Producer X, which combines switching, graphics, scoring, timing, data integration and instant replay for sports production.

Across both models, operators can manage workflows that previously required multiple specialist systems and dedicated personnel, all through one production environment, Grass Valley said.

AMPP Edge Live also simplifies lifecycle management through a unified ownership model. Grass Valley designs, validates and supports AMPP Edge Live as a complete solution, managing hardware validation, software compatibility, updates and support through a single point of accountability. This removes much of the integration burden associated with multi-vendor environments while helping ensure organizations remain ready for future production requirements.

AMPP Edge Live is built on a short-depth 4 RU chassis with redundant power and modular AMPP I/O cards, so connectivity can be tailored to each workflow. It includes enterprise-grade security, centralized management and role-based access controls, and forms part of the Grass Valley Media Universe, supporting on-premise, hybrid and cloud-connected workflows.

AMPP Edge Live is available now in the L4000 and L6000 appliance models, with SDI 8 and SDI 12 AMPP I/O card options and media storage choices of 2 TB or 4 TB.

VIENNA—Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, is collaborating with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to extend playback to TiVo OS smart TVs and devices.

Under the new partnership, Bitmovin and Simplestream have created a fully integrated streaming platform combining Simplestream’s content management and application framework with Bitmovin’s advanced playback technology.

The consolidated platform enables video providers to deliver a consistent, high-quality user experience to viewers with TiVo OS devices, the companies said. Bitmovin’s automated testing system uses AI analysis to process and analyze over a million tests each week to pinpoint root causes of playback issues faster and with greater accuracy to ensure the highest quality viewing experiences. Bitmovin first extended support to include TiVo OS in October 2025.

The companies claimed that the joint solution will help media companies and operators simplify their technology stack to reduce operational complexity and integration risk, while ensuring consistent and reliable playback across devices. It also enables flexible monetization capabilities including support for a range of ad formats such as pre-roll ads and pause ads, as well as standardized accessibility features that support inclusive viewing experiences.

“This collaboration represents an important step forward in simplifying and modernizing OTT delivery for our customers,” said Ashley Reynolds-Horne, Technical Director for Simplestream. “By combining Simplestream’s end-to-end platform capabilities with Bitmovin’s proven playback technology, we’re enabling media companies and operators to deliver reliable, scalable streaming experiences while unlocking new opportunities for monetization and service growth.”

James Varndell, Senior Director of Product Management, Bitmovin, commented: “Video providers want their service to be accessible by as many viewers as possible including those running TiVo OS, which is rapidly gaining traction. By extending support to include TiVo OS and collaborating with Simplestream to simplify launching on TiVo OS, we’re supporting customers to reach more viewers across a wider range of devices.”

Stephane David, Senior Director, Content Partnerships and Business Development EMEA, Xperi, added: “TiVo OS is designed to put great content front and centre. Collaborating with Bitmovin and Simplestream will help more streaming services to launch on TiVo OS with a high‑quality, consistent playback experience, so audiences can find, watch and enjoy more of what they love.”

Developed by Xperi and launched in 2022, TiVo OS is a content‑first operating system designed to make it easier for viewers to find, watch and enjoy great television. The platform powers smart TVs from leading brands, as well as a range of smart TV devices including set‑top boxes.

DOWNINGTOWN, Pa.—PTZOptics and LayerJot will demonstrate how prompt-based AI, robotic camera control, and high-performance computing can work together to identify, follow, and respond to objects and events in real time at InfoComm 2026, June 13-19 in Las Vegas.

The demonstrations, which run on Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, combine LayerJot’s purpose-built AI software application with PTZOptics’ SimplTrack3 cameras, featuring advanced auto-tracking capabilities. The demos will show how natural-language prompting can guide the system to identify and/or track objects in the room, then use PTZOptics camera control to respond automatically.

The collaboration is designed to show integrators, educators, broadcasters, and pro AV teams a practical path for building on-site AI video workflows, according to the companies. By pairing PTZOptics camera robotics with Intel Core Ultra Series 3 -powered compute and LayerJot’s agentic AI application layer, both exhibitors will demonstrate how Visual Reasoning can move from concept to deployable workflow without requiring large teams, custom hardware stacks, or cloud-only processing.

"AV and enterprise buyers today are asking the same question: how do we deploy AI that actually works in our environment, without building a data center or waiting on the cloud?” said Dr. Ben Cope, Principal Engineer, Intel. “Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors were purpose-built with that reality in mind, delivering the on-device AI compute performance that makes local visual reasoning practical at scale. Collaborating with PTZOptics and LayerJot lets buyers take that compute capability and turn it directly into deployable, prompt-driven camera workflows. Together, we're removing the barriers between AI potential and operational reality."

Visual Reasoning
For PTZOptics, the demo is part of its broader Visual Reasoning initiative, which focuses on turning video into actionable data by combining camera robotics, AI, and open integration. Visual Reasoning is designed to help systems describe, count, understand, and trigger actions based on what cameras see, supporting workflows across broadcast, pro AV, education, healthcare, manufacturing, houses of worship, and live events, the company said.

“Visual Reasoning becomes powerful when integrators and developers can adapt it to the needs of everyday environments,” said Matt Davis, CTO, PTZOptics. “This partnership shows what is possible when robotic cameras, local AI compute, and prompt-driven automation come together. Our goal is to inspire the pro AV community to build customized solutions faster, more affordably, and with more flexibility than ever before.”

LayerJot’s Agentic Visual Application (AVA) connects to the PTZOptics SimplTrack3 camera and uses AI prompting to identify and/or track objects in the space. The demonstration will show how developers can create custom AI workflows that connect directly to camera control, while giving users the freedom to direct camera actions using natural language.

“We’re focused on delivering advanced visual AI solutions that combine scene understanding, automation, and natural-language interaction to support critical workflows in real-world environments,” said Etay Gafni, CEO of LayerJot. “This demonstration shows how scene understanding and natural-language instructions can drive meaningful actions in live operations, enabling users to interact with complex systems in a more intuitive and efficient way.”

Example workflows include prompting the system to identify an object or person in the room, directing the camera to track that target, and showing how similar logic could be adapted for classroom automation, event production, training spaces, and other applications where small teams need consistent video coverage.

The demonstration also reflects a larger shift in the AV industry, the companies said. Cameras are no longer limited to passive capture. With Visual Reasoning, robotic cameras can become intelligent endpoints that help systems interpret what is happening, make decisions, and trigger workflows in real time. PTZOptics says it is working with a wide range of partners and integrators to combine their own domain expertise with PTZOptics cameras via open APIs – supporting teams and improving operations across multiple industries.

The live demonstration will be available at PTZOptics’ booth N8227 during InfoComm 2026. For more information, visit https://ptzoptics.com/book-a-demo/

We sat down with Paul Briscoe, TAG's chief architect, to talk about why TAG is developing MXL capabilities and what it means for broadcast operations directors navigating the complexity of IP workflows.

Q: Why did TAG decide to build MXL capabilities now?

Because our customers told us they'd hit a wall. And when that happens, you listen.

We've been in the room with broadcast engineers and ops directors through their SDI-to-IP transitions for years. They did everything right: they mastered ST 2110, got PTP timing under control, built out the infrastructure. And then they ran into a new problem: the complexity of 2110 itself became the ceiling.

Every time they wanted to add a workflow or move something to cloud, they were managing exponentially more timing constraints and engineering hours just to keep things running. The technology that was supposed to give them flexibility was now the thing limiting their growth. That's not only a technology problem, it's a business problem.

Q: What do 2110 operational challenges look like day-to-day?

Here's what we kept hearing: "We need to cover more events, but we don't have the engineering capacity to stand up another ST 2110 facility." Or: "We want to scale into cloud for certain productions, but the protocol conversions and timing challenges make it difficult to achieve."

One ops director told us they were burning 60% of their engineering time on commissioning and managing system complexity, not actually improving their workflows. That's the real cost. It's what you can't do because your team is buried in technical tasks that should be simpler.

Q: So how does MXL change that?

MXL takes the parts of ST 2110 that work really well, the formats, the capabilities, and strips out the complexity that's blocking people.

Instead of managing thousands of packets per frame with nanosecond-precision timing, media moves as straightforward memory-to-memory transfers. No PTP. No specialized UDP networks. And the same workflow runs on-prem or in the cloud without protocol gymnastics. For ops engineers, that means teams stop spending the majority of their time managing infrastructure and start spending it on work that actually drives value. That's the whole point.

Q: TAG is known as a monitoring company. Why get into transport layer technology?

We're a software company that specializes in monitoring, and because of that, we've had a front-row seat watching customers wrestle with IP workflow complexity for years.

Here's the thing: you can't monitor what you can't see, and you can't optimize what's technically constrained.

We're building MXL support into TAG's platform because monitoring needs to work seamlessly whether workflows are running on ST 2110, MXL, or any other format, on-prem or in the cloud. MXL also happens to eliminate a lot of the timing and interoperability issues that created monitoring gaps in traditional IP workflows. Our job is to make operations more efficient and workflows more reliable, regardless of transport technology.

Q: Where does an ops director start?

Start by finding where ST 2110 complexity is actually costing you.

Are deployment cycles dragging because your team is navigating integration challenges? Are cloud-hybrid workflows off the table because the complexity doesn't justify the business case? Those are the places where MXL delivers immediate value. You don't need to understand RDMA specs to make this decision. You need to understand whether eliminating PTP timing constraints or multicast networking would let you deploy faster or scale more efficiently. Then have a conversation with your infrastructure partners about how to architect for flexibility.

Q: What does MXL mean for broadcasters who are still mid-way through their ST 2110 journey, or haven't started yet?

Good news on both counts.

If you're mid-transition, nothing you've done is wasted. The video formats, audio, metadata, the fundamental constructs of 2110 are exactly what MXL moves. You're not ripping anything out. ST 2110 compatibility is fully retained, and TAG's platform already monitors both.

If you haven't started yet, you get to skip some of the hardest parts of the 2110 learning curve: the PTP domains, the specialized UDP networking, the timing dependencies that have kept IT departments at arm's length from broadcast infrastructure for years. MXL is built from an IT-centric viewpoint; RDMA and RoCE are standard IT services. That means your IT team can actually be part of this, which changes the economics and the operational model considerably.

Q: What should customers expect from TAG as MXL adoption grows?

The same thing they've always gotten from us: monitoring and multiviewing that works across whatever infrastructure they're running, with unified visibility that helps them operate more efficiently.

MXL support is already in TAG's platform. As customers deploy MXL-based workflows, whether that's in six months or two years, their monitoring keeps working and scales with them.

About TAG Video Systems: TAG Video Systems is the global leader in software-based integrated IP probing, monitoring, visualization and analytics solutions. TAG enables broadcasters, content creators, and service providers to streamline operations, cut through the complexity of IP media workflows, and keep infrastructures ahead of shifting technology and demand with Zero Friction agility. The TAG platform empowers users with innovative toolsets to ensure video quality, improve overall efficiency across all media workflows, and provides invaluable business and operational insights.

BRUSSELS—Mediaset Italia, part of private television and media group MediaForEurope (MFE), is modernizing its content supply chain and channel operations with the addition of the Mediagenix platform.

As one of Italy’s largest broadcasters, Mediaset Italia operates a broad portfolio of linear and video-on-demand channels. Scheduling plays a critical role in balancing editorial priorities, audience expectations, rights constraints and commercial requirements. With the completion of the Mediagenix upgrade, Mediaset is transitioning towards a scalable model that lays the foundation for continuous channel optimization.

The Mediagenix platform centralizes scheduling workflows across Mediaset’s linear channel operations, enabling teams to design, build and manage schedules more efficiently while maintaining full editorial control. The platform enables:

• A unified linear scheduling workflow that improves operational efficiency.
• Centralized management of content and titles across multiple channels.
• Greater scalability to support growing content volumes and channel complexity.

“The most significant shift we see across the industry right now is broadcasters wanting to move away from building schedules manually to governing them intelligently,” said Tim Goff, vice president of scheduling and curation at Mediagenix.

“The Mediaset project is a good example of what that looks like in practice,” Goff said. “The implementation has been supported by close collaboration between Mediagenix and Mediaset teams, including on-site engagement and continuous alignment throughout the deployment.”

More information is available on the company’s website.