Macnica to demonstrate IPMX interoperability at IBC2022

Macnica will be showcasing the power of IPMX interoperability in broadcast and live production workflows from 1Gb to 100Gb at IBC2022.

The IP transport specialist has played a significant role in developing and aiding in the definition of emerging open standards that shape video over IP migration for more than a decade. Macnica is now a proponent of the emerging IPMX set of standards, which were introduced with the professional AV market in mind.

Introduced by the AIMS Alliance in early 2020, IPMX implements a standards-based approach for AV over IP based on the SMPTE ST 2110 standard. Macnica will demonstrate how IPMX can simplify and accelerate the IP transition in broadcast and live production. Visitors to Macnica’s stand will see a full range of video over IP transport solutions for networks from 1Gb to 100Gb, using the company’s full suite of SoC, SoM and pure software solutions.

Andrew Starks, Macnica’s director of product management, said IPMX shares many of the SMPTE ST 2110’s technical benefits, including broadcast-quality compression tools, as well as offering unique technologies such as relaxed timing and support for asynchronous sources. These technologies will prove attractive to broadcast and production professionals looking for simpler, easier-to-deploy systems.

“IPMX builds support for asynchronous sources into the specification, which simplifies how systems are designed and lowers cost,” he added. “It does this while retaining what makes SMPTE ST 2110 so powerful, including the ability to measure and manage latency. That means content can be realigned in a multi-source system while keeping latency low, all on less expensive equipment and within environments that are simpler to manage. The ST 2110 opened opportunities to scale up to very large systems. Now IPMX is enabling the industry to scale into much higher-volume, lower-cost system designs.”

At IBC2022, Macnica will demonstrate IPMX’s pure software implementation. The demo will multicast UHD 4K60 video with JPEG-XS compression video from one laptop to an IPMX software decoder (based on Macnica’s IPMX Development Kit) on a second laptop over a 1Gb network, with Macnica’s ME10 SoC web interface with customisable APIs enabled for developers. A second fundamental IPMX Gateway Reference Design demo will show Macnica’s MPA1000 SoM powering low-latency unicast video and audio over KVM.

“When it comes to the question of software or hardware, we strongly believe that the answer has to be ‘yes’ to both,” said Starks. “Seamless interoperability between these two worlds is a critical part of Macnica’s strategy – and critical to the success of IPMX. Customers want to move their content between devices and into the cloud, and that only happens with excellent software implementations, which we are creating. As the rising adoption of IP infrastructure unlocks new media production capabilities, Macnica’s portfolio of components and software tools are indispensable for product developers striving to meet evolving demands and explore new ways to tell stories.”

Manica will be on stand 2.A58 at IBC2022, which is being held at RAI Amsterdam from September 9-12.