2110 Overview

SMPTE ST 2110 is a family of standards that defines how to transport professional uncompressed or lightly compressed video, audio, and ancillary data over IP networks in real-time, replacing traditional SDI workflows. It is the current industry standard for IP-based broadcast and live production (used in studios, OB trucks, sports arenas, and cloud workflows).

Core Idea: Essence-Based Transport
Instead of sending a single SDI signal carrying everything (video + embedded audio + timecode + captions), ST 2110 breaks the content into separate “essences” (individual flows) carried as RTP/UDP multicast over Ethernet/IP.

Main Parts of ST 2110 (Key Standards)

Standard	What It Covers	Typical Use
ST 2110-10	System timing and definitions (overall framework)	Defines how timing works across all essences
ST 2110-20	Uncompressed active video (or lightly compressed)	Main video essence (e.g., 1080p60, 4K, 8K)
ST 2110-21	Traffic shaping and delivery timing	Ensures senders pace packets predictably (narrow/wide/asynchronous modes)
ST 2110-22	Constant Bit Rate (CBR) compressed video	JPEG XS, Tico, or other low-latency codecs
ST 2110-30	Audio (PCM, AES67-compatible)	Multichannel audio essence (up to 64 channels)
ST 2110-31	AES3 transparent pass-through	Legacy AES3 audio carried over IP
ST 2110-40	Ancillary data (timecode, captions, KLV metadata)	VITC, SCTE-104, captions, KLV, etc.

Critical Supporting Standards (Required for Real ST 2110)

IEEE 1588 PTP + SMPTE ST 2059-2 — Precision timing (sub-microsecond sync). All devices lock to a common Grandmaster clock. RTP timestamps are derived from PTP for frame-accurate alignment.
SMPTE ST 2022-7 — Seamless Protection Switching (“hitless”). Sends two identical streams over separate networks (Red/Blue); receiver picks the best packets → no visible glitches on path failure.
AMWA NMOS IS-04 / IS-05 — Discovery & registration (IS-04) + connection management (IS-05). Devices auto-register; controllers auto-connect senders to receivers via SDP.
IGMPv3 + SSM — Multicast group management (receivers join specific (S,G) streams).
QoS / DSCP — Prioritizes PTP (CS6), media (CS5/AF41), control (lower).

Typical Architecture

Senders (cameras, encoders, playout servers) → publish RTP multicast streams (video, audio, ancillary) with PTP-derived timestamps.
Network → PTP-aware switches (Boundary/Transparent Clocks), IGMP snooping, QoS queues, Red/Blue paths.
Receivers (decoders, multiviewers, switchers) → subscribe to desired flows via NMOS IS-05, align via PTP, render output.
Controller (NMOS IS-04 registry + orchestration software) → discovers devices, manages connections, monitors health.

Advantages Over SDI

Scalability: Hundreds of flows over one 100/400 GbE link (no SDI crosspoint limits).
Flexibility: Virtual routing (software-defined), no physical patch panels.
Cost: Uses COTS switches/servers (with proper PTP/QoS/multicast support).
Future-proof: Supports 8K, HDR, object-based audio, cloud production.

Challenges / Requirements

Strict PTP (ST 2059-2 profile) → mandatory for sync.
PTP-aware switches → Boundary/Transparent Clocks, low residence delay.
Multicast scale → IGMPv3 snooping + SSM (232/8 groups), large (S,G) tables.
QoS → PTP highest priority (CS6), media shaped (CS5/AF41).
Red/Blue networks → for 2022-7 hitless (independent paths).
NMOS (IS-04/05 at minimum) → for practical operations (manual IP config is painful at scale).

Current State (2025)
ST 2110 is mature and widely deployed:

Live sports (NFL, Premier League, Olympics)
Studios (NBC, BBC, Sky, Disney)
OB trucks (NEP, Diversified, Broadcast Sports)
Cloud (AWS Elemental, Azure Media Services with 2110 support)

In short: SMPTE ST 2110 turns professional media into RTP multicast IP flows with PTP timing, NMOS control, and 2022-7 protection — replacing SDI with scalable, software-defined IP infrastructure while keeping broadcast-grade reliability and sync.

UPDATED

3/17/26

V260317-1.0