Similar to the past year, we expect that 2019 will see more significant shifts on the production side of the streaming media landscape than on the distribution side. 2018 was a tipping point for the use of IP-based media transport in live production workflows, with finalization of initial SMPTE ST 2110 standards enabling broadcasters to begin their IP-based infrastructure roll-outs and NewTek’s NDI ecosystem reaching critical mass. 2019 will bring further refinement of video-over-IP production workflows as mainstream adoption gradually continues.
The ability to connect existing HDMI or SDI-based equipment investments into IP-based media networks is a key to making the new IP production paradigm affordable and practical. Shortly after NewTek launched their embedded SDK, we released our new Pro Convert family to bring traditional signals into NDI workflows. Widespread use of such devices in 2019 will help more streaming content creators realize the benefits of IP-based production.
While various standards for transporting video over IP are often talked about as competing with each other, in fact they can be complementary to each other. The distinct advantages of each technology for different applications will continue to become clearer. We anticipate increasing deployment of mixed workflows, with streams in different protocols transmitted on the same network simultaneously to support specific facets of the content chain. To meet this demand, we will see new hardware solutions to convert between NDI and ST 2110, as well as among RTMP, SRT and WebRTC.
As the tools and technology behind streaming media production continue to become easier, more flexible and more affordable, an ever-increasing number of companies and individuals will want to produce their own streams. Enabling users to create professional-grade streaming content while enjoying the convenience and ease of standalone, portable solutions is one of our ongoing development goals as a manufacturer for 2019.
—Nick Ma
CEO and CTO
Nanjing Magewell Electronics Co., Ltd