When you run a production, whether a live event, a broadcast setup, or an architectural display, confidence comes from knowing your system will simply work. Every packet, every frame, exactly where it should be. No interruptions. No stress.
Redundancy as Peace of Mind
SMPTE ST 2110 provides the foundation for that reliability. The standard ST 2022-7, also known as 2110 redundancy, enables two video streams, potentially from different sources to travel along separate network paths to the same receiver. If a source or a link fails, the other continues without disruption. The audience never notices.
A significant advantage over baseband connections (HDMI, SDI, DisplayPort) is how straightforward it is to create redundancy in a network system. In practice, 2022-7 does more than prevent failure; it allows engineers to work without fear of disruption. For customers, it offers the quiet confidence that every frame, every device, every cable, and every pixel is protected.
In many installations, these dual paths run across entirely separate networks with different video sources, switches, cables, and even power sources and arrives at two independent network interfaces on the same LED processor. This can be repeated for a redundant LED processor to ensure that a single point of failure cannot bring the system down.
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Understanding Sender and Receiver Compatibility
Network redundancy eliminates single points of failure. But there is another layer to reliability that’s often overlooked: Compatibility between senders (media server or video player) and receivers (LED processor). Even when both follow the standard correctly, mismatched timing profiles can lead to unpredictable behaviour.
In SMPTE 2110, senders and receivers are defined as Wide or Narrow, describing the timing characteristics of their signals.
Sender Profiles: Narrow, Narrow Linear, and Wide
There are three main sender profiles in SMPTE 2110:
- Narrow (N) and Narrow Linear (NL) senders are tightly timed and predictable, transmitting packets at precise intervals. Narrow signals leave a small gap at the end of each frame, matching the timing of traditional video signals with blanking, while Narrow Linear evenly spaces packets throughout the frame. The predictable timing makes life easier for the receiver, as it can rely on getting the data it needs at exactly the right moment.
- Wide (W) senders, by contrast, are more flexible and packet timing can vary. The downside is that such streams require a Wide-compatible receiver, as a Narrow receiver cannot reliably process them. This is significantly more complex, as it introduces the need to buffer the incoming data to smooth out the timing again.
Why This Matters
You do not choose the signal type; it depends on the sender. Software sources, such as computer-based transmitters, often produce Wide streams because they cannot guarantee exact packet timing.
For maximum interoperability, the key is to ensure receivers can accept any sender type and Wide receivers can handle all three sender types, while Narrow receivers can only accept Narrow and Narrow Linear streams.
Designing for Seamless Setups
At Brompton Technology, our mission has always been to simplify the complex and to give creative and technical teams tools that perform reliably under pressure.
Building a strong video infrastructure is about designing for human experience. With a redundant network and the confidence that your signal will reach its destination regardless of the sender type, you gain more than stability, you gain the freedom to focus on the creative vision, supported by LED processing that just works.
Every time.
