Imagine Communications heads to 2025 NAB Show with strong momentum in live production

At the 2025 NAB Show, Imagine Communications will showcase technologies for live production in IP-based and hybrid environments. The company will highlight the latest advances within its Selenio Network Processor and Magellan Control System, a widely deployed combination that is enabling media companies around the world to significantly improve operational efficiency and protect existing investments, while navigating any technology transition — including UHD, HDR and on-ramp to the cloud.

Since the introduction of these solutions, Imagine has become the tech partner of choice in live production environments from universities and sports leagues to stadiums and regional sports networks. The company has shipped more than 4,500 units of SNP to date, supporting more than 140,000 video streams and 2 million audio streams around the world.

“The growing momentum of our live production solutions has been driven not only by major deployments for high-profile organizations and events like the Paris Games, but also by broad adoption across facilities worldwide,” said John Mailhot, senior vice president, product management at Imagine Communications. “More than 30 channel partners have successfully built systems based on SNP and Magellan Control System, in part because they are so easy to deploy and operate. This tried-and-tested combination has made IP transformation practical for any size operation, enabling more efficient live production across the industry — even for projects incorporating HDR and UHD.”

Providing all-encompassing IP/SDI routing control, orchestration, and real-time monitoring and analytics, Magellan Control System is equally compatible with SDI, SMPTE ST 2110, VSF TR-08 JPEG XS, and MPEG-2 TS signals. It integrates readily with other systems, enabling new production environments to be easily brought online on time and on budget. For operators, the system provides an intuitive work surface and advanced control environment that make the IP technology underneath feel and act just like a traditional SDI router.

Building on its commitment to advancing IP-based production, Imagine will unveil Magellan AudioFlex at the NAB Show. This powerful new capability within the Magellan Control System provides mono-channel granularity for audio routing, allowing operators to take any channel from any signal and map it anywhere for seamless audio control even in complex IP workflows. In addition to preserving the control workflows familiar to engineers, this innovation enhances live production by enabling fast, last-minute gameday adjustments.

Imagine continues to add groundbreaking features to the SNP, a true workhorse of the industry that is used for a multitude of jobs ranging from signal conversion and HDR processing to truck dock conversions and HDR-integrated facility multiviewing. Latest additions include the recently launched SNP-XL, which extends the SNP platform’s capabilities — IP gateway, UHD and HDR conversion, multiviewers, master control, and more — with increased SDI flexibility and a new double-density gateway personality.

Imagine’s integration of JPEG XS compression technology into SNP, which was proven on the world stage at the 2024 Paris Games, offers a straightforward solution for moving live streams from a venue to the production center and up to the cloud. This model provides a high-quality, low-latency signal path that supports full HDR from end to end — from shooting to production to distribution for streaming — with limited latency to ensure that live content, such as sports broadcasts, can be made available to consumers as quickly as possible.

“I’m gratified to see that ST 2110 has taken hold and become the basis for design of fixed and mobile production facilities all over the world,” added Mailhot, who has served as editor of the SMPTE ST 2110 standard for over a decade. “As broadcasters and other media companies make this shift, they can rely on the proven combination of Magellan and SNP to meet all their operational and business requirements.”

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NAB Show attendees can get hands-on demos of the SNP and Magellan Control System at Imagine’s West Hall location, booth W2607.