ST 2110 Output: Uncompressed Video from Your Streaming Gateway

ST 2110: Broadcast-Grade Uncompressed Output

SMPTE ST 2110 is the broadcast industry standard for transporting uncompressed video, audio, and ancillary data over IP networks. It replaces SDI cabling with Ethernet, and it is how modern broadcast facilities, OB vans, and playout centers move baseband video.

Vajra Cast now supports ST 2110 output — any incoming compressed stream (SRT, RTMP, RTSP, HLS) is decoded and output as uncompressed ST 2110-20 (video), ST 2110-30 (audio), and ST 2110-40 (ancillary data) over 10GbE. This is an on-premise feature for self-hosted deployments.

The Bridge Between IP Streaming and Broadcast Infrastructure

The problem: your contribution feeds arrive as compressed IP streams (SRT from remote sites, RTMP from cloud, RTSP from cameras), but your broadcast infrastructure — routers, multiviewers, playout systems — expects uncompressed ST 2110.

Previously, this required dedicated hardware gateways (Evertz, Grass Valley, Lawo) costing tens of thousands per channel. Vajra Cast does it in software — but on broadcast-grade networking, not off-the-shelf consumer gear (see requirements below).

Remote site ──SRT──> Vajra Cast ──ST 2110-20──> Broadcast router
IP cameras ──RTSP──> Vajra Cast ──ST 2110-30──> Audio console
SDI encoder ──SRT──> Vajra Cast ──ST 2110-40──> Master control

What ST 2110 Covers

ST 2110 is a family of standards, not a single protocol:

Vajra Cast outputs ST 2110-20, -30, and -40. Timing is synchronized via PTP (ST 2110-10) on the local network.

How It Works

Vajra Cast uses Intel’s Media Transport Library (MTL) with GStreamer to output ST 2110 streams. The pipeline:

1. Incoming compressed stream arrives at a Vajra Cast route
2. The stream is decoded from H.264/H.265 to raw video
3. MTL handles the ST 2110-20 packetization and RTP transport
4. Audio is extracted and output as ST 2110-30 (AES67)
5. An SDP file is automatically generated for receiver discovery

Configuration

In the Vajra Cast web UI:

1. Create or edit a route
2. Add an output of type ST 2110
3. Configure: destination IP, UDP port, network interface (10GbE)
4. Set video format (1080p50/60, 720p, etc.)
5. Start the route

Vajra Cast automatically generates the SDP (Session Description Protocol) file that receivers use to subscribe to the stream.

Requirements

On-Premise Only

ST 2110 output is available exclusively on self-hosted Vajra Cast deployments. It is not available on the managed (cloud) plan.

Uncompressed 1080p60 video requires approximately 2.6 Gbps of network bandwidth per stream (ST 2110 carries active pixels only, unlike SDI which includes blanking). This is a local facility protocol — it requires dedicated 10GbE infrastructure with PTP synchronization. It is not designed for internet transport.

For remote contribution, use SRT or SRTLA. For local broadcast integration, use ST 2110.

Bandwidth Requirements

Uncompressed video is bandwidth-intensive:

1080p60 fits comfortably on a single 10GbE link (~2.6 Gbps). 4K at 50fps requires ~8.7 Gbps, which fits on 10GbE but with minimal headroom — 25GbE is recommended for 4K. Most broadcast facilities run 1080p50/60 today.

Latency Considerations

ST 2110 output adds latency compared to passthrough compressed routing. The pipeline includes:

• Decode: H.264/H.265 decode introduces 1-3 frames of latency depending on codec profile and GOP structure
• Packetization: ST 2110-20 packetization and traffic shaping (ST 2110-21) adds ~1 frame
• Total: Expect 2-6 frames of end-to-end latency (40-120ms at 50fps) from compressed input to ST 2110 output

This is acceptable for contribution-to-playout workflows where the alternative is a hardware gateway with similar decode latency. It is not suitable for ultra-low-latency scenarios like live camera switching — for those, use native ST 2110 cameras or SDI-to-2110 gateways that bypass the decode step.

Use Cases

Contribution Gateway for Broadcast Facilities

Receive SRT contribution feeds from remote sites and output them as ST 2110 for your broadcast router (Evertz EXE, Grass Valley GV Orbit, Lawo). Your facility sees standard ST 2110 sources — the IP-to-uncompressed conversion is handled by Vajra Cast.

OB Van Integration

Receive bonded cellular feeds via SRTLA from field encoders and output ST 2110 to the OB van’s production infrastructure. No dedicated gateway hardware per channel.

Hybrid SDI/IP Facilities

Facilities transitioning from SDI to IP can use Vajra Cast as a bridge. Incoming SDI (via SRT from an SDI-to-SRT encoder) is output as ST 2110 for the IP side of the plant. This avoids buying dedicated SDI-to-2110 gateways for each channel.

Playout and Master Control

Feed contribution streams directly to playout systems that accept ST 2110 inputs. Vajra Cast’s failover ensures the playout system always receives a valid source, even if the primary contribution feed drops.

ST 2110 vs NDI

Both are on-premise output options in Vajra Cast. Choose based on your infrastructure:

Use ST 2110 in broadcast facilities with 10GbE infrastructure and PTP. Use NDI in production studios on standard Gigabit Ethernet.

SDP Generation (Static)

ST 2110 receivers need an SDP file to know where to find the stream and how to decode it. Vajra Cast generates SDP files automatically for each ST 2110 output, including:

• Multicast destination IP and port
• Video format (resolution, framerate, colorimetry)
• Audio format (channels, sample rate, packet time)
• PTP domain information

The SDP can be downloaded from the web UI or retrieved via the REST API.

Important: This is static SDP — a file that you manually load into your receiver or broadcast controller. Vajra Cast does not currently implement AMWA NMOS IS-04 (discovery) or IS-05 (connection management). In large ST 2110 facilities, NMOS provides dynamic service discovery and automated connection routing. Without it, you manage connections manually via SDP files. This works fine for small-to-medium deployments (a few channels), but facilities with dozens of ST 2110 endpoints will want NMOS integration. It’s on the roadmap.

Summary

ST 2110 output makes Vajra Cast a bridge between compressed IP contribution (SRT, RTSP, SRT-over-bonded-cellular) and broadcast-grade uncompressed infrastructure. Receive contribution streams, decode them, and output uncompressed video to your broadcast router, playout system, or OB van — in software, on Intel E810 10GbE infrastructure with PTP.

No per-channel hardware gateways. No per-channel software licensing. The infrastructure investment (10GbE switches, PTP grandmaster, E810 NICs) is real, but it’s shared across all channels — the cost per channel drops fast. Available on self-hosted deployments only.