Macnica Launches MEP25 SmartNIC

Macnica Inc. has announced the launch of its new MEP25 SmartNIC, a 25GbE-optimized media I/O platform designed to support SMPTE ST 2110 workflows in software-driven production environments.

The new platform will debut at the NAB Show 2026, where Macnica will also highlight a growing partner ecosystem spanning software, video processing and edge AI technologies. The company says the MEP25 is aimed at enabling interoperable, flexible media workflows across standard compute systems, including Mac-based platforms.

The MEP25 expands Macnica's Media Edge Platform (MEP) by adding hardware-accelerated ST 2110 transport over 25GbE. According to the company, this provides a balance of performance and cost efficiency while supporting modern distributed production architectures.

At NAB Show, Macnica will demonstrate how the MEP25 integrates with partner technologies in real-world workflows. These include Mac-based ingest, playout and automation tools, live production graphics, multi-channel video processing, and low-power edge AI solutions for real-time analytics.

Macnica's demonstrations will feature collaborations with companies including Softron Media Services, wTVision, i-Chips Technology and DEEPX. Together, these integrations illustrate how IP-based media transport can be combined with processing and analytics tools to create complete production pipelines.

The MEP25 is designed for environments where software-based tools and modular architectures are becoming standard. By offloading real-time media transport tasks to FPGA hardware, the platform reduces CPU usage while maintaining low-latency performance across video, audio and metadata streams.

Macnica said this approach allows applications such as ingest, replay and real-time graphics engines to operate directly within ST 2110 infrastructures without requiring specialized broadcast hardware.

The platform is also tailored for macOS environments, leveraging Thunderbolt connectivity to align with 25GbE media pipelines. This enables Apple systems running macOS Sonoma 14.6.1 or later to participate more easily in live production workflows traditionally dominated by dedicated broadcast equipment.

By combining IP-based transport with technologies such as ASIC-based video processing and real-time AI inference, Macnica is positioning its platform to support a new generation of intelligent media systems. These workflows bring together capture, processing and analysis closer to the source, helping reduce latency and improve efficiency across live production environments.

www.macnica.com