Cobalt Digital Unveils Expanded IP And IPMX Portfolio

Cobalt Digital will showcase a broadened range built for the shift to IP at IBC2026 (Stand 8.F90, 11–14 September, Amsterdam), aiming to reduce the cost and complexity facing hybrid SDI and ST 2110/IPMX users.

Reflecting on market progress, CTO Dr Ciro Noronha told SVG last month: "After some growing pains, ST 2110 can be considered fairly mature at this point. However, two important pain points still exist: cost and complexity. The solution to both, in our opinion, is the growing IPMX ecosystem, which we call ST 2110 Made Easy."

Making its first IBC appearance, the 9935-AUD4-DANTE openGear advanced audio processor card now offers optional fibre I/O for Dante Audio Interface. Direct fibre connectivity is designed to streamline Dante deployments, extend reach and remove external media converters in fibre-based networks. The quad‑channel module supports up to 12G embed and de‑embed for Dante/AES/MADI with frame sync, two gigabit Ethernet ports, a 64×64 configuration and a full audio router/mixer.

Cobalt is also extending its IPMX functionality by adding JPEG XS Temporal Differential Coding (JXS TDC), enabling its IPMX-certified devices to discover, establish and carry visually lossless, ultra‑low latency JPEG XS streams with true plug‑and‑play across mixed‑vendor environments. JPEG XS is now supported across all Cobalt ST 2110/IPMX-capable lines, including SAPPHIRE, INDIGO, UltraBlue MV and blueCORE.

The award‑winning blueCORE processing platform returns following multiple honours since its NAB 2026 debut. blueCORE delivers versatile audio and video processing – up/down/cross conversion, HDR processing, audio routing and mixing, frame sync, SCTE 104 insertion, logo insertion and more – in a self‑contained 1RU unit drawing under 80W in its ST 2110 version. Its compact design and rapid, computer‑optional deployment suit OB trucks and other space‑constrained live production settings.

On the monitoring side, the COBALT UltraBlue MV‑SW multiviewer now adds IPMX support to ease transitions to ST 2110 or IPMX. It is available as a turnkey solution or as software for customer‑supplied hardware. The COBALT ARIA audio line – which Cobalt says includes the only fully IPMX‑compliant audio monitor on the market – offers 16 SDI or 64 MADI channels in a compact rack‑mount form factor.

Compression updates include the COBALT PACIFIC ULL‑DEC decoder, which now provides an ST 2110/IPMX output option alongside SDI and integrates a frame sync that emits a PTP‑locked signal. The PACIFIC range also gains hybrid Satellite‑Internet support, compliant with VSR TR‑06‑4 Part 7, using Ku/Ka bands for bulk distribution and the public internet for packet recovery.

Cobalt frames these introductions within a systems‑level approach. In a July NCS feature on studio infrastructure, Noronha addressed how MXL complements SMPTE ST 2110 rather than replacing it: "MXL and ST 2110 are not in competition and have different purposes. The right answer is that they will work together, each one doing part of the job. ST 2110 will bring signals in and out of a processing cluster; MXL is the interconnect between processing elements in the cluster; such processing elements may be processes inside the same server, or processes across servers."

That principle – different tools handling different roles in concert – underpins Cobalt’s IBC2026 line‑up, which spans decoders, processors, multiviewers and audio monitors working together to simplify deployment and operations.

cobaltdigital.com