Rai has awarded Imagine Communications a three-year frame contract, via local systems integrator Allyn Srl, to support its transition from SDI to IP as it migrates master control rooms and production control rooms towards SMPTE ST 2110.
Imagine’s Selenio Network Processor (SNP) will be used as a core platform across the newly deployed IP environments, handling gateway and conversion tasks as well as multiviewing and master control functions. Rai will also deploy SNP with JPEG XS capability to enable production-quality, low-latency links between facilities, including connectivity to outside broadcast vehicles.
“Our move to IP is a long-term transformation, and we need a platform that will let us migrate at our own pace without disrupting operations,” said Stefano Marchetti, head of playout and network engineering at Rai. “Imagine’s SNP provides a practical foundation for how we want to build and manage our IP environments going forward — one that enables incremental deployment, operational continuity, and long-term scalability.”
Initial orders under the framework will support two deployments: an IP backbone for Rai’s Turin MCR and an IP infrastructure build-out at a Rome facility. Rai and Imagine expect further orders over the three-year term as the transition expands across a wider network of sites, ultimately spanning more than 25 locations nationwide.
“We are proud to support this multiyear project, which is a great example of how broadcasters are approaching IP migration in a thoughtful, incremental way,” said Mathias Eckert, SVP and GM EMEA and APAC for Imagine Communications. “SNP was designed specifically for this kind of transition, allowing customers to move from SDI to IP with confidence, interoperability, and clear operational benefits.”
SMPTE ST 2110 is a suite of standards developed by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers that defines how professional video, audio and ancillary data are transported over managed IP networks. It provides the technical foundation that allows broadcasters to move from traditional SDI cabling to IP-based infrastructure.
