IPMX (Internet Protocol Media Experience) is an open, royalty‑free standard that lets pro‑AV teams move uncompressed—or intelligently compressed—4K/8K video, multichannel audio, and control data across ordinary IP networks. 

Built on SMPTE ST 2110 and NMOS, it finally promises the cross‑vendor interoperability that earlier AVoIP formats never quite delivered.

In other words, IPMX aims to do for AV what IP already did for IT: flatten the hardware stack, cut the proprietary cables, and let you mix‑and‑match gear without praying for a firmware miracle. 

Whether you’re wiring a boardroom, an arena, or an entire campus, the goal is the same: up to studio‑grade quality on the network you already own—no licensing traps, no format guessing games, and headroom for whatever 8 K/AI workflow shows up next year.

With that promise on the table, it’s worth asking why we ended up with so many competing AVoIP “alternatives” in the first place—and how IPMX intends to break the cycle.

Why Are There So Many 'Alternatives' to AVoIP? 

When “high‑definition” video first arrived, many of us cheered—finally one digital standard to replace the NTSC/PAL/SECAM tangle. Within a few years, though, the market offered nearly 20 HD formats. So much for a single standard.

The pattern is familiar in every fast‑moving tech sector: competing vendors take the same good idea, develop it in parallel, then defend their investments. Specs turn into weapons, market share into scorecards, and before long, we’re in a protocol war.

AV‑over‑IP has repeated the cycle. Dozens of transport schemes have appeared—some thriving in niche roles, others stalling or splintering. A few have even tried to lock customers in through proprietary control layers, a business tactic that has little to do with actual video quality.

The result? Integrators must place bets on technologies that may become dead ends.

IPMX breaks that pattern. Built on open, broadcast‑proven ST 2110 and NMOS, it offers the performance of top‑tier AVoIP without the proprietary strings—giving users a standard they can trust to evolve, not vanish or stall.

What is IPMX—and How Does It Stand Out?

IPMX isn’t a proprietary side project—it’s built directly on SMPTE ST 2110, the uncompressed media transport standard broadcasters have trusted since 2017. That broadcast pedigree matters: if ST 2110 can shuttle UHD feeds through live newsrooms and sports trucks worldwide, it can handle anything a corporate, education, or live‑events network can throw at it.

And it’s not just SMPTE in the driver’s seat. IPMX is steered by vendor‑neutral groups that already shape pro‑media workflows:

• AES – audio‑streaming rules and clocking know‑how
• VSF – practical interoperability test plans
• AMWA – open NMOS APIs for discovery and control
• EBU – Europe’s public‑broadcast engineering hive

They all share a common goal: low‑latency, high‑quality, rock‑solid transport of video, audio, and metadata over standard Ethernet without locking buyers into one vendor’s silicon or software. The IPMX project is co-ordinated by the AIMS Alliance.

How IPMX’s “Top‑Down” Design Makes a Difference

Most AVoIP systems were born at the bottom of the bandwidth pyramid—“We’ve got 1 GbE; how much video can we squeeze through 50‑200 Mb/s?” That works fine for webcams and signage, but it hits a wall when you ask for uncompressed 4K/60 HDR.

ST 2110—and by extension IPMX—started at the opposite end: “Assume the best‑case picture is uncompressed. What network do we need to move it?”

Because the core standard was engineered for studio‑grade, uncompressed feeds, scaling down to lower bit rates is easy; scaling up from a heavily compressed baseline is not. It’s a truism that it’s much easier to go downhill than up a slope, so extending an approach designed for the bottom of the pyramid will struggle as it encounters increasingly difficult tasks. 

A glaring example is that none of the other AVoIP approaches can do uncompressed 4 K60 video at 8-bit colour (and certainly not at the 10-bit demanded by HDR). 

ST2110 brings a well-developed system with proven scalability across increasing numbers of users and existing and demonstrable inter-brand interoperability. IPMX inherits those features and extends ST2110 into the world of professional AV by adding an array of AV-specific features like EDID, HDCP, lower spec network architectures, different picture shape factors, different compression regimes, and a myriad of connectivity that does not exist in the broadcast space. 

The Future of AVoIP 

With the rise of AI, it would take a brave individual to predict what users will want or need to do in a year. That makes it tricky to be precise about what will be expected of an AVoIP system in that timescale. 'Minimum viable system' seems distinctly risky. Flexibility sounds like a very good plan! 

One thing we can say for sure is that more bandwidth is becoming available. We see around us the bandwidth to our homes increasing from a few tens of Mbps to over 1Gbps. This is not the final chapter of domestic connectivity. Cable modems, and cellular networks, are driving domestic bandwidth ever higher. 

• Residential: Gigabit fiber and DOCSIS 4.0 cable tiers (4–6 Gb/s) are becoming mainstream.
• Enterprise edge: “Multi‑gig” (2.5 Gb/s) and 10 GbE ports are the new default, not the exception.
• Enterprise core: 25 / 40 / 100 GbE switching is pushing ever closer to end‑points.

More pipe means more possibilities—extra endpoints, simultaneous streams, higher‑bit‑depth video—often all at once.

So, by supporting all of those bandwidths, IPMX is prepared for the future, including a future that probably includes 8K AVoIP but doesn’t shed the need for lower resolutions. Mixed needs on the same network. And IPMX can scale to the inevitably increasing size of corporate networks. 

In short, IPMX lets integrators design today while staying ready for whatever tomorrow’s AI‑enhanced, bandwidth‑hungry applications demand.

Frequently Asked Questions About IPMX

Is IPMX an official standard yet?

The essential VSF TR-10 specs are complete; the VSF TP‑10 test plan was finalised in April 2025, and “IPMX Tested” products are slated for Q3 2025.

Does IPMX work on 1 GbE switches?

Yes—using JPEG‑XS it delivers visually‑lossless 4Kp60 over a single 1 GbE link.

How is IPMX different from SMPTE ST 2110?

It adds support for RGB color, HDCP, EDID hot‑plug detection, asynchronous timing modes and mandatory NMOS APIs—all essentials for pro‑AV installs. And high compression codecs like H.265 are imminent.

Can IPMX gear interoperate across brands?

Inter‑vendor NMOS testing is baked into the certification program; the April 2025 “IPMX Tested” event proved cross‑brand streaming and control.

IPMX in a Nutshell

IPMX is tractable, scalable, extendable, interoperable, adaptable, controllable, flexible, and, crucially, available. With open specs, sub‑frame latency, and a roadmap backed by every major media‑technology standards body, IPMX is positioned to become the universal language of AVoIP.