ARRI Alexa 35 Live ST 2110 update enables uncompressed UHD IP transport

This update removes the technical friction between high-end cinematic capture and the rigid requirements of live IP broadcast environments. By adopting open standards like ST 2110 and NMOS, ARRI ensures its flagship live system can be managed as a native network node alongside traditional broadcast hardware. This move signals a broader industry shift where the aesthetic quality of digital cinema is no longer siloed from the efficiency of IP-based stadium and arena workflows. As live sports and entertainment demand higher visual fidelity, the interoperability with Riedel and SimplyLive ecosystems positions this hardware for complex multi-vendor deployments. Watch for adoption rates in high-end touring flypacks following successful field tests by Adlib.

ARRI's decision to bring SMPTE ST 2110 support to the Alexa 35 Live system reflects a broader industry migration toward IP-based live production workflows. The standard, which governs uncompressed video, audio, and ancillary data over IP networks, has become the default transport layer for major broadcast facilities. In early 2025, Sony announced that its HDC-F5500V system camera would support SMPTE ST 2110 natively, positioning the camera as a direct competitor in the high-end live production space where cinematic image quality meets broadcast interoperability. Riedel Communications, which provides the intercom and signal routing infrastructure mentioned in ARRI's ecosystem, has similarly committed to ST 2110 across its product lines, including its MediorNet real-time media network. SimplyLive, another integration partner, offers replay and production switching tools designed for IP-native workflows, making the Alexa 35 Live's new NMOS compatibility a practical requirement for multi-vendor deployments in sports and entertainment venues.

The business case for ST 2110 adoption in live production is driven by cost reduction and operational flexibility compared to traditional SDI-based infrastructure. The European Broadcasting Union published a report in late 2024 detailing how ST 2110 deployments at member broadcasters reduced cabling costs by up to 60 percent while enabling remote production models that cut crew travel requirements. For ARRI specifically, the LPS-1 base station's 25GbE connectivity aligns with the bandwidth demands of uncompressed UHD, which requires approximately 12 Gbps per stream. This positions the Alexa 35 Live for tier-one sports productions where broadcasters like Sky Deutschland and BT Sport have already committed to ST 2110 facility upgrades. The NMOS interoperability layer, governed by the Advanced Media Workflow Association, ensures that ARRI cameras can be discovered and controlled by third-party orchestration platforms without proprietary middleware.

Technical benchmarks for ST 2110 in live production environments have matured significantly over the past year. Nevion, a Sony company, published latency measurements showing that ST 2110-20 video transport adds less than one frame of delay in properly configured networks, a critical metric for live replay and real-time graphics workflows. For the Alexa 35 Live, this means the system can participate in live production chains without introducing perceptible synchronization issues relative to traditional broadcast cameras. Adlib, the rental and touring company that conducted field tests referenced in ARRI's announcement, operates in the demanding environment of live events where signal reliability and low latency are non-negotiable. The convergence of cinema-grade sensors with broadcast-grade transport represents a growing category, with competitors like RED and Blackmagic Design also exploring IP-native workflows for their high-end camera systems, though neither has yet shipped a product with native ST 2110 support at the UHD level.