The Coming Shift in Pro Video: From Specialty Hardware to Commoditized Tech

In his original article, Jason Howard covers how the professional video industry is facing a seismic shift. As networking, GPUs, and general-purpose hardware continue to evolve, video production is moving away from expensive, specialized equipment toward flexible, software-defined solutions.

The Evolution of Pro Video Technology
From black-and-white TV to 8K HDR, the video industry has always chased innovation. But every leap forward has brought diminishing returns. Fewer people are adopting the latest formats, and with each step, the gear required becomes less cutting-edge in the broader tech world.

Today, common tech like SSDs, 10/25GbE networks, and GPUs outperform legacy broadcast tools—making high-end production accessible with off-the-shelf hardware.

ST 2110 and the Road to Commodity Hardware
SMPTE ST 2110 is a turning point. By replacing SDI with IP over Ethernet, it has opened the door to flexible, repurposable systems. ST 2110 isn’t the end goal—it’s the bridge to a world where video flows over commodity hardware with adaptable, software-defined infrastructure.

We’re moving toward asynchronous video pipelines powered by GPUs and real-time network protocols like RDMA and PTP/PTM. Genlock may no longer be king—latency management will become a distributed, network-wide challenge.