The EBU Dynamic Media Facility the Second Wave of Live-IP Media Production

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Publisher: SMPTE — Pasadena, CA
Doc Type: Conference Paper
Content Type: Original Research
Volume: 00, pp. 1–11
Abstract: Rapid advances in computing power and network infrastructure are transforming the landscape of live media production. The professional broadcast industry is gradually moving away from hardware-centric systems and towards software-defined solutions, promising far greater flexibility, scalability, and operational agility. However, this shift into a more virtualized, “dematerialized” environment also introduces substantial interoperability challenges. Multiple vendors, proprietary frameworks, and disparate technology stacks can prevent diverse systems from integrating seamlessly across distributed networks, potentially inhibiting innovation and restricting the efficiency of modern broadcast workflows. To address these challenges, the Dynamic Media Facility (DMF) [1] initiative proposes a standardized architecture inspired by the cloud-hyperscale model. In this architecture, discrete “media functions”, the modular building blocks responsible for ingesting, processing, and delivering content, are deployed onto a common container-based platform. These functions can be provisioned and scaled on demand, and strategically placed wherever compute, storage, and bandwidth are most readily available, whether on-premises, at the network edge, or in public or private clouds. At the heart of the DMF architecture lies the Media Exchange Layer (MXL), a high-performance data plane designed to simplify and accelerate communication between these distributed media functions. The MXL enables entirely new production paradigms, including asynchronous “faster-than-live” workflows, allowing teams to produce content more flexibly and quickly than traditional linear models permit. Moreover, its extensible design supports evolving transport mechanisms and new media formats as they emerge, ensuring that the architecture is well-equipped to evolve alongside technological progress. In order to encourage broad industry adoption, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) [2], the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) [3], and the Linux Foundation [4] are pursuing an “implement-first” strategy. This practical, hands-on approach involves close collaboration with broadcasters and technology suppliers to produce an open-source software development kit that promotes interoperability and showcases real-world use cases for the MXL. The first version of this SDK was released in June 2025. Ultimately, the DMF [1] initiative aspires to establish a new baseline for open, interoperable software-based live production, a foundation that is robust, future-proof, and capable of sustaining innovation across the entire media ecosystem.
Publication Date: 2025-10-13
ISBN: [object Object]
Author(s): Peter Brightwell
Felix Poulin
Willem Vermost
Keyword(s): Dynamic Media Facility, DMF, Reference Architecture, Media Exchange, Media Exchange Layer (MXL), Containerization, EBU, NABA
Copyright: © 2025 SMPTE

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<span class="citation">Peter Brightwell, Felix Poulin, and Willem Vermost; <cite>The EBU Dynamic Media Facility the Second Wave of Live-IP Media Production</cite>, MTS 2025, Article 13 (pp. 1 to 11); SMPTE, 2025, ISBN: [object Object]</span>

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Peter Brightwell, Felix Poulin, and Willem Vermost; <cite id="bib-978-1-61482-966-9-13">The EBU Dynamic Media Facility the Second Wave of Live-IP Media Production</cite>, MTS 2025, Article 13 (pp. 1 to 11); SMPTE, 2025, ISBN: [object Object]
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