IBC 2026: swXtch.io Introduces groundSwXtch Software-Defined Multicast Overlay

swXtch.io (Stand 5.MR13) has unveiled groundSwXtch for Audio over IP (AoIP), a software application that lets broadcasters and media organizations move audio in all major AoIP formats, including Ravenna, AES67 and ST 2110-30, between facilities and into the cloud over standard IP networks, including the public internet. Impressively, the application achieves this without codec hardware and without reconfiguring switches or routers to support multicast. By carrying audio in its native, uncompressed form end to end, groundSwXtch preserves bit-identical quality while removing the encode/decode latency, hardware cost and deployment complexity that come with traditional AoIP transport.

For decades, broadcasters have relied on dedicated codec pairs to move audio between facilities: compress, transport over a standard connection, decode on arrival. groundSwXtch removes that step by carrying the existing multicast AoIP streams on a facility's network across the connecting network (WAN, 5G or public internet) through a centrally managed software overlay. A lightweight application on standard hardware/servers or virtual machines forms the overlay and moves native AoIP traffic across existing IP infrastructure, including over switches and routers that were never configured for multicast routing. Broadcasters connect studios, production centers, remote facilities and data centers into one unified fabric without touching physical network hardware, with built-in packet protection for hybrid links including SMPTE ST 2022-7 hitless failover, and a single-pane view of every flow.

Because groundSwXtch shares its core architecture with swXtch.io's cloudSwXtch platform, the two can be paired to extend the same multicast fabric into the cloud - giving broadcasters one hybrid network spanning on-premises and cloud environments rather than separate ground and cloud workflows.

Timing accuracy across that fabric is maintained through integrated clock synchronization including support for PTP, preserving the accuracy required for live production, intercom systems and distributed audio mixing. Because groundSwXtch transports AoIP streams natively in their original format, with no compression or transcoding at any point, audio arrives exactly as it left the source.

swXtch.io has validated groundSwXtch with broadcast and professional audio partners across live sports and remote event production, intercom connectivity between facilities, distributed audio mixing, remote production for entertainment venues, and radio workflows linking studios, newsrooms and regional bureaus into a single software-defined audio network.

For decades, the industry has focused on making audio codecs faster and more efficient, says Brent Yates, CEO of swXtch.io. We took a different approach by asking whether broadcasters need codecs at all. If audio already exists as native AoIP and we provide an IP network that can transport it reliably, removing that encode-and-decode layer simplifies infrastructure, lowers costs and preserves the integrity of the original signal. groundSwXtch allows broadcasters to move audio exactly as it was created while making distributed production far easier to deploy and scale.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/08/06/ibc-2026-swxtch-io-introduces-g...
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