For years, the broadcast industry has been buzzing with a single message: IP is the future. From SMPTE 2110 deployments to fully virtualized cloud production, the momentum behind IP‑based workflows is undeniable. But in this rush toward tomorrow, there’s a critical truth many overlook:

SDI isn’t dead — and for many operations, it’s still the right tool for right now.

In fact, SDI continues to play a pivotal role across live production, OB trucks, stadiums, and smaller broadcast facilities that demand reliability above all else. Let’s explore why SDI remains relevant, where it excels, and how it fits into a hybrid future.

The Reliability Advantage: SDI’s Unshakeable Strength

In live production, the stakes are high. Downtime is unacceptable. Latency isn’t just a number, it’s a viewer’s experience, a replay operator’s reaction time, and an entire show’s credibility.

SDI’s biggest advantages remain:

1. Deterministic Performance

SDI is point‑to‑point. It’s predictable. There’s no packet loss, jitter, or QoS considerations. It either works or it doesn’t.

2. Ultra‑Low Latency

IP can achieve low latency, but SDI is low latency by design.

3. Plug‑and‑Play Infrastructure

With SDI, you don’t need multicast routing, PTP timing, VLAN segmentation, or network specialists on standby.

Cost Efficiency: Not Every Facility Needs an IP Overhaul

Transitioning to ST 2110 or NDI‑based workflows is an investment. For many organizations, the ROI simply isn’t there yet — especially when their existing SDI infrastructure already delivers flawless results.

SDI remains cost‑effective when:

  • Your signal paths are fixed and predictable
  • Your team is trained in SDI workflows
  • Upgrade cycles are long
  • IP’s scalability doesn’t solve an existing problem

For small to medium facilities, an SDI backbone with selective IP elements often delivers the best balance of performance and budget.

A Real‑World Example: Warner Bros. Discovery & the 2026 Winter Olympics

A perfect illustration of this pragmatic approach comes from Warner Bros. Discovery’s broadcast plans for the Milano‑Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026.

Despite the widespread industry shift toward IP, WBD opted to build a primarily SDI‑based production system for the event. Why?

Because the requirements pointed clearly in that direction.

  • Large‑scale, mission‑critical live sports
  • Hundreds of simultaneous feeds
  • Complex routing under tight operational pressure
  • A distributed team that already knows SDI workflows
  • Predictable, deterministic signal paths in temporary setups

For an event of this magnitude, where reliability and ultra‑low latency are non‑negotiable, SDI offered the most robust and risk‑free foundation.

This example underscores a key message:

SDI vs. IP isn’t ideological — it’s a case‑by‑case decision based on requirements.

The Hybrid Reality — SDI and IP, Not SDI or IP

Most modern broadcast environments embrace a hybrid workflow:

Where SDI excels:

  • Camera chains
  • Routing
  • Monitoring
  • OB truck workflows
  • Redundancy‑critical systems

Where IP excels:

  • Remote production
  • Cloud-based control rooms
  • Virtualized multiviewers and replay
  • Dynamic scaling
  • Multi-site collaboration

Vendors understand this, which is why almost every major switcher, multiviewer, and replay platform now supports both SDI and IP inputs.

Where SDI Still Wins Today

1. OB Trucks and Mobile Units

Predictability, low power, and straightforward routing make SDI ideal for road‑based production.

2. Small and Medium Studios

When cable runs are short and throughput is known, SDI is simpler and cheaper.

3. High-Frame-Rate and HDR Workflows

12G‑SDI handles 4K, HDR, and HFR with ease without the complexity of IP bandwidth management.

4. Redundancy‑Critical Environments

One cable per signal. Simple redundancy. Immediate troubleshooting.

Future-Proof Doesn’t Have to Mean IP-Only

The industry narrative sometimes suggests that “future-proofing” requires abandoning SDI entirely. But the reality is more nuanced:

  • SDI provides reliability and simplicity where operations need stability.
  • IP provides scalability and flexibility where operations need growth.

The smartest strategy is often a hybrid design that lets each technology do what it does best.

Conclusion: SDI Isn’t Going Anywhere Yet

IP is undeniably the long-term direction of broadcast and live production. Especially for remote, cloud-based, and scalable workflows.

But SDI remains a powerful, dependable, and deeply relevant technology. The example of Warner Bros. Discovery’s SDI-based system for the 2026 Winter Olympics demonstrates that even world‑class productions choose SDI when it objectively meets the operational requirements.

SDI has decades of refinement behind it.
IP has decades of innovation ahead of it.

And the industry’s strongest solutions lie in leveraging both — wisely, and on a case‑by‑case basis.