At ISE, arkona will demonstrate applications of its software-defined media infrastructure that extend beyond traditional broadcast environments including live esports events and ProAV.
arkonna Bladerunner
arkona technologies, a developer of ultra-low-latency, high-density IP processing systems, will be attending ISE 2026 in Barcelona in February. The company will demonstrate applications of its software-defined media infrastructure that extend beyond traditional broadcast environments.
They will present a range of case studies that show how the same core technologies developed for broadcasters are now adopted by some of the largest IT-led, ProAV and enterprise technology companies.
Beyond Broadcast
For example, at a client’s Los Angeles facility, arkona and their technology partner manifold delivered a complex IP system based on 24 AT300 Programmable Acceleration Cards (PACs), supporting extensive video and audio processing. The installation includes manifold’s live production multiviewer and UDX processing services with more than 250 unique input sources displayed across 54 UHD monitor outputs. Alongside these are 64 simultaneous up, down and cross-conversion services.
The project was delivered in conjunction with two switching and orchestration providers and included manifold multiviewers powered by FPGA accelerator cards running across three servers. Following the success of this deployment, the same architecture is now being replicated in the client’s London studio for podcast and content production.
The project highlights the features that attract organisations outside the broadcast sector to arkona’s and manifold’s high-capacity processing systems and services. These include native support for 2160p at 23.98p, a very high audio handling capacity and built-in PTP and MSC capabilities for stage-box connectivity. These features, combined with manifold’s dense, flexible multiviewer platform, were decisive factors in meeting the demands of their LA client in a modern, IT-based production environment.
esports Real-time Performance
esports and large-scale gaming production are emerging as another growth area, converging broadcast production values with IT-centric workflows. arkona’s FPGA-accelerated platforms reach the scale, flexibility and predictable, low-latency performance under load needed to support complex real-time game productions.
Last year arkona and manifold delivered a comprehensive solution for one of the world’s largest annual esports championships, a complex live production that attracts a global audience. Using five FPGA-based COTS accelerator cards, the system powered a high-density HTML5 graphics generation and insertion workflow, handling more than 200 unique input sources and driving over 80 output monitor heads.
This set-up meant that the production teams were able to maintain full situational awareness across a vast, fast-moving competitive environment, with consistent, frame-accurate performance throughout the event.
Meanwhile, arkona and manifold supported another major annual competitive gaming tournament, delivering a compact multiviewer system capable of generating ten live previews from a single COTS server accelerator. The deployment demonstrated how high-density monitoring and ultra-low latency processing can be achieved without relying on large, fixed hardware footprints – a critical factor in esports environments where agility and rapid redeployment are critical factors.
About the esports focus at ISE, Aleksei Shevchenko, CEO of manifold technologies, said, “These events represent top-level live gaming production, where scale, speed and reliability are essential. What makes these deployments stand out is not only the sheer number of sources and outputs involved, but the consistency and responsiveness the platform delivers under intense operational pressure.”
BLADE//runner Platform and manifold CLOUD
manifold IP audio router
At ISE, visitors will be able to explore these gaming-focused deployments alongside arkona’s broader portfolio, including the BLADE//runner platform and manifold CLOUD. BLADE//runner is arkona’s software-defined platform for routing, processing and signal management across SDI and ST 2110 infrastructures. manifold CLOUD extends ultra-low-latency multiviewing, conversion and processing into virtualised and distributed environments.
Together, they form a flexible, software-defined foundation for routing, processing and multiviewing across broadcast, ProAV, IT and gaming workflows. Organisations can scale from compact studio builds to globally distributed live productions – and use the same core technology for all of them.
Rainer Sturm, CEO of arkona technologies, commented, “ISE is an important opportunity for us to show that the challenges faced by broadcasters are now often shared by enterprise and IT organisations that produce large volumes of high-quality content. Our solutions are designed to deliver the same reliable, predictable outputs regardless of source fluctuations, or whether they are deployed in a broadcast centre, a corporate studio or a global content hub.
“Seeing our platforms adopted by some of the world’s largest and most demanding organisations indicates that arkona and manifold are no longer niche broadcast specialists but solid infrastructure providers for large-scale, IP-based media operations across multiple industries.” www.arkonatech.com and manifoldtech.tv
