ISE 2026 marks the moment IPMX moves from an “emerging standard” to deployable infrastructure, with the debut of the first certified products, a completed certification framework, and a clear roadmap for what comes next.
This represents a meaningful milestone for IPMX. Until now, IPMX has been building toward a stable set of standards, with IPMX Ready products demonstrating feasibility and value. With the IPMX certification process now in place, IPMX becomes something manufacturers can build to, integrators can specify, and end users can deploy with confidence.
What does IPMX Certified mean? How is this different from what came before?
IPMX certification brings several elements together for the first time, forming a complete and verifiable foundation for interoperable AV-over-IP products:
Public, stable IPMX documentation: A published, versioned set of documents defining IPMX architecture, profiles, and capabilities.
A defined certification and compliance framework: Clear rules governing how IPMX products are evaluated, validated, and allowed to make conformance claims.
A published IPMX test plan: A transparent test methodology describing how IPMX compliance and interoperability are verified.
A multi-vendor, in-person IPMX certification testing event: Products tested together under identical conditions to validate real-world interoperability.
IPMX Certified products with authorized branding and certification badging: Products that have successfully completed certification and are permitted to carry official IPMX certification marks.
The IPMX Documentation Framework
IPMX certification is supported by a deliberately structured set of public documents, each serving a specific role. Rather than a single monolithic specification, IPMX is defined through a small number of complementary documents that together describe what IPMX is, how interoperability is achieved, how compliance is verified, and how certified products are identified.
Defining IPMX and the Rules of Certification
At the foundation is the IPMX Product Qualification and Certification Requirements (PQCR) document, published by Alliance for IP Media Solutions. This document defines IPMX at a system level, including its overall structure, baseline requirements, eligibility for certification, and the rules governing compliance claims. It establishes what it means for a product to be considered IPMX-capable and what is required for it to be certified.
Complementing this are the IPMX Brand Usage Guidelines, which define how the IPMX name, logos, and certification marks may be used. These guidelines also specify what claims manufacturers are permitted to make regarding IPMX support, helping ensure that IPMX branding in the market is consistent, accurate, and verifiable.
Together, these documents ensure that “IPMX” has a clear, enforceable meaning, both technically and commercially.
Profiles and Capabilities: Defining Interoperable Behavior
IPMX interoperability is defined through a combination of profiles and capabilities, rather than a single fixed feature set.
IPMX Profile documents define complete, interoperable combinations of media formats, codecs, and transport requirements for specific classes of products and use cases. IPMX Capability documents define additional interoperable features that may be supported across profiles, allowing systems to be designed with predictable behavior while accommodating a wide range of product complexity and application needs.
This approach allows IPMX systems to scale, from simple endpoints to more advanced devices, while maintaining interoperability across vendors.
The Technical Core: VSF TR-10 Specifications
The technical foundation of IPMX is defined in the TR-10 series of Technical Recommendations developed by the Video Services Forum. These documents reference established baseline standards such as SMPTE ST 2110 for media transport and AES67 for audio interoperability, as well as specifications such as AMWA NMOS for discovery, registration, and connection management.
In addition to aligning with these broadcast-oriented standards, the TR-10 documents define additional constraints and features required to support professional AV use cases. These include support for HDCP, privacy encryption, and interoperable USB transport, which are essential in many Pro AV environments and are not addressed by broadcast standards alone.
This layered approach allows IPMX to maximize compatibility with ST 2110–based ecosystems while extending the ST 2110 model to meet the practical requirements of Pro AV deployments.
Verification and Visibility: Testing and the Registry
Finally, IPMX certification is grounded in verification and transparency.
The IPMX Test Plan defines how compliance and interoperability are validated during certification testing, ensuring products are evaluated consistently and repeatably. The IPMX Registry (available February 1st, 2026) provides a public record of certified products, including the profiles and capabilities each product supports, allowing system designers, integrators, and end users to verify claims and compare products objectively.
Together, these elements ensure that IPMX certification is demonstrable and visible in the market.
IPMX Certification Testing in Practice
Turning a standards framework into something the market can trust requires more than documentation. It requires independent, repeatable testing in a shared environment, with clear pass criteria and no room for “it works in our lab” interpretations.
After numerous plug-fests, hands-on events, and trial runs, the first IPMX certification testing event was hosted by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Geneva Switzerland. The EBU provided the independent lab environment, facilities, and staff required to conduct the testing. A common network environment was used to eliminate variables, and each participating vendor was required to complete each phase of the test using a single, consistent firmware and software package. This matters because it validates product behavior under controlled, comparable conditions, rather than allowing different builds or configurations to be swapped across test scenarios.
Products that successfully pass the required test phases earn IPMX Certified status for the specific profiles and capabilities they have demonstrated. This is what makes certification actionable for the market. It turns IPMX support from a general claim into a verifiable statement about exactly what it can do and what it can interoperate with in real deployments.
How to Identify an IPMX Certified Product
With certification now in place, IPMX support is no longer something that needs to be inferred or taken on faith. Certified products are explicitly identifiable in several ways.
First, IPMX Certified products are authorized to use official IPMX certification marks. These marks indicate that a product has successfully completed certification testing and is certified for specific IPMX profiles and capabilities. The presence of IPMX branding alone is not sufficient; certification marks distinguish certified products from those that are still in development or aligned with IPMX in principle.
Second, certified products are listed in the IPMX Registry, published by the Alliance for IP Media Solutions. The registry provides a public, authoritative record of certified products and clearly identifies which profiles and capabilities each product supports. This allows integrators, consultants, and end users to verify claims and compare products objectively, without relying on marketing materials or informal compatibility statements.
Finally, certification is profile- and capability-specific. A product may be certified for certain media formats or features and not others, and those distinctions are explicitly documented. This level of precision is intentional. It allows systems to be designed with confidence, knowing exactly what behavior can be expected when certified products are deployed together.
At ISE 2026, IPMX Certified products will be clearly identified, and live demonstrations will show certified devices operating together in real time. Visitors can see IPMX certification in practice at the AIMS booth (5K880), where certified products will be demonstrated in real-world Pro AV system scenarios.
With certification now in place, IPMX enters a new phase. What was once an emerging effort is now defined, testable, and verifiable. For manufacturers, integrators, and end users alike, IPMX certification provides a clear basis for design decisions, procurement, and deployment.
As the first IPMX Certified products debut at ISE 2026, the conversation around IPMX shifts from what it will become to what it can be used for today.
