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XChange

Orchestration and Processing Platform for Live Media and IP Streaming

XChange: Live Event Contribution

evertz.io XChange is a cloud-based orchestration and processing platform that manages the full journey of live streams from contribution to distribution for Broadcast, Direct-To-Consumer (DTC), FAST, and OTT services. With a single, browser-based interface, XChange provides a centralized "single pane of glass" to onboard, configure, monitor, and automate geographically distributed encoders, decoders, and IP transport paths with full rich telemetry and flow visualizations.

Designed for modern IP workflows, XChange automatically registers Evertz edge devices (such as XPS, ITXRs, SCORPION, Reflektor and others) and supports third-party SRT/RIST/Zixi endpoints, enabling content owners to seamlessly move away from satellite-based distribution to flexible, IP-first delivery models. Operators gain real-time visibility into every flow with thumbnails, advanced telemetry, and topology views, ensuring confidence monitoring and rapid fault isolation across contribution, processing and distribution chains.

XChange also includes powerful SaaS-based stream processing and native SCTE 224-driven market switching, allowing content owners to regionalize feeds, tailor channel variants, and support advanced monetization strategies as they distribute channels to services powered by evertz.io-Stream and other DTC endpoints. This combination of orchestration, automation, and processing makes evertz.io XChange an ideal control layer for scaling globally while maintaining operational efficiency and high quality of experience.

evertz.io XChange is a complete, cloud-centric orchestration platform for managing all of your live streams and geographically distributed edge encoders/decoders - including the Evertz XPS, ITXR, SCORPION, and Reflektor families - from a single, centralized control plane. Built on the evertz.io SaaS architecture, XChange makes it faster and easier to configure, control, process, and monitor live media workflows across on‑prem, edge, and cloud environments.

Key Benefits at a Glance

  • Single pane of glass

    To register devices, visualize flows, and control routes across all contribution and distribution workflows.

  • Automatic "phone home" registration

    For Evertz edge devices, enabling plug‑and‑play deployment anywhere in the world.

  • Advanced telemetry and thumbnails

    For all flows, delivering real‑time confidence monitoring and faster fault isolation.

  • Built‑in stream processing

    Using SaaS-based "Transformers" audio/video processing on a pay‑as‑you‑need model.

  • SCTE 224–driven market switching

    To power regionalized distribution models, and satellite‑to‑IP migration scenarios.

  • Hybrid edge–cloud architecture

    Seamlessly orchestrate devices and flows in the cloud or at the edge expanding evertz.io ease of use to the edge.

What is evertz.io XChange?

evertz.io XChange is an advanced orchestration and processing platform for live media and IP streaming, delivered as a multi‑tenant SaaS service on the evertz.io cloud platform. It unifies:

  • Device management - centralized registration, configuration, and monitoring of encoders, decoders, gateways, and IP transport endpoints.
  • Flow topology and routing - visual control of sources, destinations, and processing nodes across SRT, RIST, Zixi, RTP/UDP unicast and multicast workflows.
  • Monitoring and telemetry - real‑time metrics, thumbnails, and health indicators for every device and flow, presented in operator‑friendly dashboards.
  • Automation and scheduling - time‑based and event‑driven orchestration of routes, ingest, and processing, including SCTE 224 regionalization workflows.
  • transformers - inline advanced stream grooming and processing converting a standard delivery network to a processing network.

Because XChange is part of evertz.io, it also acts as a bridge between on‑prem infrastructure and other evertz.io services (such as Stream and Multiviewer), enabling end‑to‑end cloud and hybrid architectures.

Core Capabilities

Manage - Global Edge Device Management

  • Automatic Edge Registration ("Phone Home")
    Evertz edge devices (XPS, ITXR, SCORPION, Reflektor, and more) automatically register to XChange using secure certificates, exposing their status and configuration without manual IP discovery.
  • Third‑Party Support
    XChange can onboard non‑Evertz hardware as generic SRT/RIST/Zixi endpoints, giving operators a single pane of glass for mixed‑vendor environments.
  • Unified Configuration UI
    XChange's unified UI provides a single pane of glass to onboard devices, configure flows, and monitor streams with visual topology, enabling faster time-to-air, fewer errors, and easy scaling of live workflows.

Control - Flow Topology and Routing

  • Visual Flow Topology
    Operators can see end‑to‑end paths from contribution, through processing, to distribution endpoints in a topology view, and create or tear down connections with a few clicks.
  • Routing Across Protocols and Sites
    XChange handles routing for SRT, RIST, Zixi, point‑to‑point UDP, and multicast UDP flows, supporting single or multi‑destination fan‑out from the same source.
  • Flexible Deployment Models
    Integrated with evertz.io evertz.io-Edge, XChange can leverage on-prem or private cloud devices and infostructure through the extension of evertz.io to evertz.io-edge clusters to provide a unified orchestration layer across facilities, edge datacenters, and public cloud regions.

Process - Advanced Stream Grooming with Transformers

  • Transformer Micro‑services
    XChange uses Transformer instances for stream grooming and processing.
  • Template‑Driven Processing
    Operators define processing templates that can be applied to one or many flows, with support for multiple flows per instance to maximize efficiency.
  • Pay‑As‑You‑Go SaaS Model
    Transformers are billed based on usage, making it cost‑effective to spin up additional processing only when needed - for major events, pop‑up channels, or seasonal workloads.

Automate - Scheduling, Events, and Market Switching

  • Resource Scheduling
    Operators can schedule when routes, ingest points, and Transformer instances are created and torn down, ensuring resources are ready before an event starts and automatically shut down after it ends.
  • SCTE 224 ESNI Support
    XChange includes a native SCTE 224 scheduling system that can ingest schedules from traffic and playout systems and drive market‑switched feeds for distribution to affiliates, MVPDs, and OTT platforms.
  • Regionalization
    By combining SCTE 224, synchronized encoding, and in‑line switching, XChange supports regionalization, blackout management, DRM routing, and "multi‑broadcast" workflows at scale.

Architecture & Reliability: Cloud-Native on evertz.io

XChange runs as a cloud-native SaaS service on the evertz.io platform, which uses hyper‑scalable serverless micro‑services and modern security practices to deliver video services on an OPEX, pay‑as‑you‑go basis.

Blue/Green Technology Stack

  • Blue/Green Deployments
    XChange operates on a blue/green tech stack, allowing for seamless upgrades and rollbacks while maintaining service availability for live operations.
  • Dual Stream Paths
    Availability of dual streams across the chain supports automatic recovery from failures, meeting the high availability expectations of live sports, news, and premium channels.

Edge & Hybrid Deployment Options

  • evertz.io Edge
    For low‑latency or egress‑sensitive workflows, XChange can orchestrate compute‑heavy services in your private data center or public cloud VPCs (e.g., OCI, AWS, Lumen), while still using XChange as the control plane.
  • Hybrid Satellite + IP Distribution
    XChange is frequently deployed as the orchestration layer for customers transitioning from satellite to IP distribution, allowing legacy satellite and new IP workflows to run concurrently during migration.

Use Cases

Contribution & Remote Production
  • Manage fleets of encoders/decoders across trucks, flypacks, stadiums, and bureaus from a single cloud UI.
  • Gain confidence with thumbnails, telemetry, and topology for all inbound feeds during live events.
Live Events & Pop‑Up Channels
  • Spin up temporary processing chains only when needed for special events, then tear them down to control costs.
  • Orchestrate complex multi‑venue, multi‑feed events without duplicating operational workflows per site.
Distribution, Regionalization & Satellite‑to‑IP
  • Replace legacy satellite control systems with a modern SCTE 224‑driven market switching platform that can support both satellite and IP outputs.
  • Deliver per‑market, per‑affiliate IP streams using XChange as the central orchestration layer, with GOP‑aligned encoding enabling seamless switching at the edge.
Direct-to-Consumer, FAST & OTT
  • Use XChange to manage upstream contribution and distribution feeds feeding evertz.io Stream and other DTC/OTT endpoints, aligning contribution, processing, and playout in a consistent control model.

How XChange Fits Within evertz.io

evertz.io is a cloud-native, multi‑tenant SaaS platform offering services such as Stream (channels), file transfer, and metadata, all designed to work together. XChange complements these services by:

  • Acting as the live orchestration layer for streams that feed into evertz.io Stream channels and multiviewer services.

  • Providing a bridge between on‑prem infrastructure and cloud services, making hybrid topologies easier to deploy and operate.

  • Sharing a common security, observability, and operations model, managed by Evertz SRE teams under the same evertz.io umbrella.

Getting Started

  • Talk to our team

    About onboarding your existing encoder/decoder fleet into XChange and defining a pilot topology.

  • Explore migration paths

    For contribution, regionalization, or satellite‑to‑IP distribution using evertz.io XChange.

  • Visit evertz.io

    To learn more about the evertz.io platform and related services.