February took us to Barcelona for Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026, where one shift was unmistakable. The industry has moved beyond asking what IP can do. The focus now is on how to make it scalable, visible, dependable, and interoperable in real-world environments. At a time when supply chain uncertainty remains a concern, flexibility matters. Solutions that are not tied to specific technologies give users the freedom to bridge existing investments while maintaining operational continuity.
Across our meetings at booth 5E800, conversations centered on distributed systems, growing endpoint counts, and the operational reality of managing IP infrastructure across facilities and locations. ISE was not about introducing IP. It was about refining it.
A New Generation of Pro Convert
In January, we announced the Pro Convert IP to HDMI decoder, the first in a new generation of enhanced Pro Convert devices. We also highlighted Pro Convert IP to USB, another key addition designed to address IP workflow challenges from a different angle.
Designed to convert up to four IP streams into a single HDMI output with integrated multiviewer layouts, the device reflects how monitoring workflows have evolved. Modern control rooms and production environments rarely rely on a single source. They require multiple feeds, flexible layouts, and broad protocol support; all delivered reliably.
Pro Convert IP to USB simplifies bringing IP feeds directly into software environments without the need for additional software layers or placing extra strain on the host CPU. Together, these solutions address both display and software integration challenges within modern IP ecosystems.
Supporting NDI, SRT, RTMP, RTSP, Zixi and more, with HDR-compatible QHD output and a redesigned web interface, this release represents more than a product update. It signals the direction of our AV over IP roadmap, with higher input counts, improved usability, and deeper interoperability across hybrid infrastructures.
Control at Scale
More IP devices mean more to manage. That is not a problem you can solve by logging into interfaces one at a time.
At ISE, we also demonstrated how Control Hub gives teams centralized visibility across Magewell encoders, decoders, and converters, monitoring status, pushing configurations, and deploying firmware updates across multiple devices from a single dashboard. No added overhead. No hunting through individual device UIs.
This came up repeatedly in our conversations with KitPlus, InBroadcast and rAVe publications. As workflows scale, centralized management stops being a nice-to-have and becomes foundational. We also demonstrated NDI 6.3 on Ultra Encode AIO at NDI’s booth during ISE. Support for NDI 6.3 introduces additional ways to configure and control IP devices and reflects our continued firmware development, offering customers more flexibility as infrastructures evolve.
You can watch those conversations on our YouTube channel.
Reliability Is Not Going Anywhere
Software tools are evolving fast, but in live production and contribution workflows, hardware encoding remains essential, not as a fallback, but as the backbone.
We also used ISE to highlight continued development on Ultra Encode, built for continuous operation and kept current through firmware updates. Broad protocol support, including NDI 6.3 and with RIST on the roadmap, means it grows with the infrastructure around it while maintaining the stable, predictable performance that live environments demand.
What’s Next
ISE 2026 made one thing clear. Broadcast and Pro AV have already converged. Organizations are building hybrid IP infrastructures that need to bridge AV signals, IP streams, and software environments without adding unnecessary complexity.
The Pro Convert IP to HDMI, and Pro Convert IP to USB represent the next phase of our Pro Convert family, with more to come across the ecosystem.
To everyone who came to see us in Barcelona, thank you. The quality of those conversations reflects exactly where the industry is, past the question of whether IP works and focused on making it work even better.
Amy Zhou
Sales Director, Magewell