The Media eXchange Layer (MXL): Streamlining Multi-Vendor Live Video
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) Dynamic Media Facility (DMF) provides a layered model for software-defined production infrastructures running on commonly available IT infrastructure. The DMF seeks to enable customizable, dynamic workflows with cost-effective scalability and enhanced operational efficiency, security, and reliability to address the challenges of the evolving media business landscape. A key element of the DMF is the Media eXchange Layer (MXL), an open-source SDK for high-performance, live media interchange among containerized software media functions. MXL provides a vendor-neutral, interoperable platform with clear observability. MXL employs the lowest-latency asynchronous data transfer methods to minimize delays in the live signal chain. Shared memory is used for same-host functions, and remote direct memory access (RDMA) networking is used for cross-host communication. The Linux Foundation hosts the MXL Project in collaboration with the EBU and the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA). The MXL SDK code is available on a public GitHub repository.
- Print ISSN
- 1545-0279
- Electronic ISSN
- 2160-2492
- Published
- 2026-04
- Content type
- Original Research
- Keywords
- software, live, shared memory, asynchronous, rdma, containers, data centers, flexibility
- DOI
- 10.5594/JMI.2026/JORP7004