Appear will expand its X Platform at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas. At Booth W1531, the company will introduce Appear XM, make the X5 generally available, and highlight early deployments of the SIx300 SDI/IP gateway module.
Appear says these additions are designed to support larger live production and contribution workflows without adding more operational complexity.
The company says the expanded X Platform is aimed at broadcasters and media organizations working across more sites, formats, and IP environments. According to Appear, the goal is to simplify management while maintaining performance, resilience, and flexibility.
Appear at NAB Show 2026 with Appear XM
Appear will launch Appear XM at NAB Show 2026. The company describes it as a self-hosted estate management tool for growing X Platform deployments.
According to Appear, operators and engineers often face fragmented tools, manual processes, and limited estate-wide visibility as deployments grow. Appear says Appear XM addresses that problem with a centralized interface that gives teams a single view across the deployment.
The company says this can help reduce configuration errors, avoid version mismatches, speed up troubleshooting, and lower operational overhead.
Stephan Würmlin Stadler, Chief Product Officer at Appear, said customers are scaling live production and contribution workflows across more sites, more formats, and more IP infrastructure. He said those customers cannot afford added operational complexity. He also said X5 and Appear XM are intended to extend the X Platform without reducing performance, resilience, or flexibility.
Appear at NAB Show 2026 with X5
Appear will also make X5 generally available at NAB Show 2026. The company says X5 extends broadcast-grade contribution to venues, flypacks, OB trucks, regional sites, and pop-up studios.
According to Appear, X5 gives customers a simpler way to use the same operational model across both high-end and distributed workflows. The company says the unit supports AVC and HEVC encoding and decoding for edge contribution and local monitoring.
X5 also includes TS and SRT I/O, with support for TSoIP, SMPTE ST 2022-7 protection, and ST 2022-1 FEC. In addition, the company says users get audio processing options such as Dolby D and D+ encode and decode, Dolby E decode, and a TCP API for SCTE-104 insertion.
Appear at NAB Show 2026 with SIx300
Appear will also highlight the SIx300 SDI/IP gateway module at NAB Show 2026. The company says this new module supports both JPEG 2000 and JPEG XS on one reconfigurable platform.
According to Appear, this gives rights holders, leagues, broadcasters, and service providers a practical path to ultra-low-latency IP workflows while maintaining compatibility with existing infrastructure. The company says the X Platform is designed for resilience and integration into current broadcast workflows.
Appear also says the platform includes a comprehensive API for full remote management and third-party integration, including Prometheus metrics.
Appear X Platform for hybrid SDI/IP workflows
The SIx300 module supports up to eight HD channels or two UHD streams in JPEG XS mode. Appear says it delivers sub-frame latency and supports SMPTE ST 2110, ST 2022-7, and NMOS IS-04 and IS-05.
According to the company, these features help customers build resilient hybrid SDI/IP workflows for demanding live production environments. Appear says the X Platform now serves as a broader foundation for live media transport and processing.
The company also says the X Platform is already used in more than 100 countries and is deployed by organizations including NBCUniversal, PSSI, Corus Entertainment, and beIN.
Appear at NAB Show 2026 and customer demand
Appear says the latest X Platform updates reflect customer demand as live event workflows continue to grow in scale and complexity. At NAB Show 2026, visitors will be able to see how the company is extending the platform for both centralized and edge deployments.
