Source failover and merge for router inputs in MediaConnect

MediaConnect supports two types of redundancy configurations for router inputs: Failover and Merge.

Failover mode

In failover mode, a router input can have two sources. The router input will automatically switch sources based on the source priority configuration. If no priority is defined, the router input will randomly use one of the sources and will switch to the other source if the active source does not send data for 500 milliseconds. If one source is defined as the Primary source, the router input will use the primary source and will switch to the secondary source if the primary source does not send data for 500 milliseconds. The router input will switch back to the primary source as soon as data returns.

To create a failover router input, you specify the input type as Failover and provide a protocol configuration for each source. MediaConnect treats the first source as the primary, and the second as the backup.

For instructions on how to create or update a router input, see Creating a router I/O in MediaConnect and Updating a router I/O in MediaConnect.

Merge mode

In merge mode, a router input accepts two identical, simultaneous video streams on the same IP address but different ports. MediaConnect merges the content of the two streams at the network packet level, allowing a graceful recovery from any single-source loss. For example: if the router input is using source A and packet 123 is missing, MediaConnect pulls in packet 123 from source B and continues using source A.

To create a merge router input, you specify the router input type as Merge and provide a protocol configuration for each source. The two sources must be binary identical, which means that they need to have originated from the same encoder. Additionally, if the sources use RTP protocol, they must have RTP headers with aligned sequence numbers and they must also comply with the SMPTE ST 2022-7 standard.

When configuring a merge router input, you can also set a recovery window. This is the size of the buffer (delay) that you want MediaConnect to maintain. A larger recovery window means a longer delay in transmitting the stream, but more room for error correction. A smaller recovery window means a shorter delay, but less room for error correction.

For instructions on how to create or update a router input, see Creating a router I/O in MediaConnect and Updating a router I/O in MediaConnect.

Supported protocols

The following table describes which source protocols support failover and merge for MediaConnect router inputs.

Protocol	Does this protocol support source failover?	How many sources can be added?	Supported failover modes
RIST	Yes	2	Merge or failover
RTP	Yes	2	Merge or failover
SRT listener	Yes	2	Failover only
SRT caller	Yes	2	Failover only