Career & Interview Prep
Summary
The SMPTE 2110 lab is built specifically to demonstrate broadcast/media network engineering competency in job interviews. The target roles are mid-to-senior IP broadcast engineers ($70,000-130,000+) at companies like NBCUniversal, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, ESPN, Fox, and AWS Elemental.
The lab covers 5 of the 7 key skills employers look for: SMPTE ST 2110, PTP/IEEE 1588, IP networking (VLANs/multicast/IGMP/QoS), NMOS IS-04/IS-05, and Dante/AES67. Python scripting and cloud media (AWS MediaLive) are software additions that run on the same infrastructure.
A critical gap identified on 2026-04-13: the lab had no 12G-SDI capability. Industry consensus (r/VIDEOENGINEERING) confirms that facilities will be hybrid 12G-SDI and 2110 for the next 5-10 years. The person who understands both and can design the bridge is the strongest hire. An equipment plan has been created to add 12G-SDI via Blackmagic Micro Converters and a 2110 IP bridge device, creating a complete camera-to-SDI-to-2110-to-monitoring signal chain for ~$410 used.
The st2110-healthmon open-source tool fills the biggest resume gap: protocol-level 2110 software. No competing open-source tool does continuous health monitoring of 2110 networks with Prometheus/Grafana dashboards.
Timeline
- 2026-04-03: Lab project initiated specifically for interview preparation.
- 2026-04-03: Career applications and salary ranges documented.
- 2026-04-03: Interview talking points drafted for each implementation phase.
- 2026-04-13: 12G-SDI gap identified via r/VIDEOENGINEERING research. Hybrid 12G/2110 skills confirmed as critical differentiator.
- 2026-04-13: Equipment buy plan created: Micro Converter BiDirect 12G (405).
- 2026-04-13: st2110-healthmon design validated against competitive landscape (EBU LIST is diagnostic, not ops monitoring).
Current State
Hardware ordered (switches, NICs, optics), Phase 1 network implementation pending. 12G-SDI equipment not yet purchased. Portfolio pieces planned across three stages:
Stage 1 — After Phase 1 network build (no SDI purchase needed):
- “I configured a PTP boundary clock on a MikroTik switch with SMPTE 2059 profile”
- “I designed a split-plane architecture separating PTP timing from media transport”
- “I have Wireshark captures showing PTP convergence and RTP streams”
- “I can explain PTP grandmaster, boundary clock, and slave hierarchy”
Stage 2 — After 12G-SDI equipment purchase (~$410 used):
- “I bridge 12G-SDI camera feeds into a SMPTE 2110 network using Blackmagic converters”
- “I transport UHD 2160p30 uncompressed video over ST 2110-20 on 10GbE”
- “I understand when to use 12G-SDI vs 2110 and how to design the hybrid boundary”
- “I can show a live camera feed flowing through SDI, into 2110 multicast, monitored by my own tooling”
Stage 3 — After st2110-healthmon MVP:
- “I built an open-source continuous health monitor for 2110 networks with Prometheus/Grafana”
- “I monitor PTP offset-from-master, RTP jitter, packet loss, and sequence gaps in real-time”
- “I compare expected flows (from SDP files) against actual traffic on the wire”
Full portfolio components:
- Public GitHub repo with all configs and documentation
- Wireshark captures (PTP, IGMP, RTP, SDI-to-2110 conversion)
- Network topology diagrams showing split-plane + SDI bridge architecture
- PTP offset convergence logs
- Grafana dashboards from st2110-healthmon
- Working live demo capability (camera → SDI → 2110 → monitoring)
Key Decisions
- 2026-04-03: Two-switch architecture chosen partly for interview value. “I designed a split-plane architecture” is stronger than “I used one switch.”
- 2026-04-03: All configs version-controlled in git for portfolio evidence.
- 2026-04-03: $430 total budget demonstrates resourcefulness alongside technical depth.
- 2026-04-13: 12G-SDI added to skill stack. Industry consensus is hybrid facilities. Being SDI-literate alongside 2110 expertise is the differentiator over candidates who only know one side.
- 2026-04-13: External Micro Converters over DeckLink PCIe. Portable for future production use, no PCIe slots required.
- 2026-04-13: Camera-to-2110 demo path chosen over synthetic test patterns. A real camera through real SDI into real 2110 is more credible than GStreamer videotestsrc.
Experiments & Results
| Experiment | Status | Finding | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete lab build (Phase 1) | In progress | Targeting network, PTP, multicast | All docs |
| 12G-SDI bridge demo | Planned | Camera → SDI → 2110 → monitoring | 12G-SDI equipment research |
| st2110-healthmon MVP | Designed | PTP + RTP monitoring + Prometheus | Healthmon design doc |
Gotchas & Known Issues
- Software PTP timestamping is less impressive. Mitigate by emphasizing the switch’s hardware boundary clock is the credible piece, endpoints can be software.
- MikroTik is not a broadcast-standard brand. Frame as “I understand Arista/Cisco are standard; I chose MikroTik for its PTP support at home lab budget.” r/VIDEOENGINEERING users confirmed MikroTik works for 2110 labs.
- 12G vs 3G distinction matters less than knowing SDI exists. Most broadcast is still 3G/HD. Having 12G capability shows awareness of UHD workflows without over-indexing on it.
- “Advanced streamer” vs “broadcast engineer” positioning. The st2110-healthmon tool and SDI bridge demo shift perception from “someone who streams” to “someone who builds facility tooling.”
Open Questions
- Should the GitHub repo be public from the start, or private until Phase 1 is complete?
- Is a demo video walkthrough worth producing for LinkedIn/portfolio?
- Which job boards and companies to target first?
- When should the 12G-SDI equipment be purchased relative to completing Phase 1 network build?