NETGEAR Enterprise will make the European debut of its Align Controller at IBC2026, alongside an expanded broadcast partner ecosystem and switching portfolio, on booth 8.A59 at RAI Amsterdam from September 11-14.
The Align Controller, NETGEAR’s first dedicated AV platform, debuted at InfoComm 2026 and begins shipping in September 2026. Described as the open layer above the switch, it consolidates network management and precision timing with network services and cloud connectivity in a single device, combining functions that previously required separate boxes: a host for NETGEAR’s Engage configuration software, a grandmaster clock, network services and a cloud proxy. The platform supports AES67, PTPv2, SMPTE ST 2110 and gPTP AVB, and hosts Engage for local or remote configuration of AVoIP networks.
Underpinning the platform is NETGEAR’s certified profile ecosystem, covering 45 of the most widely used AV and broadcast protocols and more than 626 manufacturing partners, including Lawo, EVS, Ross Video, ACT Entertainment, Grass Valley, Riedel and Clear-Com. Each profile preconfigures the switch for its protocol, aiming to bring supported devices onto the network without engineers having to manually build VLAN, timing and QoS configurations.
Also on display will be NETGEAR’s M4350 switching portfolio, including the M4350-16M4V, which combines ruggedised Neutrik locking connectors with 16 x 2.5G PoE++ ports and a modular interface card slot shipping with 4 x 25G SFP28 uplinks, and the M4350-16C, offering 16 ports of 100G connectivity for aggregation and core layers. Both are available for immediate delivery, alongside NETGEAR’s M4250 line for smaller AV and broadcast deployments.
Richard Jonker, VP commercial business development at NETGEAR Enterprise, said: “We’ve got certified profiles for the 45 protocols the broadcast industry uses most often, and more than 600 manufacturers build on those. Chances are the gear you’re already running runs on one of them. But the most anticipated product at our booth is the NETGEAR Align Controller: it’s an open platform, and third-party developers can build applications for it, so it grows along with you.”
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