Makito X4 is Official Video Encoder of MiLB, supporting low latency live game video contribution, production and distribution workflows across a network of 120 teams and parks.
Haivision's Makito X4 has been named the Official Video Encoder of Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as part of a new technology partnership that will support the league's live game video contribution, production and distribution workflows across its national network of 120 teams and ballparks.
As part of this partnership, MiLB will deploy Makito X4 video encoders across the network, enabling a standardised, ultra-low latency contribution layer for live game capture, transport and distribution to fans, teams and broadcasters.
Performance, Low-Latency, Operational Control
"Haivision brings the performance, low-latency and operational control we need to support live video at the scale of Minor League Baseball," said Daniel Blanchard, Vice President, Media Operations at Major League Baseball.
"The Makito video encoder will play a key role in video contribution from Minor League Baseball stadiums for the delivery of over 8,000 games each season for streaming and TV. Haivision's expertise in low-latency live video transport, including its development of SRT and video encoding technology give us the reliability, visibility and control required to operate a nationwide live production environment."
The Makito X4 Encoder supports resolutions up to 4K UHD or up to four simultaneous HD sources, and works well for live broadcast contribution, especially in applications concerned with image quality. Encoding is done with 4:2:2 chroma subsampling, supporting remote production, and 10-bit pixel depths with wide colour gamut are in place for HDR video (PQ or HLG).
Another advantage is ease of use, given the large number of diverse teams, events and ballparks. The Makito X4 Encoders are simple to set up through the UI, which displays thumbnails for stream monitoring with real-time statistics. Accessible through a browser, they allow remote configuration and encoding and streaming control, as well as the use of presets.
End-to-End Latency and Real-time Processing
In situations where end-to-end latency must stay as low as possible, the Makito X4’s engine can encode and stream content in real-time, and support both HEVC and H.264 codecs with eight encoding cores. Compact and power efficient, its four 3G-SDI inputs, plus ST 2110 support with NMOS integration, means it can process a single 4K/UHD or up to four 1080p HD sources simultaneously. It also makes the Makito a good choice when live content needs to reach multiple destinations at varying bitrates, codecs and resolutions.
Regarding transport, the Makito X4 natively supports Haivision’s SRT streaming protocol, enabling low latency streaming regardless of jitter, bandwidth fluctuations and packet loss. AES-128/256 encryption is also available via SRT.
All encoded video streams are kept in sync, even when transporting live feeds across Internet and other IP networks. The Makito X4 Encoder embeds timestamps into outgoing streams, which the Makito X4 Decoder then uses to synchronise the frames before outputting to SDI. This ability makes multi-camera remote production possible over IP networks, and can reduce the need for on-site resources.
Aggregate and Route Feeds
Minor League Baseball operates one of the most geographically-distributed live sports production environments in professional sports with, as mentioned above, more than 120 ballparks delivering over 8,000 games per season. On peak days, MiLB manages more than 60 simultaneous live feeds, all moving through an automated, cloud-based production and distribution workflow.
In the course of modernising its live video infrastructure, the league adopted the video protocol SRT to stabilise long-haul transport from resource-constrained venues, improving the consistency and reliability of live streams. Haivision SRT Gateway is used to aggregate and route feeds through MiLB's data centres in New Jersey and Denver, forming a resilient transport foundation for its cloud workflows.
Acting as a network bridge, Haivision SRT Gateway converts directly and in real time between protocols and maintains uninterrupted, high-quality live IP video streaming between network environments, owing to Haivision’s Path Redundancy feature.
From a cloud or on-premises installation, streams can be optimised to specific networks without affecting video quality and latency, which facilitate live streaming over complex video workflows including remote contribution, backhaul, return feeds, bi-directional interviews, and content distribution.
Standardising Live Video Contribution
Building on that foundation, MiLB selected Makito X4 to standardise live video contribution across its Minor League Baseball broadcast ecosystem. The video encoders will deliver live game feeds into MiLB's cloud-based production environment, where they are prepared for distribution to MiLB.TV, MLB Network, parent Major League clubs and third-party broadcast partners. This unified workflow connects fans to successive generations of players, supports player development, and enables professional broadcast distribution at a national scale.
Haivision's live video contribution ecosystem – running on cloud-based Haivision Hub 360 master control – gives the performance, control and operational visibility MiLB needs to operate at this scale. Latency is kept to a minimum video while monitoring, automation and remote management are centralised across their nationwide network of venues.
Preview thumbnails are displayed in a multi-viewer of all live video sources and destinations along with real-time statistics. As system administrators, users can allocate the right equipment to people running live events, and monitor incoming video streams, immediately changing settings if needed. On quite a granular account management level, Hub 360 users can group specific devices and assign users to the appliances required to contribute live video to each production workflow.
Phased Rollout
"Minor League Baseball is operating one of the most demanding live video ecosystems in professional sports, on a scale that requires technology that is proven, resilient and built for continuous operation," said Colin Coyle, SVP of Sales at Haivision. "With Makito X4, MiLB is gaining a standardised, ultra-low latency contribution platform designed to support thousands of live games each season."
The deployment of Makito X4 across Minor League Baseball is scheduled to begin during the 2026 season, with a phased rollout across ballparks as part of MiLB's broader live video infrastructure refresh. As the league continues to evolve its cloud-based production and distribution workflows, Haivision will serve as a key technology partner in supporting reliable, ultra-low latency, and broadcast-quality live video delivery across the entire Minor League Baseball ecosystem. www.haivision.com
