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This year brought a beautiful mix of energies. New faces arrived with wide eyed curiosity, and alumni came back once again, choosing to fly south for the third year in a row! Every return felt a small celebration. Not only of the week itself, but of the relationships built along the way.
Uruguay is no longer just the backdrop, it has become part of the experience. The warmth, the hospitality, the culture it all has a special way of bringing people closer, effortlessly.
Innovation Track: A Pause to Think Together
Before the full week officially began, we opened with something special: the Innovation Track. It was designed for a smaller group of campers staying the whole week, with a clear purpose to create a meaningful pause and take a fresh look at the industry.
Led by Andy Beach and JP, the Innovation Track invited us to explore how innovation isn’t only about creating new products. It's also about addressing the growing complexity of how we connect data, tools, and systems throughout the video chain about making things flow better to unlock their full potential.
It became a powerful space that helped establish a shared language and a deeper sense of trust, even before the full group arrived. The conversations that began during those two days continued to evolve and later took shape as the Athanor Manifesto, a collaborative working paper reflecting on where MediaTech stands today and how we can build more durable systems together.
Technical depth, shared freely
As the week unfolded, the technical energy became one of the strongest signals of this edition. From tech talks to lightning talks and working sessions, the conversations felt both high level and deeply grounded in engineering challenges.
This was the kind of learning that only happens when people feel safe to be curious, to ask honest questions, and to build on each other’s ideas.
Summer Projects: building with purpose
Summer Projects is where that shared energy turns into tangible contributions to the video tech ecosystem. Led by Nicolás Levy, Fabián Cancela and Emil Santurio, teams worked hand-in-hand with technical sponsors and industry leaders to ensure that what had been built over the past three months was both useful and relevant.
This year’s milestones were a true reflection of that commitment:
SMPTE AI Copilot:
The SMPTE AI Copilot addressed a different challenge: how to make complex multimedia archives more accessible and usable. The team built a working proof of concept that enables natural language querying across large collections, returning source-grounded answers while respecting access rules and metadata integrity.
The intention was to support professionals who work daily with scale and complexity, offering tools that help navigate archives more fluidly as AI becomes part of the workflow.
GitHub: SMPTE Copilot
MoQ (Media over QUIC):
Building on last year’s moq-js foundation, the MoQ project focused on bringing Media over QUIC closer to everyday workflows. The team explored how HLS and DASH packaging can connect into MoQ-based delivery, while modularizing transport, WebCodecs, and MSE playback. This included enabling direct streaming from OBS, helping bridge familiar production tools with emerging MoQ pipelines.
The goal was not to showcase a protocol, but to lower barriers. To give developers a clearer path to explore real-time and low-latency media workflows on open infrastructure.
GitHub: Media over QUIC
These projects were not just about output. they were about how we build: openly, collaboratively, and with a strong belief that community grows stronger when we build together. Special thanks to Andy Beach, Mike English, Luke Curley, and the entire SMPTE team who took part.
You can check out the demos here: Youtube Montevideo Tech.
Opening our doors: When collaboration becomes real
We also had the privilege of welcoming several of our clients into our home at Qualabs. Teams that usually collaborate remotely were suddenly working side by side. We shared meals, co-worked in the same space, and experienced what partnership feels when it becomes personal and human.
It created a different kind of closeness. The office felt brighter. The relationships felt stronger. And the entire week felt more connected than ever before.
Closing the circle
We wrapped up the week in true Uruguayan style, with an asado and a circle of gratitude.
In that moment, everything felt incredibly clear. Having people travel from all over the world to spend a week with us is a privilege we deeply cherish. And seeing friendships form so naturally across roles, companies, and cultures, is the kind of outcome that stays with you.
We left Summer Camp 2026 with full hearts, new stories, and renewed energy. We didn’t just share a week, we strengthened a community that will continue long after the return flights home. 💚
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