An apparatus for transmitting real-time video using wavelength division multiplexing. The apparatus may include an input, a transceiver, and processing circuitry. The input may receive at least native video data. The transceiver may transmit transport blocks via an optical transport link defining a plurality of optical channels using wavelength division multiplexing. The processing circuitry may be operatively coupled to the input and transceiver. The processing circuitry may be configured to receive a video frame of native video data from the encoder input and generate a transport block including a video segment of the video frame. The processing circuitry may further be configured to transmit the transport block including the video segment on an optical channel assigned to the apparatus using the transceiver.