Developing tools that answer customer needs today and provide them with the functionality they require to support emerging workflows has always been a top priority at AJA Video Systems, which celebrated its 30th birthday last year. The tradition continues with BRIDGE LIVE, the IP video workflow multi-channel transcoder, freshly enhanced through a v1.16 update that yields a myriad of new features.
BRIDGE LIVE’s original development took place against the backdrop of an industry gradually moving away from legacy video connectivity formats, such as SDI, towards the flexibility of IP. “We’ve closely monitored the growth of many different IP transport protocols,” confirms AJA senior product manager Mike Boucke. “While single-channel signal conversion between SDI and codecs like H.264 or NDI have proven common, we saw a gap in the market. There was a huge demand for a flexible multi-channel, multi-codec SDI endpoint product that could also provide IP to IP transcoding, so in 2020 we released our single 1RU appliance, BRIDGE LIVE.”
Since the launch of this product four years ago, AJA has continued to add further functionality through firmware updates, acknowledging that the video requirements of pro-AV and broadcast continue to diversify and evolve. So, in addition to integrating NDI bi-directional capabilities, 4K NDI output at 60 fps, and input support for more than 100 NDI sources into the device, AJA has added support for other codecs and protocols through the introduction of optional perpetual JPEG XS I/O licenses, a new RTMP input, and synchronous multi-channel transport for SDI backhaul for cloud contribution and HLS compatibility.
With v1.16, BRIDGE LIVE has been further enhanced with “exciting new features and under-the-hood improvements,” says Boucke. AJA has upgraded the operating system to Rocky Linux 9 – providing a long-term, stable release platform – while SRT has been upgraded to v1.5.3. The device can now also facilitate redundant paths over the public internet, providing critical signals with the stability of a second path and ensuring the original signal is recreated at the receiver.
Other developments include an update to BRIDGE LIVE’s NDI capabilities to facilitate multiple Discovery server support, while both the audio and metadata have received important updates with Dolby E passthrough, AAC-HE encode/decode, and Timecode insertion in SEI for H.264 and HEVC.
FUTURE FLEXIBILITY
Invited to consider the principal USP (unique selling proposition) of BRIDGE LIVE from the perspective of the pro-AV systems integrator and end-user, Boucke does not hesitate to underline flexibility – and specifically, the ability to amend and update IP-based video streaming capabilities as new requirements emerge.
“We built BRIDGE LIVE with the goal of helping customers adapt to shifting deliverables and codecs as IP workflows evolve,” he confirms. “Its large codec library for video, audio and metadata ensures the technology can support an ever-increasing variety of IP workflows, while we’re continuously monitoring the market and customer feedback to see what other emerging codecs we can also establish support for.”
BRIDGE LIVE’s support for a wide range of codecs now employed in fixed install environments – including H.264, HEVC, NDI, RTMP, HLS and SRT – is one of its greatest strengths. Boucke adds, “The device also includes four bi-directional 12G-SDI ports, audio support for AAC, Dolby E, Dolby D, Closed Captions and SCTE triggers. This ensures we can provide customers with a focused combination of codecs, which can scale on demand.”
EASY CHOICE
BRIDGE LIVE’s flexibility and feature-set has helped it find favour for installations in houses of worship, sports arenas, government facilities, corporate environments, and broadcast facilities. And as IP workflows continue to evolve, BRIDGE LIVE is expected to prove even more popular among pro-AV customers keen to reduce workflow complexities and ensure they have a long-term streaming solution.
“Its enterprise-class stability, dual power supplies, and secure transport capabilities via SRT and RTMP make it an easy choice,” says Boucke. “With so many IP options, it’s becoming more challenging for live stream productions to adapt to these shifts and ultimately deliver what’s needed. We see a strong future for BRIDGE LIVE in providing a solution for professionals as the IP codec market continues to broaden.”
For further information, please visit https://www.aja.com/products/
