• 12G-SDI/3G-SDI I/O supports Multi-Channel HD or UltraHD as standard
• Bidirectional Encode/Decode/Transcode; NDI, H.265 (HEVC), H.264 (AVC, MPEG-4), H.262 (MPEG-2), JPEG 2000* (TR-01), and JPEG XS* (TR-07)
• Synchronous Multi-Channel / Multi-System Transport for SDI backhaul or Cloud Delivery
• Protocols; SRT, UDP, HLS, RTP, RTMP/S, MPTS (input)
• Transports; MPEG-TS, NDI, AVC-TS, Fragmented MP4
• NDI Multiple Discovery Server support
• Supports NDI Groups
• Multi bit rate/format distribution, ABR Ladder Profiles for OTT hand-off
• Selectable profiles for 12-bit, 10-bit and 8-bit, 4:2:2 and 4:2:0 depending on the codec
• Unmatched metadata capabilities including MPEG-2 ANC, SMPTE 2038, Ad insertion markers (SCTE-35/SCTE-104), CC/Subtitles (EIA-608/708, Line 21, H.264 SEI)
• Hitless Redundancy via ST 2022-7 and SRT 1.5.3
• HDR/SDR from SDI source to SDI destination in BRIDGE LIVE end-to-end configurations
• Remote WebUI or local GUI for easy administration, control, and operation.
• Monitoring, Control, and Automation supported via REST API or SNMP
• Turnkey 1RU rackmountable, enterprise class form factor
• Dual 10 GigE interface for control and transport
• Dual power supplies for critical application redundancy
• Three year warranty

*JPEG 2000 and JPEG XS I/O options are available as purchasable licenses. Full NDI, H.265, H.264, H.262, HLS, and RTMP I/O functionality is included with all BRIDGE LIVE systems.

Watch this video to learn more about BRIDGE LIVE. It includes a look at real time encode, decode, and transform capabilities of BRIDGE LIVE between 12G-SDI sources and destinations.

Workflows can also be built with pairs of BRIDGE LIVE systems to enable end-to-end SDI workflows supporting HDR and/or Synchronous Multi-Channel Transport.

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BRIDGE LIVE supports simultaneous bidirectional encoding and decoding with UltraHD, HD, and SD sources.

For example, with a pair of BRIDGE LIVE systems, a broadcast facility can receive three incoming encoded HD camera sources from a remote location and decode them back into SDI for editing and production while simultaneously providing an HD program return to the remote location.

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BRIDGE LIVE can take independent SDI source inputs and maintain their synchronous relationship while transporting the content to end-point destinations.

This functionality can take place between a pair of BRIDGE LIVE units for a synchronous end-to-end SDI workflow, often referred to as SDI backhaul or site-to-site SDI workflows.

BRIDGE LIVE’s synchronous Multi-Channel capability is also supported for cloud contribution, whereby a BRIDGE LIVE system can send to a cloud instance of Comprimato Live transcoder software for delivery to various platforms / cloud services as IP video.

Furthermore, Synchronous Multi-Channel Transport can be scaled up from a single BRIDGE LIVE pair to additional BRIDGE LIVE pairs to enable workflows where multiple BRIDGE LIVE systems can be receiving SDI and sending to multiple BRIDGE LIVE systems outputting SDI, all in synchronicity.

For end-to-end SDI workflows, HDR is also supported.

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Use BRIDGE LIVE in conjunction with multiple third party systems and software to achieve your workflow requirements as they evolve. Additionally, AJA’s own HELO Plus can be used for contribution or aggregation with BRIDGE LIVE.

For more details about how BRIDGE LIVE facilitates REMI, Contribution, Collaboration, Streaming, and Delivery, explore BRIDGE LIVE Workflows and Compatibilities further down this page.

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BRIDGE LIVE fully supports both Closed Captioning and additional metadata which is often a neglected feature set with with other encode/decode solutions. 

BRIDGE LIVE supports:

• MPEG-2 ancillary packet support, SMPTE ST 2038
• SDR/HDR Transfer Characteristics, Colorimetry, Luminance via SDI
• SCTE-35/SCTE-104 Ad insertion markers
• CEA-608/CEA-708 Closed Captioning
• Timecode
• Embedding Closed Captioning/Subtitles into H.264 SEI messages
• Metadata pass-through
• Electronic Program Guide (EPG) on input
• SEI timecode insertion

BRIDGE LIVE can be configured for low latency and/or high quality tasks. BRIDGE LIVE gives you the tools to move content and deliver according to your workflow needs.  

BRIDGE LIVE supported Protocols

• HLS
• RTP
• RTMP
• RTMPS (output)
• SRT
• UDP
• MPTS (input)
• JPEG 2000 (VSF-TR01)
• JPEG XS (VSF-TR07)
• ABR Ladder Profiles for delivery

BRIDGE LIVE supported Transports

• MPEG-TS
• NDI
• AVC-TS
• Fragmented MP4

BRIDGE LIVE supported Audio

• AAC-LC (ADTS, LATM)
• AAC-HE
• AC3
• E-AC3 (input)
• Dolby-E Passthrough
• MPEG-2 Audio
• NDI (uncompressed float)
• Uncompressed PCM (Multi-Channel)

BRIDGE LIVE supports the following configurations for encoding and decoding between SDI and streaming formats as standard. Multiple streams/formats/destinations can be derived from a single SDI input.

NDI:

• 8-bit or 10-bit
• 4:2:2
• Up to 4x simultaneous 60p HD encodes/decodes or 1x 30p UltraHD encode/decode to/from SDI
• NDI Inputs can be received, transcoded, and output as IP Video Streams
• IP Video Inputs can be received, transcoded, and output as NDI Streams

H.265 (HEVC):

• 8-bit or 10-bit
• 4:2:0
• Up to 4x simultaneous 60p HD encodes/decodes or 1x 60p / 2x 30p UltraHD encode/decode to/from SDI
• SRT, RTMP and MPEG-TS protocol support

H.264 (AVC):

• 8-bit or 10-bit
• 4:2:0 or 4:2:2
• Up to 2x simultaneous 60p 4:2:2, 10-bit HD encodes/decodes or 1x 30p UltraHD encode/decode to/from SDI
• Up to 4x simultaneous 60p HD encodes/decodes or 1x 60p / 2x 30p UltraHD encode/decode to/from SDI
• SRT, RTMP and MPEG-TS protocol support

H.262 (MPEG-2):

• 8-bit
• 4:2:0
• Up to 4x simultaneous 30p/60i HD encodes/decodes or up to 2x simultaneous 60p HD encodes/decodes to/from SDI with an HQ option
• SRT, RTMP and MPEG-TS protocol support

BRIDGE LIVE capabilities can be optionally expanded to include high quality JPEG 2000 encoding and decoding.

JPEG 2000 (TR-01)

• 10-bit
• 4:2:2
• Up to 4x simultaneous 60p HD encodes (80-220Mbps) or 1x 60p / 2x 30p UltraHD encode/decode (up to 800Mbs)
• SRT and MPEG-TS protocol support

$1,499 US MSRP per HD Channel

$5,499 US MSRP per UltraHD/four-channel HD

BRIDGE LIVE supports up to 4x 3G-SDI simultaneously for Multi-Channel HD, or 2x 6G-SDI / 1x 12G-SDI for UltraHD I/O in 1RU. Dual 10 GigE ports provide network connectivity, and dual power supplies provide peace of mind.

Administration, monitoring, and access to BRIDGE LIVE is supported via either a network browser or local DisplayPort. Indirect agnostic monitoring and automation are supported via both REST API and SNMP.

BRIDGE LIVE optional annual maintenance purchase provides:

• Software and Hardware Technical Support via Phone, Email, and Remote Desktop
• Advanced Replacement
• All new software features, updates, and bug fixes*
• Priority bug fixes and feature requests

Optional Annual Maintenance for BRIDGE LIVE is $1,995 MSRP per year

*Critical bug fixes will be provided for all BRIDGE LIVE customers at no charge.

For broadcast, BRIDGE LIVE provides an efficient mechanism for backhauling remote live SDI video sources to the media production facility in order to be converted back to SDI and made available on the internal facility SDI router for ongoing production/transmission.

Traditional secure lines for remote production can be very expensive, with additional fees being charged for time before and after production starts and ends. BRIDGE LIVE allows source cameras and local program out to be transported using publicly available internet, with no penalty for early or extended use during production. BRIDGE LIVE also offers lower latency than traditional secure lines for time critical productions.

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Production and Post: Connecting remote artists and clients using reference quality video or providing a high quality window into production for those who cannot be on-set.

BRIDGE LIVE means the flexibility to leave media and equipment at the secure, managed facility and have creative talent work together remotely with reference quality video.

BRIDGE LIVE compliments existing GUI driving technologies (e.g. RDP, Teradici) by layering on the reference quality video needed for creative confidence and client/executive sign-off. Choices between H.265 (4:2:0, 10-bit), H.264 (4:2:2, 10-bit) with turnkey BRIDGE LIVE, or via optional licenses for JPEG 2000 (4:2:2, 10-bit) and JPEG XS (4:2:0, 10-bit), means there is choice and flexibility in how to approach your needs in terms of quality and latency. (JPEG 2000 and JPEG-XS require an optional license available from AJA)

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BRIDGE LIVE also offers the flexibility to tap video from on-set recording devices and stream the output of cameras (over a secure private line with encryption), providing a high quality window into production for those who cannot be on-set.

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BRIDGE LIVE can be used to connect two geographically separated NDI production teams via public internet.

For example, a studio or event location could be sending the feeds from three NDI cameras to an NDI production or post facility, which can distribute those sources as both NDI and SDI while also returning a program feed back to the studio location.

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For Studios and Broadcast applications, BRIDGE LIVE facilitates primary distribution of finished and mastered content to partners for subsequent streaming to audiences.

BRIDGE LIVE can provide ABR ladder profiles or hand-offs for OTT packaging. For example, encoding to H.264 or H.265 for hand-off with ABR ladder profiles, including pointing the ladder profile directly to a local packager or CDN.

BRIDGE LIVE can also provide multi-format/rate/bit rate material via HLS. The combined outputs within the HLS stream are presented as a “playlist,” meaning that devices (e.g., phones or tablets) or software (e.g., web browsers) can pull a particular format, frame rate, and bit rate based on the device characteristics and the current connectivity. 

Note that this is not a Push model. If conditions change (e.g. available bit rate), then the receiving device can elect to consume a different format/frame rate/bit rate. However, multi variants are chunked, so if a player switches to a different resolution, it must start downloading a new chunk, and this may result in a spinning wheel – since chunks are 10 seconds in length. The best way to deliver HLS with BRIDGE LIVE is to provide the pre-packed video to a CDN. This means many end-point devices can utilize the content simultaneously. HLS could be sent to a local network in a studio or on-set to enable iPads and iPhones to receive and monitor (provided the devices have network access to BRIDGE LIVE). However, in this situation, the number of simultaneous consumers will need to be kept low (under 10) to avoid exceeding the reliable operation of BRIDGE LIVE.

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Telcos, IPTV, and cable operators are often presented with an SDI source, or a live event or live production, which is needed as a simple MPEG-Transport Stream with H.264/H.262 encode. The delivered stream may be required for further processing (storage, production) or else be streamed directly to an IPTV/Cable network.

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