Happy Birthday to Bridge! This year they’ll be making IBC a party to remember…

As shared by thefuture.tv

Looking back and looking forward

20 years ago, four young men with a glint in their eye and a mission in their minds set about founding a small broadcast technology firm in Norway. The vision on which they founded their future could well have come straight from a crystal ball, it was that clear, sharp and compelling: IP was the future of broadcast.

20 years later and that vision has become a firm reality, not just for Bridge Technologies but for the industry as a whole. As far back as 2016, IBC instigated the IP showcase – of which Bridge are annual contributors, recognised as the industry’s leading ‘IP evangelists’.

But the market has reached an interesting paradox: these days IP is treated as if it’s the accepted standard – a trend that no longer dominates headlines because it’s accepted that it isn’t the future, it’s right here, right now. But at the same time, the reality is that IP and OTT are only part of the picture: terrestrial, cable and satellite still have a significant role to play. Whilst IBC likes to focus on positioning itself as an opportunity to discover the latest trends, in reality a good deal of the business conducted at IBC is meat and potatoes. It just so happens that these days, IP and OTT are now more firmly on the dinner plate: they’re the prime rib of the broadcast world.

Shifting markets, shifting needs

So as Bridge celebrates its 20^th year, they recognise that their role in the industry has changed subtly. There is less need to encourage broadcasters to consider the benefits of IP: those are already well established. But there is a stronger need to find ways to support that transition for firms in every corner of the industry. Now it’s not just about the goal, but the path there – meaning additional support for those working with hybrid systems and more gradual transitions to IP.

Which all combines to mean that this year, Bridge’s booth (1.A71) will present a more interesting spread than ever: combining the kind of technological innovations that make IBC headlines, with the kind of solid developments which make a meaningful difference to broadcasters and the performance of their networks on a day-to-day basis.

Birthday presents for everyone

In the field of production, Bridge will be demonstrating how they still lead the pack in ST 2110 innovations. Their unique production probe – the VB440 – will see a move to its Mk4 iteration, which will boast two 200gig interfaces, as well as improved processing and memory. In terms of functionality, new additions such as the Canvas interface – a fully customisable workspace in which users can add and group any number of readouts, graphs and scopes, video previews and audio tools to suit their own workflow – will highlight the revolutionary nature of the production probe, capable of facilitating remote, distributed production for creatives and engineers alike, for up to eight users from anywhere in the world. Audio engineers will also be particularly interested in the upgrades made to the supported Dolby™ and SMPTE standards and speaker control recently added to the VB440.

In the field of distribution – be that RF, IPTV multicast or OTT/ABR – Bridge will be showcasing their new StreamOverview feature; a single page addition to the VB330 which provides first and second-line engineers at-a-glance insight into the performance of a single channel. This compliments the existing extensive, deep-dive analytics of the probe, providing an alternative ‘quick access’ overview which adapts according to whether the stream in question is RF, IPTV multicast or OTT/ABR, and allows engineers to quickly assess and troubleshoot problems as and when they occur.

RF specific support will also be on display with upgrades to the VB258 and VB278, along with Bridge’s unique, Microbitrate analytics for IP-based distribution. At every level of the market, and for every network configuration, Bridge Technologies offers the means to monitor at any level of detail, all with the goal of helping broadcasters to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency in their operations, both day-to-day and at the strategic C-suite level.

Let there be cake. And champagne!

Of course, for it to be a birthday celebration there needs to be more than just new product developments. With a pole position in Hall One, Bridge will be in a celebratory mood and engaging in their normal levels of IBC revelry, with after-show drinks, guest boat rides and awards show attendance. So, why not stop by to say Happy Birthday, and stay to discover what Bridge Technologies has in store for the year ahead (and twenty more…).