AJA Video Systems Inc BRIDGE NDI 3G Operating instructions

BRIDGE NDI 3G
Conversion Gateway Appliance
Version 1.7
Published March 20, 2023
Installation and Operation Guide

BRIDGE NDI 3G Conversion Gateway Appliance v1.7 2 www.aja.com
Notices
Trademarks
AJA® and Because it matters.® are registered trademarks of AJA Video Systems, Inc.
for use with most AJA products. AJA™ is a trademark of AJA Video Systems, Inc. for
use with recorder, router, software and camera products. Because it matters.™ is a
trademark of AJA Video Systems, Inc. for use with camera products.
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AJA Video Systems, Inc.
AJA Control Room™, KiStor™, Science of the Beautiful™, TruScale™, V2Analog™ and
V2Digital™ are trademarks of AJA Video Systems, Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Copyright
Copyright © 2023 AJA Video Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. All information in
this manual is subject to change without notice. No part of the document may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying or recording, without the express written permission of AJA
Video Systems, Inc.
Contacting AJA Support
When calling for support, have all information at hand prior to calling. To contact AJA
for sales or support, use any of the following methods:
Telephone [phone]
FAX [phone]
Web https://www.aja.com
Support Email suppor[email protected]
Sales Email [email protected]

BRIDGE NDI 3G Conversion Gateway Appliance v1.7 3 www.aja.com
Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Trademarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Contacting AJA Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 1 – Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Real World Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
AV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Broadcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Corporate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Post . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Technical Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Engines and Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Grouping Channels within a Bank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Input and Output Congurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Network Capabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Media vs Control Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Unicast Supported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
NDI Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chassis Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chassis Front. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chassis Power Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chassis Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Cabling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Rear Panel Power Supply LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
BRIDGE NDI 3G User Interface Displays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Remote Web Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Local Kiosk Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter 2 – Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Quick Start Guide Login Credentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Hardware Installation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Hardware Installation Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Rack Mounting the Chassis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Connecting SDI Sources and/or Destinations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
External Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Initial Network Connection to BRIDGE NDI 3G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Network Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Media (Network 1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Control (Network 2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Wireless Workows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Initial Workow Conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Initial Conguration Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
BRIDGE NDI 3G System Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Accept EULA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Admin Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
To Change the Admin Password. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
System Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
To Change the System Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
System Date/Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Contents

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Factory Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Performing a Factory Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Updating Software/Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Download the Latest BRIDGE NDI 3G Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Unpack BRIDGE NDI 3G Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Updating BRIDGE NDI 3G from a Remote System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Updating BRIDGE NDI 3G with a USB Connected Storage Device. . . . . 20
Safeboot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Entering Safe Boot Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Using REST API. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Chapter 3 – Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Accessing the BRIDGE NDI 3GI User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
To Access the BRIDGE NDI 3G Interface Remotely. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
BRIDGE NDI 3G User Interface Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Dynamic User Interface Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
User Interface Screen Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Video Tiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Color Coding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Menu Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
I/O Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Source/Destination Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Status Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
System Settings Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
User Management Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Channels/Groups Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Status Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Connection Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Network (AJA Devices) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
I/O Screen Detailed Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Variety of Bank Views Available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Changing Conversion Direction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Individual Channel or Group Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Source/Destination Screen Detailed Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Active Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Subscribe to NDI Sources for Specic Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Encode/Decode Indicated by Blue/Orange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
NDI Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Working with NDI Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Discovering NDI Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Search for NDI Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Filter NDI Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Make an NDI Source a Favorite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Label an NDI Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Status Screen Detailed Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
System Health and Network Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Network Activity Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
System Settings Screen Detailed Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
System Details. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
System Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
System Date/Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Resources Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
System Control Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
User Management Screen Detailed Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
To Change the Admin Password. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Channels/Groups Screen Detailed Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Control Bar Detailed Description. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Control Bar Quick Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Control Bar – Monitoring Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

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Video Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Overlays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Audio Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Control Bar – Video Setup Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Engine Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Bank Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Channel/Group Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
SDI Output Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Control Bar – Audio Setup Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Audio Reference Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Audio Channel Number Default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Control Bar – Presets Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Control Bar – Cabling Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Cabling Considerations and Changing Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chapter 4 – Workow Conguration Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Get Up and Running with BRIDGE NDI 3G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Determining Encoding vs. Decoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Changing SDI>NDI Encoding and NDI>SDI Decoding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Minimizing Resources As Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Disabling SDI Output (NDI to SDI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Disabling NDI Output (SDI to NDI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Individual Channel/Group Decoding NDI to SDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Individual Video Tile Control Panel (NDI to SDI). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Individual Channel/Group Encoding SDI to NDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Individual Video Tile Control Panel (SDI to NDI). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
SDI to NDI Encoding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
SDI to NDI Encoding for HD Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
SDI to NDI Encoding for 4K/UltraHD Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
2SI LFR and HFR Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Square Division Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
SDI to NDI Encoding for Video + Key Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
NDI to SDI Decoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
About NDI Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Methods of Discovering NDI Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
NDI to SDI Decoding for HD Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Selecting an NDI Source from the NDI Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Conguring Banks for HD, V+K, 4K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Buer and Latency Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Buer Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
NDI Frame Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Simultaneous SDI Encoding and NDI Decoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Plan in Advance for SDI Cabling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Example of Simultaneous Encoding and Decoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Leverage the Presets Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Chapter 5 – Interoperability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
NDI Sources Compatible with BRIDGE NDI 3G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
NDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
NDI – Test Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
NDI – Screen Capture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Live Stream Software (OBS, vMix, Wirecast) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
OBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
vMix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Wirecast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
NLE Software (Adobe, Final Cut Pro, Avid) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Adobe After Eects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Adobe Premiere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Apple Final Cut Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Avid Media Composer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Cameras. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
iPhone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

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Wi-Fi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Single Channel SDI to NDI Converters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Presentation Software (ProPresenter, Resolume Arena, VLC) . . . . . . . . . 77
ProPresenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Arena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
VLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
NDI Receivers Compatible with BRIDGE NDI 3G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Single-View Monitor Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Newtek NDI Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Sienna NDI Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
KILOVIEW – MultiView. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Live Stream Software (OBS, Wirecast, vMix) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
OBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Wirecast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
vMix. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Single Channel NDI-SDI Converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
NewTek Connect Spark Plus I/O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Chapter 6 – Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Using Refresh Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Refresh App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Refresh Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Checking Network Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Appendix A – Specications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
BRIDGE NDI 3G Tech Specs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Appendix B – Safety and Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Warranty and Liability Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

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Chapter 1 – Introduction
Overview
BRIDGE NDI 3G is a 1RU gateway offering high density conversion to and from SDI
to NDI and NDI to SDI for UltraHD/4K, HD, and SD signals. Designed to drop into
any existing NDI or SDI workflow as a plug and play appliance, BRIDGE NDI 3G is
easy to deploy and administer.
BRIDGE NDI 3G brings immense conversion power and flexibility, fully
controllable remotely for AV use, security and surveillance, broadcast, eSports,
entertainment venues, and a wide range of other facilities needing high quality,
efficient NDI encode and decode. Set and forget, or use more dynamically as
project needs dictate.
BRIDGE NDI 3G can support workflows across:
• 16 channels of HD and SD
• 4 channels of 4K/UltraHD
• 8 V+K channel pairs
• combinations of the above
NOTE: Total channel count and/or supportable rates may be reduced in some situations,
due to network conditions, video processing load, and other parameters.
NOTE: In this manual and the BRIDGE NDI 3G UI the term ‘HD’ can refer to all SDI
formats from SD to 3Gb.
Features
• 3G-SDI I/O supports 16-channels of SD through 3Gb or 4-channels of 4K/
UltraHD up to 60p as standard
• Bidirectional encode/decode SDI to NDI, NDI to SDI, with a combination of SD
through 3Gb or 4K/UltraHD video
• Confidence monitoring
• Supports both NDI 5 and NDI 4
• Discovery Server Compatible
• Selectable NDI encode profiles for 8-bit and 16-bit, 4:2:2
• Buffer controls for low latency tuning
• Video and Key support
• Progressive and Interlaced video support
• 16-channel audio support
• Timecode support across VITC1, VITC2, LTC, and Time-of-Day
• Remote WebUI or local GUI for easy administration, control, and operation
• Turnkey 1RU rackmountable, enterprise-class form factor
• Dual 10GigE interface for control and transport
• Dual power supplies for critical application redundancy
• Three year warranty

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Real World Applications
The BRIDGE NDI 3G's 1-RU high SDI channel density chassis, simultaneous
SDI to NDI and NDI to SDI conversion, wide variety of supported SDI formats,
and intuitive UI capabilities makes it ideally suited for the many real world
applications.
AV
• eSports
• Conference Video
• Display walls (events, buildings)
Broadcast
• Production Control Rooms
• In-studio
• Temporary Production/Post expansions (rapid deployment of extra capability
with little outlay or complexity)
Corporate
• MS Teams
• Video Communications
Production
• On-set monitoring distribution
Post
• Share SDI channels between numerous NDI enabled NLEs
• Cost effective video monitoring
Technical Description
Engines and Banks
Engines control whether BRIDGE NDI 3G is converting SDI to NDI, or NDI to SDI,
whereas Banks control the configuration of the Inputs or Outputs (Channels or
Groups).
BRIDGE NDI 3G's internal signal processing is structured as two Engines and four
Banks. Engine A is associated with Banks 1 and 2, while Engine B is associated
with Banks 3 and 4. Each Bank has four bi-directional SDI channels with
corresponding small Din 1.0/2.3 slip-on connections on the rear of the chassis.
• Bank 1 consists of Channels 1, 2, 3, 4 (Engine A)
• Bank 2 consists of Channels 5, 6, 7, 8 (Engine A)
• Bank 3 consists of Channels 9, 10, 11, 12 (Engine B)
• Bank 4 consists of Channels 13, 14, 15, 16 (Engine B).
Each Engine also has an external reference connector.

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Each Engine can be configured to either convert SDI to NDI, or NDI to SDI. Each
Bank determines the configuration of the Inputs or Outputs (Channels or Groups)
of that Bank's rear SDI connectors.
Grouping Channels within a Bank
Each Bank can be independently configured for one of the following:
• Four separate HD Inputs or Outputs
• Two Video and Key Input or Output pairs (two groups)
• One 4K/UltraHD Input or Output (one group)
NOTE: Groups cannot span multiple Banks.
Input and Output Configurations
If both Engines are set to convert in the same direction (SDI to NDI, or NDI to SDI),
then all four Banks will be available for a total of up to 16x individual HD channels,
4x 4K/UltraHD Groups, or 8x V+K Groups, or some combination thereof.
If one Engine is set to convert SDI to NDI, and the other Engine is set to convert
NDI to SDI, then there will be two Banks available in each direction, for a total of
up to 8x individual HD channels In and Out, 2x 4K/UltraHD Groups In and Out, or
4x V+K Groups In and Out, or some combination thereof.
Network Capabilities
BRIDGE NDI 3G ships configured for DHCP operation.
Media vs Control Networks
BRIDGE NDI 3G is equipped with two internal Network Interface Cards (NICs), each
10GigE capable, supporting simultaneous operation over two separate networks
(Media and Control).
The Media Network can be a dedicated NDI network that carries just the NDI
traffic. If you are working in a single network environment, you can use the Media
Network for both NDI traffic and system control.
Using a separate Control Network allows you to connect your BRIDGE NDI 3G to a
general facility network without the concern of swamping that network with high
bandwidth NDI signals. This method allows you to safely access BRIDGE NDI 3G
from anywhere in your facility or Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Unicast Supported
BRIDGE NDI 3G supports Unicast. Multicast is not supported.
NDI Support
BRIDGE NDI 3G is compatible for NDI input (receive) and output (transmit)
with both NDI 4.x and NDI 5.x software/hardware. For NDI input, NDI HX is also
supported.
Chassis Description
The BRIDGE NDI 3G has a 1RU height rack mountable chassis with hot swappable
redundant power supplies.

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Chassis Front
Figure 1. BRIDGE NDI 3G Chassis Front View
Cooling Airow Entrance Power Switch
Chassis Power Button
The main power switch is used to apply or remove power from the power supply
to the system. Turning off system power with this button removes the main
power but keeps standby power supplied to the system.
Chassis Rear
Figure 2. BRIDGE NDI 3G Chassis Rear View
Cooling Airow Exit
Rear and Top Panels
USB Ports
(4)
SDI Reference
BNC Inputs (R)
SDI Connectors
(5, 6, 7, 8)
Unused
VGA Monitor
Port
Reserved
for IPMI
Active RJ-45
Ethernet (2)
Redundant
AC Power Supplies
SDI Connectors
(12, 11, 10, 9)
SDI Connectors
(16, 15, 14, 13)
SDI Connectors
(1, 2, 3, 4)
Media Control
Unused
Connectors
BRIDGE NDI 3G is equipped with:
• Two USB 3.0 (blue) connectors
• Two USB 2.0 (black) connectors
• Two 10Gb RJ-45 Ethernet connectors
• One IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) RJ-45 connector
• One VGA monitor port
• Two external Reference ports (labeled R)
• 16 bi-directional 3G-SDI Din 1.0/2.3 connectors
Cabling
NOTE: SDI connections, including input or output signal direction, are affected by the
current BRIDGE NDI 3G's system configuration settings.
The SDI connectors on the cards in the chassis are associated with the following
Engines, Banks, and Channels (see Table 1). Each Engine can be configured for
either SDI input or SDI output.

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Table 1. SDI Connector and Channel Numbers
Engine A (left) Engine B (right)
Connector Channel Bank Connector Channel Bank
101
1
109
3
202 210
303 311
404 412
505
2
513
4
606 614
707 715
808 816
R (left) Engine A (R1)
Reference In
R (right) Engine B (R2)
Reference In
Figure 3. BRIDGE NDI 3G SDI Cabling Guide, Channel Numbers Shown
Bank 1 Bank 4
Bank 2 Bank 3
NOTE: The SDI rear connectors are actually silk screened 1-8-R, and R-8-1 (identical
cards installed in reversed orientation).
Rear Panel Power Supply LEDs
On the rear of each power supply module, an LED indicates its status as follows.
• Solid Green: When illuminated, indicates that the power supply is on.
• Solid Amber: When illuminated, indicates the power supply is plugged in and
turned off, or the system is off but in an abnormal state.
• Blinking Amber: When blinking, this system power supply temperature has
reached 63°C. The system will automatically power-down when the power
supply temperature reaches 70°C and restarts when the power supply
temperature goes below 60°C.
BRIDGE NDI 3G User Interface Displays
The BRIDGE NDI 3G can be controlled remotely (Web interface), or locally
(Kiosk interface). These interfaces are essentially the same, with the following
differences.
Remote Web Interface
The Web Browser interface provides picture confidence-monitoring via the I/O
screen. Audio confidence monitoring (other than visual level meters) requires the
use of a separate utility such as NewTek NDI Studio Monitor.

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Figure 4. Example I/O Screen with SDI Encode and NDI Decode
Local Kiosk Interface
The local Kiosk interface is dedicated to BRIDGE NDI 3G and is not a web browser.
This interface requires connecting a customer supplied VGA Monitor, USB
Keyboard, and USB mouse directly to the rear of the chassis.
The local Kiosk interface also provides picture confidence-monitoring and visual
level meters via the I/O screen. Actual audio monitoring can be accomplished
using the supplied USB sound card, with any additional tools.
Keyboard shortcuts available only with the Kiosk interface include:
• Space Bar: Exit from Splash Screen to BRIDGE NDI 3G User Interface
• CTRL+R: refresh screen
• ALT+F4: logout and return to the splash screen (saves system resources)
• ALT+Left: Go back to previous page (useful after selecting Product and
Support buttons)

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Chapter 2 – Installation
Overview
Quick Start Guide Login Credentials
BRIDGE NDI 3G ships with a Quick Start Guide when it comes from the
factory. This physical document contains the login information for accessing
BRIDGE NDI 3G for the first time. Do not discard the unique Quick Start Guide, as
these credentials will be required following any future Factory Reset. If you do not
have this Quick Start Guide, you will need to contact AJA tech support.
If you are receiving a system that has been used elsewhere and you do not have
the password that may have been applied, you can perform a Factory Reset and
then use the factory supplied password from the Quick Start Guide to regain
access to the system for set up.
Hardware Installation Overview
An initial BRIDGE NDI 3G installation includes the following steps:
• Unpack the shipping box.
• Mount the physical chassis as desired, using the provided sliding rails. Cooling
airflow enters the chassis from the front, and exits from the rear and top
panels. Do not obstruct these air vents.
• Connect the two BRIDGE NDI 3G power cords to mains AC. For redundancy,
use both power supplies and connect them to separate branch circuits so that
the BRIDGE NDI 3G will continue to operate even if a circuit breaker opens on
one branch.
• Power up the BRIDGE NDI 3G chassis.
• Connect the BRIDGE NDI 3G to your local network(s) using one or two RJ-45
Ethernet cables, depending on your facility network architecture.
• Establish BRIDGE NDI 3G network communications, using either a separate
network connected computer (DHCP), or with a customer supplied VGA
monitor, keyboard and mouse (and, if desired, the provided USB sound card).
• Login to your BRIDGE NDI 3G for the first time, using the credentials in the
BRIDGE NDI 3G Quick Start Guide document included in your shipping box.
• Connect the 1.0/2.3 DIN to full-size BNC adapter cables to the BRIDGE NDI 3G
input/output connectors.
• Connect the BRIDGE NDI 3G inputs/outputs to your video sources and
destinations as required. Subsequent system configuration may require
changing these physical connections.
The BRIDGE NDI 3G system will then be ready to be configured to transcode
SDI to and/or from NDI for transport over the network (see "Initial Workflow
Configuration" on page 15).

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Hardware Installation Details
Unpacking
As you unpack the shipping box, carefully examine the contents. Ensure you
received everything and that nothing was damaged during shipment. If you find
any damage, immediately notify the shipping service and supply them with a
description of the damage. AJA will repair or replace damaged items.
If you find shipping damage, contact your AJA dealer or distributor for details on
how to have your BRIDGE NDI 3G repaired or replaced.
NOTE: Save packing materials and the shipping box. If your BRIDGE NDI 3G ever requires
service or you move your system, use the packaging materials and box for safe
shipment.
Rack Mounting the Chassis
Install the BRIDGE NDI 3G chassis into a standard 19-inch wide equipment rack,
allowing space for cooling airflow. The chassis occupies only one vertical rack
unit.
Two rack rail assemblies are included in the rack mounting kit. Each assembly
consists of two sections: an inner fixed chassis rail that secures directly to the
server chassis and an outer fixed rack rail that secures directly to the rack itself.
The rail assemblies are shipped with rack adapters installed for use with IT (square
hole) style rack frames. For IT racks, simply slide the unit into place, as the rails will
lock automatically. For use with a standard round hole rack frame, you will need
to remove the adapters using a small Phillips head screwdriver.
Connecting SDI Sources and/or Destinations
BRIDGE NDI 3G is equipped with 18 Din 1.0/2.3 SDI connectors. Din to BNC
adapter cables with push on/off mini-connectors are provided with product
shipment. Connect the adapters to the eight SDI ports, and then connect your
SDI input or output signals as required for your intended workflow (see Table 1 on
page 11).
External Reference
External Reference In Din 1.0/2.3 connectors (R1, R2) are also available for each
Engine.
Networking
The BRIDGE NDI 3G ships with both active LAN ports configured for DHCP
operation.
Initial Network Connection to BRIDGE NDI 3G
Connecting to your BRIDGE NDI 3G for network and other configuration can be
accomplished remotely with a network connected computer, or using a directly
connected VGA monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

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Network Environment
BRIDGE NDI 3G must be configured to match your network environment.
Procedures to do so vary, depending on whether you will be using two networks
or one, and whether you will be using DHCP and/or Static IP addressing.
NOTE: If you are unsure of the correct IP Address settings, consult with your network
administrator.
BRIDGE NDI 3G can support two simultaneous network connections, one
designed for Media transfer (Network 1) and the other for BRIDGE NDI 3G Control
(Network 2). Both network connections are 10 Gig capable.
While it is possible to use just the Network 1 connection for both purposes,
best practice is to use separate networks. This lets you remove high bandwidth
NDI traffic from the network used for system control, and allows you to access
BRIDGE NDI 3G from anywhere in your facility or VPN without worrying about
exceeding that network's capacity.
Media (Network 1)
The Media network is used for incoming and outgoing media (NDI) signal
traffic. Regardless of your workflow, whether receiving NDI for decode to SDI, or
ingesting SDI for encode to NDI, a connection to the Media network is required.
BRIDGE NDI 3G supports NDI versions 4 and 5, and can also use an NDI Discovery
Server.
AJA recommends using a 10Gb Media network, as a 1Gb network can quickly
become oversubscribed and result in significant impact to signal health.
You can also use the Network 1 Ethernet port for network control of the
BRIDGE NDI 3G device. In this case the Network 2 port is unused.
Control (Network 2)
The Control network can be used to control the BRIDGE NDI 3G device from a
remote location. Using a separate Control network lets you connect to an existing
facility network without sending NDI signals over it.
NOTE: The Control Network 2 cannot be used for media traffic.
Wireless Workflows
You can set up a wireless router to your media network in order to use an iPhone
NDI camera app wirelessly. You can also wire a control switch to a wireless router
so you can monitor the BRIDGE NDI 3G from a wireless laptop.
Initial Workflow Configuration
Overview
After initial installation and network configuration, the steps involved in making
the BRIDGE NDI 3G fully operational include the following:
• Determine workflow
• Choose conversion directions (SDI to NDI, NDI to SDI)
• Determine any Bank groupings

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• Connect the BRIDGE NDI 3G inputs/outputs to your video sources and
destinations as required
• Choose any NDI sources
• Edit labels as appropriate
• Configure video and audio monitoring
• Logout, Set and Forget
Initial Configuration Testing
To monitor NDI outputs from BRIDGE NDI 3G, use an NDI MultiViewer or other
similar application on a separate host system on the same network.
To monitor SDI outputs from BRIDGE NDI 3G, connect the rear BNC connectors to
an SDI Monitor or MultiViewer or SDI Router.
To monitor Audio directly from BRIDGE NDI 3G locally, connect the USB sound
card (supplied). Unlike the SDI and NDI I/O, the included USB sound card supports
only stereo/two-channel audio monitoring, but you can select which channel pair
to monitor.
BRIDGE NDI 3G System Administration
Accept EULA
On initial system startup, you will need to accept the AJA EULA (End User License
Agreement). The EULA is presented only on the first time booting up the system
following delivery, or following a factory reset. Once accepted, the EULA will no
longer be presented upon boot up.
Admin Password
From the User Management/Administration Login Screen, you can change the
admin password.
Figure 5. User Management Screen, Changing Admin Password
To Change the Admin Password
1. Enter the current password in the Current Password field.

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2. Enter your desired new password (up to a maximum of 22 characters) in the
New Password eld.
3. Enter your desired new password again in the Conrm New Password eld.
4. Select Change. A Sign in prompt displays.
5. Enter your current user name and the new password that you just created.
6. Select Sign In. The User Management screen refreshes with the Status
"Password successfully updated."
System Name
System Name provides up to 44 characters for giving the BRIDGE NDI 3G system a
unique name. A reboot will be required for this to take effect.
The System Name can be changed from the System Settings Screen. Your
BRIDGE NDI 3G will come from the factory with a unique System Name, but
your organization may wish to assign it another name according to your internal
naming schema.
Figure 6. Set System Name Pop-up Window
To Change the System Name
1. Navigate to the System Settings Screen by clicking System Settings in the
left navigation menu. The System Settings Screen displays.
2. Next to the System Name eld, click Change. The Set System Name pop-up
window displays.
3. Enter the name you want to use for your system. You must use at least one
character (a-z, 0-9, dashes accepted but no spaces). The System Name must
be limited to 22 characters total.
After changing the System Name, the unit will disconnect and may be
unresponsive for a few moments. It is recommended to reboot after changing the
System Name.
System Date/Time
System Date and Time can be set to Automatic or Manual.
Automatic - BRIDGE NDI 3G will seek date and time via the NTP server(s)
specified. BRIDGE NDI 3G will use UTC time, unless a different Time Zone
is specified. If the connection to the NTP server is lost, BRIDGE NDI 3G will
continue keeping time by itself until the connection is restored and a new
sync can take place.

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Figure 7. System Date/Time Pop-up window, Automatic Configuration
Manual - BRIDGE NDI 3G date and time are specified by the user. If
BRIDGE NDI 3G was previously connected under the Automatic setting to an
NTP server and current date and time were obtained, then upon switching
to Manual, BRIDGE NDI 3G will continue keeping time by itself. Click Apply to
enter Manual mode while leaving the time as set by NTP. This could be a quick
way to set up units that will be deployed in a secure/offline environment.
Figure 8. System Date/Time Pop-up window, Manual Configuration
Alternatively, after selecting Manual, activate the "Select Time and Date" button,
and proceed to set date and time manually.
Figure 9. System Date/Time Pop-up window, Manual Configuration selected
with Set Date and Time option enabled
When running under Manual date and time settings, BRIDGE NDI 3G will not seek
out an NTP server, and will be unaffected by the presence or absence of Internet
connectivity.
Factory Reset
Performing a Factory Reset has the following results:
• All Users are logged out (except admin)
• Admin Login and Password is reset (to details on physical Quick Start Guide
that shipped in the box with your BRIDGE NDI 3G system)
• System Name is reset

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• EULA/Licenses must be re-agreed to upon reboot
• Network settings are purged and reset to default (i.e. DHCP)
• Operator Video Refresh Rate Reset
• Custom SDI Ch/Grp Labels Reset
• NDI Favorites Erased
• Channels/Groups revert to HD
• Channels revert to encode (SDI->NDI)
Performing a Factory Reset
NOTE: A factory reset can be performed only from the Kiosk system, not from a remote
browser system.
1. Shut down your BRIDGE NDI 3G unit.
2. Start up your unit again.
3. Immediately start tapping the space bar (once or twice per second) until
you see the boot selection screen that has "Release," "Safe boot" and
"Factory Reset."
4. Select "Factory Reset" and hit Return.
5. Enter "Yes" and Return when prompted.
Updating Software/Firmware
From the Software/Firmware section of the System Settings Screen, you can
update your software. Two methods for updating software/firmware are
available:
• Updating from a Remote System
• Updating Locally from a USB Connected Storage Device
Download the Latest BRIDGE NDI 3G Update
The update can be obtained with a separate Mac, Windows or Linux-based
host-system with a network interface and access to the Internet. If you wish to
apply the update from the same system you are using to download the update
package, it will need to be connected to the same network as BRIDGE NDI 3G.
1. From a web browser, navigate to:
https://www.aja.com/products/bridge-ndi-3g#support
2. Under the Software heading, select the BRIDGE NDI 3G package for
download. The current and previous releases of BRIDGE NDI 3G will be
available on AJA's website.
3. Download the package you require to the separate host-system, connected
to the same network as BRIDGE NDI 3G.
Unpack BRIDGE NDI 3G Update
The update downloaded from AJA.com is a “ZIP” file which can be opened with
OS tools or third party applications.
4. Extract/unzip the contents of the ZIP le. This will present a folder
containing the BRIDGE NDI 3G Product Manual, Release Notes, and the
appropriate Software update package.

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Updating BRIDGE NDI 3G from a Remote System
1. From the BRIDGE NDI 3G web browser interface, navigate to the System
Settings Screen.
2. Under the Software/Firmware heading, select Browse. A navigation window
opens.
3. Navigate to the unzipped Software update (*.ajas le) and select it.
4. Click Open. The name of the Software update le displays in the eld just
below the Browse and Submit buttons.
5. Select Submit. The le uploads to BRIDGE NDI 3G, then the system
automatically reboots.
6. Following the reboot, if prompted, login to the system. The update has now
been applied.
Updating BRIDGE NDI 3G with a USB Connected Storage Device
1. Copy the downloaded and unzipped update file to a USB drive.
2. Plug the USB drive into a BRIDGE NDI 3G USB port.
3. From the BRIDGE NDI 3G Kiosk Interface, go to the System Settings Screen.
4. Under the Software/Firmware heading, select Browse. A navigation window
opens.
5. From the left hand OS navigation menu, go to Run > Media > sda1.
6. Navigate to the unzipped Software update (*.ajas le) and select it.
7. Click Open. The name of the Software update le displays in the eld just
below the Browse and Submit buttons.
8. Select Submit. The le uploads to BRIDGE NDI 3G, then the system
automatically reboots.
9. Following the reboot, login to the system. The update has now been
applied.
WARNING: While updating software, do not remove power.
Safeboot
BRIDGE NDI 3G has a safety feature where an internal “safeboot” copy of earlier
software is retained in the event the update process fails or its software becomes
corrupted.
Using Safe Boot mode provides an environment where it is easier to troubleshoot
and detect issues.
Entering Safe Boot Mode
1. Shutdown BRIDGE NDI 3G.
2. Start it back up while pressing the space bar repeatedly once or twice per
second during the startup process, using a keyboard that is connected via
USB to the BRIDGE NDI 3G device.
3. When menu options display, choose Safe boot. The system will proceed to
boot up in safe mode.
Using REST API
BRIDGE NDI 3G is supported via REST API.