AJA BRIDGE LIVE Operating instructions

Version 1.12
Published September 10, 2021
BRIDGE LIVE
Multi-Channel Live Video for REMI, Contribution,
Collaboration, Streaming and Delivery
Installation and Operation Guide

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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.
Corvid Ultra®, lo®, Ki Pro®, KONA®, KUMO®, ROI® and T-Tap® are registered trademarks of
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 © 2021 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]

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Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Contacting AJA Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 1 – Using this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Guidance on Where to Start Depending on Role. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
How Chapters are Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 2 – Introduction to BRIDGE LIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Seven Primary Use Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Encoding and Decoding Protocols Supported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 3 – Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
User Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Accessing the System Locally and Remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Logging In Locally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Username and Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Logging in Remotely with a Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Dashboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Dashboard Interface Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Beyond the Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
System Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Stream Conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 4 – Basic Use Case: SDI to Streams Encoding . . . . . . . . 25
Creating a Pipeline to Encode Incoming Uncompressed SDI to Streams. . . . 25
Identifying Your Encoding Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Steps for Building an Encoding Pipeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Verifying Pipeline Congurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Verifying the Conguration of Your Pipeline Remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Example of Streaming to YouTube. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Adding an Output Stream for YouTube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Audio Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
YouTube Studio Live Streaming Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Streaming to Wowza Live Video Streaming Platform. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Destination Syntax Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 5 – Basic Use Case: Streams to SDI Decoding . . . . . . . . 39
Creating a Pipeline to Decode Incoming JPEG 2000 to Uncompressed SDI . . 39
Identifying Your Decoding Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Steps for Building a Decoding Pipeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Setting Up an NDI Input Stream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Input Stream Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Setting Up an HLS Input Stream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Input Stream Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Auto-Detected Video Streams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Input Stream Video Conguration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Output Stream Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Contents

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Chapter 6 – Basic Use Case: Simultaneous Bi-Directional Encoding
and Decoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Remote Truck Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Production Studio Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Remote Truck: Dashboard View of Encoding and Decoding Simultaneously. 48
Cabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Remote Truck: Transmitting to Production Studio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Steps for Creating a Pipeline to Encode Uncompressed SDI Camera Feed to
Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Remote Truck: Receiving from Production Studio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Steps for Creating a Pipeline to Decode Incoming Stream to Uncompressed SDI
55
Production Studio: Dashboard View of Decoding and Encoding Simultaneously
60
Cabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Production Studio: Receiving from Remote Truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Steps for Creating a Pipeline to Decode Incoming Stream to Uncompressed SDI
61
Production Studio: Transmitting to Remote Truck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Steps for Creating a Pipeline to Encode Uncompressed SDI Program Feed to
Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Chapter 7 – BRIDGE LIVE Features and Interface Deep Dive . . . . 72
Encoding Incoming Uncompressed SDI to Various Stream Types . . . . . . . . 72
Input SDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Output Stream Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Output Stream Sink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Output Stream Video Conguration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Output Stream Audio Conguration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Output Stream Metadata Conguration Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Decoding Incoming Streams and Outputting Uncompressed SDI . . . . . . . 84
Input Stream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Conguring Input Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Choosing the Program Number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Output SDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Output Stream Cropping and Padding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Cropping Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Resize Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Logo Insertion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Muxing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Closed Captions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Creating and Loading Preset Congurations for Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Alternative Methods for Verifying Pipeline Conguration. . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Using RTMP Server for Mac. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Capturing Outgoing Packets and Creating a Transport Stream . . . . . . . . 91
Probes or Other Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Chapter 8 – Initial System Setup and Conguration . . . . . . . . . 93
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
What's In the Box? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Chassis Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Chassis Power Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Chassis Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Rear Panel Power Supply LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Installation Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Initial System Setup via Local Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Cabling Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

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Power Up and Log In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
EULA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Conguration of Network Connectivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Conguration of GPU and CPU Acceleration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Conguration Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Password Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Installing a New License Package. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Contacting AJA Technical Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Upgrading BRIDGE LIVE from USB Flash Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
To Upgrade Remotely from a USB Flash Drive Attached Locally . . . . . . 104
To Upgrade Locally from a USB Flash Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Chapter 9 – Advanced System Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Advanced BRIDGE LIVE Conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Advanced Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Version Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Factory Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Factory Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Chapter 10 – OS and Network Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Console Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Default Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
BRIDGE LIVE Files Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
System Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Web Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Manual Network Interface Conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Virtual Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Adding New Virtual Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
IPMI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Chapter 11 – Using REST API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Accessing the API Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Featured Curl commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Chapter 12 – Using SNMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Example of SNMP Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
SNMP Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Conguration of SNMP Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Chapter 13 – Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
What if BRIDGE LIVE fails?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
How do I access the system administration environment?. . . . . . . . . . .119
How can I collect BRIDGE LIVE log les?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
How can I change the default system password? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
How can I change the admin password? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
The UI shows that streams are working but I cannot receive any data on the
output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
I see frame drops in the UI. What can be the cause? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
What information is needed for troubleshooting by Support? . . . . . . . .120
A list of possible error messages in UI:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Appendix A – Specications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
BRIDGE LIVE Tech Specs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Appendix B – Safety and Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

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Warranty and Liability Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Limited Warranty on Hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Limitation of Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Governing Law and Language; Your Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

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Chapter 1 – Using this Manual
Welcome
This manual is designed to enable the quickest path to productivity with
BRIDGE LIVE. An outline is presented below.
Guidance on Where to Start Depending on Role
If the system has already been set up by an administrator, then we advise
beginning at Chapter 2 or Chapter 3, and reading through Chapter 7.
If you are setting up the system for the first time, begin at Chapter 8 - Initial
System Setup and Configuration. For additional administrative functionality, see
Chapter 9, Advanced System Administration.
Chapters 10 through 13 are intended only for experienced System Administrators.
How Chapters are Organized
"Chapter 1 Using this Manual" : Guidance on where to start depending on role and
requirements.
"Chapter 2 Introduction to BRIDGE LIVE" : Provides a general overview of the
product and its capabilities.
"Chapter 3 Getting Started" : Accessing the system via browser or locally.
"Chapter 4 Basic Use Case: SDI to Streams Encoding" : Basics of outputting streams
from SDI Inputs.
"Chapter 5 Basic Use Case: Streams to SDI Decoding" : Basics of outputting SDI from
JPEG 2000.
"Chapter 6 Basic Use Case: Simultaneous Bi-Directional Encoding and Decoding" :
Walks through the steps of Encoding and Decoding simultaneously.
"Chapter 7 BRIDGE LIVE Features and Interface Deep Dive" : Covers the various parts
of the UI or feature set not yet covered in detail, and contrasting various settings
and options.
"Chapter 8 Initial System Setup and Configuration" : Host Name, Network
Connectivity, Licensing.
"Chapter 9 Advanced System Administration" : Advanced setup configurations and
software version management.
"Chapter 10 OS and Network Administration" : Console administration, web
administration, manual network interface configuration, virtual interfaces.
"Chapter 11 Using REST API"
"Chapter 12 Using SNMP"
"Chapter 13 Troubleshooting"

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Chapter 2 – Introduction to BRIDGE LIVE
Overview
BRIDGE LIVE is a broadcast-quality, low-latency turnkey system for REMI,
Synchronous Multi-Channel Video Contribution, Backhaul, Remote Collaboration,
Direct to Audience Streaming and Multi Bit-Rate/Format Delivery.
Equipped with 12G-SDI I/O plus the power and flexibility to enable real-time
bi-directional encoding, decoding and transcoding for critical UltraHD and HD
workflows, BRIDGE LIVE is an essential part of any modern live video production
toolkit.
Whether facilitating remote production, two-way interviews, live event
streaming, synchronous multi-cam backhaul, field contribution, program return,
confidence monitoring, collaborative production, ABR ladder profiles to hand-
off for OTT packaging, BRIDGE LIVE ensures simultaneous, secure, and stable
workflows whether over private lines or the public Internet.
NOTE: REMI is an acronym used in the broadcast industry for Remote Model Integration
and is sometimes called "at home" or "virtual" production.
Features
• 12G-SDI/3G-SDI I/O supports 4-channels of HD or 1-channel of UltraHD as
standard.
• Bi-directional Encode/Decode/Transcode; NDI, H.265 (HEVC), H.264 (AVC),
H.262 (MPEG-2) and JPEG 2000 (TR-01).
• Protocols; SRT, HLS, MPEG-TS, MPTS (input), RTMP/RTMPS (output), RTP, and
UD P.
• Multi bitrate/format content distribution, ABR Ladder Profiles for OTT hand-
off.
• Selectable profiles for 10-bit and 8-bit, 4:2:2 and 4:2:0
• Unmatched Metadata capabilities including:
• Ad insertion markers (SCTE-35/SCTE-104)
• CC/Subtitles embedded into H.264 SEI messages
• Closed Captions (EIA-608/708) conversion
• Line 21 captions
• MPEG-2 ancillary packet support, SMPTE 2038
• Electronic program guide (EPG) on input
• Metadata pass through
• Simple to setup and use
• Remote Web UI or local GUI access for administration, control and operation.
• Monitoring, Control and Automation supported via REST API or SNMP
• Turnkey 1RU rack-mountable, enterprise-class form factor
• Dual 10GbE interface for control and transport
• Dual power supplies for critical application redundancy
• Three year warranty

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Seven Primary Use Cases
BRIDGE LIVE is designed for seven main use-cases, described in more detail
below:
1. Live Direct-to-Audience Streaming
2. Reference Video for Remote Collaboration
3. Encoding for Remote Production
4. Remote Video Transport and Contribution
5. Simultaneous Bi-Directional Encoding and Decoding
6. Live Production Encoding
7. Encoding for Content Distribution
Live Direct-to-Audience Streaming
Encode for live streaming.
Stream live events through Internet streaming services such as YouTube Live,
Facebook Live, and Twitch.
Use multiple channels, formats, bit-rates, protocols and redundancy.
Implement multi-camera installations for streaming from a studio.
Transport stream to a partner.
Reference Video for Remote Collaboration
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 providing 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 license JPEG 2000 (4:2:2, 10-bit), mean there
is choice and flexibility in how to approach your needs in terms of quality and
latency.
Encoding for Remote Production
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.
Remote Video Transport and Contribution
Reliably encode and transport video feed from live event, such as a sports
stadium, to production facility where it is decoded for remote production. Secure
and transport video feeds over public Internet. This transport method replaces
satellite connections for a fraction of the cost and with better latency.
For example, an SDI (source) to SDI (destination) hand-off via H.264, 4:2:0, works
well for the majority of users today, and for higher-end clients who may desire
JPEG2000 or H.264 4:2:2.

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• A single UltraHD channel can be transported with 1x 12G-SDI cable using one
of the SDI connectors.
• Four simultaneous HD channels (1080 60p) can be delivered with 4x 3G-SDI
connectors.
In this use case, one BRIDGE LIVE device would be installed at the production
facility and a second BRIDGE LIVE device would be installed at the remote
location.
Simultaneous Bi-Directional Encoding and Decoding
NOTE: BRIDGE LIVE supports simultaneous bi-directional encoding and decoding with
HD/SD, but not with UltraHD.
Receive up to three remote HD sources at a broadcast facility using the public
Internet and return one program feed to a remote location.
The broadcast facility receives the three incoming encoded stream sources from
the remote location and decodes them into SDI for editing and production, while
simultaneously returning to the remote location an encoded program feed.
The remote facility in turn receives and decodes the returned program feed for
program monitoring over SDI, while continuing to encode and transmit three HD
sources to the broadcast facility.
In this use case, one BRIDGE LIVE device would be installed at the broadcast
facility and a second BRIDGE LIVE device would be installed at the remote
location.
Live Production Encoding
Encode SDI video for live production output, where video is delivered as the
intended or intermediate format, such as H.264/H.265, 4:2:0. If a backup is
needed, store locally with NAS or local HDD.
For example, Telcos, IPTV, Cable operators receive an SDI signal from a source
and they need simple MPEG-TS encoded with H.264/H.265 without ABR ladders.
The output could be sent for further processing, or streamed to their IPTV/Cable
network directly.
Encoding for Content Distribution
Encode processed and produced video channel for primary distribution to
partners (B2B) or for OTT (over the top) streaming. For example, you can run an
H.264 or HEVC hand-off with ABR (adaptive bit rate) ladder profiles encoding,
which can include pointing the ladder profile directly to a local packager or CDN.
Metadata
BRIDGE LIVE allows the pass through of metadata, and supports the following
metadata types:
• Ad insertion markers (SCTE-35/SCTE-104) pass through
• CC/Subtitles embedding into H.264 SEI messages
• Closed Captions (EIA-608/708) conversion
• Line 21 captions
• MPEG-2 ancillary packet support, SMPTE 2038
• Electronic program guide (EPG) on input

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Encoding and Decoding Protocols Supported
The following values are recommendations only. You can use lower values if you
need to. If you have good enough network throughput, you can use higher bit
rates.
Encoding
BRIDGE LIVE supports encoding from SDI to Stream, and from SDI to JPEG 2K
Stream (with optional license). See Table 1 and Table 2 below for encoding signal
specifications.
Table 1. SDI to Stream Encoding
Encode HD (1080p) UltraHD Supported Protocols
H.264 (AVC)
4:2:0, 8-bit
4 simultaneous
up to 60p
8 to 15 Mbps
1 up to 60p
40 to 75 Mbps
SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
H.264 (AVC)
4:2:2, 10-bit (HQ)
4 simultaneous
up to 30p
50 to 75 Mbps
1 up to 30p
80 to 120 Mbps
SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
H.264 (AVC)
4:2:2, 10-bit (HQ)
2 simultaneous
up to 60p
1 up to 30p SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
H.265 (HEVC)
4:2:0, 8/10-bit
4 simultaneous
up to 60p
5 to 12 Mbps
1 up to 60p
35 to 110 Mbps
SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
MPEG2 4:2:0,
8-bit
4 simultaneous
up to 30p/60i
8 to 15 Mbps
N/A SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
MPEG2 4:2:2,
8-bit (HQ)
4 simultaneous
up to 30p/60i
10 to 20 Mbps
N/A SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
NDI 150 Mbps 250 Mbps SRT, MPEG-TS, RTP/
UDP, UDP
Table 2. SDI to JPEG 2K Stream Encoding (Optional License)
Encode HD (1080p) UltraHD Supported
Protocols
JPEG2K TR-01
2013 4:2:2,
10-bit
4 simultaneous
up to 60p
80-220 Mbps
1 up to 60p
up to 800 Mbps
SRT, MPEG-TS
Note: No RTMP/S
Decoding
BRIDGE LIVE supports decoding from Stream to SDI, and from JPEG 2K Stream
to SDI (with optional license). See Table 3 and Table 4 below for decoding signal
specifications.

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Table 3. Stream to SDI Decoding
Decode HD UltraHD
Supported
Protocols
(Can be decoded
back to SDI)
H.264 (AVC)
4:2:0, 8-bit
4 simultaneous
up to 60p
1 up to 60p SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
H.264 (AVC)
4:2:2, 10-bit (HQ)
4 simultaneous
up to 30p
1 up to 30p SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
H.264 (AVC)
4:2:2, 10-bit (HQ)
2 simultaneous
up to 60p
1 up to 30p SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
H.265 (HEVC)
4:2:0, 10-bit
4 simultaneous
up to 60p
1 up to 60p SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
MPEG2 4:2:0,
8-bit
4 simultaneous
up to 30p/60i
N/A SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
MPEG2 4:2:0,
8-bit (HQ)
4 simultaneous
up to 30p/60i
N/A SRT, RTMP/S, MPEG-TS
NDI 150 Mbps 250 Mbps SRT, MPEG-TS, RTP/
UDP, UDP
Table 4. JPEG 2K Stream to SDI Decoding (optional license)
Decode HD (1080p) UltraHD Supported Protocols
JPEG2K TR-01
2018 4:2:2,
10-bit
4 simultaneous
up to 60p
80-220 Mbps
1 up to 60p
up to 800 Mbps
SRT, MPEG-TS
Note: No RTMP/S

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Chapter 3 – Getting Started
Overview
This chapter covers the following topics:
• User types
• Accessing the system and logging in locally and remotely
• Introduction to the Dashboard interface
• System Information
• Stream Configuration
User Types
There are two user types for each BRIDGE LIVE System:
1. Admin Username (“admin”) is used for local login, browser login and REST
API access. This is the user type we are going to be using in the examples
below.
2. Transcoder Username (“transcoder”) is used for CLI/SSH (CLI stands for
Command Line Interface, SSH for Secure Shell). This will be covered in
"Chapter 10 OS and Network Administration" on page 112.
Accessing the System Locally and Remotely
There are two ways to access the UI:
1. Locally – being physically present within the server location and using kiosk
mode (where there is a monitor, mouse and keyboard connected to the
machine).
2. Remotely – using the assigned administration interface IP address in your
web browser to remotely connect via the network.
Logging In Locally
To log in locally, you will need to supply your own USB keyboard, mouse and
monitor connected through the Display Port.
Username and Password
The default username is "admin".
The password is unique for each system. Please see the QuickStart Guide that was
included in the box with BRIDGE LIVE. If you have misplaced it or it is unavailable,
please contact AJA Technical Support.
Forgotten Password
For forgotten default passwords, please contact AJA Technical Support.

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Logging in Remotely with a Browser
IMPORTANT: To enable remote login through a browser, the admin must have previously
setup the system's IP addresses. Until that has occurred, logging in remotely with
a browser will not be available.
Once BRIDGE LIVE has been setup and the system's IP addresses and port
numbers have been established, you can login through a browser by navigating
to the login IP address and port number to access the following login prompt:
Figure 1. BRIDGE LIVE Initial Login Prompt via Browser
After entering a valid username and password, click Login. The Dashboard
displays showing the general user interface.
Dashboard
BRIDGE LIVE is enriched with an easy-to-use browser-based user interface
which can be used to set up and monitor pipeline tasks or provide access to
administrative tools.
Upon logging in via browser, you will arrive at the Dashboard. Likewise if starting
up BRIDGE LIVE locally, after logging in, the Dashboard will be presented. This
is where the main configuration takes place and where you can access data
monitoring tools.
Because BRIDGE LIVE is capable of outputting multiple stream types per input,
"Pipeline" is used to describe the set of parameters dealing with the overall setup,
from input source to encode, decode or transcode of output format(s).
Browsers
Generally, good performance is observed with Chrome, Chromium, Firefox and
Safari.
Unsupported Browsers
Browsers change over time as new functionality is added. In some cases, if you
are using an older browser, you may experience some issues when trying to
administer BRIDGE LIVE through its UI. If that happens, you will be notified that
you are using an old or unsupported browser, as pictured in Figure 2.

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Figure 2. Example of an Unsupported Browser Message
Figure 3. BRIDGE LIVE Dashboard
Dashboard Interface Basics
The Dashboard provides an overview of system status. It also shows an overview
of performance and of the utilization of the system through the following
interface elements:
Left Column - Encode, Decode and Transcode Pipelines
Upper Left Quadrant - Interfaces (SDI, 10GbE, Loopback throughput). Reports
the data throughput transmitted (Tx) and received (Rx) for the selected
interface. For SDI, it reports what is detected and if it is used for output
streaming.
Upper Right Quadrant - GPU utilization/CPU utilization
Lower Left Quadrant - Services and devices status
Lower Right Quadrant - Memory GPU/System RAM
Lower Panel - Stream statistics including stream latency, FPS and FPS drops.

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Returning to Dashboard Home View
At any time, to return to the main Dashboard home view, click the AJA/
Comprimato logos in the top left area of the Dashboard interface.
The Left Column (Pipelines)
NOTE: A "Pipeline" is the overall setup, from input source to decode, encode or transcode
of output format(s).
Beneath the AJA and Comprimato logos, in the top left of the interface, is a
summary of the number of running Pipelines, beneath which are flags for Errors
(Red) or Warnings (Yellow).
Flags, Warnings and Errors
The Pipeline status indicators shown in Figure 4 below show the number and
types of errors, along with indicators for configured and applied Pipelines.
Hover the mouse over a half circle to see specific error messages for a Pipeline.
Figure 4. Pipeline status indicators
Below the errors and warning flags are the pipelines.
On the left side, each pipeline has a circular status icon. The left half of the
colored circle provides feedback on the incoming part of the pipeline, while the
right side indicates the status of the outgoing part of the pipeline.
Immediately to the right of the circular icon is the name of the pipeline. Further
to the right, when hovering the mouse over the pipeline, there is also a toggle
pipeline stop and start button.
Figure 5. Pipeline Stop Button
Figure 6. Pipeline Play Button
When hovering the mouse, along the right edge of each pipeline is a vertical
row of three dots. Clicking on the three dots will toggle the button to display the
following three options:
• Delete
• Clone
• Download

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Figure 7. Pipeline Delete, Clone, Download Buttons
Use these buttons for deleting, cloning or downloading pipelines.
Output Streams and Licenses
Beneath the name of the Pipeline is an indication of the number of output
streams associated with the Pipeline. For every stream, there is also information
on license status. Streams need to be licensed in order to run. For H.265, H.264
and H.262, BRIDGE LIVE will come with perpetual licenses.
Select a Pipeline to display the list of configured output streams for that particular
input.
Backing Up Pipelines
Once you have created all the pipelines you need, you can create a backup of
them. From the lower left corner, click the column of three vertical dots next to
"Add new pipeline" to open the Pipelines Management pop-up menu.
Figure 8. Pipelines Management Menu
Select "Download all as a preset." All of your pipeline configuration settings will
download as a "pipelines.json" file.
You can upload this file in the future to upload your pipeline preset using the
"Upload a preset" menu.
Additionally, you can delete all pipelines by selecting the "Delete all" menu.
Meaning of Colors
Both sides Grey -
No pipeline has been created (new system or all pipelines deleted)
The Pipeline has been stopped
Right side Grey -
The output is not configured
Red - There is an error causing the Pipeline not to work correctly (left side (input),
right side (output)).

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Yellow - Standby mode. For example, this can occur when a Pipeline is in SRT
mode and the stream does not have a subscriber. In that case, the stream is
not being sunk. However, when a subscriber is actively receiving the stream,
the signal will turn green. Another example of Standby mode is when a video
may be buffering while using HLS.
Green - The stream is working correctly (and in the case of SRT, is being
subscribed to).
Stream Licenses
If a license is granted, the status shows “Unlimited time” or the time for which
the stream is allowed to produce an output, according to loaded license files (see
"Licensing" on page 102). The status will be, for example:
• License: Unlimited time – a stream may produce an output for an unlimited
period of time
• License: Till 2021-02-21 23:59:59 – a stream will produce an output until the
displayed time point is passed.
NOTE: For your convenience, the status shows the time and date according to your
computer's time setting, not the BRIDGE LIVE system time, which may be
different.
For example, during installation, the automatic installer sets the time-zone to
America/Los Angeles, but you may be located in a different time zone. Also, you
might have offices in different time-zones and would prefer the servers to have
the same system time, potentially for monitoring purposes.
If the stream is not allowed to produce an output, the license status reads
“Blocked” or “Unavailable” and is shown red. BRIDGE LIVE will process the stream
as usual, the only difference is that the output will not be sent to defined output
sinks. This feature will help you verify your environment abilities, such as system
load limits, input stream compliance, and other factors, even if you don’t have
enough licenses yet. For that reason, the input and output stream status indicator
may be green even if the license status is not valid.
Possible invalid license statuses are:
• License: Blocked – there are licenses for the stream loaded in the system,
but the count of streams exceed the licensed number (other streams have
exhausted the available licenses)
• License: Unavailable – the stream needs a license which is not loaded (the
stream contains a feature of newer version of BRIDGE LIVE which isn’t included
in any loaded license)
Upper Left Quadrant – Interfaces
The first quadrant (upper left) refers to the I/O interfaces, whether that be SDI I/O
or 10GbE I/O.
Interfaces drop-down selections:
• For SDI I/O, select AJA Corvid 44 12G BNC - 0
When we switch to the SDI I/O we can see any channels which have a live
signal, and the format of that incoming signal. See Figure 9 below.
• For streams I/O, select either:

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• Ethernet card 1 (eno1, 10 Gb/s) or
• Ethernet card 2 (eno2, 10 Gb/s) –This displays throughput per Ethernet card;
Ethernet Card 1 (eno 1), Ethernet card 2 (eno 2).
• For testing system throughput/latency, select Loopback (Io)
Figure 9. The Interfaces panel of Dashboard
Figure 10. The Interfaces panel drop-down menu
Upper Right Quadrant – GPU Utilization/CPU Utilization
The second quadrant (upper right) shows GPU/CPU utilization hardware
components. The GPU has 3 statistics. The blue line shows the level of GPU
utilization. NvEnc represents the work of the NDA chip.
When working with JPEG 2000, you may see the second quadrant chart go to
100% utilization. Generally, however, the CPU is not expected to go over 65%.
Hover the mouse over the lines in Memory GPU/System RAM to see how much is
being used and how much is available.

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Figure 11. GPU utilization/CPU utilization panel of Dashboard
Lower Left Quadrant – Services and Devices Status
The lower left quadrant, Services and devices status, reports statistics for services
that are running. It reports what is running, and it also displays the status of the
License server. In the example shown below, the License server is initialized.
Hardware temperatures are also reported.
Figure 12. Services and devices status panel of Dashboard
Lower Right Quadrant – Memory GPU/System RAM
The lower right quadrant, Memory GPU/System RAM, reports memory
consumption.