AJA BRIDGE LIVE Operating instructions

Version 1.10
Published September 23, 2020
BRIDGE LIVE
Video I/O and Streaming Appliance
Installation and Operation Guide

BRIDGE LIVE Video I/O and Streaming Appliance v1.10 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.
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 © 2020 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]m
Sales Email [e-mail]

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Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Contacting AJA Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 1 – Using this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Guidance on Where to Start Depending on Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
How Chapters are Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 2 – Introduction to BRIDGE LIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Four Primary Use Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Encoding and Decoding Protocols Supported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 3 – Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
User Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Accessing the System Locally and Remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Logging In Locally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Username and Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Logging in Remotely with a Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Dashboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Dashboard Interface Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Beyond the Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
System Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Stream Conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Chapter 4 – Basic Use Case: SDI to Streams Encoding . . . . . . . . 22
Creating a Pipeline to Encode Incoming Uncompressed SDI to Streams. . . . 22
Identifying Your Encoding Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Steps for Building an Encoding Pipeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Verifying Pipeline Congurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Verifying the Conguration of Your Pipeline Remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Example of Streaming to YouTube. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Adding an Output Stream for YouTube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Audio Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
YouTube Studio Live Streaming Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Chapter 5 – Basic Use Case: Streams to SDI Decoding . . . . . . . . 35
Creating a Pipeline to Decode Incoming JPEG 2000 to Uncompressed SDI . . 35
Identifying Your Decoding Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Steps for Building a Decoding Pipeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Chapter 6 – BRIDGE LIVE Features and Interface Deep Dive . . . . 40
Encoding Incoming Uncompressed SDI to Various Stream Types . . . . . . . . 40
Input SDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Output Stream. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Output Stream Sink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Output Stream Video Conguration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Output Stream Audio Conguration Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Output Stream Metadata Conguration Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Decoding Incoming Streams and Outputting Uncompressed SDI . . . . . . . 48
Input Stream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Conguring Input Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Choosing the Program Number. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Contents

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Output SDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Output Stream Cropping and Padding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Resize Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Logo Insertion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Muxing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Closed Captions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Creating and Loading Preset Congurations for Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Alternative Methods for Verifying Pipeline Conguration. . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Using RTMP Server for Mac. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Capturing Outgoing Packets and Creating Transport Stream . . . . . . . . . 54
Probes or Other Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Chapter 7 – Initial System Setup and Conguration . . . . . . . . . 55
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
What's In the Box? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chassis Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chassis Power Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Chassis Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Rear Panel Power Supply LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Installation Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Initial System Setup via Local Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Cabling Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Power Up and Log In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
EULA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Conguration of Network Connectivity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Conguration of GPU and CPU Acceleration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Conguration Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Password Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Contacting AJA Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter 8 – Advanced System Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Advanced BRIDGE LIVE Conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Advanced Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Version Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Factory Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Factory Reset through a Warm Reboot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Chapter 9 – OS and Network Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Console Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Default Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
BRIDGE LIVE Files Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
System Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Web Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Manual Network Interface Conguration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Virtual Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Adding New Virtual Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Chapter 10 – Using REST API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Accessing the API Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Featured Curl commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

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Chapter 11 – Using SNMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Example of SNMP Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
SNMP Traps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Conguration of SNMP Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Chapter 12 – Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
What if BRIDGE LIVE fails?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
How do I access the system administration environment?. . . . . . . . . . . 74
How can I collect BRIDGE LIVE log les?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
How can I change the default system password? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
How can I change the admin password? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
The UI shows that streams are working but I cannot receive any data on the
output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
I see frame drops in the UI. What can be the cause? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
What information is needed for troubleshooting by Support? . . . . . . . . 75
A list of possible error messages in UI:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Appendix A – Specications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
BRIDGE LIVE Tech Specs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Appendix B – Safety and Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Warranty and Liability Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Limited Warranty on Hardware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Limitation of Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Governing Law and Language; Your Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

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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 6.
If you are setting up the system for the first time, begin at Chapter 7 - Initial
System Setup and Configuration. For general administrative functionality, see
Chapter 8, Advanced System Administration.
Chapters 9 through 12 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" . Providing 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 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 7 Initial System Setup and Configuration" ; Host Name, Network
Connectivity, Licensing.
"Chapter 8 Advanced System Administration" ; Advanced setup configurations and
software version management.
"Chapter 9 OS and Network Administration" ; Console administration, web
administration, manual network interface configuration, virtual interfaces.
"Chapter 10 Using REST API"
"Chapter 11 Using SNMP"
"Chapter 12 Troubleshooting"

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Chapter 2 – Introduction to BRIDGE LIVE
Overview
BRIDGE LIVE is a compact, 1RU form factor, turnkey solution, created/developed
for numerous professional and enterprise-level live video workflows for UltraHD
and HD.
Designed for low-latency and high-quality to meet the requirements of
broadcasters and content distributors, BRIDGE LIVE is built for critical streaming
applications that require high-performance video encoding, decoding,
transcoding, flexible video I/O, and comprehensive metadata support.
Its primary function is to take SDI to compressed formats and compressed
formats to SDI. BRIDGE LIVE enables end-to-end live video production, from
contribution encoding to facility decoding, up to final distribution transcoding, all
supported via public Internet.
BRIDGE LIVE supports up to 4x HD, or 1x UltraHD through 1x 12G-SDI. It supports
SRT, RTMP/S and MPEG-TS across JPEG 2K, H.265 (HEVC), H.264 (AVC, MPEG-
4), and H.262 (MPEG-2). It includes dual 10GbE on-board NICs for network
connectivity.
While the system is designed to be primarily headless and controlled through a
web browser interface or REST API, a Display Port supports a local display.
BRIDGE LIVE boots up directly into a managed interface, making it easy to use.
Features
• UltraHD or up to four streams of HD with broad encode/decode options and
12G-SDI/3G-SDI I/O. Seamlessly meshes UltraHD/HD-SDI and Streaming/IP for
live workflows using H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG2 and optionally JPEG
2000.
• Protocol support across SRT (implemented with encryption), R TM P, RTMPS
(required for Facebook Live), and MPEG-Transport Stream. Remote workflows
supported with low-latency across public Internet.
• Support for RTP over UDP (RTP/UDP), UDP
• Metadata support for the following:
• Ad insertion markers (SCTE-35/SCTE-104)
• 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
• Metadata pass through
• Content Delivery through Live Streaming (YouTube/Facebook Live, Twitch),
Encoding for Distribution (ABR-Ladders profiles/OTT delivery), Production
Encoding (simple encode for delivery), or Video Transport/Contribution for
live event feeds.
• Simple to use, robust 1RU turnkey enterprise class appliance with redundant
power.
• REST API and SNMP integration allows BRIDGE LIVE to be used in existing
workflows and with 3rd-party monitoring tools.

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Four Primary Use Cases
BRIDGE LIVE is designed for four main use-cases, described in more detail below:
1. Live Streaming,
2. Video Transport/Contribution,
3. Encoding for Distribution, and
4. Production Encoding
Live 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 multicamera installations for streaming from a studio.
Transport stream to a partner.
Video Transport/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.
• A single UltraHD channel can be transported with 1x 12G-SDI cable on any of
the four SDI connectors.
• Four simultaneous HD channels (1080 60p) can be delivered with 4x 3G-SDI
connectors.
Encoding for 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 bitrate) ladder profiles encoding,
which can include pointing the ladder profile directly to a local packager or CDN.
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.

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Metadata
BRIDGE LIVE allows the pass through of metadata, and supports the following
metadata types:
• Ad insertion markers (SCTE-35/SCTE-104) conversion
• 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
Encoding and Decoding Protocols Supported
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
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, 8/10-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
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 800Mbps)
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
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 800Mbps)
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 9 OS and Network Administration" on page 67.
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 is 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, by hovering the mouse over, there is also a pipeline stop and start
button.
Figure 5. Pipeline Stop Button
Figure 6. Pipeline Play Button
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.

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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)).
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.
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 62). 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)

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• 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 7 below.
• For streams I/O, select either:
• 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 7. The Interfaces panel of Dashboard
Figure 8. 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.

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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.
Figure 9. 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 10. 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.

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Figure 11. Memory GPU/System RAM panel of Dashboard
Figure 12. Memory GPU/System RAM panel of Dashboard showing mouseover
message
When you hover the mouse over the line in the graph, a mouseover message
reports the amount of memory used followed by the amount of memory that is
available.
Lower Panel
In the lower panel of Dashboard, you can see a list of all existing streams – both
input and output. Use the Stream statistics radio buttons to filter by All, Input
stream only, or Output stream only. You can also search for a particular stream
using the search tab in the upper right section of the panel. See Figure 13 below.
NOTE: Pipelines that are still being configured and have yet to be applied will not display
in the stream statistics area.

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Figure 13. Dashboard Stream Statistics
In the event that an error occurs, the relevant line will turn red to notify you. Once
you hover over a line with your cursor, the system will give you an error message
as shown below in Figure 14.
Figure 14. BRIDGE LIVE UI - Stream Errors
Beyond the Dashboard
Besides the Dashboard, two other important areas of the interface are System
Information and Stream Configuration. Other areas of the interface are covered as
necessary in later chapters.
System Information
To view system information, hover your mouse over the Setup menu in the upper
right corner, then click System information. System information reports various
aspects of the system including software version, OS version, Installation ID,
Memory statistics, drivers, hardware and network information.

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Figure 15. Selecting System information from the Setup menu
Figure 16. System Information
Stream Configuration
The bottom left corner of the Dashboard has an Add new pipeline button for
adding a new pipeline. Selecting it directs you to the setup window. This is
the same window accessed when you want to change the configuration of an
existing stream. From the left column, click on a stream you want to change, and
the stream settings window displays as shown in Figure 17.
If you need to get back to the main Dashboard view, click on the AJA/Comprimato
logos in the top left of the application window.