Bridge Technologies today announced that it had received the IBC 2019 Best of Show Award for the company’s new Widglets™ API.
The Bridge Technologies VB440 IP Probe monitors all media traffic types on an IP network. The new Widglets API for the VB440 recognises that the data on the network – video, audio, ancillary data – collected by the VB440 has significant inherent potential value that can, in effect, be extracted not only for monitoring and analysis of the performance of the network but also for other uses, workflows and applications that can leverage the availability of live data. Full motion, colour-accurate, ultra-low-latency video, for example, can be made available from any source to any application or user – anywhere in the world, such that a geographically-dispersed team can work together on the same project.
The data - previously only available to network managers - can be easily imported into any browser-based application, enabling, for example, a virtually instantaneous high level judgement of media production quality to be possible, thanks to the VB440’s ultra-low latency.
“Take a camera painter, for instance,” said Simen K Frostad, Chairman, Bridge Technologies. “Since the camera painter’s work is so latency-sensitive, this task is always performed at the venue – occupying a large amount of physical space in the OB vehicle. With the help of the Widglets API, the painters can be moved to a central location or to any combination of locations – because now, a single painter can have multiple cameras with multiple waveform scopes via a single HTML5 video monitor view. Crew at different locations can view all this data, instead of splitting it by location or technician. As such: using the new Widglets API for the VB440 obviously has incredibly positive implications for remote production, for example.”
All nominations for the IBC Best of Show Awards are reviewed by a panel of independent industry experts at the show. Each nominee received a stand visit from a judge to examine the product in detail. Factors taken into account include general quality and relevance of the product; design and build quality; business/operational benefits; innovation in concept/design/delivery; technical excellence; cost-effectiveness; and game-changing ability.
“We demonstrated the Widglets API at IBC, and the response we got from the industry was hugely positive and highly encouraging,” said Frostad. “They could clearly see that it delivers something new, unique and valuable to the industry that is potentially transformational in production – and the user effort required to leverage its potential is minimal. Although the provision of a Widglets API for a network probe sounds simple, its implications are far-reaching. The Widglets API is perhaps the most exciting thing we’ve ever done, so we’re delighted to have been honoured at IBC in this way.”