BitFire, the leader in software-defined live production and IP transmission, has announced a strategic partnership with Appear, a leader in high-capacity, sustainable solutions for media processing and live content delivery.
The collaboration integrates Appear’s high-density live contribution X-Platform with BitFire’s global transport network and cloud production ecosystem, offering broadcasters, sports leagues and streaming platforms a faster, more flexible and reliable way to deliver live video from venue to viewer.
Appear’s compression functions and transport endpoints can now be paired with BitFire Engines, enabling direct ingest into BitFire’s Transport Network, providing high-quality, low-latency video contribution and distribution, and granting access to BitFire’s virtual production tools, including its Cloud Switcher, Cloud Replay and FireBridge remote talent interface, to support remote control, monitoring and distribution from anywhere.
Jim Akimchuk, President & CEO, BitFire, said, “This partnership merges best-in-class edge encoding with professional IP transport and scalable cloud production.
“By combining Appear’s efficient encoding with BitFire’s flexible infrastructure, we are removing traditional geographic and hardware constraints for all live content producers.”
The combined Appear and BitFire solution is designed for high-demand environments such as live sports and entertainment broadcasts, where near-instant transport and flawless quality are critical. Appear’s X Platform solutions, trusted globally for high-density encoding and decoding workflows, deliver high-quality feeds directly to BitFire’s best-in-class IP transport network and cloud production platform, supporting rapid deployment of cloud, remote integration model (REMI) and hybrid productions.
Andy Rayner, CTO, Appear, said, “Partnering with BitFire allows us to better serve the evolving needs of broadcasters and cloud operators by directly connecting our products with a world-class IP transport and cloud production provider.
“Whether for global sporting events or full-time distribution, we’re collectively raising the bar for efficiency and quality in live production.”
The integrated solution is currently being evaluated by major sports and entertainment clients in North America and Europe, with full-scale deployments expected to begin in early 2026.