Bridge Technologies has announced a major enhancement to the AV Sync functionality of its VB440 production probe, adding a new multi-service AV synchronisation comparison feature aimed at broadcasters operating complex, redundancy-driven live IP workflows.
The new capability enables frame-accurate synchronisation assessment across multiple delivery paths carrying the same service. In live production environments, particularly sports and premium broadcast, services are often delivered simultaneously via satellite, SRT, and other IP routes to ensure resilience.
These parallel paths inevitably arrive at different times, creating challenges when switching between feeds. Bridge Technologies’ latest update allows engineers to visually compare and precisely align these flows, ensuring glitch-free switching when it matters most.
The enhancement builds on the VB440’s AV Sync Generator, introduced earlier this year as a proactive approach to managing audio-video synchronisation. Instead of relying solely on packet time-stamps, the system embeds machine-readable electronic markers directly into the audio and video signals. When the service is reconstructed at the client’s, these markers are analysed to deliver real-time, frame-accurate synchronisation measurements based on the content itself rather than the transport layer.
More recent developments have expanded this functionality to include ancillary data synchronisation, enabling precise visualisation of timing differences between video, audio, and metadata, including immersive audio.
Additional visualisation tools, such as rolling shutter simulation and blink-and-beep reference cues, further improve usability and confidence, supporting accessibility requirements, regulatory compliance, and consistent start and end points across complex workflows.
With the newly introduced multi-service comparison feature, users can place multiple incoming services onto a shared timeline within the VB440 sync client. These services can be stacked and compared against a selected reference, allowing engineers to instantly identify frame-accurate offsets and adjust delays accordingly.
The browser-based interface has been designed for real-time decision-making, enabling new services to be added with a single click and aligned quickly in an intuitive workspace. APIs are also available, allowing broadcasters to build automation tools that draw on the VB440’s frame-accurate synchronisation data.
Simen K. Frostad, Chairman, Bridge Technologies, said, “Multiple transport methods carrying the same service is a practical reality in modern IP production, particularly when expenditure and resilience are both priorities. What matters is giving engineers the tools to manage this precisely and predictably, without compromising end delivery.”
He added that the update underscores the VB440’s role as a consolidated production monitoring platform, reducing cost, space, energy use, and operational complexity by replacing multiple standalone tools with a single, browser-accessible system.