Versatile live streaming with AJA

• Features

• 08/08/2023

It provides a powerful and convenient way to deliver information - often with expanded reach. Depending upon the application, live stream setups can be as simple as a single person streaming to a platform like Facebook Live through to an intricate multi-channel production distributed across multiple platforms in different languages. Regardless of the scope or complexity of a project, AJA develops a broad range of intuitive streaming technologies for delivering high-quality streams that leave a lasting impression.

One of the most straightforward paths to live streaming starts with a device like AJA HELO Plus. Compact and reliable, the H.264 streamer/recorder makes it easy to get a high-quality stream up and running with the push of a button, even for operators with no prior technical experience. The intuitive nature of the device is particularly beneficial for smaller organizations that may not have a dedicated AV team but want to incorporate streaming into their workflows. It’s also economically priced for greater accessibility without compromising on quality.

Users with a need for additional production value can leverage its multi-input video/graphics processing to deliver sophisticated-looking streams without the need for external production equipment. Offering format flexibility, HELO Plus is equipped with both SDI and HDMI I/O and can stream up to 1080p60 while recording simultaneously to an SD card, USB storage, and NFS or SMB network storage. A new, licensable add-on feature for HELO Plus (PlayToStream) also lets users simultaneously stream a previously recorded session while streaming and recording another live session - again without the need for additional equipment.

Additionally, another new licensable four-channel audio option means users can support multiple dual-language workflows, as different languages can now be carried on each stereo pair. For example, a live stream of an ice hockey game might require separate commentaries for the home and away teams in both English and French. HELO Plus also supports the SRT protocol (Secure Reliable Transport), which provides security and reliability when streaming across the open internet.

For more complex streaming workflows that require the ability to move uncompressed baseband SDI to and from a wide range of contribution, delivery, and streaming codecs, AJA BRIDGE LIVE offers a comprehensive toolset. A powerful server in a 1RU form factor controlled via web UI, it supports multiple inputs, formats, and bit rates, as well as metadata and redundancy. It enables real-time bidirectional encoding, decoding, and transcoding for UltraHD and HD workflows and is commonly used for synchronous multi-channel video contribution, remote collaboration, direct-to-audience streaming, and delivering content in multiple formats and bitrates.

Developed in collaboration with Comprimato, AJA BRIDGE LIVE is equipped with 12G-SDI I/O and supports an extensive array of protocols such as NDI, H.265, H.264, JPEG 2000, JPEG XS, and SRT. It’s also used for a wide range of live production applications, from facilitating remote production and twoway interviews to live event streaming, synchronous multicam backhaul with HDR, cloud contribution, program return, confidence monitoring, collaborative production, ABR ladder profile hand-off for OTT packaging, and more. Across applications, BRIDGE LIVE ensures simultaneous, secure, and stable workflows across private lines and public internet alike.

BRIDGE LIVE and HELO Plus can also be used in tandem for workflow efficiency, such as when BRIDGE LIVE is the receiving hub in live production. In this instance, it would receive a stream from HELO Plus for conversion back/to SDI at a production facility. At the same time, BRIDGE LIVE could also receive contribution streams from various third-party encoders or IP cameras.