Bridge Technologies Enhances VB120/220 Probes with New VB278 RF Module

Following is a new module for the technology company Bridge Technologies following its VB120 and VB220 monitoring probe offerings. On the other point, the many new functionalities added will now allow a significantly improved quality of support for both probes to monitor satellite contribution and direct-to-home distribution. The base probes overall have an enormous functionality range, ideal for DVB-S and DVB-S2, plus DVB-S2X modulation standards.

The VB120 and VB220 probes can handle a wide range of network standards: IP unicasts and multicasts, OTT/ABR streams, and a wide range of RF formats, including SRT and ASI. A selection of the key monitoring features available on these probes include TR 101 290 analysis, IP multicast monitoring, HLS/M-DASH monitoring, TS recording, RF analysis, and SRT relay operations. Of even more interest, however, is the SRT feature: it gives the ability to convert the received RF streams into IP/UDP streams for access by the SRT standard. This capability brings engineers further diagnostic control and insight into their networks.

The new VB278 module adds up to four independent RF L-band inputs to the probes, enabling specific monitoring and analysis of RF streams in satellite contribution and direct-to-home distribution infrastructure. One input is activated by default while three are options that can be turned on by a software license key. An ability of supporting two VB278 modules in a single chassis gives the support for up to eight independent RF inputs through round-robin operation, with the ability to monitor a significantly increased number of transponders.

Besides, the VB278 is also compatible with a host of other modulation standards, such as QPSK, 8PSK, and 8/16/32APSK, and also with the other standards such as DirecTV and AMC modes. With intelligent and user-friendly module delineation, features such as symbol rate detection require nothing more than user input in terms of frequency. The module also allows the receiver to access multiple measures of satellite signal analysis through MER (Modulation Error Rate), SNR (Signal to Noise Rate), EVM (Error Vector Magnitude), Constellation Diagrams, and many others. The information is made very apparent to any person because of easy-to-use dashboards that make both tactical, on-the-spot decisions and a longer term strategic plan. All data can be retrieved remotely through any browser that has HTML5 support.

The device is also futureproofed, featuring an expansion port that will enable installation of upcoming hardware functionalities. Future enhancements will include an SDR plug-on block, which will allow waterfall spectrum analysis and I/Q spectrum triggered recording, speaking to the importance of these functions in enabling the detection of signal interference and analysis of intermittent faults. This in itself presents the ongoing commitment of Bridge Technologies in consistently enhancing the range, flexibility, and capacity of its core monitoring solution for broadcasters handling both complicated and hybrid networks.

Chairman Simen K. Frostad said about the launch, “In the broadcast market our commitment to IP-based broadcast – a vision we’ve held for the last 20 years – has been vindicated. But even bigger than that is our commitment to monitoring in general, regardless of platform. Effective monitoring should constitute the backbone of any network delivery solution, especially those who are taking legacy components and beginning to hybridize with IP-based standards.

He added that this is the reason why they developed such an extensive range of add-ons for the core VB120 and VB220 probes, including the VB273 for redundancy and the VB258 for the monitoring of DVB-T/T2, ATSC1.0/ATSC 3.0, DVB-C, QAM-B, and ISDB-T formats. With these options available, alongside the VB278 for satellite, broadcasters are able to create the perfect custom solution, regardless of the complexity and range of their broadcast infrastructure.