BRIDGE Technologies / news / microVB™ system Wins IP&TV Industry Award

NEWS/microVB™ system Wins IP&TV Industry Award

(Oslo, Norway - March 28, 2011)

Bridge Technologies' microVB™ system is the winner of the 2011 IP&TV Industry Award in the Best Quality Improvement for IP, Hybrid or Connected TV category. The awards were presented at Madame Tussaud's in London on March 23rd, by a panel of experts from cable and telecom operators, representing a cross-section of leading service providers from around the world.

First introduced in 2010, the microVB™ system is a breakthrough in miniaturized remote monitoring and analysis for IPTV and digital media applications. The smallest probe in Bridge Technologies' VideoBRIDGE monitoring system, microVB™ adds the final link in the chain, giving operators completely integrated end-to-end monitoring from satellite to set-top box.

Robust and small enough to be delivered to the subscriber by mail, and with simple, plug-and-play installation, microVB™ is the first cost-effective and technically viable solution for gathering continuous real-time time data about the performance at the viewers' set-top box.

On installation between the STB and television, microVB™ automatically locates a server on the operator's network and begins sending data, enabling deep packet inspection without requiring a technician to visit the customer's home to install the device or diagnose problems.

"There is no practical and cost-effective rival to the microVB™ system, so this award does recognize a real advance for the digital media industry," said Simen K. Frostad. "Until the microVB™ was launched, operators had no easy way to get the kind of continuous, detailed analysis data from the customer network that would help pinpoint intermittent faults, and give a complete view of the service quality experienced by the subscriber."

Because it is completely independent of the STB's operation, microVB™ avoids the technical and legal complications of previous software-based attempts to provide monitoring at the subscriber premises, reduces customer churn arising from poor service, and saves operators the costs of service visits to subscribers.

The VideoBRIDGE system is the first true headend to set-top box monitoring solution available in the industry and includes a full range of IP probes for analysis at any point in the chain from satellite to set-top box. The award-winning VideoBRIDGE series of probes offers an innovative approach to monitoring and analysis of converging services employing stream-based IP packets.

Compatible with all major stream-based industrial standards such as MPEG-2, H.264/AVC, and DVB/ATSC - ETSI TR 101 290, the VideoBRIDGE series offers a complete end-to-end system for the continuous quality assurance of a network. With full support of the innovative, patented MediaWindow, the VideoBRIDGE series is at the forefront of digital TV measurement, monitoring, and analysis technologies.