Bridge Technologies VB440 production probe is integrated into NEP’s software orchestration Platform, delivering all monitoring and visualisation tools from a virtualised location.
Bridge Technologies has announced at the NAB 2026 show that its VB440 production probe has been integrated into NEP Platform, the new software orchestration system that NEP Group launched a month before NAB, in March. All of the functionality of the VB440 will be deployable as software via the Platform.
This means that NEP clients can launch and use Bridge's monitoring and visualisation tools from a single, virtualised location alongside the range of other production applicatons from third-party broadcast manufacturers that the Platform supports.
The VB440 is a comprehensive suite of production tools within a single appliance including full video scopes – waveform, vectorscope and histograms. For audio, it supports Dolby Atmos with 64-channel monitoring across unlimited flows, plus LUFS and Gonio meters as well as stereo down mixes and single channel isolation. Network engineers can monitor packet capture, PTP timing analysis, ST 2022-7 redundancy and event logging, among other capabilities.
These elements are all managed within the VB440’s Canvas interface and workspace, where users can place and arrange any number of components on a single screen in an arrangement that suits their own workflow, per project. Updates to the probe shown at NAB 2026 include multi-service AV sync, allowing teams to ensure precise alignment of different sources of the same service. This assurance is valuable in cases source signals have been transported via different paths for redundancy.
Fundamental Shift for NEP and Bridge
Within NEP Platform, each of these capabilities will be available as a deployable software application. NEP Platform is a fundamental shift in how live production infrastructure is deployed and managed. Rather than building fixed, dedicated systems per function, the platform works as an orchestration layer that deploys and runs known third-party broadcast software on shared COTS compute in modern IP environments.
Application versions and configurations are validated before deployment, lifecycle management – launching, scaling, shutting down – is fully automated, and telemetry delivers real-time visibility into health, performance and resource usage.
VB440 probe instrument view
For Bridge, this integration is a further way for production teams to apply VB440 monitoring, when and where it is required. The same analysis and production tools, accessible in real time by up to eight users via an HTML5 browser, are now available on demand, scaling to meet specific broadcast or event contexts.
VB440 Demos on NEP Platform
Visitors to NAB were able to see the NEP Platform interface as a demo, select Bridge from the application catalogue, and watch the VB440 software deploy onto shared COTS compute. Once running, it appears as a virtual device within NEP's orchestration layer, where operators complete configuration and execute a live workflow before shutting down.
Dan Murphy, VP of NEP Platform said, “Bridge has been one of the valuable partners whose technology has been integrated into NEP Platform at launch, helping us achieve the level of transparency and operational insight that large-scale remote production demands.”
Simen K. Frostad, Chairman of Bridge Technologies commented, "For many years, NEP has used Bridge to meet their own production needs, as well as serving as a crucial testing ground whenever we introduce new features. Much of our production roadmap has been developed in direct conjunction with NEP, listening to feedback from engineers who use the platform every day to constantly refine the product based on real-world demands." bridgetech.tv
