SoftGear, Ross' latest software-defined platform for audio, video and metadata processing

SoftGear is a technology platform based on the OpenGear ecosystem that creates new ways to acquire, process, manage and distribute content.

As part of the Ross Live | 2020, Ross has announced the launch of SoftGear, a new processing platform of signals that is based on the design and methodology of the ecosistema OpenGear from Emmy Award-winning Ross Video and its expertise in providing interoperable systems.

SoftGear is a technology platform that creates new ways to acquire, process, manage and distribute content. It complements existing hardware-based workflows with software-based processing for both on-premises workflows and ultimately cloud environments, delivering video, audio and metadata processing on COTS hardware.

Inside SoftGear, algorithms are encapsulated using modern container technology, targeting the CPU or GPU instead of the FPGA or DSP, and media processing services are deployed as microservices, instead of dedicated physical cards. This enables rapid, hardware-free integration of third-party IP that would not otherwise be possible. A common user interface framework across DashBoard It also ensures that SoftGear is extremely easy to use for operators everywhere.

Ross initially presents three product offerings built on the SoftGear platform: a Nielsen watermark encoder for IP (NWE-IP), which enables watermarking for audience measurement in AES67 and ST 2110 environments; the processor Radio and Streaming Audio Processor integrating the latest generation of legendary Orban radio processing for AM, FM, DAB and streaming; and finally, Broadcast Audio Processor (BAP) integrates Realtime Loudness Leveling (RTLL), Nielsen watermarking and Dolby Digital encoding into a flexible multichannel solution for playout and signal distribution.