BirdDog has announced it is ushering in a new era of NDI routing control with the launch of BirdDog Central 2.0. Available immediately worldwide, BirdDog Central 2.0 is the industry’s first browser-based NDI routing management software that delivers SSO support, smart grouping of NDI receivers, real-time NDI routing, a powerful media playback engine, and support for thousands of sources.
   

BirdDog Central 2.0 makes routing NDI video across the network easy; users simply select a source, a destination device or group, and hit ‘connect.’ And since Central 2.0 is browser-based, users can quickly and easily access the NDI network from wherever they may be, providing a powerful, decentralized solution for managing complex broadcasts anywhere in the world.

BirdDog Central 2.0 is available in three versions; Lite, Pro and Enterprise. Each version builds upon the previous features with enterprise being the most comprehensive. Below lists each version's capabilities and distinctions between another.

Central Lite

• View all NDI sources
• View 4 NDI destinations

Central Pro

• View and group all NDI sources
• View and group all NDI destinations
• Router control

Central Enterprise

• View and group all NDI sources
• View and group all NDI destinations
• Router control with instant switch
• Thumbnail views in routing interface
• Media playback
• User management
• Separate audio/ video routing, merging and management

 Additional key features of BirdDog Central 2.0 include:

• Smart Grouping: Users can group NDI decoders together to easily manage content distribution to multiple receivers;
• Browser-Based, Decentralized Control: Central 2.0 is browser based so users can access anywhere on the network from wherever they may be in the world;
• NDI Routing in 3 clicks: At its core Central 2.0 is an NDI routing application. Route NDI video across the network easily by selecting a source, a destination device or group, and hitting ‘connect’;
• Video Preview Windows: Video previews allow interactive browser based monitoring and switching of sources, making Central 2.0 an ideal option for pre-switching sources on large events and live shows;
• Powerful, 'Light' Media player: The built-in media player uses a measurably low amount of CPU power, regardless if playing a file back once or looping 24/7. The Media Player feature achieves this by pre-rendering sources to NDI so when they are played back they are already natively NDI; 
• NDI Audio Re-Insertion: Select any NDI video source and join it with a separate audio source to create a new mix. The feature is ideal for creating sub mixes for distribution in venue or remotely via BirdDog Cloud and works seamlessly with BirdDog Dante NDI Bridge software;
• SSO: Central 2.0 supports SSO to make life easy when working in an enterprise environment.

This spring at NAB 2022, BirdDog debuted a breadth of new NDI hardware, software and cloud-based workflow solutions, including a number of industry-first products that significantly enhance the broadcast, live event production and post production workflow experience. The global release of BirdDog Central 2.0 further signals its commitment to developing and delivering innovative, strategically significant and advanced NDI-based workflows for broadcasters, live event producers, post production facilities and the corporate enterprise.