On-Air and Off-Air mode

When everything is set, you can bring a guest ON-AIR by pressing the button. This will display a red ON-AIR indicator next to a new button.

While a guest is On-Air you can MUTE their audio (by pressing the button) or make any other adjustments required. When they have completed their part in the production, you can bring them back Off-Air by clicking the button. This will disconnect the guest from the Studio and reconnect them to the Control Room and the audio from any other Off-Air Guests.

Guests can easily be reconnected to the studio by clicking the button again. Toggling a guest On-and Off-Air can happen as often as required for a production. When an Off-Air guest is no longer required for a production, clicking the button will disconnect them from AIR BRIDGE. While dropping a guest will ‘hang-up’ their connection, it will still keep their contact information associated with that channel. You can still easily reconnect with them by clicking the button again, sending them a new link to connect with. If the AIR BRIDGE Operator presses , a new invite will have to be sent to the guest in order for them to connect; however, if the guest themselves hung up or closed their browser window, the original link will still work and AIR BRIDGE will wait for them to reconnect. This is in case a guest drops accidentally, either by pressing a wrong button or because of internet loss; they can simply click on the same link again and get right back in.

To clear the channel for use by another guest, you will need to click

Working with Off-Air Guests

When guests are initially connected, they will be in an Off-Air state. When Off-Air, a guest’s video/audio is routed directly to the AIR BRIDGE operator and is not sent up to the studio. In this state, the remote guest will also see and hear the AIR BRIDGE operator from the webcam and headset on the console.

If there are multiple guests involved in a production, the AIR BRIDGE operator can interact with all of the Off-Air guests simultaneously. This provides a virtual ‘Green Room’ for the guests, allowing them to prep for the show before going On-Air. It provides a way for your director or production manager to interact with everyone to discuss what will happen on the show, answer any final questions people may have, and have everyone ready when it’s time to go On-Air. When Off-Air, guests can also hear and speak to each other, helping them to gel as a group, and giving them a chance to coordinate their approach to the coming show.

Working with On-Air Guests

Once you have the guest signals dialed in and the guest prepped to participate in the production, you can connect them to the studio by clicking the button. This will disconnect the guest from the control room video/audio and connect them directly with the studio. When On-Air, guests will see the return video signal sent from the studio and hear the studio’s return audio signal -combined with a mix-minus audio from all of the other guests that are also On-Air (or the specific audio being sent to that guest if AIR BRIDGE is in Multi-Production Mode).

While guests are On-Air, the operator can continue to make video and audio adjustments to their signals but should exercise caution when making any significant changes that might impact an image on screen. When a guest is no longer needed On-Air, they can be switched back into the Off-Air state. Taking A guest Off-Air again does NOT drop their connection. Guests can be moved between On-Air and Off-Air as often as required to support your production workflow, without the need to reconnect with them.

When an On-Air guest is switched back to Off-Air, they are immediately reconnected with the AIR BRIDGE operator, and a still frame image is sent to the studio as a proxy until they go On-Air again.

This brings a lot of flexibility to your workflow. Guests can be taken Off-Air between takes to discuss what may need to be changed in a reshoot, or between segments of a longer program when they may need to be prepped for what is up next. Since the guest connection is never dropped, they can be brought back On-Air immediately with just a single button press.