Arkona Technologies has announced an integration between its BLADE//runner AT300 platform and Bitfocus Buttons, providing users with access to a range of its functions via a physical interface.
Aiming to support flexible working templates across both ST 2110 and SDI applications, the arkona module (v1.0.0) is now available in Bitfocus Buttons from v1.8.2.
Combining the engineering expertise of both companies aims to make the platform’s capabilities accessible in real-world environments, said the partners. Features such as autodiscovery, autopopulation and a range of preconfigured setups and collections for common workflows aim to enable users to get started immediately, reducing the need for manual configuration while enabling customisation to meet specific requirements.
Through internal blade routing and external routing to third-party devices, the module can autodiscover sources and destinations which can either autopopulate the Buttons or selected according to need and preference. Blades and devices can be routed by button touch, whether a straightforward SDI input to output, or more complex breakaway routing of SDI audio inputs into an audio shuffler, said the company.
Additionally, monitoring blade status metrics allows users to see where inputs and outputs are locked, connected or routed, as well as providing hardware information such as PTP lock status, power supply voltage, CPU usage and uptime. Multiple blades can be connected, aiming to enable identification and rebooting as needed.
Tarald Moe Bjølseth, key account manager Europe and Africa at Bitfocus, commented, “The strength of this partnership lies in the complementary expertise of our engineering teams and their shared understanding of real-world production challenges. By developing BLADE//runner-specific configurations and preset templates within the Bitfocus control environment, we have gone beyond basic interoperability to create a genuinely practical solution. Autodiscovery, autopopulation and preconfigured collections for common workflows allow operators to get started immediately, while the intuitive Bitfocus interface makes it easy to customise, adapt and save individual setups. We’re proud of what our teams have achieved by combining their technical expertise and look forward to building on this success with new features in future releases.”
Wiggo Evensen, sales and partner manager at arkona technologies, added: “We knew from early contact with Bitfocus that they understood implicitly that workflow efficiency is about achieving a perfect balance between speed and flexibility. Achieving that requires a real understanding the product you’re integrating with—in this case, our BLADE//runner—and then packaging likely functional workflows together in easy-access presets, whilst still making it simple to adapt and alter those if desired”.
