At a glance
| Category | Example | How it's priced | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| OmniBridge | — | Usage-based (sources/destinations), one-time term payment, unlimited installs | Self-hosted, on your own network |
| Software competitor | SRT Mini Server | Per-event licenses, or modular permanent-license packs | Self-hosted |
| Broadcast hardware appliances | Haivision Makito X/X4, Magewell Pro Convert | Capital purchase, one unit per channel, typically custom-quoted | Dedicated physical hardware |
| Cloud-hosted / metered platforms | AWS Elemental MediaConnect and similar | Usage-metered — billed per flow-hour and per GB transferred | Third-party cloud infrastructure |
vs. SRT Mini Server
The closest software comparison — also a self-hosted SRT routing tool. Re-verified against SRT Mini Server's own site and documentation before publishing this page.
| SRT Mini Server | OmniBridge | |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing model | Per-event licenses (e.g. a 7-day, 6-stream, 1-host tier around $20, one-off, no auto-renewal), plus separate modular permanent-license packs (Full, NDI/OMT Pack, Routing Pack) and an SDI output add-on for hardware capture cards | Usage-based annual/multi-year term — priced by how many sources/destinations you route, not by event or a fixed stream cap |
| Install count | Licensed per host/event | Unlimited concurrent installs under one key — run it on as many machines as you want |
| Protocol scope | SRT-focused, with NDI/OMT and SDI-out as separate packs/add-ons | SRT and UDP MPEG-TS included; RTMP, RIST, and NDI as individually priced add-ons |
| Host platform | Windows only (Windows 10/11, Windows Server) — confirmed in their own system requirements | Linux (Debian/Ubuntu) or Windows — same dashboard either way |
| Remote management | Primarily a local Windows application; a web-based remote control interface exists but is off by default and has to be manually activated (Tools → Remote Control) | The dashboard is the only interface, always reachable over the network from any browser — nothing to enable separately |
| Best fit | A one-off event or a specific pack's use case (e.g. pure SRT-to-NDI conversion) | An ongoing production operation with recurring shows, where per-event licensing would mean re-buying access every time |
This isn't a claim that SRT Mini Server is worse at what it does — it's a genuinely different licensing shape (per-event and modular packs) aimed at a different usage pattern than OmniBridge's ongoing, usage-based model.
vs. broadcast hardware appliances
Dedicated encoder/decoder hardware — Haivision's Makito X/X4 line, Magewell's Pro Convert series, and similar — is the traditional way broadcast facilities have handled SRT contribution.
- One physical unit per channel.Each encoder or decoder appliance typically handles a fixed number of channels — scaling up means buying more hardware, not just changing a software license.
- Capital purchase, custom-quoted.These are enterprise products sold through resellers with request-a-quote pricing, not self-service checkout — a real cost and lead-time commitment before you're routing your first stream.
- OmniBridge's tradeoff.Software running on hardware you already have (or a small cloud/on-prem VM) — no per-channel hardware purchase, and adding capacity is a license change, not a shipment.
vs. cloud-hosted / metered platforms
Services like AWS Elemental MediaConnect route your video through the provider's own cloud infrastructure rather than your own network.
- Usage-metered billing.MediaConnect, for example, bills by the flow-hour plus a per-gigabyte rate for data transferred — real, ongoing infrastructure costs that scale with how much and how long you stream, on top of whatever the platform itself charges.
- Your video leaves your network.Routing happens on the provider's infrastructure, not yours — a real consideration for anyone who needs to keep contribution feeds on infrastructure they control.
- OmniBridge's tradeoff.Self-hosted — your feeds route entirely on your own network, and the license is a flat term price with no metered bandwidth bill stacked on top.
See it for yourself
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