Virtual Objects

Virtual objects let you create a logical layer on top of your physical router ports. They provide custom naming, multi-port grouping, and advanced routing capabilities that physical ports alone don’t offer.

Why use virtual objects?

Physical router ports have names assigned by the router (e.g., “Input 1”, “Output 12”). Virtual objects let you:

• Rename ports — Give physical ports meaningful names like “Studio Camera 1” or “Program Out” without changing the router’s configuration.
• Group destinations — Create a single destination that routes to multiple physical outputs simultaneously. For example, a “Control Room” destination that feeds three monitors at once.
• Use multiple name sets — Maintain different naming schemes for different contexts (e.g., technical names vs. operator-friendly names).
• Enable source-to-source routing — Create routable virtual sources that can act as both a source and a destination, enabling signal chain workflows.

Virtual sources

A virtual source maps to a physical source port with a custom name. It appears in the routing panel alongside physical sources.

Creating virtual sources

1. From the router ports page — Navigate to Devices → select your appliance → select a router → Ports. Select the physical source ports you want to create virtual sources for, then click Create Virtual Sources.

2. From the Virtual Sources page — Navigate to Routing → Virtual Sources. Click the + button and configure the virtual source, selecting the physical port it maps to.

You can create virtual sources in bulk by selecting multiple physical ports at once.

Routable virtual sources

A virtual source can be marked as routable, which means it also appears as a destination in the routing panel. This lets you route one source to another — useful for signal processing chains where you want to control which source feeds into a processing path.

Virtual destinations

A virtual destination maps to one or more physical destination ports. When you route a source to a virtual destination, the signal is sent to all of its assigned physical ports.

Creating virtual destinations

1. From the router ports page — Navigate to Devices → select your appliance → select a router → Ports. Select the physical destination ports you want to group, then click Create Virtual Destinations.

2. From the Virtual Destinations page — Navigate to Routing → Virtual Destinations. Click the + button and configure the virtual destination, selecting one or more physical ports.

Multi-port destinations

A virtual destination with multiple physical ports is a multi-port destination. When you take a route to it, all assigned physical ports receive the same source signal. Birch tracks whether all ports are in sync and alerts you if any port falls out of sync.

Protection modes

Virtual destinations support protection to prevent accidental route changes:

Mode	Behavior
Free	Any user can route to this destination.
Explicit	Requires explicit confirmation before changing the route.
Lock	The destination is locked and cannot be rerouted until unlocked.

Name sets

Virtual objects support multiple name sets — alternative names for the same object. This lets you maintain different naming conventions for different teams or workflows. For example, a source might be named “CAM-1” in one name set and “Studio A Camera” in another.

How virtual objects appear in the routing panel

Virtual objects appear in the routing panel alongside physical ports. They use the names you’ve assigned (from the active name set) and behave the same way when routing — select a source, select a destination, and the route executes.

Tip

Virtual objects are optional. If you’re happy with your router’s physical port names and don’t need multi-port grouping, you can route using physical ports directly.