Does it act as a renderer when connected to say the Antipodes CX (which is acting as the Server)? The CX has a direct Ethernet out which is cool.
Does the Bridge II basically function the same as the ultraRendu?
The ultraRendu acts as a server over Ethernet when connected to the Antipodes CX, though I can also connect the USB put of the ultraRendu to the Sonore ultraDigital which is a USB digital converter with SPDIF output via BNC and a LVDS i2s output via HDMI. This I can then connect to the second I2S on the Directstream DAC which allows me to use the USB with another unit like the Aries G2 from AURALIC.
The image of the Bridge II shows a USB port. What is this used for? An option for a 2nd USB input?
This is no longer the case. For the last year and a half, the Bridge II cards no longer have a USB port. PS Audio needs to update the image on their Bridge II product page to reflect the latest hardware configuration for the Bridge II.
To answer you question on the functionality of the Bridge II, it can provide the same functionality as the UltraRendu. They perform the same role except the ultraRendu outputs in USB and the Bridge II is ethernet only (unless you have a legacy Bridge II card with the USB, although I don’t know if recent firmware has disabled that port).
Either of those scenarios will work. The USB output of the ultraRendu is quite good. I never felt the need to convert that to SPDIF or IS2, but others have. I cannot comment on the benefit of the ultraDigital when connected to the DirectStream DAC since I have not owned one, but surely someone hear has.