Solutions for Live Webcasting and Live Video Streaming

Ok, so you want to stream a live music event? Or you want to webcast a corporate meeting, AGM or conference? But you’re not sure how? 

The smartest option is to call the pro’s in but if you’re intent on doing it on your own, we’ve put together a quick list of some of the different software and hardware video streaming solutions out there.

So if you’ve got the hardware side of things already sorted – a mac or PC with a Blackmagic Decklink card or an AJA card for example – then you’ll need some video streaming / webcasting software. 

Telestream Wirecast is a fairly solid ‘pro’ video streaming and webcasting solution and given that it’s from Telestream, you know you’re in good hands. With built in vison mixing it’s a one-stop solution. Just connect your cameras and go. Wirecast also supports lots of CDNs and streaming servers: uStream, Justin.tv, Livestream, Stickam.com, Sermon.net, Brightcove, Akamai, Limelight, BitGravity, and Wowza

they say…

"Wirecast software lets you produce professional-looking live events with just a camera, an internet connection and a computer. Stream or record live internet shows, broadcast breaking news or sporting events, stream live concerts, transmit church services, corporate meetings, lectures and much more"

Boinx is similar to Wirecast. Lot’s of graphics options and it integrates nicely with streaming services such as uStream, Justin.tv, and Livestream

they say…

"BoinxTV is like your personal TV truck without the truck. Combine live camera video, clips, photos, 3D graphics, lower thirds, audio and more to create a stunning recording or live video"

If you’re a bit more hands on and you have an external AV setup already in place, and all you need is the video streaming element, then QuickTime Broadcaster or Flash Media Encoder might be the way forward.

So what higher end ‘all-in-one’ portable live video streaming and webcasting solutions are there?

TriCaster from NewTek has made a stir over the last few years and their newest 850 series certainly looks the part on paper. Combined with the external vision mixer control panel and built in streaming, the TriCaster truly is a multi-camera one-box solution. And NewTek’s TriCaster’s offer one of the most affordable virtual set solutions on the market.

If you want real portability in your streaming box, Digital Rapid’s, TouchStream is an attractive unit. It kind of does what it says on the tin. Touch and stream…

Enough said.

The Niagara range of video streaming encoders from ViewCast offer a lot features and are an interesting alternative to Digital Rapid’s, TouchStream range.

If size matters, miniCASTER could be the answer. Not only is it ‘pocket-sized’, it also supports: LAN, WiFI, 3G and 4G and Satellite technology. Powerful little unit!

Before miniCASTER, LiveU were the first big streaming solution to open up the ‘uplink’ market. And the LiveU streaming units are as portable as it gets – yes you can wear it like a backpack! It works by bonding 3G/4G sim cards. It’s designed for news gathering etc. but could be great for streaming live video of music festivals or events.

So, it’s clear live video streaming and webcasting is here to stay! (Watch out telly…) But it can be a minefield. Not only do you have to get the technical aspect of the encoding nailed, there’s the crucial element of the back-end. Which CDN do I use? Do I want unicast or multicast streaming? Can I stream to iOS devices? What upload speed do I need? Can I stream into Facebook?

We offer a full end-to-end video streaming service to our clients and we approach any live video streaming, encoding and webcasting production with a broadcast sensibility. We use our years of broadcast skills, experience and equipment to offer a robustness and level of redundancy that your production needs. Please contact us to find out how we can help your next live video streaming or webcasting project.

info@trickboxtv.com  

0207 193 9722

Panasonic 50 Series Remote IP Camera Test: AW-HE50, AW-HS50, AW-RP50

We arranged with the guys from Panasonic to do a test of the Panasonic "50 Series" – an IP (Internet Protocol) network control based remote camera hot head system (AW-HE50H/S), including a remote camera controller (AW-RP50) and vision mixer (AW-HS50).

The AW-HE50 camera comes in two flavours – HDMI or HD SDI, starting at £2,400 for the HDMI version and £3,200 for the HD SDI output version (both prices exclude VAT). The vison mixer and remote control panel for the cameras both come in separate half 19" rack panels – so combined, they fit nicely into a standard broadcast 19" rackmount shelf or desk. Panasonic have kindly added a lip to the top of each to allow you to recess the body of the units into a desk or shelf.

The AW-HS50 vision mixer is £2,500 and the AW-RP50 remote camera control panel is just £1,500 (excluding VAT). The AW-RP50 and AW-HE50 cameras work over IP and the controller can control up to 100 cameras (if you had that many?!) The RP50 can also store 100 presets per camera and also supports conventional RS422 camera control too.

The AW-HE50 camera has a 1/3" Full HD MOS sensor and operates in either 1080/50i, 720/50p or 576/50i. Sony’s closest equivalent dome camera, the BRC-H700P uses three 1/3" CCD chips and also supports 1080/59.94i. However the price difference doesn’t go unnoticed. The Sony BRC-H700 comes in around £9,000 including the optional HD SDI board if you need it. But the two cameras are targeted for different markets. The Sony BRC-H700 makes for a good supplementary camera for broadcast productions – look out for those overhead shots of food being prepared in cooking shows at the weekend – plus reality shows and wide shots in studio shows. The Panasonic AW-HE50H/S caters more for the corporate, government, education and live event market.

The AW-HS50 compact live switcher is the really interesting unit in the 50 series. Initially, it may not look that impressive but once you’ve re-read the specs and physically had a play with it, you quickly change your mind. The HS50 has 4 SDI inputs and 1 DVI-D input as standard. Also as standard, it has 2 SDI outputs and 1 DVI-D output. Had it just been a simple 4 input, 2 output SDI switcher, it wouldn’t be much to shout about, but the inclusion of the DVI input and output instantly widens it’s uses. There’s also a frame synchroniser on every input and two switchable up-converters on two of the inputs and a colour corrector on each input. These features are all fairly standard these days but still mightily impressive for a unit that’s about half the size of a loaf of bread. And remember, just a few years ago, to do everything just listed, you’d need about 20 different bits of kit all whirring away – you’d need a handful of separate frame synchronisers for all your unlocked sources, a colour corrector for each input (if the synchroniser didn’t have that feature), a couple of separate upconverters for your SD sources and a DVI to SDI converter for that all-important PC you need to cut up.

One of the most notable features though of the AW-HS50 mixer is the multi-view output (with embedded audio level meters). This makes the HS50 switcher truly portable and user-friendly for those flyaway location productions – just plug and go.

Oh and did I mention it has an AUX output bus, two frame stores for graphics, PIP (picture in picture) and a chroma keyer too?!

Here’s some snaps of our test with the Panasonic 50 series (thanks to the guys from Panasonic for paying us a visit):

So all in all, the Panasonic ’50 series’ with IP network control is a great range of kit, and perfect for some applications. For low-end broadcast and flyaway productions, it makes for a very cost effective and portable multi-camera solution.  For something like a corporate AGM, live webcast or conference, the 50 series could be perfect – and more importantly, very budget friendly for the client. If you’d like to discuss hiring the Panasonic 50 series from Trickbox TV, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  

See below for the individual links to the Panasonic 50 series website:

Panasonic AW-HS50

Panasonic AW-HE50S

Panasonic AW-HE50H

Panasonic AW-RP50  

Here’s the Panasonic 50 Series Brochure

Step Aside Ninja – Samurai is Here!

Earlier this year, Atomos released their Ninja - a portable file-based recorder, player and monitor. At a list price of £835 (including VAT), it was one of, if not, the cheapest of these type of small and portable recording devices. The Ninja is a good product for the low price tag, but let down slightly by the fact it only has a HDMI input – good for DSLR users and low-end cameras and camcorders with HDMI outputs. But not great for pros with broadcast kit with SDI BNC outputs.

Well, Atomos either took on board some of the Ninja’s negative feedback on the HDMI issue or they’d always planned for an upgrade – and here it is, Samurai - just in time for NAB.

And yes, those are BNC connectors on the side! Full 10 bit, 4:2:2, HD SDI input with a looped output. Other new features include timecode and genlock inputs (allowing syncing another device for multi-camera recording or 3D recording). At £1,115 (including VAT), it’s still a good price. Aja’s KiPro Mini – another similar file-based portable Apple ProRes recorder is £1,700, so the Samurai is very competitively priced. Think we’ll probably get one here at Trickbox TV.

Here’s Atomos’ press release for Samurai

Check out the Atomos website for more info on the Samurai and Ninja

Here’s the Ninja’s promo video – doesn’t seem to be one for the Samurai yet. It’s going to be demo’d at NAB so there’ll no doubt be a few videos available of it after that.

Enter The Ninja from Atomos Video on Vimeo.