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Going Live in 3, 2, 1…

Companies, schools and houses of worship are embracing live production like never before, introducing new opportunities for pro video dealers and integrators.

Welcome to the second edition of the

Pro Video Dealer

newsletter. Our

first dispatch

, covering the growing opportunities for dealers/integrators in shared storage, was very well received. A great start to the new newsletter for the industry.

Live Production Evolves

This month, we take a look at the enormous expansion in live production for businesses, learning institutions and houses of worship– and also look at some of the key products that are perfectly suited for this. Changes are coming at an incredible pace, for the organization stepping into live production for the first time, for the organization upgrading what would previously have been a cursory streaming project to a full-fledged, multi-camera production, and for larger corporations and institutions bringing their outsourced TV network-style presentations in house.

The primary motivating factors for this are a new generation of technologies that enable more affordable, more streamlined and more user-friendly productions. Also, a big contributing factor are growing number of new platforms to pull viewers to live presentations via consumer CDNs such as Facebook Live, YouTube Live and Twitter’s Periscope, where users receive notifications about upcoming live events.

Whether it’s adding excitement and polish to a CEO address or increasing corporate engagement by bringing live events to employees spread all over the world, live production offers viewers a unique kind of immediacy and community.

For live production logistics, clients look to video dealers and integrators to match them with the right solutions, provide knowledge and recommend the most appropriate peripheral equipment. And one thing is clear about live production: If it’s not right – if there are dropouts, glitches, bandwidth problems, synch issues, or anything else that interrupts the broadcast – there are no second chances. Here’s a quick overview at some great examples of things you can do with new, more affordable tools that broaden out the live production market for you and your customers:

Telestream

has marketed some extremely popular streaming software for laptop and desktop users with its Wirecast family. Now they’ve taken that and built into a turnkey system on a Windows 10 box. Bundled with NewBlue Titler Live, Wirecast Gear offers switching, fades, wipes, chroma key, and lower-thirds. Simple and straightforward to sell, Wirecast Gear can be packaged with the cameras and other requirements. The New York Yankees invested in this to reach an audience via Facebook Live.

Epiphan

‘s Pearl 2 performs as an all-in-one appliance. Control of the unit is from a small touchscreen in the front of the unit. Users hook up cameras and live stream from there. Pearl 2 takes in up to six video sources over HDMI or SDI. Features include chroma keying for green screen, changing backgrounds, and titling lower thirds. The company’s

Webcaster X2

is designed for use with YouTube Live or Facebook Live and interfaces with existing workflows, while the

Avio

has USB capture for up to 4K, enabling users to plug in a professional camera and route directly to the computer through USB ports.

The most established player in this field is

NewTek

; its

TriCaster

series of products is designed to work for every level of live presentation. The TriCaster Mini is designed for users entering this live production world with 4 HDMI or SDI inputs and available NDI connectivity, while the new TriCaster TC1 is a full featured IP production system with switching, streaming and recording in HD, 3G and 4K UHD 60p. The TC1 includes full NDI capability, studio-grade Skype TX video calling, 16 external inputs and 4 M/Es and a lot more.

While all these companies have a foothold in the corporate and educational markets, New Tek has been there the longest, and they are still at the heart of many school presentations, from elementary school through to

major universities

. With future issues of

Pro Video Dealer

, we’ll continue to examine these kinds of exciting developments, as customers and clients that have been involved in AV expand into professional production and broadcast.

Product News

Epiphan: Create stunning live video programs by combining, encoding, switching and recording your 4K and HD video. Live stream on Facebook, YouTube or any other CDN from your 12G SDI or 4K HDMI cameras and professional line-level audio. Simple to use with a web-based portal for initial configuration and a touch screen or tablet interface for live production control.

Epiphan Pearl 2 Demo

First Look at the Epiphan Pearl 2

NewTek: Using TriCaster Mini, anyone using everyday camcorders can create and publish great video content in minutes, stream it live, and make even the smallest presentation captivate audiences like network-style TV. With everyday camcorders and TriCaster Mini, anyone can make a show with professional results.

TriCaster Mini Overview

TriCaster TC1 Overview

Telestream: Wirecast Gear is an extremely portable computer workstation designed to run Wirecast Pro for live event production and streaming. With four HD-SDI or HDMI professional camera inputs and all the live streaming production features of Wirecast Pro, in a compact, powerful hardware system, Wirecast Gear is a unique blend of performance, ease of use and affordability. Just plug in your cameras and start streaming.

Wirecast Gear Overview

User Stories

Continuous Communication: Inside the American Cancer Society’s Video Strategy

Junior High Students Learn Media Production on Professional Multi-Camera Switcher

WGBH Logs Into to Facebook Live With Telestream Wirecast Gear

Major League Soccer’s D.C. United Ups Its Facebook Live Game with Wirecast

Using Overflow Rooms to Accommodate Large Audience Sizes at Your Next Live Event

The Best Live Streaming Setups for Social Media Platforms

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