StreamQuik Video Streaming News

Streaming LIVE to the web and mobile devices: Some sound advice

streampro — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:56:49 +0000

When you want to stream live to your organization’s web site and to viewer’s mobile devices—like we do with our StreamCell portable live video streaming system—you need to make sure your streaming system can really do it without having to decode and re-encode your video, manually authenticate each stream or log on to a web interface each time you want to stream live. Let’s be real: When you want to stream live to your organization’s web site and to viewer’s mobile devices, you shouldn’t have to do anything more than flip a switch, which is exactly how our StreamCell system works. I’m shocked to see how many broadcasters and others are using an extremely convoluted live web-streaming workflow that requires them to re-encode their video and log on to a web portal each time they want to stream live—what a hassle! By the time you do this, you most likely have lost the story or worse, lost it to a competitor! If your organization is SERIOUS about streaming live to your web site and to viewer’s mobile devices, be sure you align yourself with an organization that can demonstrate a no-hassle live web and mobile workflow that truly allows you to simply flip a switch—there shouldn’t be any more effort involved than that. If there is, find another streaming solution provider who really understands the process, not just “talks the talk”. Many will say they can but when it comes time to prove it, I have seen all too many fall short. That’s why we conduct live StreamCell demos every Tuesday at www.MyStreamCell.com/demo and in person so people can see what our system is really capable of doing, and what’s possible when you align yourself with a streaming solutions company that knows what they’re doing and can prove it instead of just saying they do.

Live video streaming: A year of change, progress and new-year promise

streampro — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:47:18 +0000

As the year comes to a close, I am amazed at how much has changed and progressed in the live video streaming industry. One of the biggest and most notable progressions is the enhanced pace at which the cellular carriers have rolled out their 4G/LTE service much quicker than analysts predicted. This is significant because it further reduces the need and justification for streaming solutions that bond more modems together than are needed. As we demonstrate every Tuesday in our live weekly StreamCell demos, we can stream live over the 4G and LTE networks with just a single modem—something that smart broadcasters are starting to prefer because when you use fewer modems, you lower your latency, and there a multitude of other benefits as well not to mention cost. Another noteworthy change is how more broadcasters are coming to the realization that streaming live to their newscasts isn’t enough anymore to remain competitive. Now, smart broadcasters are demanding that streaming vendors demonstrate the ability to stream live to TV, the web and to viewer’s mobile devices simultaneously, and that’s not all. Broadcasters are also clamoring for a way to monetize their live streaming content with a monetization system that’s simple to use, and isn’t proprietary.

Perhaps the biggest change of all this past year is how the very broadcast landscape itself has changed with more change on the way, as more viewers migrate away from their television sets towards the web and their ever-present mobile devices. Broadcasters are also facing the daunting possibility of losing a great deal of their on-air spectrum to the cellular carriers. As broadcast executives see this “writing on the wall”, they are demanding more capability from streaming vendors far beyond just taking a broadcaster live to air. As more solutions hit the market with more affordable price points, broadcasters are looking at these solutions more closely, especially those that don’t continually cost them in perpetuity, like leased solutions do. While the lease model may be attractive on a monthly cost basis, some of the large broadcast networks, who use these leased streaming solutions now, are re-thinking their lease commitments because of their high cost of ownership, especially in light of the fact that lower-cost solutions are available.

The most exciting and explosive change? One word: Mobile!

All the trade pubs agree—the mobile market is exploding, and mobile viewer’s insatiable appetite for live video keeps growing rapidly. This is why if a streaming vendor can’t show the ability to stream live to air, the web and to mobile devices simultaneously while also demonstrating a non-proprietary monetization solution that’s easy to use, broadcasters should show these vendors the door. After all, to accept anything less would be putting broadcasters at a significant disadvantage, especially in light of all the changes this past year brought.

This past year has brought forth great change, and change is progress. This upcoming new year holds lots of promise for even more change—bring it, and happy holidays to all!

Streaming live to the web and mobile devices: Important tips to avoid missing your target audience

streampro — Fri, 27 May 2011 01:36:16 +0000

Broadcasters, entertainment companies, government, military, educational and corporate entities all have something in common–they’re all looking for a way to stream live video to their web site and to mobile devices.

To reach web and mobile audiences with live, real-time video and audio, streamers need to realize that the web streaming workflow is comprised of two parts i.e. the UPLOAD part (the part where live video streamers stream their live feeds TO the web), and the DOWNLOAD part which is comprised of viewers who are trying to DOWNLOAD the live streams from the web to display on their computers and mobile devices using a variety of video players.

So what’s one of the key secrets to success? If you try to stream live using too much bandwidth, many web and mobile viewers on the DOWNLOAD side of the equation will likely not be able to see your live streams. Why? Many web and mobile viewers don’t have either the download capacity or processing power on their devices/platforms to keep up with live video streaming that’s being streamed at too high of a bit rate. So what’s the answer?

As a video streaming consultant, I recommend that people stream live at a bit rate of only 400-800Kbps. Otherwise, your live streams will likely not be viewable by large percentage of your target audience. This is just another reason why you really don’t need or want a streaming solution that uses more than 2 modems. Trying to bond more than 2 modems to achieve a higher aggregated bit rate is a waste of money especially when streaming live to the web and to mobile devices where streaming at more than 800K ends up doing streamers more harm than good. If you ask any good CDN, they will tell you the same thing–it’s all about the bit rate and more importantly, the download part of the viewer’s experience.

Making money from the web with live video streaming

streampro — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:33:38 +0000

More broadcasters are looking for ways to make money from their website assets, and smartly so. The answer: StreamCell live video streaming. Why? StreamCell gives broadcasters a way to broadcast live to air, and that’s not all. StreamCell also gives broadcasters a new and compelling way to access more captive “eyeballs” on the web and on mobile devices all at the same time in a way that can be easily monetized. How?

StreamCell offers a very simple monetization approach that allows broadcasters to create their own live web streaming pre-roll and overlay ads in-house without needing an outside ad network service provider. The best part: With this simple, do-it-yourself model, broadcasters no longer have to share such a huge portion off their ad revenues with their host provider–it’s a “game-changer” that’s getting broadcasters excited, and for good reason.

With StreamCell, broadcasters can create their own live, pre-roll ads that precede their live steams using a simple do-it-yourself graphics template. This template also includes the ability to create overlay/branding ads that appear over the live video streams in the lower-third part of the StreamCell video player, as the stream plays live. If this isn’t enticing enough, StreamCell’s do-it-yourself ad system allow broadcasters to place a live StreamCell web video player– with their own embedded advertising–on their website without having to get their web hosting company involved–the code for the StreamCell web video player can be put on any web site in simple HTML format, or via a CMS in minutes!

We tested this simple model with a TV station in San Diego who was able to place our live video player on their site complete with embedded advertising without having to involve their web host provider. With the ability to do it themselves, they quickly realized they didn’t have to share 50% of their ad revenue with their host provider.

Finally, there’s a simple, do-it-yourself way for broadcasters to generate a new source of revenue from their web sites in a way that enables them to have more control AND a much bigger piece of the revenue pie.

Company proves you don’t need more than one 4G modem

streampro — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 15:52:40 +0000

On March 3, 2011, a company marketing a live streaming product supporting the use of up to 8 modems, posted a very interesting discovery on their web site showing how they successfully streamed live using just one 4G LTE modem. To see this for yourself, click here. Essentially what this company did is prove that you don’t need to spend huge sums of money on streaming products that suggest you need 4,6 or more modems to stream live–just watch the video at the link above to see the results for yourself using just one modem.

For some time now, live video streaming solution providers–like those offering backpack solutions–have been trying to lead broadcasters to believe they need a backpack full of modems to stream live when clearly, this isn’t the case at all, as evidenced by the one-modem test above. Moreover, the more modems you use, the longer your latency and the higher your monthly operating costs. There is also a growing concern about the amount of cellular emissions these modems emit especially when a number of these modems are clustered together in a backpack up against the human body. Click here to see what StreamCell has done to address this particular issue.

StreamCell can stream live with just one 4G modem also for a lot less money while providing support for a second modem in a shared configuration–great for 3G service areas.

Now that it’s been proven that you don’t need to spend huge sums of money on live video streaming solutions that promote the use of 4 or more modems, why spend the money for these types of solutions if you don’t have to?

Before you make any live video streaming purchase decisions, be sure to get the facts to help you make an informed buying decision so you aren’t duped into buying something that turns out to be a waste of money.

One last thing: 4G is coming into areas a lot faster than most realize, so be sure that any live video streaming solution you buy today allows you to use your own modems that you can swap out with 4G/LTE modem(s) when the service becomes available in your area like StreamCell does. Imbedded modems don’t give you this flexibility and may end up costing you more in air time because of how it’s “bundled” in with the cost of the system.

4G cell service, and what you should know and share

streampro — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 21:36:49 +0000

Alas, 4G cellular service is showing up in more areas of the country, and the results–from what we have seen thus far–look very promising–kudos to both Sprint and Verizon for providing what appears to be a great service. After a good deal of testing–and more to come–we are seeing stellar live video streaming results with our StreamCell system using just 2 modems, like we always have. Why only 2? Especially in the case of 4G (and 3G, too), 2 modems really are all you need–anything more and you’re wasting your money–there are also safety concerns to deal with (see my previous blog posting). With the ample bandwidth available via 4G service, you actually have more bandwidth than you need for live video streaming–a good thing for “overhead” reasons. It’s also important to understand that when using more than 2 modems, you have to figure out a place to put them. In a backpack? Not if you’re smart. According to the cellular carriers (and some broadcasters know this, too), you need to have AT LEAST 8-10″ of separation between each cell modem to keep these modems from interfering with each other. For safety and performance reasons, you also need to keep these modems away from your body while they’re being used (again, see my previous posting). With live video streaming, it’s all about the modems, and the proper use and placement of them. We look forward to the continued buildout of the 4G network by the various carriers. From what I have seen thus far, they are doing an amazing job.

Streaming Safety And Legal Advisory

streampro — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:39:13 +0000

Click here to see how StreamQuik has addressed the growing concern over safety of wireless streaming.

A new mobile paradigm shift has arrived

streampro — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:54:46 +0000

Over the past few weeks, our company has been conducting a multitude of live video streaming demos to various mobile devices including the Apple iPad, iPhone, Motorola Droid, HTC EVO and other devices, and the results have been nothing short of amazing. We found that each of the device manufacturers have not only done a great job in manufacturing their devices, these manufacturers and their savvy cellular partners have put together some incredible offers that make these devices downright irresistible. Throw in the ability to stream live video to these devices like we do, and presto, you have a solution that will–mark my words–change the very way live content is distributed and consumed by the masses in an even more profound way than it is today. The best part: With our StreamCell solution, you don’t need an app to see live video on these devices, which makes it really easy–no sea of apps to have to flip through. Instead, you simply launch your browser and navigate to any web site powered by StreamCell, and you’re live–simple–no hassles. Now, with live video streaming on mobile devices sans the ap, there’s a new mobile paradigm shift that will continue to transform the way people get their news, entertainment and other info, and those who can leverage this technology will be the ones who rule the air.

The game-changing changes live streaming is making

streampro — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 20:23:57 +0000

I am truly amazed to see the paradigm shift unfolding with respect to the way people get their news, and more studies confirm it–people want their news when they want it, and where they want to see it. In fact, MSNBC.com reported just today that TVs are going the way of the dinosaur in favor of–that’s right–everything mobile. Now, with the ability to stream live to mobile devices, people can get their news and information where and when they want it, which should be a “boon” to broadcasters if they can rise to the challenge of having command of the ability to serve up a mobile “cornucopia” of relevant and timely news people want to see. Fortunately, the folks at Adobe have released a version of their Flash player that looks very promising thus far–a FULL version of Flash that will enable far more mobile devices to watch live streaming video regardless of device model/manufacturer so long as it supports Flash. The trick: Finding a live video streaming solution that can (really) stream live to TV, the web and to mobile devices at the same time with the right “know-how” and without requiring a ton of cellular bandwidth. When it comes to mobile, the goal is to be able to stream live to mobile devices without needing an app–that’s the “biggee”. Imagine a live feed on air, on the web and on mobile devices all at the same time–I just did this very thing this morning with our StreamCell system with great results. This technology is no longer a fanciful dream–we have it now, and it truly is game-changing all with a crew of just one who can be live from anywhere with the simple flip of a switch.

The professional way to stream live content to the web

streampro — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:09:10 +0000

As my colleagues and I travel around, we are stunned to see how many broadcasters and others stream live content to their web sites. In almost every case I have seen, these broadcasters use a workflow that requires them to re-encode and authenticate their live streams to get them to the web–an arduous and laborious process. Here’s how it works: With live video streaming, you first encode your video in the field, and then you decode it back at a TV’ station or other location to view it, air it, etc. To get that same stream live to the web, these broadcasters and others have to re-encode it, which seriously degrades video quality not to mention adding additional latency. On top of all that, they must have someone start a web encoder each time they want to stream live to the web, and that’s not all. The encoder-starter has to then authenticate (enter a user name and password) to get each stream to their CDN. All of this slows down the process considerably, reduces video quality, adds latency and requires unnecessary human intervention i.e. cost. So what’s the better way? At StreamQuik, we have developed a direct-to-web workflow that streams live to the web automatically without requiring any re-encoding or user intervention whatsoever. With our StreamCell live video streaming system, you flip a switch on our StreamCell case and within about a minute, you’re live on the web automatically without requiring any human intervention back at the station, and the resulting video quality is far superior because of how we eliminate the re-encoding process. In the news business, it’s all about being first to air/web, streamlining operations and getting rid of unnecessary costs, human intervention etc.–it’s the kind of solution every broadcaster needs to be competitive.