蘑菇网络’ Streamer Powers an Industry-First Live Video Broadcast using iOS Devices

蜂窝mux和蜂窝连接提供商 蘑菇网络 offers a full range of link-aggregation, channel-bonding 和 cellular video multiplexer devices both in dedicated hardware 和 increasingly in software form. The company recently  太k part in an interesting production that put iOS devices center stage.

Michael Artsis Artsis媒体 有一个鼓舞人心的项目叫 BeTerrific!!, which provides an anchor for his enthusiasm for what he describes as "the future of production:" namely that the mobile device, 无论是平板电脑还是智能手机, will become the film-maker's camera (和 so much more) of choice for what he predicts will be "90% of filmmaking.他称之为“电影制作”."

At 电影装备博览会, which is a h和s-on "kit fest" for production crews 和 filmmakers held at the Paramount Studios backlot in Los Angeles, Artsis decided to try to put together an incredibly compact live multi-camera shoot using only iOS devices for cameras, 一个切换器, 和 a Mushroom networks Streamer 8000 for the backhaul transmission.

The project ended up as a bit of a production "jam session" with 电影的 providing a modified version of its iOS app that produced a "clean" full resolution live video feed via the HDMI outputs on the devices. The HDMI outputs were then connected (via their lightening-to-HDMI output cables) to a 圣骑士 使用的视频切换器 Telestream它的核心是Wirecast.

The audio was captured using a range of mics—a combination of 森海塞尔 和 元帅电子并通过一个 缩放编辑 USB audio mixer that was setup as the audio source for the 圣骑士. (See the schematic below for the complete equipment configuration.)

Wirecast随后将视频编码为H.264以2Mbps的速度提交给 Ustream 和 YouTube Live as two separate streams.

So the key question was "How did they source the connectivity in the middle of Paramount’s backlot?,” since while it is easy to source technology at an event like 电影装备博览会, connectivity for broadcast is a novel challenge. The Mushroom Streamer 8000 did the trick.

"For the first time in doing production like this online I had a link that 太k minutes to setup, gave me the flexibility to setup anywhere 和 I had so much confidence in that link that I literally didn’t even THINK about it during the entire shoot,阿蒂斯说。.

蘑菇网络 CEO Cahit Akin says that they had up to eight USB modems connected at any one time 和 across all links—a mixture of 3G 和 4G from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, 和 Sprin—there was constantly 14Mbps available to Michael’s team.

This allowed the two separate contribution feeds to be sent separately, while also allowing plenty of overhead for a control connection to each of these networks 和 on site monitoring "fold back" of the output streams.

While streaming live from iPhones is nothing new, this was a different proposition: Here was a pre-produced 和 live switched/mixed feed with titles 和 a roving camera (an iPod touch on a 常平架 with a wireless HDMI link), all captured 和 produced at "raw video" quality.

They had 100% uptime, a very common experience for cellmux users these days. 尽管网络中缺乏SLA, the overprovisioning approach—bonding together enough links to give you more than the b和width you require—has proven to be confidence-inspiring.

They also had the flexibility to relocate their shoot by simply moving the small production card with the 圣骑士 和 Mushroom units on to the new location in the backlot. The wireless technology 和 compact nature of the kit opened up the possiblility to produce from several locations in several hours. The Streamer 8000 simply sat next to the production team 和 moved with them.

With a little more power planning (essentially battery bricks for the iOS devices) it would have been possible to film live for extended periods, 太.

Quite incredible when you think that that whole shoot could pack into two small bags—crew s和wiches included.

It’s always good to hear about interesting usecases for webcast technology. particularly those that use cellmux technology to break free of the studio or satellite truck, so please get in touch if you have a story to tell.