Review: EasyLive's Video-Mixer-in-the-Cloud Simplifies Operations
最简单的理解方法是 EasyLive 服务就是把它想象成云中的视频混频器. You can input videos from multiple sources; add titles, logos, Twitter feeds, and scorecards; and push the output to one or more live streaming services.
Why would you want a video mixer in the cloud instead of one you can run locally? First, you can send a single cameraperson with an oncamera recorder to an event and add graphics, scoreboards, 从舒适的家庭办公室和标志. Second, 如果流由于带宽而停止, camera, 或者电脑问题, you can automatically substitute a video or other message of your choice. Third, 虽然一些视频混频器可以输出到多个服务, you need fairly capacious bandwidth at the source to accomplish this, 哪一个通常是不可用的. With EasyLive, 这是一条通往云端的小溪, 你可以提供给多个目标，如YouTube Live, Facebook, DaCast, or most other realtime messaging protocol (RTMP)- based services.
Similarly, though most video mixers can save short excerpts for uploading to Twitter or Facebook, 这些上传与你的直播流竞争带宽. With EasyLive, you can create and push clips out to various services without impacting the live stream. 在研讨会或会议中, you can record multiple sessions during the day and instantly save and send them to multiple videoondemand (VOD) sites for replay, 同时继续在多个地点进行直播. 如果你服务的是多种外语市场, you can send a videoonly stream that native language speakers can narrate for each market. Better yet, most of these functions can be driven via application programming interface (API), 简化重复事件.
听起来有趣的? In this review, I’ll walk you through the process of setting up and running a live event with EasyLive via the webbased user interface (UI). In the sidebar at the end of this article I’ve also included a short Q&A describing how and why French football club Paris SaintGermain uses the service.
Setting Up
After logging in to the service, start in the EasyLive control room. Here you’ll connect to your video and social platforms by clicking the icons shown on the right in Figure 1，登录，并授予必要的权限. In my system, I logged in to Twitter, Facebook, DaCast, and YouTube Live. 如果你的服务没有显示出来, you can add it manually by plugging the stream name and RTMP address into the EasyLive UI.
Figure 1. I’m sending my streams to DaCast and YouTube Live, and I’m also connecting with Facebook and Twitter.
Once your outputs are configured, create your live event by working through a fivestep wizard (see Figure 2 在下一页). 第一步是选择编码器, which can be any encoder capable of connecting to an RTMP live streaming server. During my tests, I connected with both Wirecast and OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). 使编码器/EasyLive连接, EasyLive提供服务器URL和流名称, 你把哪个插入到你的编码器中, 还有你的用户名和密码.
Figure 2. Here’s Step 4 in the setup wizard, where you enter metadata pushed to your output platforms.
接下来，选择EasyLive将输出的流的质量. I used 720p at 1.我的测试是7Mbps. Note that EasyLive has to decode the stream to insert all the graphics and other overlays. That means another layer of compression, but the output quality from YouTube looked very good to me. 配置完流后，选择目标输出. If there are outputs that you didn’t program into the control room, 你可以把它们加在这里, 甚至是在活动期间. Then, enter metadata and select options for your output targets (Figure 2), 并再次单击以进入事件界面 Figure 3. This is where you’ll configure the appearance of the output stream and control the event.
Figure 3. This is the event interface, where you will configure stream appearance and control the event.
Once you enter the event interface, click Start Preview to view the incoming stream. Note that EasyLive spins up a separate Amazon Web Service (AWS) for each event, 这可能需要5分钟. If you press Start Preview too soon, you’ll get a message that a server isn’t available. 等一会儿再试.
Figure 3 shows the event interface, with the preview window on the upper left. The user interface for the video window is controlled by the Event’s Interface dropdown list shown on the upper right in Figure 3. 如果你正在举办一项体育赛事, you can choose a scoreboard that you can feed through various scoreboard services, such as Bodet, 或者您可以手动更新记分牌. All scoreboard connections require some custom programming to the EasyLive API, 但是所有大型服务都是免费的.
Choose the display model by clicking the Displays tab in the main interface, 哪个带你到显示的屏幕 Figure 4. Here you’ll load and configure the various elements of your screen, 包括长占位符文本和较低的第三个标题, 和流媒体学习中心的标志在右上方. As you can see, 您可以选择颜色等选项, size, font family, and the like, with placement via controls or by clicking and dragging the design elements directly in the preview window. 您将自定义文本本身, 并启用和禁用显示, 在图3左下角的Title列中. This makes it simple to change titles if you have multiple speakers, 或更改其他文本描述符. Alternately, you can control the graphics programmatically using the API.
Figure 4. 组成视频窗口
Note that EasyLive’s Twitter output is limited to tweets from one Twitter account. 这使您可以轻松捕获演讲者的tweet, 或者演讲者的公司, 但不是对主题的反应. Most other Twitter capture features let you capture one or more hashtags, 让观众与流互动. EasyLive initially avoided this approach out of concern that Twitter wasn’t moderated, 但它将在未来的版本中添加标签支持.
On the bottom right of Figure 3 are animations (actually videos or still images) that you can drop into the live feed. 它们可以是全屏的，也可以是画中画的. 这些视频可以是VOD内容, though there is a 100MB per-video upload limit and a total upload limit of 100MB for up to 10 videos. 你可以用这些来做广告. 因为视频是直接添加到流中的, 而不是从AD服务器调用, AD阻滞剂无法阻止它们.
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