digitalbuilt

With this latest release Tricaster owners can take full advantage of the latest Flash Media Live encoder, and more:

NewTek is pleased to announce the immediate availability of TriCaster Upgrade 2.5. This download, at http://register.newtek.com is free for TriCaster owners already using Upgrade 2.0. (Any TriCaster that records Live Production in MPEG-2 is utilizing the newer software). TriCaster producers can take advantage of the following benefits:

The ‘Regular’ encoder profile (when recording live productions and in Capture Media) has been dramatically upgraded. Doubling the base bit-rate reduces compression and, along with a number of other MPEG-2 encoding improvements, provides much improved image quality. The Regular Profile is an excellent choice for general purpose use, and is equivalent to or better than the common ‘DV’ file format in most situations

A new, even higher-quality option is now available for Record and Capture Media. The ‘Studio’ profile likewise cuts MPEG-2 compression in half and doubles the bit-rate. In addition, though, it also implements 4:2:2 color sampling. Enhanced sub-sampling reduces motion artifacts, provides better color registration and apparent sharpness, and most importantly ensures optimal results for chroma keying.

The resulting files fulfil the requirements for “High Profile” MPEG-2 encoding established by the Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG). It’s worth noting that these files even exceed the quality of NewTek SpeedHQ files. Please note, though, that Studio Profile is ‘off’ by default. This maximizes file compatibility with external applications (some of which may lack support for High Profile definition MPEG-2 files).

TriCaster Upgrade 2.5 supports Adobe® Flash® Media Live Encoder 3. This important update offers H.264 streaming, offer simultaneous streams at multiple bit rates and improved compatibility with popular streaming providers, such as UStream.TV.

Several new streaming profiles have been provided in TriCaster’s Record/Stream tab to make it easy for you to access these new streaming capabilities. 

Source: http://www.newtek.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96524

Full review in a few hours after I install the 333MB upgrade.

Update: See test stream here: http://ne.edgecastcdn.net/00025B/LivePlayer/testplayer/LivePlayer.html  H.264 512k, 480×270 (audio off).

First off I didn’t even get a chance to watch any of the inauguration, I was streaming a surfing event in California.  So this is more of a reaction to a piece on TechCrunch that went counter to many other stories on the day.  While UStream were busy patting themselves on the back, others were noticing it wasn’t all that smooth.   Sure the numbers sound good, I am reading about 3.5 TB/s at it’s peak, almost all of it Flash Video.   UStream stated it served up 3.8 million streams, up to 400,000 concurrent.

But in reality many people were struggling to catch a glimpse.  The article, by @erickschonfeld, points out that even the mighty CNN was having  issues.  His main point being that even with the CDNs prepared for a big day, the nature of the system limits the number of simultaneous views.

Now this is nothing new, the “series of tubes” that are the Internet do not enjoy the same broadcast nature as radio waves or over-the-air TV signals.  A radio tower outputs the same thing whether 1 person is watching, or 1,000.  Each time a new viewer on UStream comes on, another section of that “pipe” fills with data.  So how do you build capacity that is suited to a one day spike such as this, while controlling costs for the rest of the year when the traffic isn’t there? 

I think the real test will be when a huge news event hits without warning.  They had months to get ready for the inauguration, what happens when there is online interest of a similar scale for something that is unforseen?  Then we will see the democritisation of online video, if CNN.com (or more directly their CDN) struggles to handle the load, the smaller outlets have a chance to make a name.

Reference:
How each site fared – Link
Traffic reports  – Link
How Akamai handled it - Link

It’s tough when you are relying on 3rd party vendors to provide you connection for live streaming. When problems arise it’s often a game of phone tag to try to get a hold of someone who can actually fix the line. All the while your webcast might be down, or if you have the budget, running on a backup connection.
If you spend €100,000 for a connection, just for a few days, you expect it to work, even if it’s $100 you expect it to work.
Well recently at LeWeb their vendor Swisscom had a hard time “keeping the lights on”. According to Arrington (who was at the event):

Le Web, which paid €100,000 to Swisscom to ensure lightning fast Internet, had no Internet connectivity. Nothing for the audience, nothing for the stage, nothing in the press room. Ustream had 50% connectivity, and lost some great footage.

Ouch, I am shocked they had all their eggs in one (expensive) basket. Always aim for a backup connection, with that kind of budget it should have been a no brainer.
According to LOÏC LE MEUR BLOG When the Ustream connection was up they secured

a total of 31 175 unique visitors and a peak of 2235 live concurrent viewers. That is just impressive, we got about 20x more visitors outside of the room than the onsite participants, that is just fascinating.

I don’t think that’s too impressive.

Without getting political, a search for upcoming webcasts is certainly finding plenty of things to watch.

http://www.realizingthepromise.org/webcast 12.04.08 Noon PST

Because there needs to be a central place for all webcasting news and events.  I will be posting links to every webcast I find, and looking for insider knowledge on the technology behind them.