Live streaming overseas

[Adrian Tan]

This one's new for me. Bride would like wedding streamed live overseas for relatives who can't be present.

Now, I'm able to live stream over the net. Every iPhone can do that. But what if she wants higher quality? Presumably anything sent over the net is going to be very low res.

How do broadcasters transmit live feeds from reporters? I know nothing of what's involved. And is something like this practical for a wedding?

[John Knight]

See

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...streaming.html

and

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/wedding-...ng-option.html

[Adrian Tan]

Thanks for the helpful links! I think the whole idea of broadcasting weddings so that anyone, anywhere, with a mobile phone, can be watching at the same time, is kind of exciting.

One thing I'm starting to look into, and which I don't think anyone's really mentioned, is satellite transmission. Anyone here have any experience with that? Seems to be able to provide more stable connection than trying to stream over WiFi; and, if it's possible to rent a transmitting dish, it seems like an option if the church doesn't have internet access.

In terms of quality, though, I guess your resolution is still going to be limited by delivery format, if the end result is going to be broadcast over the internet anyway. I'm skeptical that one can replicate broadcast quality transmissions without a receiving dish.

[John Knight]

Live Streaming is great... works like magic in every Hollywood movie I've ever seen! I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

[Chip Thome]

Adrian this is a mathematical question and mathematical answer. When you solve those, then you can consider gear to fall within those perimeters.

It's just bits of data. You camera pumps out X bazillion bits of data and an internet connection will send X bazillion bits of data. If the connection is sending more bits than your camera is pumping, great, you are home free. If the camera is pumping more data than the connection will send.....oooopppsss, you got a problem.

Hardwired internet will give you something more "consistent" in data flow than wireless will. That you know from your phone and it's signal strength in various areas you have been. But the big issue for sending video data on a consumer based connection is your upstream is most likely just a fraction of your downstream speeds. The commercial sites, I WOULD GUESS, most likely are tied right into "the pipe" and are sending near a rate as what you are receiving.

Good luck with this.

[Adrian Tan]

Have to say that, after wasting hours exploring options, those earlier posts that John linked to do cover everything!

Satellite schmatellite. Rental companies around here don't provide equipment for it and don't know anything about it. The few Aussie companies offering a live event satellite service seem to have gone out of business.

I'll keep comparing options and prices between the various live streaming companies (and there seem to be lots of them), but main choice did seem to be (as John seems to have discovered years ago):

-- Ustream. Can embed it anywhere; streams to Facebook; streams to mobiles if you download the app. Free if you don't care about advertisements; $100 a month if you do. $200 for software, and then you need a modem, cabling, laptop, camera.

[Chris Medico]

Don't forget you also need a fast UPLOAD connection speed. Most internet connections are biased towards the DOWNLOAD speed. If you don't have at least 1mb up then there will be real compromises in the video quality.