Streamline Your Portable Streaming System, Part 3: Switchers, Streaming Appliances, and Portable Encoders

Steaming Media by Mark Alamares In this article I'm going to highlight some of the latest gear you can use to put together a portable streaming solution. With this equipment you can quickly and easily transport your kit from one shoot to another and use it to deliver solid, high-quality streams for small and medium-sized events. To kick off Part 3 of this series on streamlining your traveling streaming kit, we?ll look at some switching options. In Part 1, we looked at software-based switching you can do within your laptop with our discussion of the MacBook Retina-based streaming system (using Telestream Wirecast Pro) that has worked for Mobeon on a number of projects. Here we?ll look at hardware switchers that are compact and versatile enough to meet your needs as you build a streaming system that can travel with you from event to event. NewTek TriCaster Mini HD4 As I mentioned in previous installments, my goal is to be able to stream high-quality productions using gear that can fit in a backpack. One of the newest entries that helps us move in that direction is the NewTek TriCaster Mini HD4. Unlike other TriCaster models--which are themselves quite compact for the functionality they offer--the Mini does, in fact, fit in a backpack. As you can see in this demo, you can set this unit up in 5 minutes. One of the challenges of doing live productions is the prep/setup time required. With any event, it's a race for time to make sure that you're going to be able to stream at the designated stream time. The TriCaster mini looks like a fantastic portable streaming solution. One potential drawback is that it takes HDMI inputs. As I mentioned before, you see a GoPro being used, but it seems pretty formidable as a portable streaming system. But given NewTek?s reputation in live streaming equipment, it's something you should highly consider. read more..