Facebook LIVE - Pro solutions?

[Joel Dockendorf]

Hi there,

Facebook live is becoming more and more popular with organizations and I am trying to find ways to do it more professionally than just off my iPhone. I come from a DSLR video background so anything live or broadcast is not my area at all.

Has anyone tried a professional set up with a way to get good video and audio quality?

My organizations recent attempts at FB Live: https://www.facebook.com/berkeleyrep/

Thanks

 

[edinc90]

I do live webcasting for a living, so I can help you out. If you are looking to do a single-camera broadcast, the Teradek VidiU and VidiU Pro are perfect. They use Ethernet, USB cell modem, or WiFi (or a combination of all three) to broadcast an HDMI source to FB Live, Livestream, Ustream, or your own CDN.

If you want to do a multicamera live broadcast, you will (at minimum) need a switcher, cameras, and an encoder (like the VidiU.) The lowest-budget way to do this is to use a software switcher like OBS or Wirecast with a bunch of video capture cards, like the Ultrastudio Mini Recorder from Blackmagic. The software acts as the encoder as well as swticher, so it's a smaller package, but there's more demand on the CPU.

A more complicated, yet more capable system would include video playback and graphics in the form of a Tricaster or BroadcastPix switcher, or a hardware switcher with separate graphics and video playback. At the lower end of the budget range is the Blackmagic ATEM switcher line, with something like CasparCG to do graphics and video. A higher-end switcher is the Panasonic AV-HS450, beyond that is the Ross Carbonite, and beyond that are Grass Valley and Sony switchers that can get into the $100k+ range.

 

[BrianMurphy]

+ 1 for the Vidiu by Teradek, I use one and have for a couple years and it works very well. There were some software issues a bit back but they have a great engineering team and sorted it out. As I am sure others will concur, a good internet connection is key, I use a USB Lte stick but always prefer a fast hard wired connection when possible. So survey your locations ahead and check the bandwidth.

 

[brettsherman]

+ 1 for the Vidiu by Teradek, I use one and have for a couple years and it works very well. There were some software issues a bit back but they have a great engineering team and sorted it out. As I am sure others will concur, a good internet connection is key, I use a USB Lte stick but always prefer a fast hard wired connection when possible. So survey your locations ahead and check the bandwidth.

We just got a VidiU and it works great for FB Live. It's even more powerful when combined with an iPad. I clamp my iPad onto the tripod and use it to switch and have it's camera as a wide-shot to combine with the main camera. You can add graphics and IDs with the app also. I even recorded a exterior shot with the iPAD before the event that I rolled at the beginning. I use a MiFi to broadcast which also let's me have the VidiU and iPad talk to each other through it's Wifi network.