Live from the World Surf League Finals with Wireless Multicam Streaming
By Jim Bask
From Teradek’s blog
Surfing was in full swing in Hawaii for the Billabong Pipe Masters competition, where the World Surf League hosted the grand finals of the 2017 Championship Series. Enthusiasts from all across the world tuned in to witness the event, which reached its last stop at the Banzai Pipeline in Honolulu.
But some areas of the world have little to no access to these broadcasts and competitions, yet want to see their favorite surfers shred the gnar. In December, Brazil decided to change that, especially since their country’s own surfer – Gabriel Medina – made it into Top 10.
The biggest TV network in Brazil, Globo TV, wanted to broadcast the competition – complete with multiple cameras and commentator coverage – on Brazilian national TV and the network’s Facebook Page. They commissioned live production house Betterlive TV to handle the broadcast.
“An hour or so before the start of the tournament, we live streamed the surfers warming up, along with commentary on the scores and stats of each player,” said Antunes Mororo, Executive Director at Betterlive TV. “Viewers want to see surfers in & out of competition, so this was the best way to capture them in their natural flow.”
Surfs Up Setup
Antunes and his crew wanted to produce a multi-camera show complete with switching and overlays. However, they needed a solution that was not only affordable, but could also be used wirelessly to avoid laying cables in the sand. The goal was to be as close to the action as possible, so setting up on the beach was a priority.
Camera Setup:
- 3x Sony FS5
- 3x VidiU Pro
- 1x iPad Pro w/ Live:Air Action app
- 1x Bond
- 2x 4G/LTE USB modems
Live:Air Action is a live switching and streaming app for iPads. It offers a suite of professional overlays and actions that are typically found on traditional hardware switchers, and also pulls in feeds from multiple cameras wirelessly. This integrated solution requires the additional cameras to be mounted with VidiU Pros (or other Teradek encoders). After every unit is connected to the same WiFi network, Live:Air Action picks up the feeds and allows you to switch between them.
Bond is a 4G/LTE cellular bonding unit that allows you to combine up to 5x 4G/LTE USB modems into a singular, powerful Internet connection for video streaming. More redundancy translates into a lower chance of a dropout, meaning the stream stays smooth and steady all throughout.
Each of Antunes’ FS5 cameras had a VidiU Pro mounted and connected via HDMI, taking the video feed and streaming it to the Live:Air Action iPad. From Live:Air Action, the program feed was pushed to the Bond, which encoded and sent the stream directly to Canal OFF Facebook Page….read more