Monarch LCS Encoder Appliance

Your Ideal Lecture Capture Appliance.
IT administrators will find this reliable, standalone network appliance simple to set up and integrate into any open Video Management System (VMS) or Learning Management System (LMS). Monarch LCS lets you easily define profiles for live streamed and recorded lectures by mixing camera and presentation material from SDI and HDMI sources. Once configured, this versatile H.264 encoding appliance can be operated by anyone at the push of a button. And it won’t break your budget!

SKU: MONARCHLCS
MPN: MHLCS/I

$2,595.00 MSRP
$1,995.00 NEW MSRP

Monarch HD Encoder Appliance

Professional Video Streaming and Recording Appliance.
Matrox Monarch HD is a small, easy-to-use video streaming and recording appliance designed for professional video producers to stream a live event while simultaneously recording a higher, master quality version for post-event editing or archiving. Webcasting to YouTube and Facebook Live is easy for these popular platforms. All that’s needed is to set up the device once with these accounts and it’s automatically retained for subsequent streams.

SKU: MONARCH
MPN: MHD/I

$999.00 MSRP

Monarch HDX Encoder Appliance

Dual-Channel H.264 Encoder for Broadcast Streaming and Recording.
The Matrox Monarch HDX is a simple and versatile video encoding appliance specifically designed for broadcasters and webcasters who need a flexible solution that is powerful enough to take on today’s demanding webcasting and recording workflows. Monarch HDX offers 3G-SDI and HDMI inputs with frame-synchronization to correct any discontinuity at the input, and two independent H.264 encoders that can be assigned to individual tasks. 

SKU: MONARCHHDX
MPN: MHDX/I

$1,395.00 MSRP

“We are looking forward to learning from and contributing to the community at SVG and working together to drive the future of sports-video technology,” says Alberto Cieri, senior director, sales and marketing, Matrox Video.

The Matrox Monarch family of products have become a staple for the company. The Matrox Monarch EDGE 4K UHD/multi-HD powers some of the most engaging sports-video workflows. Monarch EDGE delivers resolutions up to 3840x2160p60 or quad 1920x1080p60 — n 4:2:0 8-bit or 4:2:2 10-bit video — while offering flexible 3G/12G-SDI and SMPTE ST 2110 25 GbE connectivity with multi-protocol streaming options. The Matrox Monarch HDX is a simple and versatile dual-channel H.264 video-encoding appliance with SDI and HDMI inputs that is specifically designed for broadcasters and webcasters who need a flexible solution powerful enough to take on today’s demanding webcasting and recording workflows.

“With our latest generation of encoding products,” Cieri says, “we are not only trying to broaden the reach of the workflows we have traditionally enabled but are now also creating new tools in order to lower the cost of high-quality sporting-event production.”

The Monarch family also simplifies efficient production of live web streams. The Matrox Monarch LCS video-encoding appliance makes live webcasting simple, delivering high-quality streams to Facebook Live, YouTube, or a favorite online video platform (OVP) with multicamera production values, without operator assistance. Monarch LCS supports productions with two HDMI video sources or with one SDI and one HDMI video source. The Matrox Monarch HD is a small, easy-to-use video-streaming and -recording appliance designed for professional video producers to stream a live event from any HDMI input source while recording a higher, master-quality version for post-event editing or archiving.

Recently, Matrox has been involved with numerous universities and international sports entities, including the Universidad La Salle, FIBA’s AEK Basketball Club, and the University of Dallas.

Says Cieri, “We are committed to remaining at the forefront of industry developments by powering new video innovations, like multi-angle and 4K UHD high-frame-rate webcasting and remote production, that allow sports-rights owners to deliver new and immersive viewing experiences while also making it affordable enough to cover more events with smaller staff.”

Check out the full article HERE

Learn more about Matrox HERE

Overview

Money Today Media Group is the fastest-growing media organization in South Korea, specializing in financial and economic news. The group comprises 20 subsidiaries and media channels—the prime among them being Money Today Networks (MTN). MTN broadcasts global and local financial market analyses and metrics through cable TV, IPTV, and the web. The network streams video around the clock to provide their viewers with the most up to date financial news—crucial for making informed decisions. Primarily targeted towards individual investors, MTN reaches 15 million households.

Hardware from previous setup is removed

The audit For close to eight years, MTN used a combination of hardware and software to live stream and record broadcasts for video on demand (VOD). This setup required the use of bulky computer equipment, which demanded a lot of time and resources to ensure they were operating correctly. Looking to minimize equipment and system maintenance, while improving video quality, MTN decided to upgrade their entire system setup. A sound investment TaenamDVI, an A/V integrator, worked closely with MTN to help improve their workflow, and recommended the Matrox® Monarch HDX dual-channel streaming and recording appliance. The encoder exceeded their expectations. Monarch HDX was easy to install, took up little real estate to store—reducing unnecessary clutter and wiring—and required less staff to manage than their previous setup. MTN tested other options at the same time, but none could match Monarch HDX in terms of performance, stability, usability, and scalability.

Optimizing assets MTN’s studio is equipped with six Monarch HDX H.264 encoder appliances—two for live streaming, three dedicated to VOD, and the sixth is used to stream and record simultaneously. Using a Sony® camera, 1080 video is transmitted to Monarch HDX, while sound is captured with a CRESTAUDIO audio mixer via Monarch HDX’s analog audio input. The two Monarch HDX appliances dedicated to live streaming each use both their encoding channels to transmit high-quality 1080p 30fps webcasts at 5 Mbps, and lower quality 480p 30fps webcasts at 1 Mbps. Streams are then sent to GABIA (a Korean CDN), YouTube, and Wowza Streaming Engine, as well as MTN’s own Flash Player to be viewed directly from their website. Simultaneously, each day’s broadcasts are set to record for VOD at a higher quality than the streams. For redundancy, three Monarch HDX devices record 1080p 30fps at 10 Mbps throughout the day. The Monarch appliances back up the recordings to the network attached storage (NAS) every 30 minutes to an hour using the Monarch HDX’s split file feature, but video can also be saved to an SD card or USB. This feature ensures that the majority of content will be preserved in the case of an unexpected event, such as a power failure.

New small footprint, easy-to-maintain Monarch HDX installation

MTN used the Monarch HDX API to develop a management application to monitor and control all Monarch appliances on the network

Entire programs are sometimes uploaded for VOD, but primarily viewers are only interested in a specific news segment or stock update. To shorten news items for VOD, a MTN editor copies the files stored on the NAS, and edits them into individual segments using Adobe Premiere®. MTN then uses their own content management system, which was developed using Monarch’s API found in Monarch HDX’s Dev Tools, to upload the videos to GABIA and YouTube. The MTN management application keeps operations on all the devices running smoothly. Through the application, administrators can take advantage of all the functionality built into the Monarch software such as view the status of all Monarch HDX devices, receive mobile notification status alerts, and schedule the devices to automatically reboot or start and stop recording at specified times.

Return on investment Since introducing Monarch HDX to MTN’s workflow, video quality has improved significantly resulting in positive feedback from the network’s viewership. Dual-channel streaming at different bitrates and to different destinations gives thousands of simultaneous viewers the ability to watch in the best quality possible based on their network bandwidth, viewing device, and chosen viewing platform. Due to Monarch HDX’s small footprint, IT administrators are able to manage and maintain the appliance with ease, especially when compared to their previous setup. Though the Monarch HDX appliances are in operation almost round the clock—about 23 hours and 30 minutes every day—their performance has been exceptionally stable and reliable throughout. In the future, MTN plans to begin using Monarch HD and Monarch HDX to webcast in high definition from outdoor venues, or while on the go. “Monarch HDX had it all: Highly-customizable streaming and recording options, simple-to-install and easy-to-maintain design, and a very attractive price point,” says Hyok Kim, head developer, Money Today Media Group. “Furthermore, space was saved and management tasks were reduced significantly. Needless to say, Monarch HDX made the upgrade project absolutely seamless, going above and beyond all our expectations.”

Management application MTN developed using the Monarch HDX API

About Monarch HDX

Matrox Monarch HDX is a versatile dual-channel encoder designed for today’s most demanding video delivery workflows. The Monarch HDX is ideal for use in broadcast or wherever a SDI or HDMI source needs to be sent to Facebook Live or YouTube Live, while simultaneously recording or streaming to a second location. Able to retrieve closed-captioning data from the SDI VANC, the Monarch HDX’s caption-enhanced H.264 media can be streamed to video hosting platforms, media servers, or a variety of content delivery networks (CDNs). MOV/MP4 files recorded with Monarch HDX preserve captions, which can be included in video on demand (VOD) or archiving workflows.

(Montreal, Canada–June 13, 2018) The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), sitting astride the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva, has been known for its ground-breaking discoveries in particle physics for over 60 years. CERN attracts some of the world’s leading scientists who probe the fundamental structure of the universe.

CERN has grown to include 22 member states and, through the medium of science, contributes to the dialogue between nations. The center for particle physics research is home to some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated research equipment—such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27-kilometer (16.77 miles) particle accelerator buried 100 meters (328 feet) underground on average, which has been instrumental in analyzing the way particles interact with one another.

Challenge

With 260 conference rooms, some of which were webcast-enabled, CERN needed to find a solution that provided the same experience to those watching abroad as the scientists watching in person. Marek Domaracky, senior video manager at CERN IT department, was seeking a dependable solution that would capture and deliver both the speaker and presentation material simultaneously. CERN had been using a PC, two capture cards, an encoder, and additional control software to share seminars online via video conference. However, this setup was both cumbersome and at times unreliable. Wanting to simplify the streaming process, they needed a standalone appliance, capable of independently starting and stopping streaming and recording.

Since CERN holds back-to-back lectures on a regular basis, a continuous webcast was required to avoid disconnecting viewers during the downtime between presentations. Looking to make their presentations more accessible to their worldwide audience, Domaracky wanted a reliable and flexible solution that would allow them to minimize the hardware in their setup.

Solution

Domaracky tested several solutions before deciding on the Matrox® Monarch HD H.264 encoder appliance. None of the other tested solutions could maintain an uninterrupted stream, while at the same time starting and stopping recordings. Monarch HD enabled CERN to independently start and stop recordings while maintaining the live stream. This allowed recordings to only capture the presentation itself and not the setup and transition between speakers.

Auditoriums are equipped with two Monarch HD appliances, each connected to a switcher via HDMI. Some of the auditoriums have an SDI camera; in those cases they are hooked up to a Monarch HDX unit, capable of accepting signals from HDMI or SDI sources. In both cases, a mixer is used to control the volume of all the presenters’ microphones. Output from the mixer is then sent to the speakers in the auditorium and a second output is sent to Monarch’s analog stereo input.

Monarch HD’s API (Application Programming Interface) was essential because it allowed CERN integrators to develop a web interface to control recording operations remotely. “For us, remote management was key,” explained Domaracky. “There can be two-to-three webcasts taking place at the same time and not enough technicians to be present in every room. The Matrox API allowed us to create a solution to this problem.”

From a remote office, an operator observes the live webcasts throughout the day, and determines when to start or stop the recordings via the API-based web interface. The Monarch appliances push daily webcasts in RTMP to a Wowza Media Server installed at CERN, while high-profile events are sent to the Limelight Networks® Content Delivery Network (CDN) to reach larger online audiences.

Through the API, Monarch was set up to record conferences directly to a shared storage on the local network. When lectures are conducted off site, they are saved to an attached USB storage and transferred to the network at a later time. Recordings are then uploaded to CERN’s unique, in-house developed video portal, which gives viewers control over watching full screen of the presenter, the lecture notes, or a side-by-side view.

Results

Thousands of worldwide viewers can tune into any live webcast, such as the announcement of the Higgs boson discovery, which earned the scientists who proposed its existence the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics. This webcast yielded 50,000 views simultaneously and almost a million views on demand.

“Matrox Monarch encoders have helped us to continue and improve on our mission of furthering knowledge both within the scientific community and the general public,” Domaracky said. “We have a very thorough selection process and the Matrox products met our stringent requirements both in terms of specifications and cost.”

# # #

About Matrox Video
Matrox Video is a technology and market leader in the field of 4K and HD digital video hardware and software for accelerated H.264 encoding, streaming, A/V signal conversion, capture/playout servers, channel-in-a-box systems, and CGs. Matrox’s Emmy award-winning technology powers a full range of multi-screen content creation and delivery platforms used by broadcasters, telcos, cable operators, post-production facilities, live event producers, videographers, and A/V professionals worldwide. Founded in 1976, Matrox is a privately held company headquartered in Montreal, Canada. For more information, visit www.matrox.com/video.

Inhabited by many celebrities, including actor Clint Eastwood who served as the mayor of this quaint and charming seaside community in California, the city of Carmel-by-the-Sea with just 4,500 residents, and one square mile of land, is a well-kept secret. Wanting to maintain the old-world charm, and against any kind of radical development, the city, at times, had strange policies—no street signs, minimal night-time lighting, no high-heels on the beach regulation, pro-nature guidelines, and even had ice cream cones banned for a while. Paradoxically, when it came to dissemination of information from the city, the residents wanted only the latest and the best technology used. Many engaged residents attend the city council meetings regularly to ensure they continue to have an impact on the outcome. For the last seven years, council meetings have also been live streamed for residents’ convenience.

City of Carmel-by-the-Sea uses Matrox Monarch HDX encoder to webcast council meetings.

Complete upgrade of city’s AV facility

City of Carmel-by-the-Sea website of archived council meetings.

Catering to involved, high-profile citizens with soaring expectations, the city recognized that they needed to upgrade their entire IT facility from SD to HD, especially their outdated, 20-year old AV systems. Replacing their old content management system with a modern one, and revamping the city’s web site were other priorities. The city issued requests for proposals to address all these needs. For simplicity in live streaming, the consultant systems designer suggested investing in a hardware encoder. After testing several encoders, the city’s IT systems & network manager, Joel Staker, selected the dual-channel Matrox® Monarch HDX appliance, as the affordable, easy-to-use unit allows them to simultaneously stream and record the city council meetings.

Since the city’s entire IT operations, including the 911-call centre, were handled by a single person, ease of set up, maintenance, and operations were of primary importance. The Monarch HDX encoder also worked well with the city’s chosen agenda management solution, NovusAgenda, and the Novus video server. (The previous encoder not being compatible with the Novus solution was another reason for replacing the encoder.)

City council meeting: streamed live to residents using Monarch HDX.

Workflow

AV setup including the Matrox Monarch HDX hardware encoder for a city council meeting.

A clerk or staff creates an agenda and supporting documents for the city council meetings, as well as internal board- or council-level meetings, via NovusAgenda. When the meeting commences, the Monarch HDX appliance is started automatically, and stopped at the end, without operator intervention. This is made possible by using the Monarch HDX’s API to integrate with NovusAgenda. Assimilating the encoding operations means one thing less for the IT person to worry about during the meeting.

In the midst of automating their video capture by using microphone-followed camera control, the city currently has four PTZ cameras that send signals to a production switcher, which provides HDMI input to the Monarch HDX H.264 encoding appliance. Monarch HDX encodes the signals and streams them to the Novus video server, which delivers them as live webcasts through the city’s web portal. Monarch HDX also simultaneously records them in MP4 format to an SD card. The city is able to upload these recordings, at a higher quality than the stream, to their web portal, within an hour of the conclusion of the meetings, for access by everyone including citizens and reporters. Chapter points that reference the agenda enable users to click through the links in the video and skip to points of interest. The city’s Sunset Cultural Centre, a beautiful venue for music concerts, will soon be equipped with another Matrox Monarch HDX encoder for recording the performances.

Mission courtyard in the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

OSU simplifies multi-platform streaming and expands audience reach for important events

While OStateTV serves its purpose as a centralized video resource, the university felt the need to widen its audience reach by leveraging popular social media platforms such as Facebook Live and YouTube. Their existing technology—a content management system (CMS) and turnkey video production units—did not allow them the flexibility to live stream to multiple platforms in parallel. With limited staff and budget, the university needed something that was simple and easy to use, without adding several extra steps to their live-stream workflow. Knowing they wanted a dual-encoder appliance that was affordable and readily portable, the university researched options, starting with Matrox® Monarch HDX. Happy with the performance of other Matrox products they had procured for earlier workflows, the university came out ahead once again with the Monarch HDX dual-channel H.264 hardware encoder.

By using the Matrox Monarch HDX encoder, Oklahoma State University streams convocations simultaneously to Facebook Live and OStateTV.

Oklahoma State University streams an off-campus Community Science Café event, Science of Eclipses, to Facebook Live and OStateTV using Matrox Monarch H.264 encoder.

Streaming Set Up Owning several Sony® cameras and camcorders, and a variety of portable video production switchers, the university uses a mix of both HDMI and SDI inputs, with the selection dictated by the event. Depending on the event, the setup could be for a rudimentary one-camera stream of a speaker, or multi-camera live stream for bigger occasions such as pageants and convocations. The Monarch HDX encoders are also used in outside broadcast trucks for live streaming of college sports. At the university, the Monarch HDX is connected to a Gigabit Ethernet switch and the LAN. Taking inputs from the video production switcher, the Monarch HDX is the principal encoder that enables simultaneous streaming to different platforms such as Facebook Live and YouTube, as well as their own video portal at 720p resolution, and at a bitrate between 1 to 5 Mbps.

The stream settings are configured within the unit itself, making it much simpler to manage the encoding. Through the Monarch HDX’s Command Center graphical user interface, the encoding settings are easily modified when required, for example, inserting the Facebook Live stream key that is unique for every live stream.

Multi-Channel Streaming, Widespread Reach “The Monarch HDX encoder appliance gives us several options when it comes to streaming,” says Andy Wallace, associate director of OStateTV. “It provides the flexibility to harness the power of social media and seamlessly webcast our unique content. For events where we just want to take a camera, laptop, and microphone, and do a simple stream—that process is now way easier.” Through the university’s broad video distribution platforms, they reach current and future students, their parents, faculty and staff, donors, and alumni members, no matter where they are. Parents of international students for example, are able to watch their children participate in a variety of events—including Mr./Ms. International Pageant, Cultural Night, or varsity sports games—and that’s a highly satisfying experience.

Oklahoma State University streams their Greek Association Recruitment Q&A session to Facebook Live using the Matrox Monarch HDX H.264 encoder.

Convocation  speech streamed to Oklahoma State University’s video portal, Facebook Live and OStateTV using Matrox Monarch H.264 encoder.

Results Following through on their commitment to being more accessible, Oklahoma State University now streams to two extra viewing locations besides their own site. They are able to accomplish this with the same number of employees, taking just half the man hours that was required prior to using the Monarch HDX. This allows OSU to not only quickly turnaround events, but also increase the number of events they can stream during the school year—thereby attracting new audiences. Blake Schaich, video content producer for OStateTV, couldn’t have been more pleased with the end result.

“For a simple one- or two-camera set up, the Monarch HDX encoders exceed expectations. You click the button and it’s a guaranteed go. The units are so easy to use. They help us tremendously with our day-to-day workflow as setting up for live streams is much quicker than we ever imagined, resulting in effective use of the available crew. Ramping up further should be easy with additional Monarch HDX encoders.”

StreamingMedia

As recently as two or three years ago, most live streams were distributed by a single service provider like Livestream or Ustream, whether on a page on their websites, via an embedded player on your website, or both. With the rise of YouTube Live, Periscope, and particularly Facebook Live, the focus has changed from publishing to a single platform to getting your video on every platform possible. As with all things streaming video related, there are multiple ways to get this done. This article will cover the most prominent alternatives.

One great thing about most alternatives is that you don’t have to be a technology guru to use them. Understand a few key concepts that I’ll cover at the start, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a multiple-platform streaming maven.

Before we jump in, note that the companies discussed below are meant to be a representative sampling, not an exhaustive list. As you’ll see, many of the products and services are ones I’ve reviewed or discussed in the past. If you feel like your product or service should have been included, feel free to add it via comment below.

Technology Backgrounder

The first point to understand is that from an encoder interface perspective, there are two ways to connect to services like Facebook Live and YouTube Live: via platform-specific presets or via generic configurable destinations. With most of the products or services that we’ll discuss, if you’re using a platform-specific preset, you choose the preset, log in to the service, and your encoding tool and platform shake hands and exchange all required information.

If you’re using a generic destination or preset, you’ll have to provide the same information manually, which I show how to do in Figure 1. On the right is the server URL and stream key information provided by Facebook Live; on the left are the corresponding input fields from a generic destination provided by livestreaming service provider Livestream. By way of background, real-time messaging protocol (RTMP), originally developed by Adobe, is the common language spoken by all live-streaming encoding tools and live-streaming services. If you must create a custom preset, you’ll have to dig around in your streaming service to find these parameters, then copy and paste them into the encoder setup screen. Easy-peasy…[continue reading]

Matrox Monarch HDX streams and records live events to worldwide member audiences The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian church established in 1863 with its headquarters in Maryland, US, its Middle East and North African headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, and its Gulf headquarters in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). In line with the church’s vision to serve its members across the globe, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church recently deployed the Matrox Monarch HDX™streaming and recording appliance to record their live events which are streamed globally on their website and on social media including YouTube. By doing so, they are able to reach out to their audience who are unable to attend in person as well as new individuals all around the world.

AV setup with the Matrox Monarch HDX H.264 streaming and recording appliance for the Seventh-Day Adventist Church’s annual Campmeeting event

Driven by the increase in demand from their fast growing community for a much improved streaming experience and higher quality over the previous years’ videos, the church decided to upgrade their systems from analog to digital SDI. Having to contend with combining both the audio and video together manually with clapper boards for synchronization that resulted in poor audio quality, as well as a tedious, time-consuming post production process, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church sought a simpler to use solution. Wanting H.264-based recordings as this codec produces exceptional quality and smaller file sizes when compared to DNxHD or RAW formats, the church first tested a third-party encoder but immediately faced issues with audio drifting after about 20 minutes of recording. Looking for a better performing appliance, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church found the Matrox Monarch HDX. Easily assimilating with the church’s existing SDI AV system, the Monarch HDX dual-channel H.264 encoder for broadcast streaming and recording that supports SDI inputs, provided the perfect solution by producing synchronized audio and video, pristine quality video, smaller size MOV or MP4 files, and effortless operation.

The church brings together hundreds of people from all over the UAE for weekly services. Monarch HDX is used to live stream these services and record them at the same time to be edited and distributed as video on demand. During special events that are hosted regularly, local as well as internationally-recognized preachers, speakers and singers congregate. The church’s recent four-day festival called “Campmeeting” held in Ras Al Khaimah with over 1000 attendees, an event that is growing in scale and popularity annually, was the first to be covered using Monarch HDX. This is an event which brings together diverse people from all over the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Europe and the US, where throughout the four days they get a chance to mingle and learn together, listen to some of the world’s best sermons and preachers, as well as prominent Christian singers from around the globe. This event was streamed at high quality and low bitrate to a worldwide audience and simultaneously recorded for archiving and future reference. For the Campmeeting event, SDI digital video cameras were connected to a video switcher from where the SDI signal was input into the Monarch HDX.

The Seventh-Day Adventist Church’s annual Campmeeting event with over 1000 attendees streamed live to a worldwide audience using the Matrox Monarch HDX streaming and recording appliance

The Seventh-day Adventist Church streams special events and weekly services to a global audience and simultaneously records for archiving purpose using the Matrox Monarch HDX H.264 encoder

Jozsef Kurucity, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church’s IT Technician for the last four years and a member since 1998 remarked, “The Matrox Monarch HDX is extremely easy to use with its one-touch button that can be operated by any team member or even a volunteer, without necessitating a full-time technician to take care of the arduous manual audio / video synchronization.” Kurucity also added, “The appliance saves us a lot of time during the post-production process: since the audio output from the Monarch HDX is of high quality and frame synchronized, there is no need to extract the audio and work on it separately; it can be edited in the s

Lifehouse Church, located in San Antonio, TX, with a congregation of over 300 has a mission of reaching out to people in the community as well as around the world including churches they have partnered with in Columbia. To ensure that its remote and absentee members receive the sermon and experience the fellowship without missing out, the church streams their whole Sunday morning services live. The services are also recorded, edited and made available online as videos of the full services, as well as lessons portions only, for absentee worshippers and those who wish to reflect on the sermons at their own time and pace.

Seeking a better encoding solution when they started having issues with their old encoder and CDN that resulted in poor stream quality in both the video and audio of their Sunday morning services, Lifehouse Church came across the Matrox Monarch™ HDX H.264 streaming and recording appliance. With the help of a local live streaming company, MediaFusion, Lifehouse Church set up the Monarch HDX for testing. Simplicity of set up that even the basic user could configure as well as its affordability and reliability have made the Monarch HDX an integral part of Lifehouse Church’s Sunday services.Alex Well, technical director of Lifehouse Church says, “With the URL stream information provided by MediaFusion, a simple copy and paste to the Monarch HDX’s web-based Command Center was all that was required; it was up and streaming in seconds! Monarch HDX resolved all our issues; it brought more clarity to our stream and gave us the capability for immediate local storage for backing up our services.”

Easy setup and operation

Lifehouse Church used the presets from Monarch HDX’s Command Center as a starting point for configuration and subsequently customized it to their exact requirements. Set to stream in RTMP at 2.1 Mbps, only the destination location is changed by the A/V operator as the Sunday service is followed by a youth service, each recorded to different destinations. A Cannon FX1 camera is connected to an iMac® that runs the ProPresenter media presentation software, which mixes the video feed with its lower thirds (lyrics, verses) along with audio from the sound board (x32), then sends its out as an HDMI feed that goes into the Monarch HDX. MediaFusion provides Lifehouse Church with the necessary content delivery services. Using Monarch HDX’s H.264 encoding, Lifehouse Church simultaneously records the services in HD resolution at 10 Mbps, for archiving and backup purposes. By taking advantage of Monarch HDX’s ability to create split files, that is particularly useful when recording for extended periods of time, Lifehouse Church is able to automatically divide its recorded files into convenient 4GB sections, without losing a single frame. This feature also ensures that the majority of the content is preserved should a disaster such as power failure occur. The files are edited/trimmed using Final Cut Pro® and posted online to the church website via the Vimeo® video sharing platform, enabling the congregation to view the the entire services or the lessons only, anytime, anywhere, with an experience of almost being physically present in the church.

High quality of streams and recordings

Moving over to Monarch HDX, Lifehouse Church is now blessed with a reliable, high quality encoder. Cleaner picture and crisper audio being webcast makes the Lifehouse online church experience enjoyable and allows the church to reach more people—those traveling, having moved temporarily or from partner churches in Columbia; or those unable to attend owing to inclement weather, limited mobility, sickness or other reasons. Lifehouse Church is also able to save high-resolution, pristine quality hard copies directly from the Monarch HDX encoder; gaining easier and instant access to local backups. Previously, they were downloading files from the content delivery network (CDN) service provider. The quality of these files depended on the Internet and stream quality prevailing at the time, and often looked terrible. CDN service provider’s Internet bandwidth restrictions meant they were unable to record in Full HD (1920×1080) with any reasonable quality.

Wells remarked, “The Matrox Monarch HDX product works hand-in-hand with MediaFusion settings and makes our channel clean; one we really want to brag about and show off. It makes live streaming a breeze! Monarch HDX has brought clarity to our live stream, post production and archives of the services.”

Monarch HDX Dual-Channel H.264 Encoding Appliance Among Top Offerings for Cost-Effective Portable Streaming Appliances

Matrox® today announced that the Matrox Monarch HDX streaming appliance has been named a finalist in the 10th annual Streaming Media Magazine Readers’ Choice Awards.

Nominated by fans and peers alike, the dual-channel Monarch HDX was noted for its powerful, yet cost effective nature in the “Portable Live Streaming Appliance (Less than $7,000)” category.

“Streaming Media readers are sophisticated users of technology and we’re excited by the fact that they’ve noticed our products over the last year,” said Dan Maloney, technical marketing manager, Matrox. “We’re proud of our broad range of streaming offerings, providing users a set of products that can work across a wide variety of workflows.”

Matrox Monarch HDX is a compact, dual-channel H.264 encoding appliance designed for complete workflow flexibility, offering both streaming and/or recording. Monarch HDX features 3G-SDI and HDMI inputs with frame synchronization to compensate for unstable sources.

Winners will be announced on November 2, 2016, at Streaming Media West, Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa in Huntington Beach, California.

About Matrox Video

Matrox Video is a technology and market leader in the field of 4K, HD and SD digital video hardware and software for accelerated H.264 encoding, realtime editing, audio/video input/output, streaming, A/V signal conversion, capture/playout servers, channel-in-a-box systems and CGs. Matrox’s Emmy award-winning technology powers a full range of multi-screen content creation and delivery platforms used by broadcasters, telcos, cable operators, post-production facilities, live event producers, videographers and A/V professionals worldwide. Founded in 1976, Matrox is a privately held company headquartered in Montreal, Canada. For more information, visit www.matrox.com/video.