YouTuber Curtis Judd recently released an amazing video going in depth about the Epiphan Pearl Nano!

In this episode, we take an in-depth look at the Epiphan Pearl Nano. What is Pearl Nano? It is a single channel video recording and streaming hardware encoder designed for lecture capture, corporate communications, and remote video contribution applications using live SRT feeds. Focus is simple operation for corporate presentations or class lectures and remote operation and administration. Who is this for? This is made for use in education, corporate, and anywhere where there’s a more distributed set of remote contributors.

Curtis Judd

In the video he tackles the following:

• Start
• Summary
• What is Pearl Nano?
• Who is this for? 01:46​ What is it NOT?
• Inputs – HDMI and SDI
• UHD coming in 2021
• USB Microphone Input
• XLR Line Level Inputs
• IP cameras
• SRT Streams In/Out
• Encoder output
• SRT Stream Output
• Pearl Suite of Encoders
• HLS Stream
• RTMP Streams for YouTube etc
• Outputs
• Layout to combine sources
• Screen
• Power options
• Record with SSD, M2, USB drive
• Integrations with CMS Systems
• Auto upload recordings
• Network Security
• Epiphan Cloud
• LiveScrypt Closed Captions
• Cons

Watch the full video here!

Watch Broadfield’s unboxing video here!

Watch Broadfield’s Product Spotlight here!

Learn more about Epiphan here!

1. Embed your video in multiple places
2. Tweet your videos
3. Post you video to Facebook
4. Syndicate to YouTube
5. Create highlights for long-form content
6. Publish to a channel page
7. Add content to playlists

Please note, this article approaches this topic from a syndication angle. This means getting your content published and discoverable in places that will result in more views. It assumes that your content is already widely accessible regardless of the viewer’s device or connection speed.

1. Embed your video in multiple places

Have a key video that you want to promote? Most services give you an embed code to share that content on your own site, IBM Watson Media included. The common approach can be to embed this on a single web page, usually built to house that content. This is not a bad strategy, with the idea that this page could be built for SEO (search engine optimization) around that video content. With raw text offering context, which will in turn improve its chances to rank higher in search results.

That said, another technique is to broaden where the content can be viewed. So rather than just embedding it on this isolated page, broadcasters can also post it to another page as well. While the site’s home page is one such location, another could be at the front of a directory. For example, a site might archive town halls, and at the front of this archive the most current video or live stream could be shared.

2. Tweet your videos

A great method to help your video content go viral is to bring it to social networks. Ideally, the content should play inline, being watchable directly from the social network. A great social network to utilize this approach on is Twitter. Normal Twitter best practices apply here, from being mindful of the limited characters to utilizing hashtags when sharing your videos.

Once on the network, a successful Tweet can benefit from retweets to spread the word, having your followers share the content for others to see and, hopefully, retweet as well. As a result, popular videos can spur advocates willing to share that content with followers.

3. Post you video to Facebook

Much like sharing on Twitter, content owners will also want to distribute their content via Facebook as well. This covers another huge potential audience to watch your content. In addition it packs with it the same social network benefits, with friends being able to like, comment and share the content. This in turn allows their followers and friends to also be exposed to the content, giving it a greater chance of going viral.

Note that right now Facebook only allows outside video to be shared on the network via Flash. Support for Adobe’s flash will end in 2020, so this will likely not be the case long term. That said, IBM Watson Media will utilize a Flash based version of the player so that audiences can still watch and engage with video on Facebook.

4. Syndicate to YouTube

YouTube has tremendous reach, getting 30 million visitors a day. Consequently, posting content to YouTube can be another way to bolster your audience. As a result, IBM Watson Media allows you to connect your YouTube account to your IBM Watson Media account, making syndication of your videos on YouTube a simple process.

This is done though going to “Integration & Apps” and then navigating to “Connections”. This includes the ability to sync up an account with Slack, Facebook (faster login), Twitter (lets followers know when you are live streaming) and YouTube. Once your YouTube account is connected to your IBM Watson Media account, you can syndicate videos to your YouTube presence. This can include, for example, auto archives of live streams so that viewers there can watch it too.

5. Create highlights for long-form content

Live streams can be long running broadcasts. In fact, as covered in our Video Trends to Look for in 2017 webinar, the average VOD (video on-demand) length on the IBM Watson Media platform grew from 42 minutes in 2015 to 62 minutes in 2016. That’s a 48% increase, attributed to auto archives of live broadcasts.

A great strategy to promote this content is to create highlights. This can be a highly energetic segment during a sports game, to just a very insightful comment during a presentation. These clips, which can be shared on social networks or syndicated to YouTube, should ideally direct viewers to watch the full content.

6. Publish to a channel page

Another method to distribute your videos is to publish them directly to your IBM Watson Media channel pages. These channel pages, which are customizable, gives your audience another way to discover your content. This is because viewers can explore the IBM Watson Media site for content they are interested in by clicking “Watch“. Viewers can then subscribe to your channel to see the latest, while enjoying built-in features like chat, Q&A or the ability to search for relevant content.

7. Add content to playlists

Content owners can increase views for videos by adding them to playlists. This can be done either to simulate a live broadcast, where it’s auto-looping and scheduled, or provided as a collection. In the event of the latter, this can be a way for viewers to find content they are interested in through association. For example, if you are creating a training series and a viewer finds one interesting, they might find additional videos in that series interesting. They can also bookmark this playlist as well, making sure they catch the latest video in the series as new entries come out.

Summary

Content owners have a number of methods at their disposal to boost audience sizes for their video content. Most of these video promotion strategies require a low amount of extra effort as well. That said, even small tasks can add up in time depending on how much content someone is generating. If you or your organization finds yourself strapped for time, an abridged strategy can be to focus on sharing over social networks while also using playlists for the embeds. The latter is nice as it keeps the content grouped together for relevance, while locations where the content is embed will automatically update as new content is added, without having to replace those embed codes.

Check out the full article HERE

(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.

The wedding industry is a 55-billion-dollar business with a variety of amenities to ensure an amazing day for the couple and their guests – and live video is the newest opportunity for this market. Videographer, Joel Rienstra, President and Video Producer at StreamByte TV, has tapped into this opportunity by offering brides and grooms the ability to live stream their big day and share it with friends and family that can’t attend in addition to the traditional wedding video. “Live has become much more captivating than pre-recorded video,” Rienstra shares.

Rienstra and his team meet with the couples to determine their streaming needs. Most events are streamed to StreamByte’s CDN which displays the stream on a dedicated custom web page. The team also broadcasts to YouTube, Facebook, and other streaming platforms.This allows for guests that can’t attend in person to interact live during the event too. “We try to get the friends and family involved as much as possible to leave their well wishes for the bride and groom online during the stream. It becomes a fun way to engage with the couple and the family even if they aren’t able to be there in person.”

Wedding Venue Challenges

Many wedding/event venues are not wired for high-speed data transfers. They may offer vendors Ethernet connections or Wi-Fi, but the internet may be slow or unreliable. The venue may also charge an exorbitant fee to get a 5-10 MB uplink. This is not ideal for a live event. Further, these events can include outdoor elements and be very hectic – it is important to be able to set up in just a few minutes.

“Videographers don’t often have the luxury of a pre-site visit so LiveU is our best option to guarantee good stream performance,” added Rienstra.

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

…Many of those broadcasters are in need of a simple and portable way to get their content back home and, for many, that means utilizing the services of a transmission partner like LiveU.

A whopping 190 LiveU units were deployed last month by various broadcast entities across PyeongChang with those units churned out 7,100 live sessions broadcast out to approximately 40 different countries. That totaled up to about 6 terabytes of live transmissions.

These PyeongChang Games also marked the first time that LiveU offered a 4K-ready solution that relied primarily on HEVC (high-efficiency video coding) for compression….[continue reading]

In the past, the LAPD had no method of its own to disseminate video of press conferences or emergency related alerts, instead needing to rely on local media outlets to help spread the word. The arrival of Public Information Director Josh Rubenstein—who came to the department from one of LA’s media outlets—set the goal to change that through live streaming.

At first, Guzman and his unit of officers would use their city-issued smartphones to stream video to platforms like Facebook Live or Periscope. However, Guzman quickly realized that there were a lot of limitations that came with a cell phone being the primary tool for live streaming. …

“The officers that work in my unit—that’s myself and four officers—we’re not the most techie people in the world,” he said. “We’re not trained professional videographers, per se, we’re police officers. So we needed something that was simple to use. [The LiveU Solo was] something I was able to train officers in my unit literally like in five minutes how to use the equipment and they were up and running.”

….[continue reading]

Let me ask you a question. Do you have a must have or favorite piece of gear when you get out the door to a sports production? You and I already know that answer don’t we? It is a resounding YES of course. Production is hard enough, so when we can get that gear either as a purchase or rental we know and love (most of the time) it makes the day go easier. So whether you are one hand held or in a big truck here are some of my favorites that you might just see on my shoots and a lot of others.

Boland Monitors

For such a great set of monitors, I don’t understand why more people don’t know about them. Clean, crisp, reliable, cost effective. Should I go on? Used by the big guns in a lot of multi million dollar production trucks. Check out these two beauties.

BVB17 17” 3G HD & SD SDI, HD HDMI/DVI (+HDCP)

• High & Standard Definition Video LCD Monitors 1080/720/576/480
• 3G includes 2x3G HD/SD SDI-Digital input/ HD HDMI/DVI (+HDCP)
• Dual Link Mode & 1080p 60 compatible
• HDMI/DVI inputs accepts up to 1080p HD
• Modes: EGA to UXGA, NTSC/PAL/SECAM/NTSC4.43/PAL-M
• Analog Inputs are Composite, Y/C, Component, RGB (SOG), DVI – I (Analog PC)
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9, 4:3, 14:9, 13:9, 1.85:1, 2.35:1:
• Dual Waveform & Vector Scope (SDI Only).
• Safe Area Adjustable Frame Marker Display
• Audio Level Meter (16ch, Level meter position, Level meter scale)
• Supports 10bits 3D LUT (Native, BT.709, SMPTE-C, EBU, NTSC, D-Cinema)
• 4:4:4 UMD/IMD Support.
• Closed caption. (CEA608 & 708, SDI Only)
• Color Temperature – User, VAR, 11000K, 9300K, 6500K, 5400K, 3200K
• Focus Assist

BVB07 7″ DayBrite / 2-Way Cross Conversion Monitor

• Digital Level; Volt Meter; 8 pin Lemo Connector (power, signal, Tally)
• 1/4-20 Mount Holes on all four sides
• 1500 nts High Brightness LCD Panel (LED backlight) ; Anti-Reflective
• 2-Way Cross Conversion (SDI to HDMI / HDMI to SDI)
• High & Standard Definition Video LCD Monitors 1080/720/576/480
• 3G includes 2x3G/HD/SD SDI-Digital input/ HDMI x1 input
• Dual Link MODE & 1080p 60 Compatible •HDMI inputs accepts up to 1080p HD
• Modes: EGA to UXGA, NTSC/PAL/SECAM/NTSC4.43/PAL-M
• Analog Inputs are Composite
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9, 4:3, 14:9, 13:9, 1.85:1, 2.35:1
• Waveform (Y Parade) & Vector Scope(SDI Only)
• Marker Display
• Peaking Filter/Zoom function/False Color
• Audio Level Meter.(16ch, Level meter position, Level meter scale)
• UMD/IMD Support
• Closed caption (CEA608 & 708, SDI Only)
• Color Temperature – User, VAR, 9300K, 6500K, 5400K, 3200K
• Focus Assist

Bexel, part of the NEP Global Network

When you hear the name Bexel, you know you are going to be working on a first class production. Big or small Bexel is on the job but just because they have been around for a while it doesn’t mean that it is all in the bag. BEXEL/NEP has a  portfolio of capabilities including custom flypack systems, RF audio and frequency coordination, 4K, robotic and specialty cameras, and graphics and virtual production.

LiveU’s Solo SDI/HDMI Encoder Bundle

Hey, if you aren’t keeping up now is the time to do it! LiveU is leading the way in providing products to help high school, colleges, and the pros get the game home to the dedicated fans who want to watch the game, but just can’t be there. I know as a parent of a college athlete how much it means to see the game!…[continue reading]