Wowza Clearcaster Brings Professional-Quality Broadcasts to Facebook Live
By Jim Bask
You won’t likely be putting it to use in your personal live-streams, but media companies will soon have access to a new tool that could greatly improve the video quality of the streams you watch on Facebook Live. It’s called the ClearCaster, the latest product from Wowza Media Systems, a company that makes a range of high-end streaming equipment and software used by the likes of Boeing, Macy’s, NASA, and Facebook, itself.
Wowza has been an early Facebook partner in the development of the Live API. In fact, the ClearCaster was built in tight collaboration with Facebook to ensure the most seamless experience. David Stubenvoll, Wowza’s CEO and co-founder, told Digital Trends that 80 percent of companies they surveyed, said Facebook Live is important to their corporation. However, 75 percent of those companies also said that broadcasting on Facebook Live was troublesome. Which is what led Wowza to develop the ClearCaster, a device that’s specifically built for Facebook Live.
The ClearCaster is a rack-mounted unit that broadcasters can easily integrate into their existing setups. It will cost $6,495, which includes three years of service, so it is certainly not the type of tool that DIY home streamers are likely to pick up. The ClearCaster is designed for the likes of corporations, content publishers, event broadcasters, but professional bloggers, who earn a living through mediums like Facebook Live, could find it to be a worthwhile investment. (If you’re interested in more approachable ways to broadcast yourself, check out the Mevo or our short guide on how to use Facebook Live with your smartphone.)..[continue reading on DigitalTrends.com]