ACADEMY HOWTOWEBCAST
Sometimes it’s just not possible to get a cable from your camera to your switcher safely. Perhaps you want a shoulder- mount run-and-gun camera to give you maximum flexibility and for unusual camera angles. Or you want to stream where Wi-Fi coverage is patchy. To transmit a wireless signal from your camera back to the switcher, you need a specialist system. These usually are designed for larger cameras and fit on to a V-Lock mount, and they do need power to run – usually from a D-Tap camcorder battery. The £2154/$2750 Swit SW-M150FS systemworks on both SDI and HDMI cameras and beams its video signal up to 150m to a receiver that plugs into your switcher. Other models from Swit or other manufacturers like Teradek boast an even greater range of up to two miles. The Bolt 4K Max from Teradek is at the top end and costs around £15,000/$15,000. It is typical of the company that has been at the forefront of TV broadcast for years. The firm offers wireless solutions from very high-end to much more affordable, such as the Vidiu, which fits on top of your camera. If you need to stream from locations with dodgy Wi-Fi, then a £1510/$1490 Teradek Vidiu Go system could be what 8. GOINGWIRELESS
you need. It takes an HDMI or 3G-SDI input from your camera, or frommany popular video switchers. Then it streams over the combined bandwidth from Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and up to two 3G/4G/ LTE modems, or several iPhone or Android smartphones as hotspots for even more bandwidth redundancy. Each of the modems costs an extra £399/$399. And of course you need cellular data plans for each cellular Wi-Fi dongle. The Vidiu Go is compatible with Teradek’s iOS video production suite, Live:Air Action, and the VidiUapp for iOS, allowing you to quickly configure and monitor the stream, and overlay graphics and lower thirds on to a live feed. Teradek also offers subscription packages to its Sharelink cloud-based system, which allows multiple- destination streaming, among other benefits. A Basic package is £20/$25 per month and allows for up to 50GB of data. If there is no Wi-Fi at all and you need to go totally cellular, there are options. One is to use a simple cellular Wi-Fi hotspot, which you can buy from all mobile phone suppliers, but of course this isn’t very reliable – especially if you are an event where others are using their phones and clogging up the bandwidth. A better way is to use a device with cellar
bonding. This is using two or more cellular connections bonded into a strong internet connection, and if there is some weakWi-Fi or Ethernet, then you can add that to the mix, too. A device like a LiveU Solo costs about a grand and takes up to two cellular data dongles and uses them to create a Wi-Fi network for streaming. You’ll obviously need two 4G cellular dongles and the data plan that goes with them. Specially designed for pro filmers, the Teradek Link Pro acts like a Wi-Fi hotspot on steroids. It uses Teradek’s Node modems, which use SIM cards from any 4G LTE provider. A kit costs £5073/ $4990 and you also need a subscription to Teradek’s Core platform to make it all work. Serious kit for serious filmmakers, but with Teradek’s systems you can go totally wireless – from cameras to broadcast streaming on location.
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PRO MOVIEMAKER SUMMER 2020
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