Following is an excerpt from SeeMyMarriage.com and IPContext webcasting firm based in India from their blog. Please follow the below links for the full article.
Website:
http://www.seemymarriage.com
On Facebook :
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SeeMyMarriagecom-Telecasting-Broadcasting-Webcasting-MarriagesWeddings/106078192763186
Webcasting is more than just connecting your web camera to a free streaming service/platform. If you are particular about a reliable/ quality broadcast , there are a lot of activities that need to be run in conjunction with each other, harmoniously.
Make sure you counter check the following points:
1. The Bandwidth:
First of all make sure you have a high speed internet connection at the marriage/event location . We recommend atleast 256 kbps dedicated bandwidth for a neat broadcast / webcast . Normally most of the venues have a leased line internet connection. But do make sure they do not share the leased line across the entire building . Your broadcast needs dedicated bandwidth. period. Not having this , will seriously effect the broadcast during the peak business hours (of the venue) and thus cutting a sorry figure with your viewers.
And in India, never consider using a wireless broadband stick for your broadcasting . These things have unreliable , inconsistent and erratic upload speeds.
2. The Camera:
Now you need a good camera that can capture your marriage perfectly preferably a camera with zoom . You might also want to consider going in for a USB streamable video camera so that it gives you high definition quality video along with zoom facility . Make sure your video grapher has this .
Never make the mistake of using a web camera without zoom because the people sitting at the other end of the world need some good shots of the marriage venue steady close ups of the bride and bride groom, Or else their interest in watching the whole thing will eventually be lost . Personally , with our experience at http://www.seemymarriage.com we dont suggest using a webcam ( even with zoom facility ) .Because we dont have a view finder for a web camera and it would get difficult to manage the camera, with only the view in the computer's monitor( as web camera and the computer to which it is connected will be kept at a distance from one another ) . As a result the viewers get distracted and irritated with a shaky broadcast while we change the view of the camera at the marriage venue. And due the technical limitations , it would become really difficult to extend the USB cable beyond a certain limit (a few meters) according to the USB 2.0 specification. And this will not be possible with a regular web camera. Intention to use a webcamera for a quality broadcast is a serious no, no.
3. Flexibilty with the camera:
What is the area of the venue through which you want to move your camera. You obviously would not only just focus on the bride and bridegroom . It would be boring for the viewers. Wouldn't you want to show the entire venue for your viewers? Wouldn't your event viewers want to have a virtual walk through the aisle / indoors of the venue? You will definitely want your camera to have the flexibility to be moved here and there without losing the connection. So make sure you have enough wiring available
4. The Audio:
You need to have a good wireless mic ready for the entire broadcast . Your viewers cannot just sit and watch only the live feed . Audio is a critical component of a live webcast and to keep them engaged during the webcast they need to hear the audio at the event venue. You might as well want to keep a guy/girl with spontaneity and communication skills for commentary during the live webcast. Introduction at the marriage venue. For this you can use the inbuilt mic in your video camera or else you can as well use an external mic .
5. The Broadcaster:
Now a powerful computer that can convert the video feed coming from the webcamera / Video Camera into a format that can be broadcasted on internet. If your video grapher / you have a HD camera , then the compression parts gets really tricky . Different softwares are available for this. FFMEG , VLC , Quick time,Windows media etc.
6. The Platform:
If your are very particular about a real TV-like broadcast , make sure that you choose the right media platform. Choose the one, that which is not over crowded with too many users and broadcasts. Now we have to establish a link with the Media platform ( in our case we use our own media platforms at seemymarriage.com) . And once this is done it is relatively quite simple to start off with the broadcast . You can now give users the event id /link and they can watch it directly over the internet.
7. The Software:
Also do make sure that the software you give the users to watch the marriage feed live over Internet has all the required functionalities that they would need to have. Do your users have the functionality of recording (audio/video) messages / comments while they watch the event ? So that you can see it after the marriage broadcast is complete. Do your live view users have the functionality to chat with each other during the webcast?
8. And finally The Broadcasting / Webcasting Service provider:
The role played by an experienced webcasting provdier cannot be undermined . The provider will take the entire responsilbilty of configuring all the above paramenters and also to complete the webcast sucessfully. Be tension free during the D-Day . Outsource this entire broadcasting process to a webcasting service provider who specializes in this.
We at SeeMyMarriage.com and IPContext will be quite happy to help you out in your webcasting activity be it a marriage , birthday or any other special event.We have succesffully executed quite a few broadcasting projects with clients under harsh/abnormal broadcasting conditions. Do call us for a free consultancy of your marriage/event broadcasting requirement. Or fill the contact us form at http://www.seemymarriage.com/ . Our technical team will get in touch with you.
SeeMyMarriage.com,
India.
Sales: (0) 810.665.4665
Office: 0891-2783032
Email : sales@ipcontext.
Website:
www.live-wedding-webcast.blogspot.com
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