Overview

Valley Local High School Expands Live Sports Coverage with NewTek TriCaster™

High school students have only known an Internet-connected, online world. While students’ personal lives are usually connected with friends and family online, schools are just beginning to realize the benefits of sharing major events with broader audiences through cost-effective live webcasting.  Web distribution of major events allows schools to tap into a larger audience and provide access to school events to people regardless of location.

In the world of high school sports, family, friends and former players had limited options. If they were in town, they could attend the game. If not, they had to rely on a phone call or local news reporting the next day for information. Now that live video streaming is easier and more affordable, cutting edge schools are riding this technology wave to keep their fans and communities connected.

About 85 miles south of Columbus, Ohio is the small town of Lucasville, with about 600 households and less than 2,000 residents. The Valley Local School District has Tom Vallance, an energetic information technology (IT) manager who taught Web design classes, he also took a personal interest in maintaining a Web site for Valley Local High sports teams. After a successful year of streaming audio, the school district decided to try streaming live video of some games. Exploring the options revealed that NewTek TriCaster™ was the perfect tool to meet their needs.

The school board made the initial purchase of a TriCaster and accepted delivery of the system on a Wednesday. Just four days later, Vallance and the student volunteers went live and streamed the graduation ceremony. From its very first production, Vallance appreciated TriCaster’s benefits, selling graduation DVDs to help generate revenue for additional production gear.

Live streaming of Friday night football was out of reach, due to restrictions by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). Last year, however, Vallance says the school district was granted a waiver from the state, after demonstrating that more than half of the production team were students, and assuring OHSAA that the game webcasts would be commercial-free. The response was both positive and widespread.

“We’re a small school and the community has really enjoyed it. Alumni tune in and give us positive feedback, and we also hear a lot from our military family from around the world.”

The continuing innovation of NewTek’s live production tools soon elevated the district to a new caliber of live production and streaming. With NewTek’s LiveSet™ live virtual set technology, the Valley speech class is now able to produce network-style school newscasts.

"Our productions really took off once we began using NewTek’s TimeWarp for replays. Now, we have other schools in our area coming out to see how we’re using TriCaster and the accessories to produce and stream these games.”

A typical Valley High football or basketball game crew consists of a director on TriCaster, a replay operator running TimeWarp™, another student managing titles and scores on a laptop with LiveText™ and three camera operators.

“Our highest viewership was during a pretty exciting football game, a close game with one of our biggest rival schools. If that wasn’t enough pressure it was also during a storm, so we had to protect our cameras on the field with umbrellas.” 

One of the persistent notions that Vallance fought was that live streaming would reduce game attendance, but Vallance says he’s not seen that at all. Instead, he says their live productions have managed to keep the community more tightly connected, regardless of where their lives may take them out of this southern Ohio valley.

“The community has really enjoyed it, and after the district made the initial TriCaster purchase, DVD sales have sustained our growth from then on.”

Miss Universe Organization taps potential of live streaming to build excitement for its pageants

The new media department of the Miss Universe Organization is producing a wide variety of streaming video shows with the NewTek TriCaster™ to enhance its brand.

How can an annual TV institution build an even bigger worldwide audience and give its well-established fan base a way to enjoy the event year round?

Those were the questions facing the Miss Universe Oranization a couple of years ago as it looked to build its brand, attract new, younger viewers and create a sense of anticipation in the public about its beauty pageants. In the age of social networking, YouTube and Twitter, the solution –to stream ancillary pageant content live on the Internet– may seem rather obvious. But as is often the case in life, just because something is easy to recognize doesn’t mean that it will be easy to do.

For Colin Hornett, producer and head of new media for the Miss Universe Organization, however, simplicity along with reliability and portability were the fundamental requirements of whatever solution the organization settled on to produce and stream content. “Production is incredibly complex,” says Hornett. “The simpler it is, the better it is. Simpler means fewer mistakes and tighter shows.”

After evaluating and considering various alternatives, Hornett settled on the NewTek TriCaster™ as the centerpiece of his streaming production setup. Not only was it easy to use and packed with the production tools he needed, but the TriCaster also was portable enough to be located in the tight confines Hornett would be given. “I knew we would need to be under the stage, under the steps and tucked away in places you would never imagine,” he says, “so being nimble and mobile was a must.”

Streaming coverage
The Miss Universe Organization kicked off its use of streaming video during the 27th Miss Teen USA pageant from the Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas, in July 2009, which was followed the next month by the 58^th Miss Universe pageant from the same venue.

From the outset, an important goal has been leveraging the worldwide reach of the Internet to bring fans into contact with the pageants before the big night. “We want to get people excited before the show and get them engaged with the pageant,” explains Hornett. “We want them to meet the girls and the judges and to build a connection so they keep coming back for more.”

Viewers of the pageant telecasts probably aren’t aware that by show night the field of contestants has been narrowed down to 15 quarter finalists. The winnowing begins two days to a week before the finale with a preliminary competition. “During the preliminary competition, judges narrow down the field of contestants,” says Hornett. Contestants are judged on the same criteria during this pre-show phase, including evening gown and bathing suit competitions, as during the show that gets televised.

Streaming this pre-show competition is the ideal solution for building excitement, says Hornett. “You don’t get to see any results, but the stream of the pre-show allows viewers to be part of the process by seeing the girls walk in their evening gowns, et cetera,” he says. “It is incredible content.”

Then 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the telecast, Hornett and his team complete the anticipation phase of their production with a half hour of live content streamed from pageant leading into the show.

Streaming content again takes center stage as soon as NBC, the network televising the pageants, concludes its coverage. At that moment, Hornett’s team is on stage with its own cameras to capture the reaction of the winner immediately after she is crowned and stream it to the public on the Internet. “We run on stage and interview the girl right after she wins,” he says.

Production setup
The centerpiece of Hornett’s production setup for both the pre- and after-show streaming events is the NewTek TriCaster 300, an HD-capable multi-camera production switcher and streaming hub. Weighing 20 pounds, the ultra-portable TriCaster comes in a single box that literally can be transported in a backpack if necessary. The TriCaster 300 supports up to three HD inputs and is capable of HD titling, HD digital disk recording, live virtual set generation, audio mixing, HD editing and full HD streaming.

While both shows rely on the TriCaster, Hornett approaches the production of each in significantly different ways. For the post-show stream, Hornett uses his own complement of three cameras –two on jibs positioned on either side of the stage and a shoulder-mount camera operated by a single videographer who rushes the stage immediately after the network show goes dark to capture the reaction of winner.

This run-and-gun production approach, more akin to a live news remote, contrasts sharply with the more staid pre-show production, a less frenetic webcast that relies on a traditional OB truck rolled in to the pageant venue primarily to produce the main event but also traditionally used to capture the pre-show for archival purposes by the Miss Universe Organization.

“The truck is only calling cameras,” explains Hornett. “We take their live cut clean, put on our own lower-thirds, effects and graphics (with the TriCaster). I guess you could say for the pre-show we use the giant production truck as a switcher.”

For both pre- and post-show streams, Hornett must meet his own set of sponsorship responsibilities. “We run video packages and commercials, depending on what we have sold, and what obligations we have,” he says. Being able to reliably roll those spots and stream them along with a rock-solid production of the pre- and post-show proceedings was instrumental in Hornett’s decision to base his production on the TriCaster. “If the TriCaster goes down, the show goes down. We have sponsor commitments and the fans rely on us. It’s got to work,” says Hornett.

Miss Universe licensees also have begun tapping the power of live streaming for their pageants, says Hornet. “Quite a few licensees use the TriCaster,” he says. “That just makes sound financial sense. If it costs $100,000 to $200,000 to produce traditional TV, it costs $10,000 to $20,000 for a TriCaster stream. That equation opens up the possibility of further developing steaming by licensees.”

Into the future
While the TriCaster supports any combination of HD-SDI, HD component, SD-SDI, component, Y/C or composite video sources, outputs three HD/SD-SDI or three HD/SD component video channels and supports 16:9 720p streaming, Hornett has elected –at least for the time being- to stream only SD.

“We take HD and downconvert to SD,” says Hornet. “I have audiences around the world with varying degrees of bandwidth.”

“My goal is to achieve the best quality of video while delivering a stream with the best access. In the United States, that’s 512kb/s. Maybe we could pump that up to 1Mb/s for the international audience. We are moving toward that, but I would rather have more people have access. We struggle with this one a lot. At what point do you get maximum quality and streaming?”

Hornett’s future goals for streaming aren’t confined to boosting resolution, however. The new media chief of the Miss Universe Organization has identified several new opportunities for streaming video to boost the brand, enhance viewer experience and potentially tap additional revenue sources.

“Ideally, I would like to have cameras back stage so during the show you could be watching streaming coverage of what’s going on back stage while you’re tuned into the main show,” says Hornett. “Streaming video really breaks down the barriers and the doors about the pageant and how it operates.”

New pre-show opportunities abound as well, and Hornett has already identified an event associated with the Miss Universe pageant as good place to start. “We want to do a red carpet pre-show at Miss Universe,” he says. “It’s called the National Costume Event. It is a beautiful show. It’s creative and colorful and the girls get excited about explaining their costumes.” Currently the National Costume Event is not televised, and if it’s not picked up by TV, Hornett plans to webcast it.

Combining traditional TV coverage with these streaming shows creates a powerful synergy that the Miss Universe Organization is using to its advantage. “You can now create your own network based on this content. In essence we are like a small cable network,” says Hornett. Every day and half the Miss Universe Organization completes production of a contestant interviews, short film or commercial. “With the ability to stream content to viewers online, we are building our brand and attracting a whole new generation of viewers to our shows,” he says.

Northview Assembly of God Extends Outreach with Live Streaming

Multimedia has grown as a communications tool in the past 20 years. Savvy communicators around the globe now incorporate audio, video and the power of network-quality live production to more effectively inform audiences. Many houses of worship have readily adopted this trend. What began with use of websites and podcasts has now expanded to visual events with live music, dynamic graphics and more, broadcast or streamed across the globe.

At Northview Assembly of God in Columbus, Indiana, Youth leader and multimedia Minister Eric Burton has seen the use of technology increase at his facility

“We started pretty simply, with a projector to display lyrics and scripture. Then, I started editing videos for the services, and as capabilities grew and I become more comfortable, we got better audio/video equipment.”

“We had talked for a while about how cool it would be if we could broadcast services live and soon realized it would be easier to reach our targeted audience from our own website, Burton explained. “The congregation embraced the idea, and when a new sanctuary was built, they included a budget for proper live production equipment. Burton saw a NewTek TriCaster™ demo at the Assembly of God district convention, and quickly settled on using TriCaster as his principal tool for live production and streaming.

There was initial concern raised by some members that live streaming might affect weekly services, but Burton says the response quickly turned positive.

“TriCaster made a definite impact. People who were initially skeptical can see the value TriCaster brings to our services, and I’m now able to show them Web reports of how many watched our live services online.” Burton notes that when someone goes to a church website, they’re looking to see what a church is about, and feels the best way to accomplish that is to view a previous service. Because of this, he says many newcomers arrive with a better understanding of the pastor, the music styles and what ideas have already been presented. “We have had several people who watched a service online and then decided to come join us.”

Burton says he found a ready crew in the church youth group, and discovered that TriCaster is “volunteer-proof” and easy to master quickly.

“Having no formal training in video production, they’re doing a great job. After a couple services, they are comfortable with their production duties, switching cameras, bringing up titles and playing back video clips in the DDR.” Burton added that the crew takes pride in its production abilities, and their weekly responsibilities keep them highly engaged in the church community.

Northview Assembly of God capitalized on TriCaster’s small footprint for some outreach, as the church hosted Summer Blast, a community carnival. TriCaster was the hub of Northview’s mobile production. They turned the church van into an ad-hoc TV truck, live recording all of the key activities of the weekend event.

Burton says TriCaster greatly eased their transition into live production and streaming, and advises nearby congregations that they should do the same.

“I tell them to get two or three cameras and a NewTek TriCaster, and you’re ready to produce live and provide on-demand access. TriCaster is a great tool to reach people you would not be able to reach otherwise including missionaries watching our service around the world.”