Backup options

Would we be allowed to use our own direct webcast as a backup option? If so, anyone have any software to recommend?

Here's what I've been doing...
[Link removed. See post #5 below]

mikerowaved wrote:Here's what I've been doing...
https://tech.lds.org/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 85#p128585

when I click this link I get the following message

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kd7mha wrote:

mikerowaved wrote:Here's what I've been doing...

You are not authorized to read this forum.

One of our illustrious moderators has referred you to a private discussion being held by the Moderators which you will not be able to see. Once he realizes this, I am sure he will copy out the pertinent information that will help with this discussion. Please stand by. [smile]

Oops. Sorry about that! [a bit redfaced] Here's a slightly edited copy of the post...

I've given up on the church's software and have gone with YouTube Live using the free Wirecast for YouTube "Play" product. IMO. the end result is much better than the Meetinghouse Webcast software. YouTube Live used to be restricted to certain "channel partners" only, but now is open to all YouTube accounts in good standing.

Advantages:

• Huge array of Google/YouTube servers available that (unlike the church's) handle LESS traffic on Sunday than other days of the week, giving you an even higher chance of success. How many of us have successfully tested our webcast all during the week, only to have it fail on Sunday for no apparent reason? [raises hand]
• You upload the video in as high a resolution as your equipment/connection will allow and the YouTube servers will automatically make lower resolution streams available for low bandwidth connections or even handheld devices. (Great for shut-ins.)
• You can set the webcast to "unlisted", where, similar to a Meetinghouse Webcast stream, you can give out the URL to only those authorized to view it.
• In addition to cameras (see limitations below), it can also stream stored video/audio files or even a presenter's desktop.
  For example, 30 to 60 minutes before your conference starts, you can stream a "canned" video or slideshow to your other building(s) and viewers. I created a slideshow with all the temples throughout the world sorted from the oldest to the most recent. It was designed to fade in a picture of a temple, then several seconds later it would overlay the picture with the name of the temple and the date it was first dedicated. Kind of a silent guessing game that people could sit and reverently watch, and at the same time, test your video stream to make sure everything was working OK.
• Individual viewers can pause and even rewind live video if they so choose. (If you turn on the "DVR" option in your YouTube Live settings.)
• Viewers joining after it has started can begin watching from the beginning, rather than the middle.
• If you so choose, a private copy of the webcast will remain on the YouTube servers and can be viewed with the URL previously given out. This can be deleted at any time by you.

Disadvantages:

• More difficult to setup and use. Tricky to get all the settings just right.
• The free version of Wirecast is limited to ONE video capture device (like a Blackmagic card) and ONE webcam. If you use more than one camera, an external video mixer will need to be used upline from the capture card. The alternative is to purchase Wirecast for YouTube Studio (currently $199), which will remove the multiple camera restrictions and add many useful features.
• If you plan on streaming HD, the PC or Mac used will need to have a LOT of horsepower. For example, a 720p stream would keep my quad-core i5 bouncing between 90%-95% CPU utilization for the entire webcast.
• You will need to bypass the church firewalls during the conference to allow full access to YouTube. This usually means that all other wired and wireless Internet access points should be disabled, except for your webcasting computer(s).

When the webcasting team rolls out their new solution, I will certainly take a look at that. Until then, I'm very happy with the results of YouTube Live.

Thanks very much. I'll take a look. There are other free options that might be simpler but I'll do some research/testing. We only use one camera and at this point only have composite capture.

On YouTube Live do you set your stream to private or unpublished?

Also, the Teradek Vidiu units can stream directly to YouTube Live without any additional hardware needed. 100% free, looks like a perfectly good backup/alternative solution as long as units aren't blocked form YouTube at the firewall.

aclawson wrote:On YouTube Live do you set your stream to private or unpublished?

Unpublished. If it's set to Private, I believe you must specify which specific YouTube accounts will have access. With Unpublished, the coded URL can be sent out for anyone to view (under the direction of the presiding authority), regardless if they have a YouTube account or not. The conference won't be found by any search engine, so you MUST have the URL to access it. Of course, URL's can be easily shared, so we ask those that receive it to kindly not do that. The last stake conference we webcast was viewed by 2 sets of senior missionary couples from our stake serving in foreign lands. They later expressed what a wonderful experience that was.

aclawson wrote:Also, the Teradek Vidiu units can stream directly to YouTube Live without any additional hardware needed. 100% free, looks like a perfectly good backup/alternative solution as long as units aren't blocked form YouTube at the firewall.

Unfortunately, YouTube is currently being blocked by the firewall, so bypassing it at both the uplink building and all church building downlinks will be required, along with all the necessary precautions when doing so, such as, limiting access to ONLY the wired connections needed for the webcast until the firewall can be put back online.

Mikerowaved wrote:so bypassing it at both the uplink building and all church building downlinks will be required, along with all the necessary precautions when doing so, such as, limiting access to ONLY the wired connections needed for the webcast until the firewall can be put back online.

But since you'd best turn off a WiFi access anyway, that seems a small price.

The firewall has been letting everybody through to YouTube for weeks now. Just yesterday after conference was over I did a test of the YouTube Live stream. Starting from absolutely nothing - a youtube account that wasn't set up for streaming for example - I was streaming an image of an empty chapel in under five minutes with some audio I was piping in through my phone. Piece of cake.

All I can say about this is that you are on your own. Good luck.

aclawson wrote:I did a test of the YouTube Live stream. Starting from absolutely nothing - a youtube account that wasn't set up for streaming for example - I was streaming an image of an empty chapel in under five minutes with some audio I was piping in through my phone. Piece of cake.

Something's bothering me. I doubt if YouTube is doing this as a public service. I'd be leery of ads. They have to be paying for this somehow.

russellhltn wrote:Something's bothering me. I doubt if YouTube is doing this as a public service. I'd be leery of ads. They have to be paying for this somehow.

I've run quite a few YouTube Live events (for both church and non-church situations) and never had any issues with ads or any "additional video suggestions" (which are sometimes inappropriate) following the webcast. It just runs.

rannthal wrote:All I can say about this is that you are on your own. Good luck.

Yes, that's understood, and I'll be the first to say it's probably not for everyone. However, my webcasting quality and success rate went way up after making the switch. I was really hoping this latest church solution would offer something on par, but I don't think it's there yet.