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Video: How is IP Video Changing Sports Streaming?

Learn more about sports streaming at Streaming Media's next event.

Watch the complete video of this presentation from the Sports Streaming Summit at Streaming Media West, SSS102. How IP is Revolutionizing Sports Video Production, in the Streaming Media Conference Video Portal.

Read the complete transcript of this clip:

Jack Lavey: At FloSports, we're in a lucky position where we get to do everything from really low-end--I say low-end, but basically, we have to be really cheap, because we're servicing a small audience--to very high-end stuff. The high-end stuff you can't be as risky, and in my opinion, NDIs still a risky thing, depending on how you're using it.

One of the things that makes NDI so interesting on the low-end is when NewTek brought out the NDI|HX Spark. The Spark converted the NDI signal to something that's only 8Mbps inside of an IP network. When I talk about an IP network, I'm talking about ethernet-connected, maybe a wireless network connected, maybe you're running fiber for your internet. It's so flexible. You can do anything. The biggest problem you have is most of the devices you have are only going to be capable of up to 1000 megabits on a regular gig network.

So, 1,000 megabits with full NDI core signals, typically a full NDI core signal out of this or OBS or anything is going to be a full 100 megs. That means you can only fit 10 signals on a network going into your computer or whatever your main source is.

But, with the NDI | HX being able to compress everything down to eight megabits, I can fit a ton of those on my network. At 8 megabits I can put that over WI-Fi network. I could put it over maybe a point to point network. Right? So, where now something that might have only been able to do 150 megs with a wireless system I can now send a ton of video signals over that. Granted, maybe there's going to be some inherent latency, maybe there's going to be some jitter, but if you're in a place where you can be a little more risky, and a lot of places where we're at we can be a little risky with what we do. It gives me the ability to do things way cheaper, and have way more of an advantage versus if I had to run an SDI cable and fiber.

For instance, if I do softball, I've got to run fiber for all my softball cameras. But, maybe it's a low-end softball tournament, and so instead of doing that I'm going to do ethernet, because with ethernet I don't mind if it breaks. But my fiber cable is $3,000 a pop. I don't want to break those. So, being able to have that flexibility to go over fiber or ethernet or even maybe a wireless network is huge for what we do. But then also to be able to mix in different protocols into that ethernet network.

So, for instance, let's say we do marching band. With marching band I've got to get audio from the field up to the press box along with cameras. In the current way you do things, you've got to run fiber down there for maybe your camera, but then you've got to run big XLR snakes up to the top. With ethernet, I can put my audio on Dante, I can put my camera on NDI, I can run one fiber signal down there, and I can convert everything over an IP network. So, we can put all of our information on one cable.

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