Case Study: Courting the Streaming Audience with TriCaster

The bottom line is that the event was a major success. The TriCaster "performed without so much as a hiccup," says Green, who also appreciates that fact that the product is relatively cheap ($5,000). He also likes the way the TriCaster "upscales from video to computer resolution and eliminates scan converters" and the way "audio and video stays locked"—something the product delivers by using the Windows Media format.

The TriCaster is "utterly simplistic," says Green. "People are using tons of PowerPoint these days, and it makes incorporating slides so easy." He praises NewTek for analyzing the needs of the corporate marketplace and delivering. He notes that, "Given the urgency with which streaming events are usually demanded, something this easy is needed. With this you can stream to the world in minutes."

As successful as the Buffalo event with the TriCaster was, it was a one-time affair that isn't likely to happen again for a while. But streaming is an everyday occurrence at the NYS Court of Appeals and will continue to be, says Bryan Lawrence, principal PC analyst for the court.

Currently, Lawrence streams only about 10 percent of the approximately 180 cases that the court hears per year. However, the demand to do more seems inevitable, given how convenient streaming is for lawyers, students, and the press. Lawrence reports that today most demand is for live streams of court sessions. People want to experience the cases as they unfold and know the outcomes immediately. Demand for on-demand access to streams is limited to lawyers and law students who want to review the sessions, pick them apart, and learn from them. It's a lot more convenient than reading through a text transcript, Lawrence notes. And lawyers love the searchability of nonlinear digital video, says Lawrence. "Lawyers can go directly to the video segment they want to review. They can cut to the chase."

When the appeals court started their streaming initiative several years ago, they were using Real Networks. This was "a policy decision," says Lawrence. The IT group still offers some streams in Real format, but lately the group has been leaning toward Windows Media.

"Let's face it, Windows has a wider audience, and the encoder is free," says Lawrence. And he's not sure his group can currently justify the expense of supporting two different servers for two different formats. Nevertheless, he'd like to remain flexible. "Our long-term goal is to be able to stream in different formats and to be ready to move in any direction," he says. To that end, the group has recently purchased an Anystream server, which Lawrence believes offers a good solution to the need to offer different formats from the same server. They are still evaluating the Anystream solution but like it so far, he says.

Lawrence is looking forward to the day when he will be streaming every court session all year long, something that he believes is not only doable but inevitable. All he's waiting for is a little more demand and a little more money in the budget, both of which he's confident will be forthcoming. In what direction is the practice of streaming video in New York courts headed? Upward.