Cover Live Events as Needed with Ustream

If you need to cover a live event and stream it to your employees or viewers, you can get daily coverage starting at $3,000. That's the starting price for Ustream's new Global Production Services division, which has been created to offer fully-staffed live streaming.

You might know Ustream as a platform for easy live streaming via webcam or mobile phone, or as a company that streams large events like the 2009 presidential inauguration, but this division expands the business, helping those who want to cover specific events but don't have the resources to staff an in-house team.

The division offers three packages, with the least expensive the Mobile Package. If you're willing to do it yourself, $2,500 lets you rent a Ustream Mobile Livepack, a "satellite truck in a backpack" that includes six wireless modems and streams the video over three cellular networks. You'll need to supply your own camera and operator. For $3,000, however, you can get the Livepack, a professional camera, operator, and a technical director.

The Conference Package ($10,000) gets you two professional cameras, TriCaster Studio, two live screencast virtual cameras, two operators, one technical director, and one executive producer. At the high end, the Concert Package ($20,000) gets you three professional cameras, Tricaster studio, three operators, one technical director, one director, and one executive producer.

"The launch of Ustream's Global Production Services marks a monumental move in the expansion of our core business into hardware and support," said Brad Hunstable, Ustream founder and president. "Partners can concentrate on connecting their audiences through amazing live content and Ustream can handle the rest. It's never been easier to stream a high-quality live event."

Troy Dreier's article first appeared on OnlineVideo.net