Live video services

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Permalink Reply by Damon Kiesow on March 11, 2008 at 10:51am

Also - just found this one that offers support fro Windows Mobile phones:

http://www.comvu.com/

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Permalink Reply by Ryan Sholin on March 11, 2008 at 11:01am

I'm really interested in something like Qik, but the price tag on the phones that work with it at the moment is pretty big. Still, I could see putting a Nokia N95 in the hands of a charismatic video blogger and turning them loose on a town. You'd need a widget on their blog/page/news site to let people know when they go live.

Maybe even a blinking ON AIR .gif to drive the point in with a big hammer...

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Permalink Reply by Damon Kiesow on March 11, 2008 at 11:04am

Yep - we are looking for alternatives (some of the older Nokia phones work as well) that might give us a test kit to play with this without having to buy an N95. Would also help if Verizon supported any of these phones - as they have our corporate contract.

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Permalink Reply by Zac Echola on March 11, 2008 at 2:37pm

The other option is to buy a Flash Media Server license and use the free Flash Media Encoder with a laptop and a camera. :)

Forum Communications properties have begun experimenting with live video since last spring, particularly for high school sports coverage.

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Permalink Reply by Damon Kiesow on March 11, 2008 at 4:29pm

Zac - we have definitely looked at the Laptop/DV cam option. Seems pretty easy to do even with free Web services - and maybe with Youtube in the near future.

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Permalink Reply by Zac Echola on March 11, 2008 at 6:04pm

It's amazingly simple with the server and I know there's an open-source flash media server out there (can't remember the name off the top of my head). I just wish I had a Flash developer to really make it sing.

I think good streaming live video shines with event coverage. During the Iowa caucus, CNN.com allowed you to view all of their camera feeds, so you could switch angles or events at a whim. Like having your own production control board.

I think that's a much better solution than simply copying the broadcast model.

I spent quite a bit of time talking to the folks at Justin.TV when they first launched. With only a lipstick camera rigged to a DV cam, a laptop and four cell phones in a backpack they could stream directly to their server and then to the world. Considerably cheaper than a single $1 million sat truck, paying $40 - $100 bucks for a 5 minute satellite window and getting 5 miles to the gallon.

Can you imagine the usefulness of having reporters streaming live video from multiple places during crisis coverage?

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