This blog features a live stream test of the Epiphan Pearl hardware encoders by four live-streaming specialists. Read about the set-up, results, and applications, such as home streaming for executives and assisted live lecture capture.
Earlier this year, live streaming experts Aaron Parecki, John Barker, Curtis Judd, and PhotoJoseph set out to test the SRT capabilities of their Pearl encoders. The four participants were scattered across the globe, and the goal was to bring them together on a single live stream. Three remote participants contributed an audio and video feed from their local Pearl Nano encoder to the fourth participant’s Pearl-2 production encoder.
What is SRT?
Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) delivers high-quality video and audio with low latency over the unreliable public Internet. Besides low latency, SRT lets you control the latency and tune out issues like jitter due to packet loss over poor networks. The ability to deliver high-quality content in near real-time over the Internet gives broadcasters a viable alternative to expensive satellite technology.
SRT can also traverse firewalls, minimising or eliminating the need to engage a network administrator. For more on SRT, read our blog.
The live stream test set-up
- Each participant had a professional camera and microphone connected directly to their Epiphan Pearl or a production switcher.
- The team used video conferencing (VC) software for real-time communication because SRT is best suited for one-way video contribution rather than two-way communication.
- PhotoJoseph’s Pearl-2 served as the central production hub, receiving all SRT feeds and recording and streaming. He swapped between layouts on the fly with Pearl-2’s live-switching capabilities during the event.
- PhotoJoseph was streaming from Pearl-2 directly to two of his own YouTube channels. An additional RTMP stream was going from Pearl-2 to Aaron’s home gigabit network server for restreaming to the other participants’ YouTube channels.
Raise the bar for remote contribution.
Get outstanding quality remote contributions for your production
using SRT protocol and Pearl. Learn more about the advantages of SRT
support on Pearl and download the complete Pearl SRT application note.
The result: High-quality, low-latency streaming
Sub-second latency
Even though the four participants were thousands of kilometres apart, they achieved sub-second latency via SRT. Measured in relation to PhotoJoseph, Aaron came in 0.46 seconds behind, Curtis was at 0.72 seconds, and John’s streaming latency was 0.87 seconds. These results are even more impressive as John was streaming from a remote rural area in Sweden using an unpredictable 4G connection.
Excellent video quality
Multiple viewers noted the excellent audio and video quality of the
stream. Some expressed doubts as to whether the production was live.
Pearl-2 barely broke a sweat
While receiving three 1080p SRT streams, sending three 1080p RTMP streams, and recording locally, Pearl’s CPU load only reached 30 per cent. This result surprised producer PhotoJoseph, “Pearl hardware is efficient in this regard. I am impressed with that. I expected that to be higher.”
Applications for remote contribution using SRT encoders
Remote contribution kits for live interviews
In this scenario, the producer ships a small production kit consisting of a camera, a microphone, and the contribution encoder to the talent or their team. After the local group or the talent sets up the kit, the producer is ready to stream or record content. PhotoJoseph said,
“It’s easy to configure because everything is done through a web platform. You could remotely connect to somebody else’s Pearl… and do all the configuration and switching remotely. You could ship out a kit… Tell them to plug it into their network, and you take over from there.”
Home streaming studios for corporate executives
For frequent video contributors like executives, a permanent studio in their home or office might make sense. The same low-touch principles would apply – minimal device interaction for the executive and maximum remote control for the producer. As Curtis Judd put it,
“Certainly, in education and corporate settings, it makes a lot of sense to use [Pearl Nano] because I will not go to an executive’s house and teach them how to do downstream keys and live switching. I want to be able to control all that remotely.”
Assisted live lecture and training production
A preconfigured hardware encoder could benefit both permanent and ad hoc lecture spaces. After setting up the encoder, the
presenter can focus on the presentation while a remote producer
assists with the live production.
*The information in this blog is extracted from Epiphan.
About Epiphan
Epiphan Video provides award-winning, purpose-built hardware solutions that help your business create impactful video content.
The Epiphan Pearl range of hardware encoders is the ultimate system for maximum versatility with multi-encoding, multi-streaming, recording, custom layouts, switching, and more. Ideal for use in live event production, enterprise communication or lecture capture in higher education.
AP Tech is the authorised Australian distributor of Epiphan Video products. Every Epiphan solution from AP Tech is backed by local warranty and support.
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