NewTek TriCaster TC1 (2 RU) - Manual (Page 201)

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Hint: A helpful way to find a good streaming service provider is to ask other members for recommendations in
NewTek’s online discussion forums.
SECTION 18.7
PRODUCTION AND CAPTURE CONSIDERATIONS
If you’re not intent on live streaming, but wish to capture a live switching session, you would likely record at
full resolution using the Record button (rather than Stream ). The high quality captured files can then be used
later in a DDR , or perhaps be transferred to another computer (even on a different platform) for external
processing or editing.
Hint: an external hard drive to transfer the files between systems, or simply transfer them across a local
network.
You can always convert these files to a streaming file format if you later decide you’d like to supply them for
‘on demand’ Inter net viewing. This lets you retain best quality right through to final output. When you
eventually encode for streaming, you can choose settings that best suit the intended audience and streaming
environment.
At the very least, if (perhaps to save convers ion time) you capture video for web distribution, it’s best to
capture it at least at the size that you intend for final output. This helps ensure satisfactory video quality for
your viewers. When video is compressed (as it invariably is for web viewing) you can lose important detail;
compressing a full-screen video down to a quarter or a sixteenth of its size is a lesson in humility!
O THER F ACTORS
Other variables to keep in mind when you’re creating video for the web a re contrast and motion. During
video encoding for web distribution, a fair amount of video information and detail can be lost. For this
reason, good lighting of your source video is essential.
Also, web streaming doesn’ t handle detail, transitions and motion all that well -- so your best shots should
be close up, and without a lot of movement. Too, audio from cameras and camcorders is rarely as good as
that from external microphones. You should at least use a clip-on lavaliere microphone, if not a directional
or shotgun microphone to be sure you record only the audio you really want. Finally, for high quality
streaming, consider using a 720p session, even when your cameras may be SD and interlaced (there is no
particular benefit to working in SD when your goal is a smaller streaming output.
SECTION 18.8
DIAGNOSTICS AND TROUBLESHOOTING
As technologies go, video streaming is still in its adolescent phase, at best. There are a lot of different
standards and diverse environments to consider. You have the necessary tools, but there are still some
teething problems you may encounter. This section will point you in the right direction to overcome them.
18.8.1 TESTING YOUR STREAM
When it comes to using your system in a professional live production environment (i.e., your bread and
butter depends on getting it right, and now - not tomorrow), failure to test beforehand is not merely unwise
- it can be professional suicide.