NewTek TriCaster 2 Elite (3 RU) - Manual (Page 204)

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later in a DDR , or perhaps be transferred to another computer (even on a different platform) for external
processing or editing.
Hint: Use a portable hard drive to transfer the files between systems, or simply move them across a 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’ Internet 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 conversion time) you capture video for web distribution using an
encoder
, it’s best to capture it at least at the size t hat 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 vi deo for the web are 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.
SECTION 18.8 DIAGNOSTICS AND TROUBLESHOOTING
Video streaming is becoming commonplace, but there are still a lot of things to consider. You have the
necessary tools, but problems can occur. 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.
You should already be aware of the need for redundancy in a professional environment (you didn’t bring just
one camera, did you?) As reliable as any device may be, Murphy ’s Law has not been repealed … s o you plan
for this, bringing the appropriate equipment, such as uninterruptable power supplies, backup recording
devices (there’s no shame in having a VCR backing up your digital record – ‘low tech’ still has a place in the
grand scheme.)
But you also need to perform onsite testing, to ensure your live stream is working well before ‘zero hour.’
No-one will thank you for excuses, no matter how brilliantly they point the finger at forces beyond your
control.
1. Set up and enable a test stream.