NewTek TriCaster 8000 - Manual (Page 331)

Page | 315
O
THER
F
ACTORS
Other variables to keep in mind when you’re creating video 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. 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. TriCaster gives
you 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 TriCaster 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may be, Murphy’s Law has not been repealed … so you plan for this, bringing the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.)