VidOvation Corporation

Jan. 22, 2021 - If you need to broadcast live, bonded cellular video uplink solutions provide a shift in live video acquisition. This technology moves away from expensive satellite transmission while delivering cost-effective cellular alternatives. You have resilient broadcast-quality video uplinks while enhancing freedom of mobility in the field so your live team can produce live broadcasts from anywhere, any time.

You can still produce live broadcasts in-studio, REMI, or remote telecasts, but don’t have any of the headaches commonly encountered such as genlock and lip-sync challenges. You can use multiple cameras or send out a single reporter or camera operator, outfitted with a video camera and backpack for live interactions to cover emerging stories. You can also conduct on the spot interviews and establish beauty shots at events. Sound good? It is. Here are three reasons you should be using bonded cellular for live-video streaming.

1. Agile Workflows

Live weather and traffic teams face challenges to deliver reports from fast-moving vehicles.  Using bonded cellular for video streaming provides news networks and stations with transformative live broadcasting equipment for superior digital video acquisition and state of the art, award-winning newsgathering. The chain becomes an agile workflow offering a portable, highly robust uplink system for SD or HD-quality coverage of breaking and local news. Suddenly your team has a world of multiple opportunities for new types of reporting that stretches the boundaries of live, as it happens video production for news and weather.

2. Portability

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again – Bonded cellular for streaming improves live video transmission and capturing with lightweight, easy to set up equipment that gets smaller and better as it evolves. Today’s network bonding devices are compact and easy to carry making it the better choice compared to traditional live video publishing equipment. The small units allow camera operators or solo reporters to broadcast from the field at unexpected places, with improved vantage points and agility to move about in tight, crowded event spaces.

They are less cumbersome, so they put less physical demand on operators while improving workflows with reduced setup times. This can make or break a story at a live event. It also allows reporters and operators to reach remote locations and manage traveling at high speeds safely and easily.

3. Redundant Internet & Cellular Connections

The keyword in bonded cellular is "bonded". Using bonded cellular for streaming brings connections together whether it is Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or USB cellular modems. It creates a single pipeline to deliver wireless video from point A to point B without interruption or blips. Since you can access all network connections at once, your messages are reinforced and supported should any one network fail. Your wireless video is sent over multiple routes and repackaged when it arrives, so you have 100% dependability.

Nothing is dropped and all your content is received live, as it was intended, making it ideal for use in just about any scenario. You no longer need to worry about using a single hard-lined Internet source and the potential for failed connections. Nothing is dropped because you have several connections streaming the event content on a continuous connection as long as you are broadcasting. This includes publishing H.265/H.264 video to live platforms or studio decoder destinations hundreds of miles away or multiple destinations as needed.

Since H.265 is considered the next generation of video transport codecs, you can rise to the occasion and put it into action. This can save more bandwidth as you stream live video, improving data consumption efficiency by as much as 50%. When compared to 1080p video costing about 5 Mbps to deliver using H.264, you are looking at the same results using H.265 at as little as 3 Mbps. This not only saves money for live streaming but also allows you to deliver live streaming even when data is congested at major events.

There is one more reason you should be using bonded cellular for streaming. As mentioned above, it offers an affordable option when you consider use of H.265. This non-hardwired internet solution allows you to save money because many live locations cost you thousands of dollars for bandwidth. With bonded, you don’t have to depend on house provided internet. As well, you also have portability adding to affordability. You no longer need traditional video transport equipment, trucks, satellites, etc. With cellular bond, you have small portable equipment without the need for additional personnel and equipment on location.