Authored by Mark Moore
Mark Moore is the Sales Manager for LiveU driving new business development in Canada. He brings over 20 years of sales experience in broadcast and media markets, including 10 years with Evertz Microsystems as director of sales for APAC and more recently developing business globally in new verticals such as corporate AV, defense, and live sports production. Mark’s areas of expertise include video transport, compression, IP, and cloud-based solutions.
Meet LiveU – The New Game in Town
LiveU is shaping the future of live video, powering video production workflows and cloud services for news, sports, and other verticals. Building on our global market leadership and innovation, LiveU offers the highest quality, reliable and cost-effective end-to-end solutions for all types of live productions – producing more for less. Our broad portfolio ranges from our portable production-level field units and smartphone apps to satellite/cellular hybrid solutions and our next-gen cloud-based IP management and distribution platform. With over 4,500 customers in 150 countries, LiveU’s technology is the solution of choice for global broadcasters, sports organizations, and other verticals (including government, education, public safety, enterprise, and production houses), streaming live video to TV, mobile, online, and social media.
A breakdown of our products
LU800 – All in One Production Level Field Unit
The LU800 enables complex remote productions (REMI), allowing you to send up to four fully-frame synced feeds in high resolution (1080p50/60, 10-bit HDR) from a single unit to any remote production centre – physical or cloud-based. This allows you to reduce costs and have minimal staff onsite, critical with today’s social distancing guidelines. Ideal for on-premise productions, such as football games, the LU800 provides multi-angle coverage of the game with a close interaction with the players for an enhanced experience.
LU800 in Action
The LU800 was instrumental in covering the Rockstar Energy Triple Crown, the largest Canadian professional race series (arenacross, motocross, supercross). Justin Thompson, CEO of Jetwerx International, producer of the live REMI production of the Triple Crown, notes that the technology “saved our sport.” Historically, producing the race involved a satellite truck and multiple semi-trucks.
“The cost for a two-day shoot in Canada is around $28K in satellite costs. And then you must consider parking trucks on rough terrain in some areas, plus weather conditions, which could affect the satellite feed,” explained Thompson.
Jetwerx produced 13 national events, which were broadcast on FOX Sports. The LU800 was crucial to support the REMI workflow, which was essential as border restrictions and budgets challenged the live production. With announcers and cameras connected to the LU800 on-site, the live content was transmitted back to the studio for editing and graphics overlays. It was then packaged together and distributed to FOX Sports and to social media for fan viewing and engagement. This was truly a wireless REMI solution, which allowed teams to work in different locations and come together to create a unique live broadcast.
“The LU800 is bullet proof,” noted Thompson, who added that the production of the Triple Crown series went off without a hitch credited to LiveU technology for the success of the live programming. “The technology allows you to get creative with the production. The flexibility we had wouldn’t have been possible with an on-site truck and production workflow,” concluded Thompson.
The LU600 HEVC Field Unit
The LU600 field unit has set the standard for portable video transmission, providing excellent video performance with extreme bandwidth efficiency. It delivers superior 1080/4K video quality with two available configurations: HD and 4K-HDMI. The unit bonds up to 12 x IP connections (cellular, Wi-Fi and LAN), offering fast file transfer (60Mbps) and ultra-low delay of minimum 0.4 sec.
The LU600 featured at Woodbine Queen’s Plate Thoroughbred Horse Race
Queen’s Plate, the first jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, is North America’s oldest continuously run stakes event showcasing Canada’s top three-year-old Thoroughbreds. During the height of COVID, the race went on without spectators. Viewers craved more content and plans were under way to advance the production the next year. In 2021, the production team from Woodbine Entertainment worked to give fans a unique live look at the race and the Winners Circle, plus all of the festivities leading up to Safe Conduct crossing the finish line including a performance by Canadian singer/songwriter, Jim Cuddy.
LiveU was brought in to help bring in live content from several cinematic cameras. The LU600 was setup with the camera coined “Megalodon,” a high-resolution, shallow depth of field wireless camera allowing for cinematic live-action shots. Sports networks and broadcasters have been using the camera for high-profile events to garner stunning up-close shots that brings fans even closer to the action. The Woodbine team used this setup to cover the Woodbine Queen’s Plate Race and Winners Circle. A second LU600 was paired with the Sony A7SIII camera featuring a shallow depth of field lens. This camera was mounted on a DJI Ronin gimbal for the Jim Cuddy performance and behind-the-scenes shots. All the content was transmitted from the LU600 back to the broadcast truck with the LU4000 receiver for final production and distribution.
“The event was a success. The LiveU LU600 performed flawlessly and contributed to a unique viewer experience that enhanced the look and feel of the overall performance,” noted Tobin Munro, Manager, Broadcast Technical, for Woodbine Entertainment.
Not just the backpack company
There has been unprecedented change in the past year, and the accelerated move to the cloud and remote workflows has opened new possibilities for live broadcasting. Now more than ever, customers need live video solutions that are easy to navigate and flexible to adjust to their rapidly changing needs and budgets. That is why we introduced LiveU 360°, enabling customers to respond faster with an adaptive subscription-based service which covers every aspect of producing live content in a fixed monthly payment. With this future-proof business model, customers can focus on what they do best and grow their business, leveraging our reliable technology.
The LiveU 360° offering includes a range of plans under two umbrellas – 360° Essential and 360° Premium – which are optimized for specific markets (news, sports, and other live productions) and can be upgraded at any time. An adaptive business model by design, LiveU 360° provides self-service capabilities, for example, multi-camera and roaming activation.
