Telestream Builds Wirecast into Live Production & Streaming System
Telestream Wirecast Gear is a portable computer workstation specifically configured for live event production and streaming with all tools required to broadcast live productions very quickly. It avoids the work of building up a compact enough system with the correct specifications and supporting software. It comes installed with Wirecast Pro live streaming production software, Switch Plus software used to play, inspect and correct media files, and NewBlue Titler Live to create or edit animated titles and lower thirds. Users can load other software onto the system as well to customise their own workflow.
Applications range from marketing, education, corporate and online training, to event production, sports broadcast, worship service staff, news gathering and suits people who want to deliver professional live streamed productions straightaway. Wirecast Gear has been demonstrated at the upcoming IBC tradeshow, and is shipping now.
Wirecast Gear comes with four professional video input ports with options for either HDMI or SDI, housed in a compact hardware system. At 9.85 inches deep and occupying 1.3 rack units, the Wirecast Gear workstation can be packed into a travel case or fitted with its included rubber feet and placed on a desktop. Solid state drives, as opposed to traditional spinning hard drives, makes Wirecast Gear suitable for transport and less prone to failure, and increases performance.
Computing and Streaming Platform
Wirecast Gear is built on a Windows 10 Pro 64bit platform with i7 Intel processors, 16GB of memory and a system drive ranging from 250GB to 2TB of storage so that it can also be used as a workstation. The unit has several network connectors, keyboard and mouse, USB-C ports and digital display outputs to set up a production environment. Once it is unpacked and placed on a desk, cameras can be plugged in, and the user can start streaming a live event.
Wirecast’s encoding engine streams H.264 video and AAC audio over RTMP, RTP and Windows Media protocols for flexibility. Users can stream directly to 30 supplied destinations including Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Microsoft Azure, Akamai, DaCast, Wowza, and also record a version for later use.
Other Wirecast functionality includes multi-camera live switching - mixing live camera sources as well as video, images, computer desktops and others. You can set up instant replay and playlists, and use built-in titles, virtual sets with CHROMA key support, live scoreboards and other graphic elements.
The Wirecast Gear system comes in three versions and is shipping now. The lowest cost version is Wirecast Gear 110 for basic live event production and streaming, installed with Wirecast Pro and NewBlueFX Titler Live Standard. It has four HDMI ports and 250 GB storage holding about 5 hrs of HD video, based on H.264 1080p 29.97fps medium quality. Wirecast Gear 210, which suits sports broadcast, includes Wirecast Pro and NewBlue Titler Live Advance with NDI, four SDI ports and 500GB storage. Wirecast Gear 220 has Wirecast Pro with NewBlue Titler Live Ultimate, four SDI ports and 2TB storage for 40 hrs of HD video.
Also released is Wirecast GearCare, software that extends Warranty and Support for Wirecast Gear to three years and includes Wirecast/Switch Premium support for direct access to Telestream technicians, Next Day Air advance replacement should the system fail, and access to updated versions of the software. www.telestream.net
