Taffy

I arrived to the gym just 10 minutes before my first-ever broadcast. I grabbed a couple of rosters, plugged a microphone into a computer, and started yelling about a high school basketball game between my high school and our rivals. I thought it was awesome. It was an exciting game, and I had a great time. I couldn’t wait to go home and listen to the tape.

When I returned home and played back my call of the game, it did not sound awesome. It turns out that when I referenced the opposing team’s point guard as “Number 32″ and repeatedly referred to their center as “the big guy in the middle who has to be close to 7-feet tall” I didn’t sound like the next Marv Albert. This experience, along with some helpful guidance at the collegiate level, taught me the importance of broadcast preparation.

In an effort to compensate for my lack of preparation in my pre-college broadcasting “career”, I found myself over-preparing for my first few college broadcasts. I had 4-5 pages of notes on the Pepperdine women’s volleyball team. I was determined to have as much knowledge as humanly possible at my disposal. During those first few games I found myself overwhelmed. I was sifting through papers trying to find facts I’d researched in the days leading up to the game, and by the time I found them, my point was irrelevant. I had developed a more responsible and studious approach to my preparation, but it was still ineffective. I was gathering a plethora of facts, retaining few of them, and was rarely able to work any of them seamlessly into the broadcast. As time went on, I began to prioritize my preparation. I focused on what I believed was imperative to the broadcast, and over time heard my play-by-play quality improve. Obviously, everyone prepares differently and may differ on how to prioritize, but I’ve gone ahead and listed what I found to the the most important areas of broadcast preparation.

CREDIBILITY

• To me, this is the most important element of broadcasting. As a broadcaster, you are nothing without credibility. My most cringe-worthy moments while broadcasting came when I was unsure of a pronunciation or rule. People viewing or listening to games are relying on the play-by-play person. The minute you mispronounce someone’s name, your credibility takes a hit, and the audience (and let’s be honest your audience is often comprised primarily of family members, so if you slip up on a pronunciation, somebody’s mom is going to be UPSET!!!) now has reason to doubt the validity of anything that comes out of your mouth. Likewise, if you are unsure of a rule specific to the game you are broadcasting, you’ve given the audience another reason to doubt your credibility. As I got more and more broadcast reps under my belt, I found that my biggest priority was establishing my credibility. That meant studying pronunciations, making sure I was on top of all of the rules, and researching and comprehending the backstory of the opposing team/university so if I needed to reference such things during the broadcast, I could do so without sifting through a large pile of notes.

STATS and FACTS that ENHANCE

• As mentioned earlier, one of the hardest things to do when preparing is deciphering what information is worth broadcasting. It never hurts to have as much information at your disposal as possible. If you can get both teams’ 100+ page media guides, do it. Have them at your table as something to reference if you absolutely have to. But I found that you cannot rely on a pair of encyclopedias. When I was generating copious notes, I found I was too focused on gathering information rather than retaining it. As time went on, I began digesting what I thought were the really vital stats or facts (i.e. win streaks, streaks against specific opponents, certain percentages in specific situations, the last time a team achieved a specific milestone, etc.) that enhanced the broadcast. I would read through my game notes 3 or 4 times and highlight statistics that I found vital, and by the time I was done reading through the notes, the facts and stats that were the ones that stuck out. Frankly, if you have to go find it in a book somewhere during your broadcast, is it really that significant? This realization led me to my final priority…

DO NOT HAVE A PLAN

• On the surface this seems counterintuitive. We’ve already discussed why preparing for a broadcast is critical to its success. However, preparing is far different from planning. One of the byproducts of over preparation is that it can influence how you call the game. Once you’ve spent the time and effort gathering every stat imaginable, it is easy to feel obligated to fit every stat into the broadcast. Notes and stats are most effective when worked into the broadcast organically. It can be tempting to want to force the narrative of the game in the direction of some awesome statistic you looked up the night before, but that isn’t the play-by-play person’s job. The broadcaster is there to see the action and relay it to the audience, adding relevant information that enhances the viewing or listening experience along the way.

So there you have it. Again, this is just what I’ve found to be the most effective preparation method for me. Every broadcaster will differ in what they prioritize and how they prepare. The key is finding a method that allows you to feel as comfortable and prepared as possible, so when it comes time to deliver the Call of The Year, you’re ready!

As many of you who have been with Stretch Internet for a while know, our roots as a business began as an audio-only streaming company back in 2004 when Ryan founded the company.

To this day, with our addition of HD video streaming and our other services, we still have a number of clients that kick it old school and broadcast audio only streams using one of our unique solutions…the dial in.

Lots of our clients love the dial in option, and why wouldn’t they? Its usually a very stable option (depending on the quality and age of the phone line), it’s an easy setup and the sound quality is great.

But we have noticed that as athletic facilities are evolving, lots of them are leaving out standard “old school,” if you will, phone lines. In their place are either VoIP phone lines, which can work depending on whether or not you are using something that can generate tones, but that is not always the case.

If you don’t have a phone line for a dial in, what are you to do? Never fear, we have you covered, well I should say Adobe has you covered with a program called Flash Media Live Encoder or FMLE for short.

FMLE is a program that we have been singing the praises of for a while as a backup or alternative for dial in broadcasts. FMLE is a simple media encoder that can stream audio only broadcasts to our servers. It works much the same as Wirecast in that sense but is a much simpler, more pared down program which is great for audio only streams.

Flash Media Live Home Screen

It’s a quick download and is a simple setup. You just need to enter your FMS URL – which you can get from us – into the appropriate field and your stream name. Then, just select your audio source and click start. Now you’re streaming (as long as you have a network connection)! FMLE also has the option to locally record your streams just like Wirecast.

Now, FMLE is a free program, so it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that Wirecast does, but that doesn’t really matter when we are talking audio only streams. It is capable of producing quality audio streams, and all you need is a computer, a way to get the audio into that computer and an internet connection. FMLE does have a few drawbacks, it does require an internet connection and is therefore subject to the ebbs and flows that can happen on any network. It is not quite as reliable as a dial-in connection (due to the aforementioned network dependency), but the quality is usually better when compared with a dial-in because it comes through at a higher bit rate. We typically see a lot of success using FMLE and it can run on a much slower internet connection than a standard definition video, with around 25 kbps the bare minimum to successfully stream an audio broadcast.

If you are interested in looking into using FMLE or you just want to have a backup option for your audio only streams, just give us a call or shoot us an e-mail, and one of our handy support techs can walk you through the installation and help with testing.

You can read more about FMLE at Adobe’s website http://www.adobe.com/products/flash-media-encoder.html

What does the Stretch Internet support team have in common with Deborah Harry? Aside from our successful New Wave careers and rapidly waning sex appeal, it might not seem like much. But, like the Blondie frontwoman, we’re also pretty much always accessible by phone.

That’s especially relevant this time of year, when the weather across the nation turns more volatile and you’re trying to pack in two baseball games and two softball games practically every day. As you know, there are myriad delays, postponements and general happenstances that keep things from going right on schedule. With that in mind, here are a few (hopefully) helpful reminders when it comes to doubleheaders in the Stretch system.

• Schedule both games. If you’re not sure when the second game will start, that’s OK.  Scheduling two games helps guarantee fans are able to access the second event more easily and keeps things tighter in our system since it will understand your games will be going for several hours rather than just the length of one game.  Your recording will be cleaner as well, though you can always use the audio archive management tool in the event editor menu to make sure your events start and end where you want them to. If you’d like, you can also drop us a line when the first game has ended just to let us know you’re between games.
• If there’s a delay give us a call or send an e-mail to the support address. We do our best to keep up with things, but if you give us a shout when you’re in a delay. We can let fans know using a portal message or respond to their e-mail inquires in a more informed manner. You also can prevent a call from us disrupting things as you run for cover or sacrifice your (no longer) Dri-Fit polo to cover the equipment.
• If you’re not going to play and you don’t want to call us, delete the game. If you’re a client who doesn’t charge users to view or listen to content, it’s preferably to just scrap that event and schedule a new one for that event’s new time. If you’re a PPV client, go ahead and give us a call so we can make sure everyone who has paid for an event gets refunded or gets access to that event at its new time.

In summary, we’d rather have our phones getting lots of calls and our e-mail inbox filling up than be left in the dark about what’s going on at the site. Plus, we love to hear your voices, even if they’re not on Debroah’s level.

If you use Wirecast to stream with us, you likely have made the recent transition to the latest software version (4.2) and noticed some subtle differences in how you setup your broadcast. Some of you might have questions, fears even, about the new routine and we certainly understand. Change is scary, and you’ve gotten used to the old routine, your settings files serving as a warm, familiar blanket that protects you from the wintery draft of cyberspace and ever-present technical difficulties. Fear not, Stretchies! We are here to help you out; my plan is to address some of the questions that people have been asking as they get used to the new manner of things. We are here to give you a brand new blanket… it even has that new blanket smell and is even warmer than before. It’s like a streaming Snuggie®. In our initial e-mail about the update, we sent out a .pdf document that walks you through the step-by-step (replete with helpful screen shots) so be sure to e-mail us if you didn’t get a copy of that.

I’ll skip over the full walkthrough, but what I’d like to do is present a few of the basic concepts that might help clear up some common questions. The main difference between the old and the new, is that you no longer a need to use settings files that we provide (Hip-hip, hoo-ray!!!). The main benefit of using Wirecast 4.2 is that we (Stretch Internet) are now a built-in destination within the software. This means that anyone with your institution could start up Wirecast, login with your credentials, setup the encoder preset, select their channel and be streaming within minutes.

The response has been largely positive so far, but there are a few things that are tripping people up. What things, you ask? Good question, hypothetical Taffy readers. Let’s dive in.

1. Scheduling games with the right Wirecast profile and broadcasting with the corresponding channel name. The main key here is to make sure that the profile you choose when scheduling an event on the CMS matches up with the channel you choose when setting up the Wirecast broadcast. Example below:

The Wirecast Channel (in broadcast settings) matches the Wirecast profile (in event editor).

In this example, the event is scheduled for Wirecast profile ’16:9′ which means the event would be looking for a stream name of “wontputtherealnameherebecauseofinternetpiratesbutyougettheidea.” Once you set the Wirecast channel to 16:9 as well, that ensures you’re sending us the correct stream name and all of your fans can get their view on.

If you do this, it crushes the dreams of fans worldwide -

Something's gone terribly wrong...

Now, while our support team IS vigilant in monitoring events for errors like this, it’s still best for everyone (including your fans) if the event is setup properly from the get-go. In certain situations, you can also inadvertently affect your recordings if the video source is changed without our knowledge… when in doubt, give us a call!

2. What’s the backup channel all about? You may have noticed when you are choosing a channel for a broadcast, that each option is accompanied with a duplicate option followed by the word “backup.” If you have two video channels, you’ll see four options under the channel menu:

Video channel 1

Video channel 1 – backup

Video channel 2

Video channel 2 – backup

We want people to use the standard channels by default, and you should never have to use the backup unless instructed by a certified Stretch Internet Support Tech (as opposed to all the non-certified ones that we assume call and text you all the time). The reason for the backup channels is pretty straightforward – we wanted a quick and easy way to have clients switch streaming locations on the fly. There are many variables involved in the streaming process, and sometimes a certain client might have trouble communicating with a perfectly functional server simply because of the network hops between location A and location B. That’s just one example of a scenario when we’d have a client switch to their backup channel. That process is as simple as stopping your broadcast, switching the channel and restarting the feed. Stretch Internet? More like Stretch Easynet!

Also – two quick tips that can improve the quality of your video feed:

1. Verify that the canvas size is correct for the video you’re capturing. The first thing you want to check is your encoder preset in the Broadcast Settings menu. You’ll have two options – Stretch Internet 4:3 or Stretch Internet 16:9. Make sure to choose the proper preset for the mode your camera shoots in. Then, you can check the canvas size in the Broadcast > Canvas Size menu. Generally speaking, you’ll want to choose “VGA 4:3 (640×480)” if you’re using the Stretch Internet 4:3 encoder preset, and “360p (640×360)” if you’re using the Stretch Internet 16:9 preset. If you are sending a high quality or HD stream, the best canvas size will likely be 720p (1280×720).

2. Verify your capture device size – you can do this by going to the Sources > Show Sources Settings menu. From there, select your device on the left hand side and verify that your capture device size is as high as your device allows; this will usually be around 720×480, but sometimes Wirecast will default to 180×120 or something similar which results in a very blurry/pixelated image. Also, for some cameras you’ll want to make sure that the ‘Device Deinterlacing’ option is set to ‘Blend.’ This isn’t necessary for all devices, only if you are sending an interlaced picture which is notated by an ‘i’ in the shooting format (i.e. – 1080i). If you notice any lines streaking when the camera moves on your broadcast, switching this setting over to blend will likely alleviate the problem.

Well, hopefully this helps clear up (punny, indeed) some of the common issues you ‘ve been running into. We are always here to help if you ever have any questions. Until next time, in honor of baseball/softball season, here are some hilarious umps:

Well, it’s finally here. The time when I am, as a football fan, most excited.

The Har-Bowl has been decided, Ray Lewis went out on top, and Cool Joe silenced a lot of people. BUT more importantly, the NFL draft is now the talk of the football world.

Ever since I can remember, the NFL draft has always been my favorite sporting event. There’s something about seeing the college athletes you love to watch play take that next step and following all the different evaluations/strategies from the “experts.” Watching Mel and Todd duke it out on which QB will be the most successful and who has been better hair. I love it all.

I have stacks of “Mel Kiper Draft Reports” in my closet dating back to 2004 and do my own evaluations on players I watched during the year while reading about players I didn’t get a chance to see first hand.

One of the best components of the draft is the hidden gems you can find late in the draft and at the various levels of the collegiate ranks they can come from. So, I thought I would write about the most successful “small school” guys in the NFL.

There have been quite a few players to come through the NFL and have very successful careers. Some of which have come directly from Stretch clients.

Active guys that came from the lower ranks like Pierre Garcon (who came from DIII powerhouse Mount Union), Fred Jackson, of Coe College, and Jared Allen, from Idaho State, have been very successful at the NFL level. Even Super Bowl-winning QB Joe Flacco comes from the FCS.

There are also a lot of former players who impacted NFL and came through the small-school route, some of whom are thought to be the best to ever play their positions. A wide receiver by the name of Jerry Rice came from a DI-AA (or now known as FCS) school called Mississippi Valley State and set NCAA records across all divisions for touchdown receptions and total receptions. He only went on to win 3 Super Bowls, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 13 Pro Bowls, and set the NFL record for career receptions, yards, and TDs.

Another FCS product came from a small school in Columbia, Mississppi and will forever be associated with being one of the greatest running backs of all time. Walter Payton, who attended Jackson State University, never got any interest from SEC universities but ended up breaking the NCAA’s scoring recording with 65 rushing touchdowns. Oh, and he is also the NFL’s second all time leading rusher. Not bad for a kid who didn’t get a sniff from the big conference schools in his own backyard.

The list of successful pro football players from smaller schools is extensive and prodigious. Sometimes kids just need the opportunity to play and develop instead of sitting on the bench for 3 years only to hope for a starting spot their senior year. There are plenty of examples to back it up.

Since I am such a draft junkie, I thought I would take a look at some small school prospects who I think could make a living out of playing on Sundays. Some even played for a school that happens to be a Stretch Internet client

Luke Marquardt is an offensive lineman out of Azusa Pacific who has been shooting up draft boards since the process started. Marquardt only solidified the buzz with an impressive showing at the NFL combine that included 31 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. Not bad for a kid who started as a walk-on basketball player and turned out starring on the gridiron under their NFL Hall of Fame offensive line coach, Jackie Slater. Coincidentally, Slater attended Jackson State (same as Walter Payton) and went on to be a 7 time Pro Bowler and 3 time First Team All Pro.

Another prospect that stood out at the combine was a tight end from Rice University, Vance McDonald. The first two TEs off the board have been solidified in Tyler Eifert and Zach Ertz, but McDonald made a strong case to be the third player drafted at that position. His 4.69 40 time and 31 bench press reps were very impressive, especially when he measures at 6-foot-4 267 pounds.

Every year there is a ton of talent that comes from below the FBS level. Who will be the next Rice or Payton? It’s tough to predict such greatness, but there is no doubt that NFL teams are capable of finding big-time players in the lower divisions.

Let us know. Who is the best football player to come out of your school? Any prospects that NFL teams should be noticing?

With basketball tournament time and baseball/softball on the horizon, I thought I would take this opportunity to write a blog about streamlining your game notes. I know we have all been there – someone asks you a question about something that you KNOW is in your notes, but you are having a hard time finding it. That is a symptom of what I like to call ‘Bloated Notes.’ When I was an SID, I never really saw the need to create novel-sized game notes packages. And, I didn’t see creating an 80-page plus notes package for a single game as necessary or a good use of my time.

See, I like my game notes streamlined, simple, readable and easy to access. Otherwise, by the time someone sorts through the novella of game notes that was painstakingly created, their opportunity to use that carefully researched piece of information has passed. By then, what’s the point of all that research?

I knew I was on the right track when I saw the presentation from Chris Yandle on ROI and digitizing game notes for social media, etc. at last year’s CoSIDA convention. Chris was at Baylor at the time and worked with their football team during the Heisman run of RGIII. He has since moved on to the U (Miami). Chris’ talk is available on YouTube – it’s about 53 minutes, but it’s a decent watch if you have time on a bus trip:

The main point Chris brings up is something I have always believed; no broadcaster has the time to go through all 80 pages of your notes for a single game. I always wanted to streamline the process but didn’t really know what path to take, so I went directly to the source when I took over as the men’s basketball contact at Arkansas State. I went to my radio guy and voice of the Red Wolves – Matt Stolz.

I asked Matt – What do you need from my game notes? What can I do to provide you with the best information? The reason I was so concerned with Matt’s opinion was because on a game-by-game basis he was the primary person utilizing my notes for his radio broadcasts. Odds are that if he liked them as a broadcaster, other broadcasters would probably have the same opinion. If you have questions as to what you want to include in your notes, talk to your broadcaster. I am sure they won’t mind helping and will likely appreciate your questions.

Based on the information Matt gave me, some information I collected on my own from other folks in the industry, and frankly some things I saw along the way, I formulated the following opinions on optimizing my notes. But remember, the whole point of game notes is to tell the story of your team. Don’t forget, you are trying to put your team in the best possible light and take the opportunity with your given broadcast to tell your story.

1. You have to be conscious about the size of your notes. Make sure they are long enough to get the information out to the people who need them, but also make sure they aren’t too long that decent information gets lost in the shuffle. More pages don’t equal more information. When I was the men’s basketball SID at Arkansas State my notes stayed around 30 pages, which is longer than I would have liked them, but I wanted each player to have their own page. This made the information the most accessible for broadcasters. You need to know about guard John Smith? Turn to page 27. For baseball, I simplified further. A few pages of notes, trends and pitching match-ups.
2. Readability and accessibility have to be paramount. These can be accomplished in a number of ways. The font (size and typeface), the leading of your copy, sidebars, heading, etc. are all aspects of how to best utilize your notes. I was a big fan of 10pt Arial Narrow with at least a 12pt leading, single column as the primary part of the notes section. I usually dropped the font size by one point for side bars and boxes. I also always lead my game notes with a section of game information, team comparisons and quick hits of the game’s story lines and important notes. These quick hits are also a good “tweetable” section, as these were one line notes that were almost always less than 140 characters.
3. Include only the most pertinent information and try not to create stats. This was always pet peeve of mine as an SID. It happened more often than not, but I would be looking through an opponent’s game notes package and would find some note about how Billy is the best shooter in the league on Thursday or, if Steve were playing 25 min instead of 13 minutes, he would lead the nation in assists based on his adjusted stats for minutes. While those are interesting, it’s hard to fit those into a broadcast, so why include them?
4. Think in terms of charts and graphs, at least for TV games. When working on your notes ask yourself – what notes can I include that would be easily turned into a graphic for a TV production and would make my team look good?
5. Speaking of graphics, limit them to logos and head shots for your notes. I was guilty of this myself, but as far as images go in game notes, making a masthead that was attractive is a must. Past that I tried to only include team logos and head shots in my notes. Otherwise you are going to have a cluttered page and a bloated PDF file.
6. Think about including a broadcast page at the end, or spot chart as it is known to some. Broadcast pages are becoming more and more popular, but a page that includes mug shots, vital information and averages as a cap at the end of the notes is a great idea and is well received by broadcasters who have a short amount of time to prepare.
7. Always include an easily accessible pronunciation guide. Otherwise how would someone know how to pronounce Ifeanyi Koggu, Yima Chia-Kur or Chano Rashiduddin?
8. Make sure your notes are timely. Timeliness means a few things. First, make sure your notes are well updated. I made the mistake of not updating notes myself, but make sure you are coming up with new notes consistently and make sure your old notes are updated. Also, make sure your notes are out at least 24 hours prior to tip or first pitch. Otherwise, what’s the point? Notes that come out “day of” are going to be hard to use and won’t allow anyone to use them for their game preparation.
9. Be careful about what stats pages you include, especially with baseball and softball. I learned this lesson the hard way my first year at Drake University when I mistakenly put the R-L matchup page in my notes. The coach wasn’t too happy, and I didn’t make that mistake again.
10. Don’t be afraid to change it up. During my time at Arkansas State I was always in communication with my broadcasters and asked what they liked and didn’t, what they needed and what they never used, and changed things accordingly. One of the big changes I made to the media guide was going to bullet-point bios for all players. It made information easier to find and I also made that change on player-only pages. It provided a cleaner look and was easier to read.

Remember, game notes are an opportunity to set the stage for a game and to promote your program, which at its heart is what any good SID is out to do. Everyone has their own unique take and formula for what they deem is best for their teams and the best way to present information. Just also remember, you are not the primary person that will be using your notes. Making them accessible for the people that use them most will go a long way.

Feel free to share your tips on game notes below in the comments section.

No matter the broadcast medium, a play-by-play person’s job description is always the same: tell the story of the game.  However, the manner in which that task is carried out differs greatly when comparing broadcasts with and without visual aids.

For broadcasters, many of their first events are radio or Internet broadcasts that do not have visual aids.  As a result, the primary skills honed early in many broadcaster’s careers are related to play and scene description.  There is a large emphasis on painting a clear and vivid picture with words when there is no visual aid.  It is critical to present the listener with as much information about the given event, location and play sequence, so that when it is all said and done, the audience has an image ingrained in their mind of what has transpired in an event that they cannot view themselves.  The broadcaster acts as the eyes and ears of the audience, and the primary focus is to relay critical information and description to the audience.  While these skills are critical to develop for a broadcaster, they can be detrimental when transitioning to television or internet broadcasts that do contain a visual aid.

Kevin Harlan, of NBA on TNT and “No Regard for Human Life” fame, once said he prepares 10 times as much material for a television broadcast as he does for a radio broadcast.  Harlan says when he has the visual aid of television, there is less description required of him and more opportunity to provide back story.  The audience can see the play-by-play with their own eyes.  They can also hear the accompanying ambient noise from the players and crowd and, frankly, could watch the game without any commentary (although it is not suggested) and still have a pretty good idea as to what is going on.  Especially with the aid of score and time graphics, the play-by-play broadcaster’s approach to the game must be different from when he or she is broadcasting on the radio.

One of the hardest transitions to visual broadcasting is learning to let the video speak for itself.  A broadcaster does not have to describe every action and detail of the play on the floor or field.  In fact, while going the extra mile on a radio broadcast to describe a scene or play is an effective tool for a broadcaster, it can be distracting and even annoying on a television broadcast.  It is hard to discipline one’s self, and resist the urge to say everything that comes to mind, but when a broadcaster has the aid of video and graphic production, less can sometimes be more.  Adding commentary on SIGNIFICANT plays allows the commentary to almost feel more important.  By speaking less about the action transpiring on the floor, it also allows for that extra preparation to shine through.  There is more opportunity to drop in interesting stats or facts, even DURING the play, that otherwise cannot be delivered on the radio because there is such a focus on describing the action.  While initially it may be difficult disciplining yourself and resisting the urge to talk about every single detail of every single play, I think you will find that the quality of your commentary will be enhanced by picking the spots in which you comment on the action and find yourself with more opportunity to enhance the back story to the game.

Finally, I want to finish with a video.  In my opinion, there are few broadcasters on the national level right now better than Ian Eagle.  Agree or disagree, I think you will find the video below to be incredibly entertaining.  More importantly, however, it is an example of how a broadcaster can practice his or her craft.  The most important thing for young broadcasters is to get live-game repetitions.  It is the most effective way to improve.  However, live-game repetitions are hard to come by for a variety of reasons.   That does not mean that your broadcast skills are destined to deteriorate through atrophy.  When I was younger, I would often mute the television and broadcast the game to myself.  If I were playing a video game, I’d do the same.  I think the video below shows a method that is even more effective.  In the video, you’ll see Ian broadcast a fake game.  He simply sits in front of a group of aspiring broadcasters, creates a scene and then goes off on his own and pretends to broadcast the game.  It forces him to use creative and descriptive language.  It is also an excellent tool to allow broadcasters to become comfortable with their voice.  If you can sit in a room and broadcast a game that does not exist, then it should only get easier from there.

It’s entirely possible you’re aware there’s a presidential election in the United States this year.

There are plenty of implications for video streaming. YouTube streams of the debates attracted millions of views. Major networks and policy think tanks are airing expert reaction live. Third party debates are being streamed rather than televised and fringe candidates have taken to live streaming their responses and events to supporters across the globe.

At Stretch, we’ve been able to get in on the election fun as well. Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have appeared on the Stretch network, Obama speaking last year in front of the American Legion and Romney when he was hosted by Northwestern College in Iowa. Additionally, our friends at Lynn played a big role, hosting the third and final debate.

As if appearing on our streams wasn’t enough, it’s entirely possible both candidates watch their shared law school alma mater, Harvard, on their mobile devices between campaign stops. Obama could even watch Occidental events. He initially attended the school before transferring and finishing his Bachelor’s degree at Columbia (though not the Stretch client in Missouri).

It’s not just America with a head of state from one of our schools. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper can enjoy the Dinos of his alma mater, Calgary on Stretch.

Outgoing Mexican president Felipe Calderón earned a master’s from Harvard, as did Obama’s fellow Nobel laureate and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Other foreign heads of state who might follow the Crimson include Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, Taiwan’s leader Ma Ying-jeou, and Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, who has a graduate degree from Yale, would be more apt to watch the rival Bulldogs.

Heads of State aren’t the only notable political figures who spent time at a Stretch institution. When he’s not attempting to broker peace deals, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan can catch his Macalester Scots on the athletic field using our service.

In the current cabinet, Hillary Clinton (Yale Law School), Arne Duncan (Harvard), Shaun Donovan (Harvard), Rebecca Blank (Minnesota), Leon Panetta (Santa Clara) and Janet Napolotano (Santa Clara) all attended Stretch schools.

And 30 current United States senators plus dozens of representatives attended Stretch schools for one or more of their college degrees.

The meaning is clear. Successful schools stream with Stretch Internet. OK, maybe that’s painting it with a bit of a broad brush, but we’re certainly proud to partner with so many institutions who produce the decision-makers at home and abroad.

We know we’ve missed plenty of very deserving politicians, so let us know in the comment section who some of the politicians are who attended your institution.

Hi all.

For those of you who haven’t read Stretch Internet’s previous blog, my name is Imry Halevi, and I am the associate director of video production at Northeastern University.

A few weeks ago, I contributed a post to this blog regarding the hockey and basketball broadcasts we produce at Northeastern, which we stream using our Stretch Internet Portal.

Some people who read the post commented that while they appreciate everything that we do to make our productions looks good, they could never afford all the equipment we use to pull together a multi-camera HD production. I completely understand that. Video productions can range anywhere from full-scale TV truck productions with equipment costs in the millions of dollars, to a camera and a laptop that cost no more than a couple of thousand dollars. Both are perfectly fine streaming options, and both can result in great productions.

Admittedly, our hockey and basketball streams fall a little closer to TV truck productions than most schools can afford. However, those are not the only games we produce. These days, we’re busy producing soccer, volleyball and field hockey games. For these non-arena productions, we’ve been using an old NewTek Tricaster Broadcast and some other supporting equipment to stream a fine SD broadcast.

However, we’ve always had an eye out for a way to upgrade these streams on a budget, as the difference in quality between our all-digital HD productions and all-analog SD production has been quite noticeable.

A side-by-side shot of our (HD) men's basketball games and (SD) women's basketball games from last year

Therefore, we were very excited to see Newtek’s announcement a couple of weeks ago, launching a new switcher – the Tricaster 40. With a list price of $5,000, this is NewTek’s low-end switcher. It is capable of HD production and streaming, and provides a lot of options that have historically been found only in professional (read “expensive”) switchers. After reviewing the above side-by-side shot, our athletics administration gave us the go-ahead to purchase the new Tricaster.

Working around this new switcher, we’ve been able to put together multi-camera HD productions for all our sports with less than $10,000 (switcher included).

Obviously $5,000 (or $10,000) is not for everyone. However, for schools that have some kind of video production budget, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

Newtek Tricaster 40

We’ve worked with this switcher for a couple of weeks now, and I can safely say that it has blown me away. It’s fast, easy to use and contains a tremendous amount of features.

I’ll spend the rest of this post briefly outlining how we spent the $10,000, and how we make our low-end productions look the best it possibly can.

Our production has 6 important parts:

1. Video Switcher (Tricaster 40) – $5,000
2. Three Cameras (We use Sony HDR-FX7)
3. A Macbook Pro with Telestream Wirecast
4. A PC laptop for creating our score bug
5. A Daktronics All-Sport CG for getting the score bug data – $1,300
6. Some cables, converters, adapters and distribution amplifiers

(7. For some of our productions we use a NewTek 3Play for instant replay. But that is not at all required)
(8. We also use Sennheiser announcer headsets and a Behringer mixer, but these are not required)

Our Tricaster 40 during a soccer game

Below are the details of how we use each of the above pieces of equipment:

1. The new Tricaster 40 is at the center of our productions. We use it to switch cameras, play back pre-recorded videos and animations, display overlays and stream our production in HD (more on that later). Each camera is connected to the Tricaster using component cables. Component cables (which are red, green and blue) are analog (as opposed to the digital SDI), but allow high-quality HD video transmission.

Many professional video cameras use SDI connections to get a video signal to the switcher or other video display. While SDI is admittedly better quality than component, it is much more expensive, and less common in “prosumer” cameras. That is why NewTek opted for component connections with the Tricaster 40. The Tricaster allows you to mix-and-match different types of cameras with different types of resolutions and connections without the need for converters or adapters.

Like most switchers, the Tricaster works with several different layers of content. A background layer, which usually displays a videos source, and DSK layers (downstream keyer) which contain overlay graphics. The Tricaster 40 has two DSKs. We use one of these DSKs to overlay our automated score bug on top of our video streams and the other for other in-game graphics (such as lower thirds).

Most times, we use the Tricaster itself to generate all our non-score-bug graphics. We use NewTek’s LiveText software to create all the titles, and then upload them to the Tricaster for fast and easy update and live display. If your production staff is limited, the Tricaster 40 really does make it very easy for one person to both switch and update graphics on the go.

We put some labels on our Tricaster keyboard to help with live switching. NewTek says a dedicated control surface is on its way.

The Tricaster also features four “Virtual Input” channels, which allow you to create composite shots ahead of time and then display them on your screen. We’ve used these virtual inputs to display side-by-side shots of coaches, or picture-in-picture shots of two important things going on at the same time.

Finally, we use our Tricaster to stream our games in HD. Personally, I don’t like the Tricaster’s streaming function. It’s rather limited in its options, and provides no feedback or indication as to the quality of the stream (real time data rate, frames per second, etc.). I really like to use Wirecast for streaming, as it allows for customization of all streaming options and provides great live metrics.

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. We stream our HD productions at a rate of 2Mbps. That’s great for many viewers, but not for those who have slower internet connections. Therefore, we’ve worked out a system with Ryan and his crew to stream each game twice, once in SD and once in HD, and list them twice on the portal (see screenshot above). Our viewers get to choose which stream they want to watch.

Unfortunately, our Macbook Pro with Wirecast cannot support streaming in both HD and SD. The CPU usage just goes through the roof. In addition, Tricaster, by design, can only support one stream at a time. Therefore, we are forced to use both Wirecast and Tricaster for streaming. We stream our HD feed from Tricaster and our SD feed from Wirecast. We also use Wirecast to record our production, as it offers many more recording options than the Tricaster.

Luckily, the Tricaster provides several video and audio output options that allow us to connect our feed to the Macbook Pro using a Canopus box or an Aja IO HD capture device.

Overall, it has worked out fine. The only difficultly with this setup is matching the audio levels between the two streams. I’ll let you know once I figure it out!

Our Tricaster 40 in action

In addition to the live video sources, we also connect an audio output from our mixer into the Tricaster. We usually have five external audio sources for every production (PxP, Color, Sideline, FX, PA), so a mixer is necessary. However, if all you have for audio sources is an announcer microphone and an ambient mic, you can connect them directly into the Tricaster. No external mixer needed.

Finally, we use Tricaster’s network inputs to bring in the score bug (more on that later).

2. We use Sony HDR-FX7 cameras for our soccer, volleyball and field hockey broadcasts. They are not nearly as good as our JVC GY-HM700 cameras, which are used for hockey and basketball, but they are HD, easy to use, and cost a fraction of the price of the JVCs.

Our camera 1 and camera 2 locations for soccer broadcasts

3. As I mentioned earlier, we use a Macbook Pro to stream our games in SD using Wirecast.

4. and 5. One of our goals for this year was to make sure that all our games had professional-looking score bugs. That meant that we were not going to use a small camera pointed at the score board to crop out the clock. While an easy method, a cropped camera doesn’t look great, and definitely doesn’t look very professional. To that end, we’ve invested in two different devices. The first is a PC laptop. Any PC laptop would do, as long as it has a USB port. We then installed NewTek’s LiveText software on that laptop (the software comes free with the Tricaster 40, if you buy the “educational” package).

Daktronics All-Sport CG

The second device is a Daktronics All-Sport CG. This device wirelessly receives score and clock information from most Daktronics All-Sport score boxes, and can do two things with that information. It can provide a live data feed into the LiveText laptop, or it can be used to burn a generic score bug on your video automatically. This generic score bug is, well, generic, and therefore not really ideal (though very easy to use).

We connect the All-Sport CG to our PC laptop using a DB9-to-USB cable. With just a little bit of setup, the LiveText recognizes the data feed and automatically populates any score bug graphic you may have with clock and score information.

As long as the PC laptop and the Tricaster are both connected to the same network, they will recognize each other without any issues. We use Tricaster’s Network 1 input to get the score bug into the switcher.

LiveText with our soccer score bug

That’s basically it. You can add as much equipment as you want to this setup. We often add a replay system, an audio mixer, announcer headsets and a DVD recorder. However, none of these is required.

So far, the Tricaster 40 has been incredible. It fit perfectly within our productions and allowed us to do HD on a budget, without getting new cameras or any new equipment at all. It does have its limitations, such as less-than-ideal streaming and recording options, few transitions, no digital inputs and no control surface (yet). However, these issues are easily outweighed by the relatively low price point. I think this could be a great option for any school or organization looking to upgrade their productions to HD, without breaking the bank.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions. I’m happy to tell you more about our productions or send you any videos, photos or examples of what we do.

Imry

i.halevi@neu.edu
617-373-4469

Yep, that happened – titled a blog post with a Counting Crows reference… deal with it.

Well, another September is in the rear-view mirror (with A Long December just around the corner… alright, that was the last one, I promise), and our staff escaped relatively unscathed. That’s always a good sign as we get back into the routine of the busy season. I thought this would be a good time to give you a quick reset on what we’ve been up to here in the Grand Canyon state. DJ, hit me with some Bullet-points:

• Wirecast upgrades coming soon:

We have begun the roll-out phase of a new streaming environment that our technology department has been developing this summer. In conjunction with that, Telestream has upgraded their Wirecast software to version 4.2 and we plan to move everyone over to the new system over the next 3-6 weeks. Initially, you will have to learn to setup your broadcast a little differently (say goodbye to settings files!), but once you run thorough it a couple of times, you’ll see the ease of setup. And fear not – we will be supplying you with a handy .pdf document and video tutorial to walk you through the process. Here are a few of the key benefits/reasons for the switch:

1. You will never need to worry about finding or downloading settings files again (or whether you’re using the right one).

2. We can dynamically change channels and server settings on the fly, which take effect as soon as you quit and re-open Wirecast.

3. All of the graphics, scoreboards and commercials that you load into Wirecast can now be saved, due to the fact that you don’t have to use the settings file every time you initiate a broadcast.

4. Using this new system, we can now roll over to alternate or back-up servers on the fly without you having to change anything on your end.

• Call of the Year update:

We are VERY close to unveiling the first (of what we hope will be many) Stretch Internet Call of the Year contest.

For those who aren’t familiar with the details, we are looking for clients to upload their very best highlights from the 2012-13 athletic season. We want to see the buzzer-beaters, hail-marys, and larger than life moments. The contest will run entirely on our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/stretchinternet), and from there clients will be able to upload their clips for fans to vote on. We will send out all of the pertinent information/instructions once the contest is launched. And yes, there will be a very worthwhile prize for the person who submits the winning entry. Give us your own version of these classics:

As a side note, #6 on that list is still one of the biggest moments of my sports-watching life up to this point. Growing up in Colorado, I bleed Avalanche blue and red. There are few rivalries that have matched the Red Wings and Avalanche from the late 90′s to early 00′s, at least in terms of genuine disgust for one another. Turn up your speakers, and soak in my favorite play-by-play broadcaster Mike Haynes losing his marbles. I’m pretty sure he was standing on a table during that call.

• Portal design:

Another item on the list for this year is to explore a possible update to the look and design of our current portal. We have been gathering some valuable insight from clients about what they want to see in a portal, and coupled that with our own research and thoughtfulness to come up with, what we feel, is a strong framework of what our new portal will look like. One big takeaway we’ve seen from talking to our clients is that, for the most part, clients are very pleased with the functionality of our current portal. Everything makes sense with the layout, and people like that it’s not difficult to navigate. We are hoping to maintain the foundation we’ve created with our current portal, while adding to and upgrading some of the ancillary pieces to create the best fan experience possible.

While we are currently exploring some options on this front, we want to stress that we do not have a timetable for our new portal just yet. As with all things, we want to make sure that we take the time necessary to deliver the best product. There are a lot of factors that will go into our next design, and many questions to be answered about the direction of technology in the streaming media domain. But, we do promise that you and your fans will be happy with the final product. Again, keep an eye on our social media channels for updates along the way.

• Transcoding:

With our list of clients that are utilizing HD streaming ever-expanding, we are continuing to work on the implementation of transcoding. What is transcoding, you ask? Transcoding means that you, the client, can send us one HD quality stream which our servers can ingest and distribute at a variable bit-rate. That way, your fans can enjoy your stream at the quality level congruent with their available bandwidth. One fan might be humming along with bandwidth coming out of their ears, so they will see your stream in all its HD beauty. Another fan, accessing the same event, might still be using America Online to access the internet and would therefore be automatically fed a much lower bit-rate stream.

Speaking of HD, stay tuned for another guest post from Imry Halevi the Director of Video Production at Northeastern University. His upcoming blog will detail their experience with the TriCaster 40 which is a great option for schools looking for an inexpensive (relatively speaking) entry into the world of HD streaming.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for updates about #StretchCOTY and more!