When you're live streaming, there are two main ways to encode your video. You can use a hardware encoder or a software encoder. The latter, while more familiar to churches that have never done streaming, tends to be less reliable. That's because computers are “possibility boxes.” A computer can do any number of things, so someone might be using it for something other than encoding when the church is meeting. There are also problems with OS updates. Whether you're on OS X or Windows, an update (or even a patch) can cause problems with encoding software.
That's one reason that encoding hardware is a great idea. No one is going to get a virus on your encoding appliance. Few people would know how to upgrade it. It's a good bet that you won't arrive for your weekend services only to find that it doesn't work for that reason. [With this in mind,] I've been taking a look at Digigram's Aqilim *Fit/LE for the past few weeks and have been putting it through the paces. Is it a good fit for churches?
Early Findings
Let me start by saying that I love the functionality of this box. You set up your encoding settings and then it's pretty straightforward. You plug in an HD source via either HD-SDI or HDMI and it streams it to your live host.
From a set-up standpoint, it's not any harder than setting up a consumer router. You connect over the network using one of the two network connections (more about that later). On a computer on the same network, you type in the unit's IP address into your browser, and then the login and password. If the default IP address is outside your current network subnet, you can create a smaller network with just the Aqilim and a computer. You can also change the Aqilim's admin IP address by hooking up a VGA monitor, USB mouse, and keyboard directly to the unit.
This is a great feature to make sure that network changes don't leave you without access to live streaming. You know that you can always hook up an external monitor in an emergency.Users should be aware that the unit has two Ethernet ports that each has different purposes. Port 0 is for administration. That's the port you're connecting to with the web GUI in your browser. The second port (port 1) is the port that the unit uses for streaming.
"Let me start by saying that I love the functionality of this box. You plug in an HD source via either HD-SDI or HDMI and it streams it to your live host."
Paul Clifford
Writer / Reviewer.
This is another feature that could be very beneficial. Of course, you must connect the unit to the Internet to stream live. However, you don't need to connect the admin port to a network that's online. You could keep it as its own subnetwork that doesn't have wireless access. If your main network is compromised, you can still access the Aqilim. Since there are two ports, you have the choice of keeping it separate or not.
In Action
During setup, I found the menus to be intuitive and I was able to add my streaming host without much difficulty. Creating a new profile is easy. It's also possible to copy an existing profile and just change the pertinent information, rather than starting from scratch.
When you're adding your video source, you have two choices: either HDMI or HD-SDI. Whichever signal you choose needs to have embedded audio, because there aren't any audio inputs on the unit I tested. The video quality impressed me, even with my poor 1Mbps upload speed from my home studio. However, I wasn't expecting much because of my upload speed. I wouldn't want to rely on a stream at 720p for anything other than testing, even if the Aqilim did deliver it in my tests. If you're stuck with low upload speed, down convert to SD to be safe, allowing for overhead in the stream.
If you've read other reviews from this author, you might know that I'm a big fan of redundancy. This is one of the features where the Aqilim shines. It's not hard to send your encoded stream to two hosts at once. You just set up two live-hosts and start both as the live stream starts. This gives you a primary and secondary stream with only more upload bandwidth and a second account.
If you want, you can choose to select a check box to start streaming immediately when the unit powered up or start it manually. I love the flexibility of being able to tell someone who isn't as tech-savvy to “just turn it on.” As long as they do, the live-stream is up and running, if everything else is working. For a proficient user, the built-in web GUI can start, stop, or administer the box from anywhere within the network. You can rack up the unit and leave it alone, out of harm's way, and start and stop the stream from your laptop in the tech booth, for example. If you had a VPN set up, you could even start and stop the stream from elsewhere, which is a nice ability to have.
The unit I tested could live-stream at up to 720p and provided a beautiful picture when I fed it a good source.
Parting Thoughts
There's much to love about the Aqilim—and for many churches it would be a great choice. There are a couple of things to consider when using it, though. It's marketed as being affordable, but that's a relative term. It's more affordable than higher-end units designed for broadcast and corporate live streaming. However, it's not as affordable [as] some of the other choices with more limited features, since its MSRP is $5,625. It's not a large unit, but if you're expecting something you can throw in a camera bag, this isn't it. It's a 19-inch 1RU unit, so what you really ought to do is rack it up and transport it that way.
The Aqilim *Fit/LE would be a great addition to the live streaming ministries of many churches. It would be something I'd recommend as long as it fits your needs and budget. If you're trying to get something ultra-portable or ultra-cheap [though], look elsewhere.
